WARNING For your personal safety, please read this operating manual and warning thoroughly before using the equipment. This unit must be installed in such a manner that operator access to the mains plug is maintained. Where the product is to be rack mounted, this may be achieved by having access to the disconnection device for the whole rack. To reduce the risk of electric shock, it is essential that the unit is disconnected from the mains supply before removing the cover.
CONTENTS Section 1 Introduction 2 3 Page 3 Controls 4 2.1 Attitude 4 2.2 EQ section 4 2.3 Stereo width section 5 2.4 Stereo spread 5 2.5 Bandwidth 5 2.6 Bass to centre 6 2.7 Balance 6 2.8 Output level 6 2.9 Monitor 6 Installation Hints 7 3.1 Installation 7 3.2 Power 7 3.3 Inputs 7 3.4 Outputs 7 3.5 Audio Connections 7 3.6 Tips 8 9 4 Operational Hints 5 Inputs and Outputs 10 6 Servicing and Maintenance 11 6.1 Valves 11 6.
1 Introduction The Fat Bustard is a passive input summing mixer that has all valve summing and output stages. There are 12 input channels and 2 auxiliary inputs. Included in the output stage are facilities for stereo EQ, gain, distortion and also control of the stereo / mono balance over different frequencies. These features are all tried & tested and are felt to be useful and unique to what the Fat Bustard offers and what it can be used to achieve.
2 Controls 2.1 Attitude The Attitude control has the same effect as found in Thermionic Culture’s Rooster. At low settings (1 is low, Max is high) the distortion is kept to a minimum and the frequency response of the unit is very flat. At higher settings the distortion increases and the frequency response changes, tending to become less linear at high frequencies. At setting 1 on the attitude control the summing amplifier is working at unity( 0dB ) gain.
The Top cut is also a stepped switch control. It acts in the same way as the Bass cut control. Positions 1 to 3 give a 6dB / octave low pass filter that decreases in frequency as the control is increased. Positions 4 to 6 give a shelving filter that acts lower in frequency the more the control is increased. 2.3 Stereo Width Section This section of the Fat Bustard is concerned with adjusting and tailoring the width of stereo with respect to frequency.
frequencies above are stereo. At the next position frequencies below 200Hz are made Mono. At the last position all frequencies are Mono. 2.7 Balance This control allows a fine control over the left / right balance of the Fat Bustard. This can be very useful in correcting any discrepancies of outboard equipment that may be slightly misaligned with respect to the level of the left and right hand signals. 2.8 Output Level This control is a rotary switch that governs the final output level of the Fat Bustard.
3 Installation Hints 3.1 Installation The Fat Bustard is designed for 19" rack mounting and, to repeat the warning on page 1, must have adequate ventilation. 3.2 Power The unit can operate from mains supplies of 220-240V AC or 110-120V AC, 50/60Hz. Check that the voltage selector at the back near the power inlet is set to the correct voltage setting. 3.3 Inputs All inputs are unbalanced but 'floating' slightly above ground due to a small resistor.
3.6 Tips To minimise the possibility of hum loops, quality loss, or pick up of unwanted signals, keep cables as short as reasonably possible. This applies especially to the monitor outputs which come out at relatively low level and higher impedance. The power connections to the Fat Bustard and other equipment connected to it should all come from the same mains distribution point.
4 Operational Hints Try increasing the Attitude control for more aggression, punch, warmth in the sound of a mix. Bass drums, snare drums and vocals can all benefit from being sent to a mono channel with pan turned off for more level. This allows them to be high in the mix without running preceding outboard equipment unnecessarily hot. Try using the bass cut shelving positions together with the bass lift for that classic Pultec style equalisation trick.
5 Inputs & Outputs The 12 inputs can be connected by the 12 labelled XLR sockets on the back of the unit. As the front panel indicates, 8 of these inputs are pairs of stereo inputs and 4 are mono inputs. The stereo inputs (channels 1 to 8) have a stereo rotary fader and a channel on/off switch. The mono inputs (channels 9 to 12) have a mono rotary fader, pan pot and channel on/off switch. There is also a Mono/Pan switch for each mono channel.
6 Servicing & Maintenance The unit comes with a 12 month warranty covering all parts, including valves. It is essential that it is returned to our factory or to the dealer from which it was purchased for repairs to be carried out otherwise the warranty is invalidated. There is, however, one important exception to this rule: 6.1 Valves It is quite safe for the user to change the valves, but the unit must not be operated without all valves plugged in.
7 Specification Input impedance: 10kΩ (dependent upon channel and setting), unbalanced Output impedance: 600Ω unbalanced Monitor: 5kΩ unbalanced Gain (ch. 1-8): 0 at Attitude 1, +11dB at max attitude Maximum Output level: +25dBU Distortion: (at Attitude 1) 0.015% +8dBm output (at Attitude 3) 0.25% (at max. attitude) ≥1% (dependent on how hard valves are driven) Signal to noise: (IEC weighted) at least 100dB below MOL at Att.1 Freq.
The Fat Bustard - frequency response curves 15 10 Bass Lift @ Max. Bass Lift @ 7 Bass Lift @ 2 Top Lift @ Max. Top Lift @ 7 Top Lift @ 4 Flat Bass Cut @ 1 Bass Cut @ 2 Bass Cut @ 3 Bass Cut @ 4 Bass Cut @ 5 Bass Cut @ 6 Top Cut @ 1 Top Cut @ 2 Top Cut @ 3 Top Cut @ 4 Top Cut @ 5 Top Cut @ 6 Gain (dB) 5 0 -5 -10 -15 -20 0.01 0.
Thermionic Culture Ltd., Harlow, Essex, UK Tel: +44 (0)1279 414770 Fax: +44 (0)1279 412233 © Thermionic Culture Ltd, May 2011. Printed in UK.