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iii Terms and Conditions COPYRIGHT This manual is copyrighted © 2002 by Drawmer Electronics, Ltd. With all rights reserved. Under copyright laws, this manual may not be duplicated in whole or in part without the written consent of Drawmer. ONE YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY Drawmer Electronics Ltd.
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Contents License agreement iii Setup System Requirements SDX100 Installation Entering the Password Accessing the SDX100 from Soundscape 2 2 3 3 Introduction About DRAWMER About the SDX100 Plug-in 4 4 Using the SDX100 Front panel overview Input Expander Noose Gate Compressor Limiter Output 5 5 6 7 8 9 9 Patches Loading a Patch Saving a patch 10 10 Troubleshooting Contact Details operator’s manual 11 1
2 DRAWMER Setup Setup System Requirements In order to run the Drawmer SDX100 the minimum system requirements are: • Any compatible Soundscape system such as • • • • • R.Ed / SSHDR1-Plus DAWs or Mixtreme / Mixpander PCI cards.
Setup 3 Entering the Password Before using the SDX100 plug-in a password input is required. To enter any password within the Soundscape operating system go to the drop down menu ‘Options/Passwords’ for Mixtreme or the Options/Optional Modules window menu for the SSEditor. This will open up the following screen : Enter the password that corresponds with the DrawmerSDX100 entry - The password can be found within the purchased package.
4 Introduction Introduction DRAWMER About Drawmer The name Drawmer is synonymous with professional signal processing in recording studio, broadcast and live sound reinforcement environments. The company which is based in Yorkshire, England was founded by Ivor Drawmer whose passion was designing audio circuits.
Using the SDX100 Using the SDX100 Front Panel Overview The easiest way to navigate the SDX100 is to imagine it in five sections Input Compressor/Limiter Noise Gate Input Input Meters 0 to -31dB The Input Meters, located on the left of the GUI, represents the incoming signal from Soundscape and is displayed by 32 led bar meters. A range of 0 to -31dB is shown as well as input overload leds. Input Gain Sliders -7dB to +18dB The input Gain Sliders directly correspond with the Input Meters above.
6 Expander Using the SDX100 DRAWMER Expanders are generally used to remove unwanted noise during what should be passages of silence, by attenuating the signal below the threshold. In addition they are a means of ‘undoing’ gain at very low levels due to compression, where the noise floor is pulled up to an unacceptably high level. The expander on the SDX100 is excellent for use on vocal tracks as it has a separate attack and release to smoothly gate the start and ending of words. Threshold 0.0 to -50.
Using the SDX100 7 Noise Gate A noise gate is effectively a switch used to mute signals below a set threshold level. It can be used to suppress background noise and hiss from valve (tube) amps, microphones and effects pedals. It can also be used to make the sound much more crisp and punchy. Key: Key Listen When pressed the effect of the high and low key filters is heard at the output - used to “tune in” to the signal.
Using the SDX100 8 Compressor DRAWMER A compressor attenuates high levels, thus effectively reducing the dynamic range, making it possible to fit a large signal into a smaller space and also much easier to control signals and set appropriate fader levels. Reducing the dynamic range also means that recording levels can be set higher, therefore improving the signal-to-noise performance. Threshold 0.0 to -50.0dB. Controls the level below which compression starts to take place.
Using the SDX100 9 Limiter Limiting is an extreme form of compression, where the output signal is sharply attenuated so that it cannot exceed a particular level. A further feature of the SDX100 is a peak limiter which allows the user to set an absolute output signal level that will not be exceeded. If the peak limiter threshold is exceeded for more than a few milliseconds, additional gain reduction will be applied to reduce the overall signal level to within accepted limits without distortion.
10 Patches Patches The parameters of the SDX100 plug-in can be stored and retrieved by accessing the Load/Save mixer element buttons. Note: With all dynamic sources, the levels and contents will vary when comparing track to track. Save and Load will assist in getting parameter settings close to something usable, but Threshold settings will often need adjustment once loaded. Attack and Release will often also need some slight modification.
Troubleshooting 11 Troubleshooting General Because all pc’s are different, with differing hardware and software, sometimes you may have trouble getting your SDX100 plug-in to work properly. If this is the case the following suggestions may alleviate the problem. Check the plug-ins menu and password entry lists to see if the SDX100 has been detected by Soundscape.