Rupert Neve Portico 542 - 500 Series Tape Emulator with Silk - Manual (Page 6)

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function can be useful on many sources like bass and kick drum to find the balance
between a clean, boosted low end (low saturation) and a denser, more saturated
low end (high-saturation).
15/30 IPS
Selects the pre-emphasis / de-emphasis, record / replay tape characteristic. The
15IPS mode has a significant “head bump” in the low frequencies centered around
60Hz, as well as a more pronounced roll of in the high frequencies. The 30 IPS
mode is generally a flatter response through the high-end with a “head bump”
around 120Hz. See the frequency plots on pages 10 & 11.
BLEND
Controls the mix of pre and post tape signals. This allows the engineer to dial in
a subtle amount of the tape effect, to better control the amount of saturation, tone
and soft clipping in the post blend signal. As the signal gets more saturated, dialing
back the blend can be a great way to impart the feel of tape, while maintaining a
similar level of detail and transparency. NOTE: The blend control does not effect
the Silk and Texture controls.
SOFT CLIP
A soft clip engages in the “True Tape” circuitry when the drive meter hits 5 (first
yellow LED), and becomes more apparent at higher levels. The soft clip can be
used as a way to tame overly transient material like drums, and can be controlled
further by using the blend control.
SILK / TEXTURE
Pushing the Silk button engages the Silk Red circuit, and pushing it a second time
introduces Silk Blue circuitry. Silk reduces the negative feedback on the output
transformer, adding harmonic content as the texture is increased. Silk Blue mode
features more saturation in the lows and low mids, where as Silk Red accentuates
the saturation in the high-mids and highs.
Both Silk modes are modified and fine tuned by the “Texture” control. By
manipulating the Texture control, the amount of Silk can be changed from
essentially absent, to roughly four times the amount of coloration found in Silk
from the original Portico Series. With Silk / Texture engaged, the distortion
characteristic and harmonic content of the unit are very reminiscent of many of
Rupert’s class-A vintage designs. These controls add another realm of tonal control
to the 542, and should be explored creatively in conjunction with the “True Tape”
for best effect.
LEVEL / DRIVE METERS
Two eight segment LED bar-graph meters are fitted to the 542 for output level and
drive metering. The level meter shows the output level of the 542 before the Silk
circuit, and the drive meter reflects the level on the “record head” when the tape
effect is engaged. The soft clip circuit is present at Drive levels above 5.