USER MANUAL - zZounds.com
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1. 21 HOW TO INCREASE BUFFER SETTINGS 21 GETTING THE MOST FROM POWERCORE 22 BURFER SIZES st tiled senna a eee A Ge eA 22 THE DISABLED STATE tot aci da fala naaa 22 96 kHz PROCESSING 0 00 a e ad hae tp 22 LATENCY ata A A AA a ae 23 WHAT IS LATENCY cuota a S Gy i eriet a 23 NO LATENCY MODE C ra ce lenceria ista da aret Saga RAG ac 23 LATENCY IN THE MASTER 23 POWERCORE IN MACOS X 1 ccc cee eee eee eee teeta 24 OSA DOMAINS ies oe e SR Rhee ate a SPA 24 PLUG IN LOCATIONS LOCAL 24 CONTROL PANEL LOCATION LOCAL 24 POWERCORE PLUG IN PRESETS BASE LOCATION 24 POWERCORE IN WINDOWS 25 DIRECEX WRAPPERS 2352 0 posing as sheen cave fost ates 25 POWERCORE FW ERROR MESSAGES 25 POWERCORE FW FRONT PANEL as eiie a cee 25 POWER SEED varies seo nidad be dia 25 POWER PULSE ot os Peg toate tate late and years a taeda wed dee ee 25 ERROR LED Tire grs Stee A eet tE A Et 25 TROUBLE SHOOTING o oococcccococ eect eee etna 26 GETTING TECHNICAL SUPPORT ee 26 e can run half the number of effects2. Make sure your Power Lead is connected to the PowerCore Connect the included Firewire cable to a free Firewire port on your computer Connect the other end of the cable to a free Firewire port on your PowerCore Start your computer 12 POWERCORE USING POWERCORE PLUG INS PowerCore plug ins act and behave in the exact same manner as traditional VST Audio Units or RTAS plug ins with the exception that they are using the processing power of the DSP card and not your host computer PowerCore plug ins can be used in Multi Track audio applications stereo mastering applications and even audio capable video editing applications that can host one or more of the supported PowerCore plug in formats INCLUDED PLUG INS A detailed description of the plug ins features as well as instructions for operation can be found in the associated PDF manual on your installation CD Please note that the list of included plug in bundle is subject to change without notice Refer to your product box for more details on which plug ins are bundled with your PowerCore purchase 24 7 C LIMITING AMPLIFIER 9 9 ll sees Convincing vintage compression and limiting using one of the most desired vintage models for PowerCore 24 7 C was inspired by one of the vintage processors synonymous with classic dynamics process ing for mixing and mastering This plug in recreates the details of the sound and user interface of this hardwa
3. POWERCORE PCI MKII SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS MAC 0S e G4 or G5 e 256 MB RAM e Mac OS X 10 2 8 or higher e One free PCI slot for PowerCore PCI e 17 color monitor resolution 1024x768 or higher recommended e Any VST or Audio Units compatible recording software Cubase Logic Nuendo Live Bias Peak Digital Performer Any sound system supported by the host application Mouse or other pointing device 60 Megabytes of available hard disk space Internet connection for product activation WINDOWS e Pentium 111 500 or better e One free PCI slot for PowerCore PCI e 256 MB RAM e Main board compliant with PCI 2 2 spec and 3 3 Volts PCI Bus e Windows XP e 17 color monitor resolution 1024x768 or higher recommended e Any VST compatible application Cubase WaveLab Nuendo Samplitude Sonar Live e Any sound system supported by the VST application e Mouse or other pointing device 60 Megabytes of available hard disk space e Internet connection for product activation POWERCORE PCI MKII SPECIFICATIONS e 4 x Motorola 56367 DSP 150 MHz e 512k Word SRAM per DSP e 1x 266 MHz Motorola 8245 PowerPC e 32 MB SD RAM on board e Power Requirements typically lower 10 W Peak max 20 W e Operating temperature 0 C 50 C 32 F 122 F e Storage temperature 30 C 80 C 22 F 176 F e Humidity max 90 non condensing 4 POWERCORE SOFTWARE INSTALLATION GUIDE PC These i
4. o 15 e dae 16 A tate E 16 VOICE STR Ue dash E E T 16 A cdc to ue pcan cas 16 ADDITIONAL PLUG INS INCLUDED WITH POWERCORE FIREWIRE POWERCORE PCI 1 17 DENOISE wre Rake ake ed a ee eal a ee Pika Le eens 17 DYNAMIC IEQS Td ie eres Brent a eee IAS SA Y 17 THE POWERCORE CONTROL PANEL 18 ACCESSING THE CONTROL PANEL IN WINDOWS 18 ACCESSING THE CONTROL PANEL IN 18 BOARD USAGE a Boe i Annee Mite deat eee ead E ae WEA 18 INFORMATION ou tote oh twas eg Se oars a on ee le eg dere he 19 BOARD SELECTOR MENU honera Kite Se eee Rae Bee eee 19 POWERCORE HARDWARE 19 AUTHENTICATION De icc seco seen pag Syl ecb aad a ti 19 OPTIONAL PLUG IN 19 POWERCORE SOETWARE wish Se d ak 19 a haere wate Hated ag A Cs iaa 19 SAVE INFORMATION us hat Palate eee hearted woe lads ho toe 20 ADVANCED sete tee waa ce ne acne ii 20 RESOURCE ALLOCATION 20 ASYNCHRONOUS DMA 20 WHEN TO INCREASE ADMA BUFFER 5
5. USER MANUAL t c electronic ULTIMATE SOUND MACHINES IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS The lightning flash with an arrowhead A symbol within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated dangerous volt age within the product s enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons Read these instructions Keep these instructions Heed all warnings Follow all instructions Do not use this apparatus near water Clean only with dry cloth Do not block any ventilation openings Install in accordance with the manufacturer s instructions Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators heat registers stoves or other apparatus including amplifiers that produce heat Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding type plug A polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other A grounding type plug has two blades and a third grounding prong The wide blade or the third prong are provided for your safety If the provided plug does not fit into your 10 11 12 13 outlet consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched particularly at plugs convenience receptacles and the point where they exit from the apparatus Only use attachments accessories specified by the manufacturer Use only with the cart
6. Internet connection for product registration POWERCORE FIREWIRE SPECIFICATIONS e 4 x Motorola 56367 DSP 150 MHz e 512k Word SRAM per DSP 1x 266 MHz Motorola 8245 PowerPC 8 MByte SDRAM on board Power Requirements typically lower 10 W Peak max 20 W Operating temperature 0 C 40 C 32 F 104 F Storage temperature 30 C 80 C 22 F 176 F Humidity max 90 non condensing 2 POWERCORE POWERCORE COMPACT SPECIFICATIONS 2 x Motorola 56367 DSP 150 MHz 512k Word SRAM per DSP 1x 266 MHz Motorola 8245 PowerPC 8 MByte SDRAM on board Power Requirements typically lower 10 W Peak max 20 W Operating temperature 0 C 40 C 32 F 104 F Storage temperature 30 C 80 C 22 F 176 F Humidity max 90 non condensing CAUTION Do not open the PowerCore Firewire Compact Risk of electric shock inside There are no user serviceable parts inside Refer servicing to qualified service personnel only Mount PowerCore Firewire Compact with a little space above and below in a well ventilated rack Don t block the top or bottom To prevent electrical shock or fire hazard do no expose PowerCore Firewire Compact to rain or moisture Do not rely solely on the front screws when mounted in touring rack Support the back of PowerCore Firewire as well Please report any shipment damage or equipment malfunctions to your dealer TC distributor or the TC head office in Denmark POWERCORE 3
7. a plug in build built for your specific PowerCore If this is the case you must provide the Authentication ID of the PowerCore you wish to Authorize Optional plug ins are authorized for one PowerCore board but if you have multiple PowerCores then the plug in will run on any PowerCore in the same system POWERCORE SOFTWARE This information tells you all about the PowerCore Software that is running your PowerCore This information includes Driver Board OS and other driver version num bers This information may be requested should you ever contact technical support RESET The only POWERCORE feature you will never need The RESET button will reboot the currently selected POWERCORE in your system This will terminate all plug ins running on this particular POWERCORE Should you ever find yourself needing to RESET the POWERCORE you should save and close your session before you RESET POWERCORE 19 SAVE INFORMATION This will save all of the relevant system information as a text file This file can be sent to support should the need ever arise ADVANCED By clicking on the Advanced tab in the control panel you will be able to perform some advanced tweaks to your PowerCore system POWERCORE Board Usage Information Advanced Asynchronous DMA Buffers 1 Resource Allocation I 1 1 Resource Performance Optimized Optimized Resource Allocation controls the way the Plug ins are loade
8. the download folder You will need to enter your O user password to authenticate the installation POWERCORE requires that you type your 7 Cancel 4 Now simply follow the instruction on your screen start by clicking on CONTINUE 5 Please read the TC ELECTRONIC SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT carefully and press ACCEPT to continue the installation POWERCORE 7 6 Please check READ ME text carefully to get the lat p est information about the PowerCore software press CONTINUE 7 For the correct drivers to be installed the Installer program needs to know which PowerCore products you have connected to the computer To continue the installation at least one PowerCore product must be selected Mark all connected products and press INSTALL No other applications can be running while installing They will be closed automatically EXAMPLE a If you want to install the PowerCore PCI mklI card please select PowerCore PCI mkIl b If you want to install the PowerCore PCI mkll card and the PowerCore Compact please select PowerCore PCI mkll and PowerCore Compact All required software for the hardware you have selected will now be installed on your machine 8 POWERCORE POWERCORE 1 9 BF Cetec an Read No other applications can be running during this installation Click Continue to automatically quit all other running applications
9. SPECIFICATIONS 2 POWERCORE MKII SYSTEM 4 POWERCORE PCI amp ELEMENT SYSTEM 4 MAGOS io Len tiiodo 4 WINDOWS Sh tacts O get Agee O 4 POWERCORE PCI SPECIFICATIONS 4 INSTAULING poco dee Ogre iin tle ttt ohn cs 5 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION GUIDE 5 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION GUIDE OSX 7 POWERCORE HARDWARE INSTALLATION GUIDE 10 te tiga A cae ates Mans E Me chee 10 PUIG EWU serine tiie ch A ne acs sas cae 12 COMPACT ote oes A A 12 USING POWERCORE PLUG INS 13 PLUG INS INCLUDED WITH POWERCORE COMPACT POWERCORE FIREWIRE amp POWERCORE PCI 13 24 7 C LIMITING AMPLIFIER a scada copete ec 13 NOVELTECH CHARACTER eat dui tard to Did ade ey le 13 A BLA tebe sale ae tue ah 14 CLASSIC WER Beater ad vices o dt ta delo ei 14 COMPENSATOR atar drets leh al 14 EOSAT CUSTOM in 14 De Mick rd UU edo Ls e a 15 MASTER XG ica cies assent eel 15
10. all connected products and press NEXT 8 Select the VST plug ins destination folder you are using with your VST compatible host application press NEXT 9 When the plug in package installation is completed press FINISH button to complete the plug in installa tion process Check out the Readme for the latest info on your PowerCore software 10 Finally please hit the FINISH button to complete the process 11 Shut down your computer 12 Install all your PowerCore hardware see hardware installation instructions provid ed on page 8 10 of this manual 13 Restart your computer WINDOWS XP will automatically find the installed PowerCore hardware and start the driver installation process Please select the option Install the software automatically and follow further instructions on the screen 14 Your PowerCore is now ready for use enjoy 6 POWERCORE SOFTWARE INSTALLATION GUIDE OSX These instructions will help you to get your PowerCore up and running as fast as pos sible simply follow the steps below and you will soon enjoy the quality sound of PowerCore plug ins 1 Install your PowerCore hardware see hardware installation instructions provided on page 8 10 2 Please insert the PowerCore CD in your CD Rom or DVD Rom drive or download the complete installer F POWERCORE from the TC Electronic website www tcelectronic com 3 Start the PowerCore installer found on the CD or in
11. at 96 kHz than can at 48 kHz 26 e PowerCore plug ins don t show in my applications plug in selection dialog 26 e don t see all PowerCore plug ins in my native mixer s inserts sends or Mastercard a eA 26 e Every time load a plug in in LOGIC or DIGITAL PERFORMER my application Quits sai nea eA E a i E ee 26 e The input of my PowerCore plug in is clipping and or hear distorted 26 e My source audio is mono after inserting a PowerCore plug in 27 e The plug in doesn t open or there is no audio when activate the plug in 27 e The audio is corrupted 27 This equipment has been type tested and found to comply with the limits for a class B digital device pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation This equipment generates uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual may cause harmful interference to radio communication However there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation If this equipment does cause interference to radio or television equip ment reception which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by any combination of the following meas
12. page VII SR section 107 2 D1 IEC 83 page C4 BS 1363 of 1984 Specification for 13A fused plugs and switched and unswitched socket outlets e This equipment should be installed near the socket outlet and disconnection of the device should be easily accessible e To completely disconnect from AC mains disconnect the power supply cord from the AC receptable e The mains plug of the power supply shall remain readily operable e Do not install in a confined space e Do not open the unit risk of electric shock inside Caution You are cautioned that any change or modifications not expressly approved in this manual could void your authority to operate this equipment Service e There are no user serviceable parts inside e All service must be performed by qualified personnel CONTACT DETAILS TC ELECTRONIC A S Customer Support Sindalsvej 34 Risskov DK 8240 Denmark www tcelectronic com www tcsupport tc USA TC Electronic Inc TC Works Customer Support 5706 Corsa Avenue Suite 107 Westlake Village CA 91362 www tcelectronic com www tcsupport tc TECHNICAL SUPPORT For immediate answers on many support questions visit the TC SUPPORT INTERACTIVE pages on www tcsupport tc TABLE OF CONTENTS WELCOMES ela ceca ee are eae en A 1 POWERCORE FIREWIRE amp COMPACT SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 2 MACOS A A A A 2 A ea ato sealed e teal sauce yea Ad 2 POWERCORE FIREWIRE
13. slap delay To make tempo based projects easier to manage we have added a BPM input scale to the delay time adjustment param eter CHORUS DELAY is also available in the TDM bundle of plug ins TC TOOLS for ProTools HD CLASSIC VERB CLASSIC VERB enhances the out of the box reverb flexibility of PowerCore significantly This reverb processor adds a dis tinctly warm and lush reverb effect often associated with big expensive hardware processors It is a whole different way to create the effect compared to the traditional reverb philosophy or accurate room reproduction as you will find with the reverbs provided by MegaReverb COMPENSATOR This native DSP Free plug in can help you in a pinch if your application does not have Automatic plug in Delay Compen sation Refer to the COMPENSATOR PDF for critical operation details EQSAT CUSTOM EQSat provides you with crystal clear mastering quality equal ization This EQ s algorithm is taken directly from the TC Electronic Finalizer mastering processor Featuring low and high shelving bands as well as three stereo bands of Parametric EQ EQSat Custom is ideal for all of your precision equalization needs The EQSat algorithm is also available in the TDM bundle of plug ins TC TOOLS for ProTools HD FILTROID With its dual filters and extensive modulation capabilities Filtroid brings the sound of analog filter banks to PowerCore Filtroid consists of two filters with low hi
14. though the lights are out and the disabled message will appear in the VU Meter display 22 POWERCORE 96 kHz PROCESSING The included PowerCore plug ins support 96 kHz processing The golden rule of DSP performance is the higher the sample rate the greater the DSP performance required So a plug in that requires 50 of a DSP at 48 kHz will require 100 of a DSP at 96 kHz as a doubling of sample rate also doubles the resulting DSP performance required As mentioned above a plug in will enter the Disabled State if it can not handle a certain sample rate In that case simply switch back to the supported sam ple rate LATENCY WHAT IS LATENCY PowerCore plug ins have a slight delay before the processed signal is returned to the host application The delay can be somewhat disorienting resulting in an effect that sounds like it is not in sync with the tempo of your song To accommodate this most applications have something called Automatic Delay Compensation Plug ins report back to the host application with a processing time and the application offsets the audio so that everything lines up The COMPENSATOR plug in included with your PowerCore allows you to easily setup delay compensation manually Check the COMPENSATOR manual PDF on your instal lation CD for details NO LATENCY MODE The PowerCore plug ins offer the No Latency Mode This mode is an alternative way of communicating with the PowerCore To enter No Lat
15. to select a destination directory during installation Program Files Steinberg VSTPluglns PowerCore Program Files Emagic Logic Audio Platinum VSTPlugIns PowerCore DIRECT X WRAPPERS Some Windows based applications use the DirectX plug in format instead of the VST plug in format PowerCore does not directly support DirectX If you would like to use PowerCore in a DirectX application such as Sound Forge we suggest that you use a wrapper such as the VST DX Adapter from Cakewalk This is available for a fee direct ly from the Cakewalk website Please note that as TC does not support DirectX you should also contact customer sup port for the creator of your DirectX wrapper or adapter should you encounter problems with PowerCore plug ins within a DirectX application POWERCORE FIREWIRE MESSAGES POWERCORE FW FRONT PANEL The blue Power Pulse and the other LEDs on the front panel are more than just a light show they provide feedback about the PowerCore Firewire operating environment NS ome No POWER LED Nothing fancy here This LED lights up when power is on POWER PULSE During boot the Power Pulse will rise to maximum brightness and then begin to pulse ntil driver and PowerCore board OS is loaded The Power Pulse will flash once to indi cate when a plug in is successfully loaded After the first plug in is loaded the Power Pulse will enter steady state Should your PowerCore crash the Power Pulse wi
16. would merge your source material to mono before processing The plug in doesn t open or there is no audio when activate the plug in If this is the case there might be an issue with the plug in s authorization In the case of the included plug ins please reinstall the plug ins if that doesn t help contact customer support With optional PowerCore plug ins you can freely make backup copies of plug ins that you have purchased but with the exception of the included plug ins you can not copy them over to other systems and expect them to function Each card is unique and the software is unique for each card too Contact your plug in manufacturer in the case you have authorization problems such as this The audio is corrupted The minimum I O buffer size for PowerCore to work properly is 128 samples please verify the I O buffer settings in your host application We recommend 1024 samples for a minimal hit on the host Using PowerCore with Digidesign ProTools ProTools utilizes its own proprietary plug in formats RTAS and TDM and doesn t sup port either the VST or Audio Units plug in formats A third party solution from FXPansion called the VST RTAS wrapper allows PowerCore plug ins to be used just like a standard RTAS plug in in ProTools For more info about this technology visit www fxpansion com POWERCORE 27 FURTHER SUPPORT RESOURCES TC ELECTRONIC KNOWLEDGEBASE In case none of the above answered yo
17. you can help us to keep making products that will help you getting the job done ENJOY THE TC TEAM ATTENTION plug ins that run on PowerCore have to be written especially for this sys tem native plug ins that run on your computers CPU will not take advantage of PowerCore s DSP power ATTENTION In the terms of this manual PowerCore refers to all PowerCore types unless other information is given POWERCORE 1 POWERCORE FIREWIRE amp COMPACT SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS MAC OS G4 or G5 256 MB RAM Mac OS X 10 2 8 or higher One available Firewire port 400 Mbit IEEE 1394 17 color monitor resolution 1024 x 768 or higher recommended Any VST or AudioUnits compatible recording software Cubase SX Logic Nuendo Bias Peak Live Digital Performer RTAS ProTools with Fxpansion VST RTAS wrap per optional Any sound system supported by the host application Mouse or other pointing device 60 Megabytes of available hard disk space Internet Connection for product registration WINDOWS e Pentium 111 500 or better e 256 MB RAM e One available Firewire port 400 Mbit IEEE 1394 e Windows XP e 17 color monitor resolution 1024x768 or higher recommended e Any VST compatible application Cubase WaveLab Nuendo Samplitude Sonar Live and RTAS ProTools with Fxpansion VST RTAS wrapper optional Any sound system supported by the VST application Mouse or pointing device 60 Mb of available hard disk space
18. AM or CPU Performance of the PowerPC as this processor only performs mixing routing and system level functions 18 POWERCORE POWERCORE _ INFORMATION __ Board Usage f information Advanced By clicking on the Information tab in the con POWERCORE 1 E trol panel you will be able to read out all of POWERCORE Hardware the technical information of your PowerCore Authentication ID 7009876 004321 21 0 system Board Sign TC POWERCORE PPC Clock 200 MHz PPC SD RAM 8192 kByte BOARD SELECTOR MENU PPC SD RAM free 5630 kByte 2 PPC Revision 19 1 This drop down menu allows you to choose POWERCORE Software Versions which PowerCore you are gathering information PCore bundle 1 7 2 1 on and monitoring in the case that there are POWERCORE kext 1 7 2 1 A Board OS 1 7 3 0 multiple PowerCore s in your system Bootcode 1 3 0 0 The rest of this section of the PowerCore con Reset POWERCORE gt Save Information trol panel is divided into two portions PowerCore Hardware and PowerCore Software POWERCORE HARDWARE This portion of the panel gives you more info you about the hardware of your PowerCore AUTHENTICATION ID The Authentication ID contains your Serial Number and Board ID This combination of numbers is unique and you will need this to register your PowerCore OPTIONAL PLUG IN AUTHORIZATION All Optional PowerCore plug ins use a form of authorization requiring you to download
19. Click Cancel to leave your disks untouched Cancel Continue 8 Finally please hit the QUIT button to exit the raion was successful Ifyou are fished click s Quit to leave the Installer If you wish to perform installer additional installations click Continue Conti ue Quit gt 9 Your PowerCore is now ready for use enjoy POWERCORE 9 POWERCORE HARDWARE INSTALLATION GUIDE HARDWARE INSTALLATION POWERCORE PCI MKII In the following pages we will show you in detail how to install the PowerCore PCI mkll card in your computer In this example we use a Windows based PC but the installation procedure will also work with Macs Please note that the procedure for opening and closing your computer case might differ Make sure you consult the oper ating manual of your computer for further details 1 Shut down your computer and make sure the power is OFF and the power lead to your computer is disconnect ed 2 Open the case by lifting the latch as pictured below Make sure to discharge any static electricity from your clothes and body before you continue You can do this by touching the internal frame of computer s case while the computer is plugged into an electrical socket 3 Remove the screw and the blind panel on the free PCI slot you are planning to use 10 POWERCORE 4 Insert the card carefully and make sure that it is fitted properly int
20. and band pass shapes with 12 18 or 24 db slope characteristics The filters can be used in series or parallel for the utmost creative con trol and the external side chain input provision allows for modulation of the filter from another track Extensive modulation capabilities include independent LFOs per filter and an envelope follower Tempo sync ensures that filter movements are always synchronized to the speed of the sequencer and a distortion unit adds an additional edge to the sound if desired With serial or parallel filter routing massive modulation options side chain input res onance with self oscillation envelope follower distortion and out of phase modulation PowerCore users have all the tools they need to make the most extreme filter effects MASTER X3 Knock out Punch for any mixes or masters Period MASTER X3 is the virtual incarnation of the TC Electronic Finalizer the standard mastering processor in the pro audio field MASTER X3 expedites the mastering process by integrating several phases of mastering into a single easy to use inter face It features multiband processing with expansion com pression and limiting separately for each band High quality uncorrelated dithering is included as well The intuitive user interface features many new ideas to make the critical mastering process faster and easier The overall processing characteristics are controlled via Target Curves that simplify the handling by pro
21. ations increasing ADMA Buffers can lower CPU loads on your computer but will also introduce additional latency 20 POWERCORE When to increase ADMA Buffer Settings You should increase the ADMA buffer settings if you are using an I O device without an ASIO driver such as a Sound Blaster or a soundcard that uses MME drivers The best way to use this feature is 1 Open your host application 2 Open the application s CPU meter 3 Launch a PowerCore plug in 4 Open the PowerCore control panel 5 Adjust the ADMA buffer setting in the control panel 6 For the adjustment to take effect you must close and re open the plug in 7 Adjust the ADMA buffer setting until the CPU shows the lowest CPU usage How to increase buffer settings The best way to use this feature is to open your host application open the applica tions CPU meter and then launch a PowerCore plug in Open the PowerCore Control Panel Begin Adjusting the buffers until the CPU meter reflects about 1 CPU usage per plug in Important Note Every time you adjust the Advanced DMA Buffers setting you must turn off all PowerCore plug ins before the new buffer takes effect Turn the plug in back on to verify performance improvement POWERCORE 21 GETTING THE MOST FROM POWERCORE BUFFER SIZES For optimal performance set your audio buffer size typically adjusted in the I O setup of your host application to a value between 256 and 1024 samples Rule of thumb T
22. cluded in respect of any third party or consequential loss or damage direct or indirect however or whenever arising Please note that there might be additional regulations in place in your country that differ from the warranty rights granted in this document WARNING Changes or modifications to this unit not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user s authority to operate the equipment WELCOME CONGRATULATIONS You are about to add a stack of rackmount quality effects to your native recording environment and we are pretty sure you won t want to live without PowerCore once you ve used it for the first time PowerCore is an exciting concept putting an end to proprietary closed system environ ments With a range of hardware and software options and its seamless integration into the VST Audio Units and RTAS ProTools worlds you will still be able to freely build the system environment according to your needs and benefit from the much greater predictability of DSP based systems at the same time PowerCore is an open development platform so make sure you check www tcelectronic com regularly for the latest information on new products by our 3rd party developers such as Sony TC Helicon DSound Access and Noveltech The 3rd party community is growing rapidly so there won t be a shortage of new and cool tools Please don t hesitate to supply us with user feedback this way
23. d its edit tools allow manual adjustment of the ana lyzed fingerprints for even more precise processing results In version 1 5 the DeNoise plug in has been updated with an auto mode that makes it possible to remove noise from material where it is not possible to take a fingerprint for instance if there are no parts with noise only Fingerprints can now be adjusted independently for left and right channels DYNAMIC EQ Dynamic EQ is a new tool for any mixing or mastering situation This virtual processor eliminates the short comings of static EQ by providing a dynamically applied equalization The Dynamic EQ plug in offers up to four definable bands working either in static or dynamic mode or in a mixture of both Each of the bands can be configured as a parametric EQ or as a high or low shelving filter The side chain bands can be unlinked from the processing bands so the high frequency content of a mix can control the low end and vice versa The pristine processing of this plug in is all in 48 bit double precision and may even be used in a phase linear mode that is generous with transparent results Dynamic EQ represents a new generation of mastering tools for the POWERCORE plat form and this virtual processor eliminates the shortcomings of static EQ by providing a marriage between dynamics processing and EQ POWERCORE 17 THE POWERCORE CONTROL PANEL The PowerCore Control Panel is meant to help you gather and monit
24. d onto the DSPs in your PowerCore system When the slider is set to Performance Optimized the Plug ins will be loaded onto the DSP with the most available DSP power left That way the Plug ins are distributed evenly among all DSPs When the slider is set to Resource Optimized the DSP with the least available power left gets filled up first That way you Il get the most power out of each individual DSP As a starting point we recommend that you set the slider y Resource Allocation RESOURCE ALLOCATION METHOD Resource Allocation controls the way the plug ins are loaded onto the DSPs in your PowerCore system When the slider is set to Performance Optimized the plug ins will be loaded onto the DSP with the most available DSP power left That way the plug ins are distributed evenly among all DSPs When the slider is set to Resource Optimized the DSP with the least available power left gets filled up first That way you ll get the most power out of each individual DSP As a starting point we recommend that you set the slider to Resource Optimized If you experience problems loading old projects songs or have any performance issues move the slider closer towards Performance Optimized Any changes will take affect with the next plug in loaded onto the PowerCore or when you reload your project song ADMA Buffers ADMA Buffers multiplies the buffer size set for your audio hardware by the selected factor With some applic
25. ency Mode click on the PowerCore logo on the bottom of the plug in When enabled the PowerCore logo will have a red glow to indicate operation In most cases No Latency Mode is not required as this much power comes at a price No Latency Mode will place a significant load on your host CPU However No Latency Mode is ideal for record monitoring with a PowerCore reverb effect or playing a PowerCore synth LATENCY IN THE MASTER FADER When using PowerCore plug ins in the Master output channel latency is not an issue as all of the audio is uniformly delayed POWERCORE 23 POWERCORE IN MAC OS X PowerCore supports both the VST and Audio Units plug in formats in OS X PowerCore plug ins are always installed into the same locations in OS X which is extremely con venient especially when using multiple audio applications that rely on the same pool of plug ins Audio Units are supported by an adapter that transparently adapts the VST plug in to the Audio Units format In an Audio Units Host Application like Logic the plug in will appear and behave as a standard Audio Units plug in Our Audio Units Wrapper will automatically work with Sony TC Helicon Access and other 3rd party PowerCore plug ins OS X Domains OS X is designed for networking and uses a hierarchy of virtual locations called Domains PowerCore plug ins are installed into one of two domains the Local Domain and the User Domain The Local Domain can have
26. he larger the audio buffer size the lower your PowerCore plug in s performance over head on the DSPs and the CPU of the host computer PowerCore is optimized for best performance when using a buffer setting of 1024 samples The minimum 1 0 buffer size for PowerCore to work properly is 128 samples THE DISABLED STATE When the Disabled State becomes active the plug in is bypassed due to a lack of available DSP performance This can happen when increasing the sample rate or you try to load too many plug ins Only the audio processing will be bypassed on a dis abled plug in all of the parameters and presets updates will still be active prevent ing problems later on should you not notice that a plug in has become disabled Let us say that this error occurs when trying to load MegaReverb In this case you will receive the following warning The following error occurred with the PowerCore Effect MegaReverb The PowerCore does not have enough free DSP resources available to load the Plug in As an additional warning there will be a status indication directly within the plug in that is disabled POWERCORE POWERCORE Figure 1 Many of the PowerCore plug ins have a Disabled LED at the bottom of the plug in that will light up red when disabled Some PowerCore plug ins such as EQSAT Custom 24 7 C or the CLASSIC VERB will display the Disabled State message directly in the user interface Figure 2 The 24 7 C will appear as
27. imits and methods of measurement With reference to regulations in following directives 73 23 EEC 89 336 EEC Issued in Risskov September 04 Mads Peter L beck Chief Executive Officer COMPLIES WITH CANADIAN ICES 003 CLASS B TESTED TO COMPLY WITH FCC STANDARDS VS FOR HOME OR OFFICE USE LIMITED HARDWARE WARRANTY POWERCORE is warranted against failure arising through faulty workmanship and materials for a period of one year from the date of purchase All claims under this warranty must be made to TC Electronic s dealer or local representative in the country the product was purchased or alternatively directly to TC Electronic in Denmark Before you do this contact customer support to obtain an RMA number for your correspondence Products sent to us without prior authorization will be refused e Pack the card securely in its original shipping box e Include a copy of your sales receipt e Prepay postage and insure the shipment e Enclose a note that describes the symptoms Within the warranty period the unit will be repaired at no charge for parts and labor This warranty remains valid only if the serial number on the card has not been removed and if repairs are performed only by parties authorized by TC It does not cover damage due to misuse accident or neglect The local representative and TC retain the exclusive rights to make such determinations on the basis of inspection Liability is expressly ex
28. ll flash once and then go black ERROR LED The Error Led will only light up when there is something wrong with the unit Should the Error LED ever become active then there is a hardware problem and you should contact support POWERCORE 25 TROUBLE SHOOTING Where can download the latest PowerCore drivers We are continuously working on improving the PowerCore software Therefore we rec ommend to check our website for the latest software prior to installing the software that came with the product to make sure you have the most current version The latest version of the PowerCore Software can be downloaded from the TC PowerCore product pages Locate your PowerCore in the Product Menu and select Latest software from the product subpage to get to the software download page Next to the latest version of the software you will also find the software version history here can run half the number of effects at 96 kHz than can at 48 kHz This is correct When you double sample rate you double the DSP resources required PowerCore plug ins don t show in my applications plug in selection dialog Please double check that you have installed the plug ins to your application s VST AudioUnit plug in folder If you are not able to see ALL of your PowerCore plug ins please read the next point don t see all PowerCore plug ins in my native mixer s inserts sends or master Like other VST AudioUnit plug ins PowerCore
29. multiple users PowerCore plug ins are installed in the Local Domain while presets are installed in the User Domain of the person installing the software Each plug in is installed as a VST plug in Our TCAU Audio Unit Component takes care of the Audio Unit support Getting Audio Unit Support for optional 500 POWERCORE PowerCore Plug ins Refresh Audio Uni 14 Read This will install the Audio Units Plug In adapter If you have added a When new optional plug ins are installed dae andio Untsa o a Ur Popon otne you ll need to update the TCAU Audio Unit component in order to gain AudioUnit sup port for these new plug ins This can be EEE E done by launching the actual PowerCore a Cai i items will be installed on the disk Macintosh HD a installer and selecting the Refresh u ama AudioUnits Only installation option Default PowerCore Plug in Locations LOCAL DOMAIN OS X Library Audio Plug ins VST PowerCore Control Panel Location OS X Applications Default Location PowerCore plug in presets OS X User Name Library Application Support PowerCore Presets 24 POWERCORE POWERCORE IN WINDOWS If you would like to access the PowerCore plug ins from within your Windows based sequencing environment you need to install the supplied plug ins in the same location as all of your other VST plug ins The installer scans for all of the appropriate VSTPluglns folders and prompts you
30. ng vocal producers that aim to have it all This high ly integrated plug in is a complete channel strip for voice sound processing with Compression DeEssing a dedicated Voice EQ Lo Cut Filter and Gate 3 TUBIFEX Tubifex includes three tube stages and a speaker simulator for truly convincing amp modeling Each of the three stages is based on a classic 12AX7 design and can be individually adjusted making the sonic possibilities virtually endless from warm tones to screaming overdrive The speaker simulator was derived directly from the impulse measurements of a 2 x 12 cabinet Additional adjustments can be made with the virtual microphone placement control which simulates the subtle tonal variations achieved with different mic techniques Tubifex also includes a fingerprint based noise reduction filter that allows settings to be saved independently from the amp settings An expander enables further improve ment of the overall sound As a hybrid plug in Tubifex uses both native and PowerCore DSP resources Combining the strengths of both worlds results in very low latency processing which enables guitar players to use Tubifex in real time 16 POWERCORE INCLUDED ONLY WITH POWERCORE FIREWIRE AND POWERCORE PCI MKII DENOISE DeNoise comes from TC s acclaimed Restoration Suite bundle DeNoise is optimized for broadband noise removal from tape hiss to static environmental noise DeNoise is fingerprint based an
31. nstructions will help you to get your PowerCore up and running as fast as pos sible simply follow the steps below and you will soon enjoy the quality sound of the PowerCore plug ins IMPORTANT Please install the PowerCore software before you connect the PowerCore hardware to you computer Please insert the PowerCore CD in your CD Rom or DVD Rom drive or download the complete installer from the TC Electronic website www tcelectronic com 1 Launch SETUP exe from the Installation CD 2 Simply follow the instructions on your screen start by clicking NEXT 3 If you are installing the PowerCore software for the first time on your computer we recommend that you install both drivers and plug ins To do so please select YES If you wish to update the drivers only select NO 4 Again follow the instruction on your screen to contin ue the installation process please hit the NEXT button 5 You will need to accept the TC ELECTRONIC SOFT WARE LICENSE AGREEMENT to continue the installa tion press ACCEPT If you disagree press CANCEL to quit the installer 6 Please check the READ ME text carefully to get the lat est information about the PowerCore software press NEXT POWERCORE 5 7 For the correct drivers to be installed the Installer program needs to know which PowerCore products you have connected to the computer To continue the installation at least one PowerCore product must be selected Mark
32. o the slot 5 Now tighten the screw in order to secure that it doesn t come loose at a later stage due to e g transportation 6 Close the case and then connect the power lead again PowerCore PCI mkll Special Jumper settings PowerCore PCI mkil supports both 33MHz and 66MHz PCI bus speeds In its default position the PowerCore card will run at a PCI bus speed of either 33MHz or66MHz depending on your PCI bus speed By moving the jumper to the Force 33MHz position the card is forced to run at 33 MHz We highly recommend that you leave all jumper settings in their default position unless instructed by a TC Electronic service technician to do otherwise Other jumpers on the card should be left untouched as they are used only for hardware testing purposes in a qualified TC Service Center G wo 33 66 MHz Force 33 MHz The PCI X bus architecture used in most Mac G5 models is backwards compati ble with PCI PowerCore PCI mkll is therefore compatible PCI X based models POWERCORE 11 HARDWARE INSTALLATION POWERCORE FIREWIRE 1 Make sure your Power Lead is connected to the PowerCore 2 Connect the included Firewire cable to a free Firewire port on your computer 3 4 5 Connect the other end of the cable to a free Firewire port on your PowerCore Power On the PowerCore FireWire with the front panel power switch Start your computer HARDWARE INSTALLATION POWERCORE COMPACT
33. or the information relating to all of the PowerCore boards in your system The control panel has three sections There is one section each for Board Usage Information and Advanced ACCESSING THE CONTROL PANEL IN WINDOWS In Windows the TC PowerCore control panel can be accessed from the Start Menu Start gt Settings gt Control Panel gt PowerCore ACCESSING THE CONTROL PANEL IN MAC OSX In Mac OS the PowerCore control panel can be accessed from the System Preferences Menu in the Dock System Preferences gt Other gt PowerCore You must click on CONTINUE to open the control panel from the Preferences dialog TC PowerCore BOARD USAGE __ f Board usage information Advanced By clicking on the BOARD USAGE tab in the Resource Overview control panel which is the default view of the TC PowerCore Board 1 Resource Usage control panel you will be able to monitor your DSP 1 Load 28 PowerCore resources in real time Each DSP PSP SEO dedos has an indicator for DSP Load the percentage DSP 2 Load 0 of each DSP used as well as Memory indicat DSP 2 Memory 0 0 kWord ae ing how much memory is in use on each DSP DSP 3 Load 0 i R DSP 3 Memory 0 0 kWord If you have multiple PowerCores in your sys DSP 4 Load 0 tem you will be able to scroll down and view DSP 4 Memory 0 0 kWord the Board Usage on PowerCore Board 2 PowerCore Board 3 and so on NOTE You will not be able to monitor R
34. plug ins might come in different ver sions mono mono mono stereo stereo stereo Depending on your host application and the plug in you might only see the version appropriate for e g the inserts or sends Every time load a plug in in LOGIC or DIGITAL PERFORMER my application Quits When you use a PowerCore plug in in an Audio Units application such as LOGIC or DIGITAL PERFORMER you must have the plug ins installed into both the Audio Units and VST plug ins folders of your system If you remove the VST plug ins then the Audio Unit versions will not work If you experience Application crashes when loading a PowerCore plug in please reinstall the plug ins to make sure that the plug ins are included in both locations The input of my PowerCore plug in is clipping and or hear distorted audio It is very important to avoid clipping of the input signal the signal you send into a PowerCore plug in should not be greater than O dBFS We suggest you leave some marginal headroom 26 POWERCORE My source audio is mono after inserting a PowerCore plug in There are different versions of many PowerCore plug ins to provide you with a maxi mum of flexibility Depending on the plug in you might have mono mono mono stereo and stereo stereo versions of each plug in If your host application displays all versions to select from make sure you select the stereo version for stereo processing So run ning a mono mono or mono stereo plug in
35. re processor as closely as possible delivering virtual vintage at its best The user interface is simple and straight forward increasing the input will drive the limiter depending on the selected ratio Even the famous 4 button mode was implemented A special new feature is an auto gain sensing for the output parameter that adjusts the output depending on the pro gram material NOVELTECH CHARACTER Character is the result of the latest scientific research in digi tal signal processing and psychoacoustics Basic audio processing tools such as EQs and compressors involve a large number of technical parameters which have to be set to correct values in order to get the desired result The Character intelligently enhances the relevant characteristics found in the source working across a complex set of connected parameters and not only boosting e g one specific frequency This innovative approach allows users to get to the desired results much faster as only three parameters need tweaking Character can dramatically reshape the character of any sound and has 3 different processing modes ensure adaptability to all types of audio material POWERCORE 13 Ez corse CE EEE TA hi Co E AS 14 POWERCORE CHORUS DELAY CHORUS DELAY is modelled after the TC Electronic 1210 Spatial Expander and provides you with simultaneous modula tion effects such as chorus and flange as well as
36. stand tripod bracket or table specified by the manufacturer or sold with the apparatus When a cart is used use caution when moving the cart apparatus combination to avoid injury from tip over Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time 14 Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way such as power supply cord or plug is damaged liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture does not operate normally or has been dropped The exclamation point within an A equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance servicing instructions in the literature accompanying the product Warning e To reduce the risk of fire or electrical shock do not expose this equipment to dripping or splashing and ensure that no objects filled with liquids such as vases are placed on the equipment e This apparatus must be earthed e Use a three wire grounding type line cord like the one supplied with the product e advised that different operating voltages require the use of differ ent types of line cord and attachment plugs e Check the voltage in your area and use the correct type See table below Voltage Line plug according to standard 110 125V UL817 and CSA C22 2 no 42 220 230V CEE 7
37. sure to note down the complete error message text as it contains useful information for the TC Support Team Steps to reproduce the problem What do you do exactly to make the problem appear Please describe in detail the steps necessary to reproduce the problem We know this is a lot of details but in most cases knowing these things in advance will help the TC Support Team answer your query faster RTAS ProTools is supported by a third party VST RTAS wrapper from FXPansion This solution is optional Visit www tcsupport tc for further details 28 POWERCORE PERSONAL NOTES POWERCORE 29 E60503711 BY TC ELECTRONIC A S AND TC WORKS GMBH 1999 2005 ALL PRODUCT AND COMPANY NAMES ARE TRADEMARKS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS ALL SPECIFICATIONS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
38. ur questions please check out our Knowledgebase at www tcsupport tc In the unlikely case that none of the answers in our Knowledgebase help you you should send an email to the TC Support Team CONTACTING THE TC ELECTRONIC SUPPORT TEAM Please have the following information at hand when you contact the TC Support Team 1 Authentication ID of your PowerCore This information can be found in the PowerCore control panel under the INFORMA TION tab Please refer to page 16 on how to locate and open your PowerCore control panel 2 System details This means we need to know your operating system version Are you on Windows XP SP2 or MacOSX 10 2 8 Be sure to note this down before you get in touch with us What is your CPU speed and amount of RAM Under Windows this information can be found My Computer gt Properties gt General Under MacOS X go to the Applications folder gt Utilities and open System Profiler Any special modifications to the hardware of the computer Please make a note of this too 3 Peripherals What other stuff are you using along with the PowerCore and your computer Any PCI cards USB devices FireWire devices 4 PowerCore driver version This information can be found in the PowerCore control panel under the INFORMA TION tab Please refer to page 16 on how to locate and open your PowerCore control panel 5 Nature of the problem Are you getting any error messages If so what do they say Be
39. ures e Relocate or reorient the receiving antenna e Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver e Plug the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected If necessary you can consult a dealer or experienced radio television technician for additional assistance PLEASE NOTE Only equipment certified to comply with Class B computer input output devices terminals printers etc should be attached to this equipment and it must have shielded interface cables in order to comply with the Class B FCC limits on RF emissions CANADIAN CUSTOMERS This Class digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES 003 Cet appareil num rique de la classe B est conforme a la norme NMB 003 du Canada CERTIFICATE OF CONFORMITY TC Works Soft amp Hardware GmbH Flughafenstrasse 52B D22335 Hamburg Germany hereby declares by own responsibility that the following products POWERCORE FIREWIRE POWERCORE COMPACT POWERCORE PCI MKII POWERCORE PCI POWERCORE ELEMENT marked with CE label are covered by this certificate and conform with the following standards EN 60950 Safety for information technology equipment including electrical business IEC 60950 equipment EN 55022 Limits and methods of measurement of radio disturbance characteristics CISPR 22 of information technology equipment EN 55024 Informations techonlogy equipment Immunity characteristics CISPR 24 L
40. viding a global process ing style for all bands in all modules The interaction between the bands can be fine tuned by applying Target Factors which determine the frequency focus of each pro cessing module significantly reducing the number of required user parameters to set this complex process up Soft Clipping even provides analog sound whenever desired MASTER X3 is also available in the TDM format for ProTools HD MEGAREVERB MEGAREVERB will provide you with studio quality reverb that TC Electronic is famous for MEGAREVERB S technology is taken directly from the Core 1 and 2 algorithms of the TC Electronic M5000 with an enhanced tail design based on some more recent innovations in reverberation from TC Electronic MEGAREVERB is also available in the TDM bundle of plug ins TC TOOLS for ProTools HD POWERCORE 15 POWERCORE 01 POWERCORE 01 is an emulation of a classic mono synth This single oscillator synth can produce vicious leads and fat basses without draining the CPU of your computer 7 POWERCORE CL POWERCORE CL employs a different compression algorithm than the one found in the VOICESTRIP or the 24 7 C instead emulating the behavior of an industry standard analog com pressor aiming at general purpose dynamics processing rather than specific applications as provided with the VOICESTRIP or the 24 7 C 7 VOICESTRIP VOICESTRIP is all in one voice sound processing and is widely used amo
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