blueboy wrote on Thu, 29 June 2006 23:19 |
As mentioned above, I was coming out of the Brick using the proper cabling into the RNC, then out to an EMU 1820M.
Does it sound like I may be overlooking something?
JL
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No you're not overlooking anything. I just got off the phone with Mark, and yes, there can be a problem using the Brick with an RNC, but it ain't eggzactly the RNC's fault.
It gets pretty technical, but here's the simple version:
There is a certain range in the Brick's output where the output of the Brick becomes asymmetrical, and produces some nice 2nd harmonic overtones that ain't present in the original signal. It's distortion, but it's a very nice sounding distortion.
Now, let's move to the RNC for a moment. Mark has spent most of his life fighting distortion and figuring out ways to get his equipment down to absurdly low levels distortion. Asymmetrical distortion is one of those distortions and Mark has a pot inside the RNC that he hand trims on each unit to reduce asymmetrical distortion in the RNC. That makes the RNC VERY linear, as many people here have already verified.
So, what happens when you run this signal from the Brick (with it's added asymmetrical distortion) into the RNC? The RNC basically quotes Shaksphere, and says in effect, "Out, damn Spot", and makes the signal linear again.
"But" you say, "I like the distortion (or 'rich harmonics')". "Isn't there a way to keep them?"
Maybe, I don't know for sure, but the RNC isn't the soul problem here; you're running an effects generator when you're using the Brick in this particular range, and the RNC (thinking the incoming signal has a problem) is cleaning up the problem it perceives.
It's a weird situation; both the Brick and the RNC are doing exactly what they're both designed for, but the RNC didn't know that people were actually gonna like and use this type of distortion from time to time.
If you turn the gain down on the Brick just a little bit, the asymmetrical distortion will disappear and the RNC and Brick will play together happily. But, since the asymmetrical distortion is something you like, Mark is trying to find a way to let it thru the RNC in some kind of workaround.
It's a one in a million occurance, and it happens only when the Brick is in one particular spot.
I expect to hear more from Mark on this shortly, and I'm hoping he'll honor us by posting here directly and fielding any technical questions.
And for those of you who are oldtimers here will recall, Mark is well respected by people like Rupert Neve and Dan Kennedy, so insults, name calling, and disrespect will not be tolerated here if Mark does choose to respond.
Keep it civil, speak of what you really know, and maybe we can get a few more manufacturers to visit here and answer questions about their products.