Thermionic Culture THE FAT BUSTARD II 12 Channel Summing mixer - Manual (Page 10)

© Thermionic Culture Ltd, May 2011 9
4 Operational Hints
Try increasing the Attitude control for more aggression, punch,
warmth in the sound of a mix.
Bass drums, snare drums and vocals can all benefit from being
sent to a mono channel with pan turned off for more level. This
allows them to be high in the mix without running preceding
outboard equipment unnecessarily hot.
Try using the bass cut shelving positions together with the bass
lift for that classic Pultec style equalisation trick.
A harsh sounding mix can be enhanced by using the stereo
spread control at a frequency above the Full setting on the
bandwidth control. In effect the harsh upper frequencies of the
mono part of the mix will be softened and the stereo part of the
mix will sound more open. Also try adding treble to the mix and
the effec
t
on a modern board will be to make it more 'Sixties’
due to the ‘soft’ sound of our ‘varislope’ valve eq. design.
Don’t be afraid to use the top and bottom lift EQ. There is no
extra circuitry in the signal path, so no degradation of the signal
occurs.
Drums can be made more solid by using the bass to centre
control, the low end will sound more focused and feel heavier.
The output valves will handle huge amounts of headroom, so
don’t be afraid to run the Fat Bustard hot. The needles in the
meters won’t bend if you go too far, believe me I’ve tried!!
This unit makes a great sidecar desk when mixing, if you have
the luxury, maybe put your drums through it. Or think of it as a
second mix buss.
It is advisable to mute any channels (or aux) when not in use, to
minimise noise and crosstalk.