ELI_DISTMAN-UNFORMATTEDR19.pdf

DISTRESSOR

Classic Knee Compression

For Models EL8 & EL8-X

INDEX

Page

Item

Features & Specs

2 Using for the First Time

3 Example Settings

4 Ratios, Curves, & Classic Emulation

5 The Audio Modes & Distortion

6 The Detector Modes & Block Diagram

Recall Sheet

Basic Wiring and Stereo Link

0 Troubleshooting

1 Fuse Replacement, AC Voltage Select, and Upgrades

12 British Mod on the “X” Version (EL8-X)

13 Stereo Image Link Mod (EL8-X)

14 Customer Comments

15 Warranty

Technology for the Artist

DISTRESSOR

FEATURES

Classic knee sound - With modern noise specs and improved performance. Really grabs.

Programmable analog distortion/warmth - helpful in the pristine but unforgiving digital world. Three audio

modes providing user programmable, warm harmonic distortion. Emphasized tube-like, 2nd harmonic in

clean and Distort 2 mode. In Distort 3 mode, the distortion becomes dominated by 3rd harmonic, more

similar to tape.

Distortion indicator lights - A 1% LED and a "Redline" (3%) LED. No hard clipping until a few dB past

"Redline".

Advanced built-in sidechain EQ - High mid band emphasis prevents harsh, edgy guitars or vocals from

hurting innocent ears. Low cut keeps the low "sum & difference" frequencies from pumping the upper

frequencies of source material.

Fool proof operation - Even though there are 384 possible settings (not counting knob settings), it's almost

impossible to get a bad sound. Keep all knobs on 5 or 6 (around middle) with ratio at 6:1 and you won't go

wrong.

Eight unique curves - From the 1:1 mode that simply warms up signal with low order harmonics without

intentional compression, to the "Nuke" setting - a brick wall limiting curve that shines on live drum room

mics. Each curve has its own personality, and release shape. Most exceptional is the 10:1 "Opto" ratio

which uses separate circuitry to emulate the oldest (and valued) "light controlled" devices, such as the LA-

2A etc. See manual to emulate other compressors of old.

Discrete and integrated combination - the best of speed/linearity with repeatability. Hand tested &

selected components.

Huge knobs with high resolution numbering - For easy readability and repeatable settings. They also go

to 10 1 / 2 .

Locked, calibrated, output level - Allows speed in setting tape and live mix levels.

Stereo Strappable

Switchable 115/230 volt operation - Extra fuse provided inside unit.

Over designed power supplies - Runs cool, allowing cabinet to be sealed - without heat vents. Long life

components.

Single height and light weight - Classic sound in a small, extremely reliable package.

True bypass - Know what it's really doing. All contacts doubled up for maximum reliability. No internal audio

connectors.

XLR and 1/4" phone ins and outs - XLR fully balanced, transformerless design, pin 2 hot. Changeable by

user to pin 3 hot!

All metal film and Roederstein resistors in the audio path - top quality components. Many military spec.

parts.

Interface and features found nowhere else.

Hand wired, calibrated in USA. Shipping weight 12 Lbs.

SPECS

Freq. response is 2 Hz to 160 kHz in clean audio mode (+0, -3 dB). Response is shaped in distortion

modes (Dist 2, Dist 3).

Dynamic range 110 dB from max. output to min. output in 1:1 mode. Greater than 100 dB signal to noise in

distort 3 mode.

Distortion ranges between .02% and 20% depending on distortion mode and release times set on front

panel.

DC coupled output - High quality input caps.

Time constants - Attack range 50uS - 30mS. Release range .05 sec to 3.5 seconds. Release goes up to

20 seconds in 10:1 “Opto” mode.

Power Consumption – Typical is 10 Watts, maximum is 14 Watts.

Empirical Labs - Something old, Something new

Using the Distressor for the first time

Hookup is straightforward. Either the XLR's or phone plugs can be used. In relation to the phone jack tips, pin 2

is wired "hot" on the XLR's. But if you're using the XLR's in and out, it doesn't matter which pin is hot, as long as

you're cabling is in phase. If you use a single ended XLR output, leave unused pin floating! The ground pin (pin

1 on XLR) should, of course, always be connected. Connecting all input pins is preferred, but the unit will

operate fine if unused pins aren't tied to ground. Hookup directions are also located on the rear panel of unit,

near the connectors. See wiring section on page 9 for greater details.

Where to start - 5 5 5 5

Start with 6:1 ratio and set all four knobs to 5, the midway position. This is a great starting place for anything.

Push the ratio button until the LED's cycle to the 6:1 ratio (Yellow LED). Adjust input to drive into more

compression. The harder you drive, the more knee you'll hit, and the greater the ratio will be. Only 1 LED

should be lit - the 6:1 LED (not counting any bargraph LED's). If you need more obvious compression, push

ratio button to progress to higher ratios. If you would like lower ratios, the very long knees of 2:1, 3:1, 4:1 are

silky smooth. The 2:1 ratio has a +15 dB knee, where the ratio gradually increases! Unit will scroll around

"Nuke" back to these lower ratios, but if you must cycle through 1:1 while unit is in use, do it quickly since

compression will be turned "off" and the signal will swell to its peak input levels, possibly becoming dangerously

loud. Waiting for a pause in the input before changing ratio is a safe thing to do. For a quick +4 tape levels, try

setting output knob to 8.

Distortion Settings

If all the LED's are off in the "Audio" area, your Distressor is operating in its cleanest mode.

Distortion settings should be used when subtle analog distortion is desired. Dist 2 mode produces "Class A"

type warmth, producing mostly 2nd harmonic when compressing (tube distortion is known for its 2nd harmonic)

and Dist 3 adds 3rd along with 2nd harmonic. Dist 3 can look and sound very similar to tape distortion - it

gradually flattens out the top and bottom of the waveform. If you want a digital signal to sound like an analog

tape signal, try 2:1 mode with Dist 3 engaged, and compress 1 - 3 dB (as displayed on bargraph). Tape goes in

and out of saturation quickly, so fast attacks and decays are appropriate. If you want to make it sound like over-

saturated tape, you could try one of the higher ratios and drive the input to produce 1 - 5 dB of compression.

With the quick release, 2nd harmonic will still be strong in Dist 3 mode. More than 3 to 5 dB of reduction will

sound less like tape, more like compression.

Advanced Detector functions

The new user may want to stick with a basic setup until he feels comfortable, but with the push of a button he

can enable some advanced sidechain functions. While tracking vocals for instance, sometimes "p's" and "b's"

can hit the mic with an air blast that shows up as a high amplitude, low frequency signal, causing the

compressor to "kick in". The result may be a brief, unnatural drop in the apparent vocal level. By pushing the

detector button once, you engage a high-pass (abbreviated with HP) filter in the detector (the part of the circuit

that figures out how much to turn down the signal). This high-pass, or low cut, will not allow low, low

frequencies to trigger compression, and in this case, prevent the unnatural drop in vocal level from a "p" or "b"

blasting the mic with wind. It may also help to HP (high-pass) the audio in this case.

Another detector sidechain filter can be engaged with a second push of the button. This is the "band emphasis

function" that inserts an Eq into the detector circuitry that makes the circuit much more sensitive to harsh, mid

band frequencies. This is useful on vocals (for those singers with a nasty edge to their voice when they go up

high), guitars, synths, and many other solo instruments that may become harsh and too loud in the mix. See

"Detector Modes" on page 6 for more info.

Example settings

Generally, it is difficult to make the unit sound unnatural due to its vintage topology. The ratio and release times

are the most critical settings. Again, around 5 on the release knob is a good starting spot. The attack is

variable from 50uS to 30mS. The release is variable from 50mS to 3 seconds. For percussive material, if you

need to add attack, add attack. That is, slow the attack by turning the knob clockwise towards 10. Conversely, if

you need to get rid of some pick noise, or over transient sounds, the fast attack and release is the way to go.

With these tools, an engineer can mold the envelope of sounds in a very controlled manner, adding or softening

attack, sustaining, smoothing and evening until the sounds fit into the mix as desired.

Vocals - Turn off all distort modes if you're going to tape, however the High-pass (HP) in both the detector and

audio paths may be useful. Set ratio to 6:1 or less, attack 5, release 4. Adjust input to produce anywhere from 3

to 17 dB of compression. Sometimes the band emphasis setting is effective for those dynamic, "piercing" vocal

passages. On mixdowns, Dist 2 can add a warm edge to vocals. The "Opto" mode in 10:1 is guaranteed to give

you a classic compression curve. Try 10:1, with attack on 10, release on 0. Separate detector circuitry will be

enabled.

A well known producer gave us another more aggressive vocal compressor setting: Ratio 6:1, Attack 2.5-3,5,

Release 0 – 2, Audio modes HP & Dist 2. In soft passages, no compression should occur while on loud

passages 17 – 20dB. This setting was used for tracking as well as mixing.

Bass - 4:1, 6:1 turn attack on 5, release 4. The distortion audio modes sound great on bass, but caution

should be observed if you are going to tape/HD. You cannot un-distort. If you have a very "clacky" bass player,

sometimes the band emphasis in the detector just flattens that stuff out. Use fast attack and release times to

keep "clacks" from pumping. Also, try "Opto" mode.

Elec. guitar - A wide range of settings can be used. To get rid of edgy attacks, use quick attack, medium

release. To smooth out solos, try the band emphasis in the detector to pull up the lower, softer notes and push

back and sustain the higher, and often, thinner notes. Try "Opto".

Acoustic guitar - We've been told by a couple of engineers that the Distressor is one of the best sounding units

for acoustic they've ever heard. Use 6:1, [ 7, 2, 5, 7] settings (i.e. Input 7, Attack 2, Release 5, Output 7). High-

pass (HP) is often useful in both detector and audio modes. The fast attack will get you a "glassy" full sound

since the pick noise will be attenuated and the sustain lengthened.

Piano/Keys - Start with quick attack (0-4) and medium release (4-6). Acoustic pianos often need less attack to

fit into a mix, but there are millions of exceptions. Bruce Hornsbyish pianos are often real or samples of real

pianos with medium attack and medium release, getting that "bite" followed by sustained body. Try attack 5, rel

5. Opto mode is very nice here, too. Some-

times brittle high notes can be extra compressed by using the "band emphasis" detector mode.

Drums - Start by keeping the attack over 3 to keep transients. Play with decay to get more or less "in your face"

sounds. Because of the wide range of attack, the Distressor puts the drum "percusiveness" much more into the

engineer's control than the older, classic units.

Snares/Kicks/Toms - Try [3:1 to 6:1, 6,5,5,6]. Shorten decay if you need to bring up "after ring". If a

tom has too much attack , turn attack down between 0 - 4. If crackling from L.F., modulation occurs, play with

longer attack or release times, or Det HP. Since you can load compression on without sounding funny, watch

"mic leakage" which can become a problem. Kick drums sound great using Opto mode (10:1, attack on 10,

release 0) and Det HP on.

Room mics - For radical treatment, try 20:1 or "Nuke", [10, 6, 2.5, 6]. The "Nuke" ratio was originally

developed for room mics, but we have since found it useful in many areas. "Nuke" and 20:1 are pretty much

brick wall limiting, keeping any normal signal within 1 dB or so. Just patch in a room mic that is 10 - 25 feet from

drums (or other instruments) and slam the meters. Try attack on 5 and release on 3. Fifteen to twenty dB of

compression is starting to sound about right for the John Bonham thing, but don't be afraid to run the gain

reduction meters right off scale. You will find the output a little lower than the other ratios in "Nuke". Better have

quiet mic preamps too - as 20 dB of compression can bring the noise floor up by 20 dB. The release should be

quick (< 3) for the largest sound, but slower releases can often be effective when mixed in with the rest of the

kit. Room ambience can be made to "swell up" on the tom and snare rings later, filling in behind the close mics.

If you want to add "grunge", experiment with Dist 2 and Dist 3.

The Ratios and their Curves

Each "ratio mode" of the Distressor sets both the threshold and the ratio, in the standard sense of the word. This

was done to provide an easy to set, yet versatile group of curves. The 1:1 mode provides no compression, but

allows the audio to pass through the "warming" circuits of the unit (we'll get to the distortion modes in a

moment). Ratio's 2 through 6 are general purpose curves great for tracking. The 2:1 and 3:1 ratios are

"parabolic" knees - very gentle curves that won't typically go into hard limiting and therefore, also won't provide

absolute overload protection. Ratios 4:1 and 6:1 have steeper knees and are good general purpose curves that

gradually move towards hard limiting, "nailing" the signal in its place. The ratio of 6:1 is very useful for vocals,

bass, and acoustic instruments. It has an easy slope at first until after the knee, where an increasing ratio

"musically" limits the peaks of the signal before damage is done. The 6:1 and 10:1 Opto ratios employ shorter

knee limiting, reminiscent of some old classics from the 60's and 70's (see Classic Emulation).

"Nuke" is a different story. The "Nuke" ratio was developed for room mics, but we have since found it useful in

many areas. "Nuke" has a medium threshold but when the signal hits it, a nuclear blast won't budge the output

level. It is brick wall limiting, keeping any normal signal within 1 dB or so. Just patch in a room mic while

recording drums (or other instruments) and slam the meters. Try attack on 4 and release on 2. The release

curve of "Nuke" is logarithmic, meaning it lets off quickly at first and then slows. This release curve is a big part

of the Distressor's sound. Experiment with the release times - this guy can release really fast without too much

crackling, even on bass. 20:1 can be used similarly to "Nuke". Each of these curves again has their own feel to

them, with the release slopes slightly altered, and the knees falling in slightly different places. Most exceptional

are the 2:1, 10:1 and Nuke ratios, which employ special detector circuitry.

Just what is a soft knee?

A "soft knee" is a compression curve where the first few dB of gain reduction occur at very low ratios, gradually

increasing as the signal increases (gets louder). This makes the onset of compression very hard to detect. The

knee usually extends for a few dB and gradually flattens out toward a final ratio. All curves with the exception of

20:1 and "Nuke" have dominant knees. The 2:1 ratio has a knee that can be as long as 30 dB, depending on

attack and decay settings.

Classic Emulation

Since the unit is based on the oldest compressor topology, the unit can be made to sound very similar to older

classics. The nonlinear nature of the older gain control elements of opto-couplers, FET's, pentode (or triode)

tube bias or "mu" modulation, etc., can be closely emulated if proper settings are used. A special "Opto" mode

has been provided in the 10:1 ratio.

Some Examples:

* To simulate the opto-VCA models of old (the LA-2A, LA-3A, LA-4A), try 10:1 "Opto" ratio, with attack on 10,

release on 0, Det HP on. Adjust input and outputs to your taste. Keep the attack above 4 to keep the OPTO

flavor. Faster attacks will give you a more aggressive sound. Remember our LED metering deflects much faster

than the old VU's so don't be afraid to hit the unit quite hard (10-20 dB of compression on peaks). To emulate

tubes, try Dist 2 & 3 mode, but let your ears be your guide.

* For a classic “Over E-Z” type sound, try ratios 2:1 thru 6:1, att 9, release 2, clean mode.

* 1176LN 6:1, Att 0 - 3.5, rel 1 - 10.5. Use ratios 3:1, 4:1, 6:1, 20:1 to emulate 4 1176LN ratios. Clean mode is

appropriate (Dist 2 or 3 off). Remember that the 1176LN attacks extremely fast and you must keep attack under

4 max. A familiar sound is 6:1, att2, rel 4.

* Old Fairchild IGFET - 6:1 att 3-5, rel 2 - 7 (start with att 4 and rel 4)

Due to the transformerless design, you will maintain a low transient intermodulation distortion, but will get the

warming grunge of 2nd and 3rd harmonic distortion, if distortion modes are enabled. Also, unlike some of the

older units, the Distressor is uniform and predictable from one unit to the next. Precise factory calibration

assures that if you go from one Distressor to another, these settings will all sound the same.

Empirical Labs would like to thank Universal Audio for not only creating classic audio gear, but for kindly

allowing us to refer to their model numbers. As they say “Once a classic, always a classic.”

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