Retro Channel

RetroChannel is a new hardware based channel strip developed by Lance Keltner, industry recognized tone-master. As a lifetime musician, Lance grew up working in studios on Analog gear. He knew the best sounds were produced by very rare, very expensive vintage equipment.

Lance developed RetroChannel to capture the sound of these vintage signal paths in an affordable, modern 2 rack channel strip. The vintage signal paths Lance chose to replicate with the RetroChannel were inspired by  the Telefunken V72 mic pre, LA2A compressor and Pultec EQ. Lance found a magic sonic alchemy that added depth and definition to vocal tracks, and gave drums more gain and snap ever before.

The Preamp section of the Retro-Channel is very flexible and provides everything from 0 to +42db of gain. It will run the pre warm and clean, or push it hard while controling the final output with the compressor/limiter and EQ on the unit. The compressor provides both limiting and compression. The EQ section has tweakable center points much like the vintage EQ's. The Retro-Channel comes equipped with phantom power, instrument and mic inputs and a defeat switch for the EQ section.

POWER REQUIREMENTS
120VAC 50/60Hz 12VA
Ground-Lift switch at rear

PREAMP

INPUTS:
2 switch-selectable inputs:
1. Rear Mounted XLR (balanced) input; featuring switch-selectable +/-12dB gain-pad, and 48V phantom power
2. Front Mounted 1/4" (unbalanced) input; featuring a high input impedance that is suitable for D/I applications

INPUT IMPEDANCE:
XLR: > 3KΩ
1/4": > 1MegΩ

GAIN:
XLR: Switch-selectable from 0dB to 42dB in 6dB steps
1/4": Switch-selectable from 12dB to 30dB in 6dB steps

INPUT NOISE:
XLR: < 3nV/root-Hz
1/4": < 8nV/root-Hz

OUTPUT NOISE:  (A-weighted)
> 96dB below +10dBu output level

DISTORTION:
< 0.3% @ +20dBu output level

FREQUENCY RESPONSE:
20Hz - 20KHz +0/-0.3dB

LEVELING AMPLIFIER

CONTROLS:
Gain
Peak Reduction
Limit/Compress mode switch

INDICATOR:
Real-time LED indicator light with intensity proportional to amount of gain reduction

GAIN REDUCTION CONTROL RANGE:
0dB to greater than 40dB

DISTORTION:
< 0.35% at 40dB gain reduction

FREQUENCY RESPONSE:
20Hz - 20KHz +0/-0.7dB

GAIN CONTROL RANGE:
∞ to +20dB

ATTACK TIME:
< 1.5 milliseconds (typical)

RELEASE TIME:
40 - 80 milliseconds for 50% release (typical)
Full release: 0.5 to several seconds (depends on immediate prior exposure history of LDR attenuator element)
(This is a normal characteristic for this type of attenuator element).

OUTPUT NOISE:
> 90dB  below +10dB output level

EQUALIZER

LOW FREQUENCY FILTER CONTROLS:
20, 30, 60, 100 Hz variable shelved boost 0 - 16dB
20, 30, 60, 100 Hz variable shelved attenuate 0 - 16dB (boost and attenuate controls operate independently)

HIGH FREQUENCY FILTER CONTROLS:
3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 12, 16 KHz variable bandwidth and peak boost 0 - 18dB
2.5, 5, 10, 20 KHz variable shelved attenuate 0 - 16dB

IN/OUT SWITCH:
'Transparent' in/out toggle switch

INSERTION LOSS:
0dB (filter losses compensated by integral amplifier)

AMPLIFIER FREQUENCY RESPONSE:
20Hz- 20KHz +/- 0.05dB

OUTPUT NOISE:
> 100dB below +10dBu output level

DISTORTION:
< 0.05% at +10dBu output level

OUTPUT DRIVERS

FREQUENCY RESPONSE:
20Hz- 20KHz +/- 0.05dB

OUTPUT NOISE:
> 100dB below +10dBu output level

DISTORTION:
< 0.05% at +10dBu output level

OUTPUTS

XLR: 600 Ω balanced (+6dB unloaded gain) (Rear mounted)
1/4": 300 Ω unbalanced (0dB unloaded gain) (Rear mounted)