Rupert Neve Portico II - Master Buss Processor - Manual (Page 13)

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instruments. In many cases, these same elements may be virtually eliminated without adversely affecting
the music bed. Used in conjunction, the depth and width controls effectively alter the perceived room
ambience and dimension.
WIDTH & DEPTH EQ
To fine tune the SFE, there are individual filters that allow a fine tuning of what information is
reintroduced from the width and depth circuits, thus tailoring each effect to a specific bandwidth. For
example, if one wanted to increase the amount of low frequencies in the center image, engaging the
SFE Depth and Depth EQ, set to LF, would filter out everything in the Mid signal except what is below
the filter point (in this case, 250 Hz), and once reintroduced to the original would result in a perceived
increase in the low frequencies in the center image. It is also possible to do the same thing with the
Width EQ, except instead of boosting the width, cutting it, which removes low frequencies from the
Sides, tightening up the low frequency perception in the center. Using the Width EQ again, this time set
to HM (or LM as the case may be), increasing the amount of band-passed Side information can provide
a wonderful spreading of instruments, reverberation and background vocals, giving the illusion that the
sounds are spread further out, enveloping the listener.
SFE to COMP
The SFE to Comp button routes the Mid and Side signals to the Channel A and Channel B compressors,
respectively. The Depth and Width changes are routed through the compressors, allowing the user to
utilize the compressor features while manipulating the Mid and Side information. With these controls,
it is possible to not only increase the side information, but to utilize the compressor to bring up some
of the low level side information, or allow the user to tame an overly expressive lead singer in the mids.
With the addition of using the EQ section on the Depth and Width, a wide range of tools are available to
the engineer.
GAIN REDUCTION METER
A 16 segment LED bar-graph meter is fitted for the compressor, calibrated in dB to show how much
gain reduction is taking place. After 4 dB of dynamic attenuation the LEDs become amber and after
8 the LEDs become red. Is that a hint? Not really, because sometimes we need significant amounts of
compression, particularly with some powerful singers. However, the LED colors typically can serve as a
general guide.
OUTPUT METER
The factory calibration sets the top RED LED at the specified output clip point of the Portico II which is
+25 dBu, which is +21 dB over 0 VU. The LEDs are set in one dB increments. That means the bottom red
LED indicates +18 over O VU which is the most typical digital full scale level for pro A to D converters
and the top amber is one dB below clipping for most pro converters. An alternate typical DFS calibration
for semi-pro converters is +14 VU which corresponds to the bottom amber LED (18 dBu). There happens
to be a very good and new trend where we avoid trying to get the signal as close as possible to digital
full scale because it can help our digital tracks sound more analog. In other words, feel free to not light
up any of those amber and red LEDs and don’t feel compelled to make every green one blink.
POWER
We obviously saved the best for last. If this button is not pressed then the Portico II is maximally “green”
and exhibits its absolute lowest noise floor. However, for any of the previously described features and
fun controls to have any significance, the POWER button should be pressed. If nothing happens when
the button is pressed and not one LED even winks at you, then you may also want to plug in the Power