Operating instructions

OPTIMOD-AM DIGITAL OPERATION
3-27
LOUD-FAT has dramatic punch on percussive material and a very fat-sounding low
end, plus outstandingly effective distortion control. It avoids overt bass distortion
despite the full bass sound. It is slightly quieter than the loudest of the “loud” pre-
set family.
NEWS-TALK: This preset is quite different from the others above. It is based on the
fast multiband release time setting, so it can quickly perform automatic equalization
of substandard program material, including telephone. It is very useful for creating a
uniform, intelligible sound from widely varying source material, particularly source
material that is “hot from the field” with uncontrolled quality.
SPORTS: Similar to NEWS-TALK except the AGC Release (AGC Release Time) is
slower and the Gate Thresh (Gate Threshold) is higher. This recognizes that most
play-by-play sports programming has very low signal-to-noise ratio due to crowd
noise and other on-field sounds, so the preset does not pump this up as the NEWS-
TALK preset would tend to do.
ROCK: ROCK-DENSE, ROCK-MEDIUM, and ROCK-OPEN provide a bright high end
and punchy low end (although not as exaggerated as the URBAN presets). These
presets are appropriate for general rock and contemporary programming. A mid-
range boost provides enough presence energy to ensure that vocals stand out. A
modest amount of high frequency coupling (determined by the B
AND COUPLING 3>4
setting) allows reasonable amounts of automatic HF equalization (to correct dull
program material), while still preventing exaggerated frequency balances and exces-
sive HF density. Dense, medium, and open refer to the compression density, which is
determined by the release time settings in the AGC and multiband limiter sections.
ROCK-LIGHT has an open sound with little audible compression and less brightness
than the first three presets. It is a compromise between ROCK-OPEN and ROCK-
SOFT.
ROCK-SOFT
has a mellow, easy-to-listen-to high frequency quality that is designed
for female-skewing formats. It is also a candidate for “Quiet Storm” and “Love
Songs” light rock or light urban formats.
ROCK-SMOOTH has the same mellow, easy-to-listen-to high frequency quality as
ROCK-SOFT, but with more density. Again, it is a good choice for female-skewing
formats, but where you need more compression and density than you get with
ROCK-SOFT.
For Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) we recommend the ROCK-DENSE or ROCK-
MEDIUM versions. In competitive markets, you may need to use LOUD-HOT (you can
use L
ESS-MORE to get it even louder) or even LOUD-HOT+BASS or IMPACT. How-
ever, the “rock” presets are not as bright and are more likely to complement low bit
rate codecs.
For Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) we recommend the ROCK-MEDIUM or ROCK-OPEN
versions, although you might prefer the more conservative ROCK-LIGHT or ROCK-
SMOOTH versions.