[SoundKlang]

Okay, it seems this may continue ...

I forgot to mention that in the other 747 threads a lot of people wrote about their experiences with the 747 and how they use it. Their hints were the basis for some of the example files in this thread and all honour is due to them (if that is correct english).

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Example 7 - 747 on a (sampled) E-Piano

Objective:
EQs and tubes (clean, saturation, crunch) of the 747.

Comment:

EQ - These two files give one example of the different characters of the passive graphical program equalizer and the so-called "sidechain" EQ, which is in fact an active two-band semiparametric EQ, which can always be switched into the output signal path with the "SC LISTEN" option. Compression and the graphical EQ can always be used in addition to this "sidechain" EQ. Even though some frequencies were increased, others reduced by some dB, the result stays very transparent and close to the original. This quality of the EQs of the 747 is remarkable and makes them very useable.

The other files show the sound character of the Tube Signal Path in the 747. The block diagram in the Operation Manual of the 747 shows one tube placed before (not replacing) the discrete Class A amplifier of the compressor section. To drive this tube, the compressor section must be in the signal path (switched on). Another tube replaces the discrete Class A amplifier of the output line amp when TSP is on. To drive this tube the Output gain may not be lowered, so that probably the output level of the 747 leads to digital clipping in the following AD and some kind of level correction after the 747 is needed if it has to be driven.

Clean - The 747 is most clean with highest output gain and less input gain. With more input gain and accordingly less output gain the result becomes just a little more dense. With clean settings, there is a little difference when switching in the TSP, just a little increase in level. The higher the internal levels the more effect the TSP shows. There is something happening between a very clean setting with low internal levels and TSP off and a setting with high internal levels and TSP on, but it is not a completely different result.

Saturation - This example used the highest possible output level before distortion (see below) would occur. There is some increase in weight and depth of the sound. The result lacks these qualities when the TSP is switched off. This tube saturation of the 747 is very clean when the compressor section and the graphical EQ are switched off. The sonic differences compared to the clean example are so little, that as it seems there is not much of a tube saturation possible with the 747. Switching on the compressor section allows for more saturation artifacts (less depth, slightly blurred high frequencies).

Crunch - Different levels before the input of the 747 and inside of the 747 were tried. When this crunch distortion happened, its basic character was always the same. It sounds very disharmonic, more like a transistor distortion than a tube distortion. There was no way to slowly go from light crunch to distortion. Not surprisingly, it does happen also with the Tube Signal Path switched off. In general this distortion seemed to be controlled by the output gain knob. Lowering the output gain was almost always a way to stop the distortion. With higher internal levels, the same type of distortion also occured before the output stage, mainly in the compressor section. It seems, the first thing to distort are some probably transistor based circuits. In the result there seems to be no way to achieve tube crunch with the 747.

(To achieve this distortion a full level input signal had to be used and amplified by further +24dB in the 747 - see the settings below. The 747 does not distort without such extreme settings.)


Avalon Settings:

(EQSemiParam)
- Input Gain: +0dB, +10dB option Off, TSP on
- Compression: Off, Sidechain-Off, SC Listen On, 500Hz +8dB, 2.5kHz +3dB
- Equalizer : Off
- Output Gain: -10dB

(EQGraphic)
- Input Gain: +0dB, +10dB option Off, TSP on
- Compression: Off, Sidechain-Off, SC Listen Off
- Equalizer : Cut at Low Shelf and Bell bands, Boost at Mid bell bands, slight cut at high and slight raise at air shelf bands
- Output Gain: -10dB

(Clean)
- Input Gain: +0dB, +10dB option Off, TSP on
- Compression: Off
- Equalizer : Off
- Output Gain: +6dB

(Saturation)
- Input Gain: +8dB, +10dB option on, TSP on
- Compression: Off
- Equalizer : Off
- Output Gain: +3dB
- Level correction by Audient ASP-008 Line In-/Outputs -> no digital clipping in the Forssell AD

(Crunch)
- Input Gain: +8dB, +10dB option on, TSP on
- Compression: Sidechain Off, slowest Attack, fastest Release, Ratio 1:1, Threshold +20 dB
- Equalizer : On and before compressor section, full boost at all bands
- Output Gain: +6dB
- Level correction by Audient ASP-008 Line In-/Outputs -> no digital clipping in the Forssell AD


Chain:
RME AIO Analog Out > Vovox Cables > Avalon Vt 747sp ( > Audient ASP-008 for level correction) > Mogami Cables > Forssell MADC-2 > AES/EBU In
Pyramix Native V7
Dry Signal originally rendered @192kHz/32bps; then rerecorded through the chain without the 747 @192kHz/32bps; then downsampled to 44.1kHz/16bps with SRC (Linear Phase Filtering) and Redithering (Requantization to 16 Bit and High Pass Noise Shaping) Mixdown
Wet Signal @192kHz/32bps from Real Time Mixdown; then downsampled to 44.1kHz/16bps with SRC (Linear Phase Filtering) and Redithering (Requantization to 16 Bit and High Pass Noise Shaping) Mixdown and Redithering Mixdown to 44.1kHz/16bps with Linear Phase Filtering and Dithering with Requantization to 16 Bit and High Pass Noise Shaping