Thermionic Culture THE CULTURE VULTURE Mastering Plus - Manual (Page 7)

©Thermionic Culture Ltd, 2010-2014 6
3 General Operational Hints
When just “warming” the sound use “T” or “P1” settings with
output level control at 0 or line level output. Turn down the
control as you increase input level and/or with increased V2
current settings. Turn to max for most “P2” & “P3” applications.
The “cleanest” setting for the bias is 0.25mA and “T” function,
this should be used to give sounds just a bit more “naturality”.
The unit will have unity gain at this setting when Drive & Output
level controls are set to “0”.
A good setting to simulate analogue tape distortion is “T”,
normal drive, meter set to 0.3-0.4 mA. The most popular
setting, generally, appears to be “P” 0.4mA with Output level
reduced.
On the “P2 & P3” settings only, it’s a characteristic of the type
of valve used that a frequency doubling effect can occur when
distortion sets in. This can be quite interesting and is most
likely to occur with high bias (around 0.1mA current).
Use the “drive” setting of the “drive” switch if you want a little
more “bite” or brightness. There may be sufficient gain to use
this setting for some electric guitars when DI’d, if a low bias
(high current thru V2) is used. Otherwise, use the “overdrive”
setting when DI-ing guitars
Use the “filter” switch to reduce unpleasant upper harmonics,
especially useful when using “P2 & P3” effects.
If using the unit across a stereo mix or group, then ensure that
you set it up with both meters reading the same rather than
relying on knob positions. You can only expect a properly
balanced stereo picture when the “function” switch is set to “T”
or “P1” positions. Little chance on “P2 & P3” position.