1 Features & Specs 2 What Is the DocDerr?
Contents
1. I CCEC COOC Errr es S S S os aw S 20 50 100 200 00 lk Zk 5k 10k 20k 50k 100k Hz The plot above shows the actual curve shapes of the three parametric EQ sections at full boost amp cut Each band is capable of 14dB of boost and cut making the full range of the boost cut knobs quite useful The mid band has its two Q bandwidth shapes shown centered here on 2KHz The most touchy place on the knobs is at the extremes where the marks on the front panel get close together Marks on knobs are 1dB apart Notice the frequency response of the EQ section goes beyond 200KHz something that digital processors cannot do The Mid band has the widest default Bandwidth BW but is switchable to a narrower band for cutting problem spots or feedback The Q of this band is switched by pressing the MF and HF switches at the same time With each dual button press the Q will cycle back and forth between wide and narrow This is also noted on the front panel and indicated by an LED with a narrow Q graphic above it See plot above Great EQ section for great big wide ol scoops cuts The frequency selection was originally tailored for acoustic instruments especially acoustic guitar Often internal acoustic instrument pickups will have midrange resonances that need to be tamed by generous cuts at the problem frequencies Therefore we offer the greatest frequency selection in the midrange area The Compressor The INPUT KNOB is the compressor s ma2. oo Oooo D DC coupled Input and Outputs High quality audio caps used internally Input Impedance is 120K Ohm Instrument In Mode 20K input impedance in balanced Line in mode Maximum Input before hard clipping 22dBm Line In mode Maximum Output 28dBm Mix 0 Output impedance is 75 ohms Compressor Dynamics Time Constants Attack time is about 1mS Release 2 sec program dependant fixed internally Power Consumption 4 Watts max 2 Watts typical with 16Volt power supplies Shipping Weight 1 3lbs Empirical Labs Something Old Something New 1 What is the DocDerr It s all about TONE The DocDerr is a digitally controlled Preamp EQ Compressor and Saturator module good not only for general use but can single handedly bring incredible tone to any source even electrified acoustic instruments It offers unprecedented amounts of processing and musicality in an API 500 compatible module With a mini computer inside Microcontroller one controls 4 analog EQ sections and a new dynamic section capable of chopping brittle edges and digital transients with its compressor and saturation circuits The DocDerr module is the first Empirical Labs compressor available in the API 500 series format and a super utilitarian processor Docberr s Six Sectlow Types 1 Low Noise Preamp section capable of unity or 16dB of instrument gain 2 A selectable High pass filter to cut anno
3. 150 preventing muddy sounding mixes One can use the LF parametric section alone or combined with the HP to achieve this with the DocDerr The tone and body of an acoustic guitar is in the 160 to 500Hz range Too much in this range and the instrument sounds dark and wooly while too little can make it thin Sometimes it s necessary to boost AND cut at close frequencies down here Get used to the drop in level when you cut frequencies in this range Sometimes cutting one mid frequency generously can fix a whole guitar tone yet its easy to get fooled when A Bing it with the orignal Eq ing with the compressor can prevent the misleading level drop One can use the midrange with narrow Q press MF and HF buttons to narrow this Q or bandwidth to surgically pull 500Hz or higher frequencies out 400 1KHz is often a good point to cut frequencies to brighten and fill the lows and highs It is above most fundamental frequencies but below the frequencies that help the instrument cut thru in a mix Many guitars have honky midrange in the 1 8KHz range especially when the player is playing hard loud Try pulling 6dB at 1 4KHz with the midrange EQ wide bandwidth and see if that makes the guitar rounder If this sounds dull try moving the frequency lower 1KHz or perhaps you need to pull a couple different points at say 1Khz and 4 8Khz Sometimes pulling as high as 10Khz will smooth the tone without dulling The upper midrange on ac
4. that just turn into mud in a mix Here the 100Hz high pass filter can do wonders Soloing guitars in mixes can be dangerous especially with the guitarist present If for instance you use the 100Hz High pass on the guitar while soloing the fullness will be thinned out somewhat and the guitarist isn t going to want that but the Mix might The warm tones are the same as the muffly area 160 500 and sometimes it helps to add AND subtract adjacent frequencies in that range Sometimes a midrange boost in the 500 to 2KHz range can help a guitar fill out without getting brighter Again there are no rules except what your ears tell you while listening in the mix Band limiting guitars is an extremely useful technique not only on the low end as above but on the high end also Try rolling off 5 12KHz on electric guitars and often they will sound tighter quieter and often warmer Set the high PEQ band to 10KHz and pull it down 4 6dB and see if the guitar gets warmer and tighter sounding Often there s just pick noise and hiss up there Example Settings 3 Sometimes the guitar just needs a touch of fatness without losing attack don t forget that cutting a high mid 1 4KHz can sometimes take out a nasty honk and let the body in the lower frequencies pop out Crunchy guitars which are full of harmonics are notoriously sensitive to tonal changes You can often notice a 1 dB boost or cut on an electric guitar much easier than yo
5. 16dB of front end high impedance amplification Use INST jumper setting for an instrument such as your acoustic guitar with built in pickups Install in your rack If your rack has only XLR use the supplied adapter cable to go from your guitar to the XLR input of your rack The output can go directly to powered speakers or a mixer etc First time users should learn the EQ first Turn the Compressor MIX knob to 0 No compression just EQ and adjust the EQ controls till you get the creamy sound you want Select the frequencies by pushing the buttons and set boost and cut with the knobs Holding a button for 1 sec will cycle backwards There are 7 frequency selections for each band When two LEDs light you read the frequency below and between the two LEDs If you hear thumps or low rumble engage the HP circuit by pressing two buttons at once the LF and the MF switches You can cycle through the available high pass frequencies by repeatedly pressing these two buttons Often the two main problem areas with acoustic instrument tone are low mids and high mids Pulling out woofy frequencies between 250 500 can make the instrument sound brighter and fuller If upper mids pop out you can pull 1K 8K with the midrange or high frequencies Piezo or ceraminc pickups often have too much energy in the 4KHz area The DocDerr compressor can help smooth out gain loss from EQ dips making a case for touching up your EQ while compression is engaged Now lets s
6. check again to see if hum goes away with lower current If it does contact Empirical Labs Unit seems noisy If you are compressing a lot or boosting frequencies on a noisy signal the noise could be accentuated Try turning down the input gain and see if noise from the compression gain goes away If so noise is coming from before the unit and being amplified by the compressor Q Unit forgets where it was when power was shut off Wait 6 seconds before turning it off after changing setting There is a 6 second delay to lengthen the lifetime of the non volatile RAM to long after we are gone If it still loses its memory contact factory for warranty support QO No sign of life Check power cord for firm connection to powered rack and that the card is firmly seated in connector If still no life check the fuse on the rack If fuse is OK ensure Voltage select switch is set to current wall outlet voltage 115 230 VAC If unit keeps blowing fuses and there is not another module being used it is best to return it to the factory for servicing 13 BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS Our Valued Customer Comments Comments About the DISTRESSOR Every once in a while a product comes along with classic written all over it Andina certain sense of the word this product actually is a classic already Mix Magazine Dear Empirical lm an LA based producer and an owner of a Distressor The unit is really awesome I ve used it on guitars bass
7. generous amount of a mid frequency to bring the low and high frequencies out Try pulling frequencies between 350 1 5KHz This often sounds very natural but again always EQ drums in the mix with the other drum mics on Soloing while EQing is dangerous especially on drums where many mics can interact with each other If you still need some snap and sizzle in the high frequencies try 5 8KHz Watch out for high hat and cymbal bleed since this is a common problem Adding thud and body to the snare is usually done in the 100 200Hz range Try 2dB 150Hz 100 200 and tune from there High passing the snare at 70 or 100Hz can often clean up the low end and help the kick drum due to phase problems Analog tape was always a big help in getting a fat punchy natural snare If the snare has a plastic edge and needs sustain experiment with the compressor saturator In mixdown the DocDerr compressor can bring smack and sustain However we urge you to record the drums without compression or at least keep a copy of the uncompressed track on tape DAW Compressing while tracking will increase bleed and possibly make it tricky to gate or trigger samples later on Room or ambient mics are a possible exception Percussion such as tambourines congos etc can often be treated with some compression while recording without much risk Mixes amp Buss EQing For those who aren t used to the jargon A BUSS is usually a pair of channels 2 that
8. 25 17 EL Rx EUAN 4 F 14 dB A4 U 1 o chang 20 Multi purpose Tone Doctor and an Acoustic Musician s Solution in the digital age Page INDEX Item Features amp Specs What Is the DocDerr Using for the First Time The Jumpers on the PC Board Example Settings of the DocDerr Recall Sheet Example Settings Continued Block Diagram amp Section Details The Compressor Wiring the DocDerr DocDerr Pet Tricks amp Troubleshooting Stereo Operation Customer Comments Warranty Rear Cover z p Empirical Labs Technology for the Artist BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS Rae DEIRI Features Q Super low noise line input or instrument preamp with famous Empirical Labs compression Six digitally controlled analog sections of processing Incredibly dense processing module available for the API 500 series format Four sections of Equalization One High Pass and 3 parametric bands Empirical Labs first compressor for the API 500 format It is an aggressive compressor that follows the EQ tailored to acoustic instruments and plucked attacks but good on just about anything A must try on vocals and bass Q Complex compressor envelope generator Fast yet musically saturates at high gain reduction Program dependant release Q Saturation circuitry that scrunches the highs and allows hotter levels like tape Uses filtering combined with germanium clip circuitry to soften loud high frequencies Q Mix control to a
9. Instrument In and Line In There is a 3 pin Jumper that selects this and is set to Line In Mode from the factory see Jumper Settings on p3 The Line In jumper setting changes the DocDerr into an electronically balanced line receiver circuit It is relatively insensitive to all kinds of wiring be it balanced or unbalanced If using an unbalanced signal however it is preferable that the unused pin 3 is grounded or at least not left unconnected Pin 2 is Hot and complies with the AES standard In Instrument Mode jumper towards rear a mono guitar cable shorts out XLR pin 3 Phone ring and produces 16dB of very clean gain 16dB was selected as a safe gain that will not clip but produce a line level signal out of most instruments The output section has the option to be single ended or differential output The select jumper is set to differential mode from the factory see Jumper Settings on p3 When in Dif Out mode the jumper produces differential out applying an inverted signal to XLR pin 3 The gain is 6dB louder over single ended mode However if there is a chance of clipping an amplifier mixer or whatever the single ended mode will be a safer way to go The single ended mode has the other advantage of not being sensitive to any wiring issues since one cannot accidently short pin 3 to ground causing an amplifier to dump current into it However when recording straight into a recorder or workstation it may be better to
10. a limited warranty covering full parts and labor for 3 years from the purchase date The warranty is only effective if the owner has returned his or her warranty card See warranty card for further details Should problems arise call Empirical Labs at 973 541 9447 or contact us from our website below to obtain an RA number Return Authorization Pack the unit up well with a note explaining the problem and return to Empirical Labs for repair Include your name address phone number and the date of purchase and RA number Send the unit with freight prepaid to the address below Empirical Labs Repairs 41 N Beverwyck Rd Lake Hiawatha NJ 07034 We can also be reached on the Web at www empiricallabs com by selecting CONTACT and then Techsupport to email repair requests or information to Empirical Labs The repaired unit will be returned to you via UPS Ground at our expense 1 Pack the unit in original carton if possible Otherwise pack with bubble wrap and or foam in a thick corrugated box Shipping people are absolutely brutal to large packages and you must take every precaution against constant dropping throwing and crushing We are not liable for products damaged during shipping Other Empirical Labs Products 1 Distressor EL8 Classic Knee Compressor Used on thousands of major records 2 Distressor EL8X The original Distressor on Steroids Brit Mode and Image Link added 3 Fatso Jr amp UBK Fatso Two cha
11. ally better suit recording directly into a DAW If going to 10dBu devices move the jumper towards the rear to lower level and prevent clipping 5 Factory Default If you want to set all the jumpers back to their factory default move them all to the front position 6 DAW parallel processor The DocDerr s Mix control can prevent frustration by being used as a processor in a workstation allowing parallel processing without delay alignment issues 7 EL500 Rack This single height 2 space rack works great with the DocDerr module It has a preamp built in so you don t have to move DocDerr jumpers to use as instrument preamp Stereo Operation amp 5 1 Surround Use The user needs to enable linking of two units on the power supplied rack if available Pin 6 on the EDAC card connector needs to be connected between the modules that will be linked Once the pins are linked connected two units will have the compression locked together and no image shifting will occur The user would usually match the other controls especially the input drive and the MIX control Different EQing between channels can sometimes be useful On some power supplied racks the manufacturer provided a place to jumper link pads together with a soldering iron Empirical Labs EL500 has a dedicated front panel button that allows the users to link two units together The EL500 also has an instrument input on the front that can be setup with gain so the module
12. arity and leaving the sub freqs to the bass drum Boosting low freqs on an EQ before a compressor lets the compressor grab the eq points and control them Often accentuating around 100Hz will give the bass plenty of bottom Conversely if you are boosting EQ after the compressor those new frequencies will be there to stay An EQ following the DocDerr s EQ and Compression will give any engineer enough tools to get a great sound no matter what he started with Sometimes there aren t a lot of important frequencies on the bass above 4KHz Try pulling out a wide band at 4 KHz or above to cut clack hiss excessive pick noise etc have seen engineers band limit the top and bottom end of the bass to approximately 60Hz through 4 KHz letting the rest of the tracks fill in above and below this band Vocals its most important to pick the right mic the right distance and the right angle for the singer The most expensive mic isn t always the best mic for a person s voice Also sometimes the mic that needs the least EQ isn t the best mic either And moving a person a couple inches in and out from the mic can make all the difference in the world EQing Don t overly brighten Of course a certain amount of high boost is frequently required But often harsh sibilant frequencies suddenly pop out making a perfectly good vocal become this scratchy hissy annoying squawk Try setting up the compressor first while adjusting the EQ as it keeps le
13. but have to split the signal going to a compressor and then return it to submix the dry and compressed signal on their mixing console For the first time the common live instrumentalist can use this advanced compression technique just by turning a knob 11 BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS Disabling the compression can be done with software by pushing the LF and HF buttons simultaneously allowing the DocDerr to behave almost as a tape like saturation distortion box A Det HP jumper on the PCB can make the compressor respond less to low sub frequencies The DocDerr is shipped in FBW full bandwidth mode with the jumper towards the front which is usually preferable especially bass instruments Moving the DET HP jumper to the rear position rolls off below 150Hz to the compressor detector and can help prevent LF pumping for midrange sources like vocals and acoustic instruments It is sometimes useful for buss compression as well The HP EQ filter often prevents pumping also as it filters out subs in the audio path before the compressor sees them See P3 The Saturator The saturation circuit follows the compressor and tends to catch high frequency peaks that get through softly flattening them out It was largely tailored to simulate the characteristics of tape saturation Germanium semiconductors are used to more smoothly round the peaks to produce lower order harmonics We use special filter circuits to shape how different frequencies are soft clippe
14. d This saturator circuit is always in the path of the compressor signal When the mix control is set to 0 dry the saturator and compressor are both out of the path and do not affect the output signal The saturator will add lots of harmonics to low frequencies and soften high frequencies As mentioned above pressing the LF and HF buttons will toggle the compressor off and on allowing you to use just the germanium saturation circuit with no compression Very tape like The Mix Control This is a clean mixing circuit that allows the user to blend the EQ d uncompressed signal with the EQ d compressed and saturated signal and has incredible phase alignment through 20KHz This simple circuit gives the user incredible flexibility in how the compressor saturator is used As already mentioned the user can sometimes put lots of compression on a signal and mix it back under the dry signal and get a natural full sound with dynamics and lots of sustain There will be a slight level drop in the middle of the Mix knob range partially because the compressed signal sustains notes tremendously but the uncompressed peaks are attenuated Once you back down from 10 on the Mix the loud sustained level will drop quickly but you may have a very nice natural dynamic sound Conversely you will also notice a quick change in the loudness and sustain when you nudge the mix control above 0 The mix control is heavily dependant on the input signal s level There a
15. e of what s on pin 2 of the output XLR Itis set to the left differential mode from the factory adding 6 dB more gain Setting the jumper to the right towards the rear disconnects the amplifier on pin 3 decreasing the output gain by 6dB Multi Button Controls Lastly to get started you should learn three special button combinations Pressing two buttons at once will cycle through the following parameters HP Frequency Press LF and MF to change HP Frequency from Off 70Hz and 100Hz Mid PEQ BW Press MF and HF to change Mid band Q bandwidth LED indicates narrow Q Disable Compressor Press LF and HF to disable enable compressor 3 Example Settings The DocDerr provides a new level of processing power in a single API 500 module Originally the main target user was the live performer who traditionally has a thin out of control sound from his her guitar or other acoustic instrument But like most Empirical Labs products the versatility of the DocDerr makes it useful on practically any source Also because of the no compromise build quality of the DocDerr it is an excellent studio processor preamp as well We will start our example settings on Acoustic guitar especially those with built in pickups Acoustic Guitar amp Plucked Instruments Acoustic instruments are extremely sensitive to tone alteration Mic selection and placement along with a good instrument is your first resource during performing or tracking It s always bes
16. etup the compressor Turn the MIX knob on the right to 10 100 compressor and adjust the INPUT Knob until you feel the sustain and evenness of our compression starts to please you We worked very hard on this compressor to make it aggressive yet not unpleasantly distort as fast as it is A live musician may want to maintain his really hard attacks by turning the mix back from 10 mixing in the dry uncompressed signal This will let the really loud passages come thru over the compressed sustained level Live you may have feedback problems with an acoustic instrument This often limits the amount of compression one can put on One can try to pull out the feedback frequencies with EQ but often the player will have to ride his volume down at fade outs For line level situations such as while mixing or on a synthesizer one would move the Gain Jumper to the Line Level position towards the front This cuts the gain back by 16dB to 0 gain 2 BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS and turns the input into a balanced amplifier allowing the DocDerr to handle very hot signals without clipping and the module becomes a great mix or line level tracking processor 3 Pin Jumper Settings eeoccee geee meee eee 49 00 U3HOeeeeCe p Gy E SEs a Samed g Miis i en T EJ DocDer R3 Empirical Labs 5 20 2 re e pe a AARAA 5 ETET ee Oran alias iy COs Input Gain Det HP Differential Out Line Inst 16 FBW 150HZHP_ Dif out Single E
17. have pre mixed instruments or stereo music on them The Left amp Right outputs of your CD music player could be considered a 2 channel buss In the recording studio it is more often applied to the final left and right channel mix or to something such as all the drums mixed down to 2 tracks a submix Now instead of riding or processing 12 channels at once to move the drums up and down you only have to work with two A common problem with mixes or submixes is overall dullness or lack of high end clarity Use the high band centered at 10 15KHz Alternately cutting some lows or low mids can clarify a mix The 250 600Hz range is a common target Pulling out frequencies between 250 600HZz can often clear up a whole mix making the low end and high end come out in a pleasing way If there are vocals present watch out for losing their pleasant warmth and body Often mid frequencies will pile up between 1 5Khz Our ears are most sensitive to this range and one can often pull 1 3 dB with a parametric band 1 5 4kK after high frequencies have been boosted Mastering mixes is almost always an art of compromise The compressor can be extremely useful for adding excitement to mixes or busses Because the compressor is so fast you will either use the DocDerr compressor as a peak limiter 1 3dB or use the mix control to add in a little compressed signal to the dry signal bringing up details and sustain helping fit the mix togethe
18. in control not counting the MIX control which affects how much compression is put on a source The INPUT Knob follows the EQ and drives signal into the compressor scrunching the dynamics and peaks into an increasingly narrow range The time constants and the curve of the compressor were selected to be as aggressive as possible without crackly unmusical distortion The ratio is about 5 1 but has a huge 5dB knee With an attack under 1mS it could be considered a limiter It has been compared to an LN1176 Above about 8 10dB of compression there will be saturation caused by fast time constants working on each peak of the waveform We think it sounds very tubey with nice harmonics added at high gain reduction but it IS a form of distortion and it will get more prevalent with more gain reduction Many of the classic old compressors from the 60 s and 70 s were valued for this fat distortion One can tame any saturation by turning down the input knob thereby turning down the compression OR by adjusting the MIX control to include more of the uncompressed dry signal in the output When using the MIX control the user may find they can put on tons of compression up to 20dB and still get a very natural sounding instrument or voice By judiciously mixing the compressed signal under the dry signal the sustain and note detail will come out without feeling squashed Modern mixdown engineers use this blend technique all the time
19. itself can be operated in LINE input mode which is differential Troubleshooting Q Compressor quits working You may have inadvertently hit the two outside buttons LF and HF switches simultaneously which disables the compressor in software Press both buttons simultaneously again to enable compression Q Clip BAD light comes on but unit shouldn t be near clipping Check that the Input Jumper is correct for the source Instrument or Line In If you are coming in at Line level say from a workstation or recorder the input jumper should be towards the front Line Level or you will most likely clip the input stage of the DocDerr If an EQ section is at full boost or cut you could be clipping that section and must lower the input into the unit Many potential clip points are monitored in the unit If your instrument is clipping the input turn down your instruments volume Q Distorted or Thin output If there is any un musical distortion check your Gain Jumper position and for hard clipping If the bad light is coming on lower the signal going to the DocDerr For hot line levels set Input Gain Jumper towards front Line In since it not only adds lots of gain but can unbalance an input from a transformer ruining the frequency response Hum Unit may be too close to power transformer Move to slot farther away from supply Due to its higher current draw the DocDerr can tax some power supplies Pull out an adjacent module and
20. keep the jumper in differential mode and get a hotter output signal The EQ Sections There are 4 sections of EQ in the DocDerr One selectable High pass filter and 3 sections of parametric EQ The High pass is 18dB per octave 3rd order and has two selectable frequencies 70Hz and 100Hz The High Pass frequencies are selected by pressing the LF and MF parametric switches at the same time simultaneously This is noted on the front panel The 70Hz is largely to cut subs from the instrument caused by instrument body resonances and pick or hand noise against the instrument It will leave the fundamental frequencies of a guitar alone The 100Hz filter cuts out more of the sub frequencies often making a more realistic guitar response It also prevents some of the low frequencies from getting in the way of other instruments in an ensemble band 10 Section Details cont d There are three bands of parametric EQ whose frequencies are selected by the three switches The seven frequencies for each band are labeled above and below the LEDs When two LEDs are on in the frequency select section the frequency is notated below and between those two LEDs This allows us to indicate 7 frequencies with 4 LEDs This PEQ s Parametric EQ performance is very high and based on Empirical Labs Lil FrEQ circuitry 156 I CECO a A a a E E ae MAD A an A a ia i rrr TTTTTT x
21. llow user to blend an un compressed EQ d signal back in with the compressed saturated signal When on 0 only the EQ d signal is put out Q Adapter is provided for free allowing a guitar bass etc to be plugged straight into the rear of your API powered rack DC Coupled Input and Outputs Selectable single ended or differential output Differential out adds 6dB gain Traditional and digitally controlled analog combined in new topology A BAD Hard Clip Indicator lights A Bad Clip LED that lets user know he is within 1dB of hard clipping It monitors most every section for internal clipping Highest quality Components All metal film and Roederstein resistors in the audio path top quality components most being high temperature military spec parts Q NOTE With all the processing the DocDerr draws slightly more current than the API 500 spec but has worked perfectly in all racks tested Six have been tested in the API Lunchbox and other racks without overloading the power supply User modifiable elements including the Compressor Lots of future options Q Three year unlimited warranty Built and calibrated in USA Specs Frequency Response is 3 Hz to 180 kHz on eq section 3dB points Dynamic Range 120 dB from maximum output 5 THD soft clipping to minimum output Noise floor with Mix on 0 is typically 91dBu Distortion Ranges between 0006 and 12 at 1KHz depending on mode and settings
22. more present You can use lots of compression here if you want 12 20dB keeping the compressed level quite a bit lower than the peak levels and still sound quite natural The basic tone and character of your guitar can be greatly enhanced with this studio quality Empirical Labs compressor giving you a finished sound Clean Electric guitar One can get great clean electric guitar tones plugging into the DocDerr alone Going in direct you will need the input jumper set to INSTRUMENT IN Otherwise you will probably use a mic and preamp setting the DocDerr for Line In Again if this is a solo guitar you can leave much of the low frequencies in perhaps just using the 70Hz High pass The tone is in the 160 500 Hz range but as noted that is also a range that can make the guitar sound muffly so treating these frequencies properly is very important If a guitar sounds thin and lifeless sometimes boosting a little in that range and pulling out 4k 12K will make it fuller and more pleasing A guitar amp has very little above 10K and an excess of these frequencies will make a guitar sound tinkly and unnatural The compressor is your greatest tool for getting album quality clean electric guitars Harsh plucked transients are often 20dB above the body of the sustain and with its fast attack the DocDerr compressor can even these out and bring up all the body of the strings When in an ensemble 100 mix Mix on 10 can work wonde
23. nd bass parts In the latter case the DocDerr high pass will prove invaluable for removing the mud that can occur from a left hand bass conflict Try 100Hz High Pass setting here Synths often have plucky top ends One can band limit the top end up there or try the Compressor Saturator to control the peaks Sometimes string sounds have a midrange grit to them and using a PEQ Parametric Equalizer one can pull out 800 4KHz start at 2KHz and get a silkier sound that sits in the back and lets the guitars and vocals have that upper midrange area Rolling off top end can help get rid of the buzz of a synth part Cutting freqs on one track gives room for them elsewhere 6 Example Settings 4 Percussion Drums and percussion are sources that often need liberal amounts of processing We will touch briefly on a few tricks for common percussion issues Kick Drum EQ Woofy kick drums can often be fixed with lots of 220 400Hz pulled out It is not uncommon to get a great sound just pulling 6 12 dB of 300 400 Hz out Set the LF parametric EQ for 9dB at 400Hz to start The level will drop dramatically with this EQ since there s usually tons of power in this frequency range but usually the overall tone will be much better To add attack add 5Khz 8Khz with one of the upper two PEQ parametric EQ bands Check your kick drum on several speakers Snare Snares often need some top and bottom This again hints at possibly pulling a
24. nded Above is a diagram pointing out the 3 user selectable jumpers affecting audio and compressor detector All jumpers are shipped in the left front position which is factory default INPUT GAIN JUMPER For direct instrument inputs such as an acoustic guitar one would set the INPUT GAIN Jumper to the right NOT as shown This provides 16 dB of single ended gain when input pin 3 is shorted to ground as a normal guitar cable would do This gain is usually enough to bring up electric instruments to line level while still providing a margin of safety for certain active instruments It will help the MIX control also making the dry level closer to the compressed level so sweeping between them won t be so radical For line level signals keep jumper to the left front DETECTOR HP JUMPER This jumper allows the user to optionally roll off low frequencies going to the detector of the compressor When in the right rear position this filtering keeps the compressor from responding as much to the low frequencies which often have great power therefore sometimes getting over compressed subjectively speaking However since the compressor is so versatile it s usually preferable to tame the subs as well by sending a full bandwidth FBW signal to the compressors detector jumper to the left as shown DIFFERENTIAL OUT JUMPER Changes output configuration This jumper sets the XLR output pin 3 to either balanced ground or the inverted phas
25. new British Mode turns it into a new fun loving animal At the flick of a switch the Distressor becomes more aggressive and stressful on any instrument you desire Dave Derr should win the explicative award for coming up with such a nice but nasty box Michael Brauer Cold Play John Mayer Aretha Franklin Paul McCartney Comments About the FATSO Jr In a word the FATSO is a very good answer to what a lot of people loathe about digital recording It smoothes out the sharp brittle edges to exactly the extent you choose and fills in the hairline cracks just right use one on almost every mix do could easily use one and possibly two more George Massenburg People used to have to hunt for old expensive gear to get the kind of sounds that the FATSO gives me Ed Cherney Lenny Kravitz Dave Mathews Eric Clapton The Wallflowers Goo Goo Dolls Jackson Brown Bonnie Raitt Stones etc Best new Signal Processor EQ AES Awards Empirical Labs Fatso took this category despite the introduction of a variety of cool new processors Who can resist the best aspects of analog tape combined with great compression EQ Magazine The winner of the highly coveted I m going to write you a check right after the show award was picked up by Empirical Labs for its FATSO processor Craig Anderton 14 Rev 3 33 BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS DocDerr Warranty and Factory Service This Empirical Labs Inc product is covered by
26. ng power The EQ selection and the compressor was tailored for electrified acoustic instruments The most common problems are midrange frequencies that pop out during different types of playing and over dynamic instruments without sustain The compressor fixes the over dynamics and lack of sustain and size while the EQ can do wonders for the basic tone The player amp engineer will find that often what works for a solo instrument can be disastrous on an instrument in the mix with other instruments Low frequency Boominess a common problem can be fixed with a gentle bass roll off using the Low PEQ or with the steeper high pass sections Again while mixing its best to EQ the instrument in the mix to make it fit tonally While soloing there is often a tendency to thicken it up which will translate to muddiness when combined with the bass and other instruments The high pass filter is EXTREMELY useful to open up frequencies below 120Hz for other instruments The 70Hz filter will leave all the fundamental frequencies of an acoustic guitar intact but get rid of thumps and low frequency body rumbling It is especially useful for the solo guitarist who wants a BIG sound without rumble The 100HZ filter is still out of the way of most fundamentals but cuts down on the size of the guitar sound making it useful in ensemble playing On records when an acoustic is part of a band engineers will often cut higher frequencies up around 120
27. nnels of Full Analog Tape Simulation and Optimization 4 Lil FrEQ An EQ with 8 Sections of unparalleled tonal contouring 5 DerrEsser Smooth De Essing and High frequency limiting 6 EL500 API 500 Series Compatible 2 space powered rack Amazing with the DocDerr 7 Mike E Digitally Controlled Mic Preamp with our unique CompSat dynamics section 8 UA Fatso Plugin Our first software offering Real analog musicality Upgrades There are elements inside the DocDerr that were designed to be modifiable The compressor circuit has provided for many alternate ratios and time constants Although we cannot guarantee it at this time Empirical Labs may release information and hardware options that will allow owners to alter the EQ Frequencies and compressor parameters of their DocDerr If you have sent in a properly filled out warranty card we will keep you apprised of these developments Do not attempt to modify or make adjustments to your DocDerr until you have notified Empirical Labs and been sent the necessary information Any sign of internal adjustment by the user will void your warranty with the exception of changing the Jumpers detailed in manual z p Empirical Labs Technology for the Artist re
28. oustic instruments changes drastically depending on how the instrument is played and even if the guitar part uses open strings or finger fretted strings Eq ing an acoustic instrument with a pickup is a series of compromises Don t forget to use the tone controls on the instrument itself for more eq power 4 Example Settings 2 Guitar Settings cont d On guitar the studio quality compressor in the DocDerr can be used in a number of ways It is an extremely fast compressor helping to tame pointy transients while bringing up the sustain on each and every note One can control the amount of compression with the volume control on his instrument There are at least three different ways to use this limiter compressor on a guitar 1 As a gentle peak tamer using 100 Mix mix on 10 averaging 3 6 dB of gain reduction but putting on 10 12 B of compression on the loudest percussive passages The speed and smooth knee will make this almost inaudible as actual compression 2 Asasmasher crushing strumming parts to make it fit into an ensemble at a nearly constant level and bringing up solo lines so every note is heard 12 to 20dB of compression on peaks is quite usable here 100 Mix 3 As a natural sustainer using the MIX control to enhance the uncompressed DRY level letting the compressed signal fill in the sustains long after the main attack is gone The peaks will still come thru but low level notes and sustains will be
29. r and sound more finished When using the MIX you can sometimes apply 6 10dB or more of compression blended under the dry signal Don t forget you can disable the compressor and just use the tape like saturation which helps integrate frequencies filling in cracks and increasing the apparent volume LIVE SOUND REINFORCEMENT The DocDerr is expected to find prolific use in sound reinforcement systems for many reasons The unit is built like military gear extremely strong with many connections doubled up making it extremely road worthy The lettering is quite large compared to many mixer eqs making it easy to read in dim light and the knobs are carefully calibrated for repeatable settings And of course the extreme versatility and multitude of tonal processors contained within it should allow the sound engineers to handle most any problem he encounters in his day to day life on the road Direct box The high performance preamp in the DocDerr was meant to be used as a stage preamp Since its performance exceeds most instruments output signal to noise guitar bass synths and drum machines will all come out clean and fat with the DocDerr adding little noise 9 BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS Block Diagram LF PEQ MID PEQ Dig Control Dig Control I O Connectors Not On Module Output Amp Circuit Balanced Out Compressed Dig Control Section Details The Input amp Output The input has two modes of operation
30. re lots of marks on the Mix control to aid in recalling settings especially between 8 10 Wiring the DocDerr There are two main ways to setup and wire the input of a rack with the DocDerr module installed 1 Instrument In with a single ended input usually a mono standard guitar cable and 16dB of gain 2 Line In which is lower gain and can be differential There is an INPUT GAIN jumper located in the middle rear of the board that can be switched between two positions Instrument In Inst and Line In This jumper changes the mode which the input amplifier works changing it from a high impedance amplifier with gain to a lower impedance differential input amplifier with no gain So before installing your module set this jumper to the proper position Most API 500 compatible racks do NOT have a 1 4 guitar jack input so we supply a female 1 4 jack adapter that goes to male XLR Plugging a standard guitar cable into this adapter will work perfectly for Instrument In mode The guitar cable will short the sleeve to ring shorting the ring pin 3 on the XLR to ground When the Input Gain jumper is set to the rear in INSTRUMENT IN mode this will result in a very clean 16dB of high impedance gain As shipped from factory the output is balanced differential and 6dB louder than the alternate single ended output setting The single ended mode with the jumper to the rear has balanced impedance which can prevent any ou
31. rfully to help the guitar take up a nice space without jumping out 6 12 dB will sound very natural while even more compression can be quite tasteful when playing with other instruments When used on a solo instrument one may want to use the Mix control to keep the compression from being too obvious Mixed in behind the dry a very compressed signal can sound like it has been run through a tube amp The harmonics will add crunch and sound less sterile while the sustain will be dramatically enhanced Crunchy Distorted Guitars You will usually need a microphone and mic preamp when using a real amplifier However software tube amp emulators have come a long way The DocDerr will then probably be used in LINE IN mode See Jumper Settings since it will probably have too much gain for a mic pre or workstation preceding it Because distortion adds an incredible range of harmonics and because of the interaction between a guitar amp speaker and mic really drastic frequency spikes and resonances are common on guitar tracks They can make or break the track and they can also make EQing very tricky So spend time getting a great basic tone without processing Muffly guitars are a common problem Adding 3 8KHz can bring out the STING and clarity Too much though and you end up with a buzzy tone Conversely another method to get rid of the muffles is to pull frequencies from 150 to 500Hz Often there are frequencies below 80 140Hz
32. room mics vocals it works great on everything I ve used it on records I ve made with Beck U2 Etta James Hole and lots of others All The Best Joe Chicarelli Distressors can t get over HOW GREAT they sound On everything It s truly the best compressor made today Greg Wells Katy Perry Pink Jesse McCartney Natasha Bedingfield After buying a Distressor had an epiphany Having used software plug ins for years often didn t hear or understand the affects of various controls After getting my Distressor and using it and hearing the obvious affects of the attack and release controls was able to go back and use the Plug ins with a new understanding Email One piece of gear definitely recommend is a compressor called the Distressor It s really great for just about everything and if you had to use just one compressor you could probably get away with just using that Mitchell Froom I sold a couple of 1176 s and have replaced them with the Distressors which do a great job of emulating the 1176 s Michael Wagener Ozzy Osbourne Extreme Metallica In General really like where Dave Derr s ear leads him one of pro audios truly independent thinkers I m a huge fan of the box the Distressor use it for bringing up the goosh on ambient sources and for saturating snares toms and kicks George Massenburg For those who have come to love and depend on the sound of the Distressor the
33. t to try getting the source to sound right WITHOUT Processing A good player should also be sensitive to the sound he gets off the instrument and adjust how and where he hits the strings However we have stuffed enough processing into this little module that combined with the eq on the instrument you should be able to get a first class sound even with an instrument that has poor basic tone If you are tracking recording the source for the first time the user will find endless ways to alter the tone with the DocDerr The output level can be adjusted up or down 6dB for recording with the output jumper Lets look at acoustic instruments with built in pickups since they are the most common for live performances Internal pickups are very non ideal transducers First they are usually partially or completely inside the instruments some place your ear never is They pick up hardly any wood of an acoustic instrument Secondly the transducers have a frequency response all over the place and the best a designer can hope for is a transducer s frequency response to compliment the instruments Often the guitar designer will provide basic EQ for the built in transducer to help improve the basic tone The DocDerr s built in EQ will enable the user to work on frequencies in a way not possible with the built in instruments tone controls Combining both the instrument s onboard eq with the DocDerr s 4 section EQ gives the instrumentalist great tone shapi
34. tput wiring problems See P3 For recording you will usually use the balanced differential mode as it has 6dB more gain and will hit the recorder with a better signal If too loud use single ended mode When using the differential out mode don t short any of the Active XLR output pins usually Pin 3 to ground Let the unused pin 3 float stay unconnected Separate amplifier drives each of these pins so grounding one of them will short the associated amplifier out So in the Dif Out mode if you only use pin 2 on your output cable leave pin 3 unconnected When going to a single ended patch bay or other device using the single ended jumper setting jumper towards rear will work just fine and take some guesswork out of wiring 12 BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS DocDett Pet Tricks 1 Holding an EQ button for 1 second will make it move backwards to previous frequency 2 Tape Emulator There is a unique soft clipper in the DocDerr that can be used heavily by disabling the compressor Press the two outside buttons LF and HF to toggle the compressor on and off Then turn Mix 100 and adjust saturation with input knob 3 Hi Shelf EQ from Parametric Tune HF PEQ to Max Freq 15KHz and use as shelf EQ 4 Decreasing output Level A jumper on the right rear side of the module as you face the front can be moved to the rear position to lower the output level by 6 dB From the factory the output is true differential and the levels usu
35. u could on a vocal drum or other instrument Analog tape was always a big help with vocals and electric guitars because it clipped all the pointy peaks and saturated when the high frequencies piled up One can try just the saturator in the DocDerr by disabling the compressor press LF and HF Bass Bass is a difficult instrument to get right in the mix The DocDerr has many ways to help round out and make it cut through in a mix First if a low bass tone is too pure and sine wave like it will fall off on small speakers By this we mean it will not be audible because most of the bass frequencies are below the range of the speakers Try bringing out 700 to 2KHz with a mid PEQ Band These will accentuate the upper harmonics that will reproduce on small speakers Sometimes pulling out frequencies around 300HZz will bring out the low end and high end on a bass and give that frequency range more room in a mix for the guitars vocals etc But pulling out too much 200 400Hz can give you a hollow sound that has no warmth on small speakers Also the DocDerr compressor can add tubey harmonics to cut on small speakers The more compression the more harmonics Use the Mix control to tame the compressor The compressor will tame the clacky attacks and lengthen the sustain It is not uncommon in this digital age to have too many sub frequencies on a bass track Try the 70Hz High pass you will be able to raise the bass level in a mix giving it cl
36. vel changes from fooling you Pulling some woofy or pointy lower mids can bring out the body and high frequencies without exaggerating the spit S es and high frequency resonances ina voice There is a danger in removing the body in the 150 300 range so keep your ears alert when working these frequencies A dB or two may be enough Try pulling freqs from 2K to 4kHz out to smooth and bring out the low and top end and get rid of harsh honk The DocDerr compressor is magic on vocals and brings a great modern sound to them It brings the body up but will also bring out the honk breaths and sibilants sibilants are the annoying S es T s K s that have a high frequency transient nature Try our DerrEsser to tame these artifacts Keyboards Obviously in this sampled age this covers a lot of sounds and Acoustic Pianos are a whole subject unto themselves We can give some quick generalizations here First don t forget to properly set the Instrument In jumper If the level of the keyboard is low set to instrument in However modern synths can usually work fine at LINE In levels Either way the DocDerr makes a great DI box Treatment depends on the final setting I E Solo keyboards or as part of a larger ensemble Getting a big full sound is usually the goal of solo keyboards pieces unlike ensemble playing In ensemble playing high passing is often useful especially if there are potential conflicts in the low end between the synth a
37. ying sub frequencies out 3 Three bands of top performance parametric EQ 4 Adynamic section that offers renowned Empirical Labs compression at an unprecedented price in a 500 series format module This aggressive compressor has a large knee and is tuned to minimize nasty distortion A live instrumentalist has access to classic compression 5 A tape emulation type circuit that softens the high frequencies and soft clips allowing more RMS level to fit in the same peak level It s louder 6 Amixer that allows the user to blend the uncompressed EQ s signal with the compressed amp saturated signal Using the DocDerr for the first time The DocDerr is an incredibly deep and powerful little tone enhancing module Lets dive in Operating Levels First before even installing the DocDerr in a rack make sure the DocDerr has the input gain jumper set properly for your use There are two primary ways to hook up the DocDerr 1 As an instrument preamp with front end gain 2 As a line level device processor The INPUT GAIN Jumper allows you to select one of these modes and is located towards the middle rear of the board If you are plugging a guitar or bass directly into it for instance it should be set towards the rear for INST mode For louder balanced LINE IN level signals it should be towards the front See page 3 for a diagram of the Jumpers The Factory default is LINE IN Not unity gain In INSTRUMENT IN the gain increases to
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