Descripción
The Imperial Channel is as much an instrument as a
classic channel. It has several gain stages that are
collectively capable of massive amounts of gain. High
and low frequency instability and noise are possible
especially at high gain settings, extreme limiting, and
LMF shelf boosts, so be aware to keep headphone and
speaker levels in check at all times
PREAMP GAIN
To set the preamp gain, adjust DRIVE to
0, CHANNEL fader (upper) to 10, and the
meter switch to VU1. EQ, HPF, LPF, LIM,
and HARM should all be bypassed.
Adjust the GAIN control for roughly
unity, which should fall between 1 and 3
leds on the meter (4 is at clipping).
EQUALIZER
Adjust the CHANNEL fader down to ~7/8
to give some headroom (especially for
low boosts), and engage the EQ to the
middle position (EQ IN). The EQ is
capable of large boosts, so you may
also need to adjust the GAIN to main-
tain headroom. You can sweep the
shelves, which are passive and broad
to get a feel. The bells are proportional
Q and have a wide frequency and
boost/cut range. This allows them to be
used ‘sensibly’ but also in their
extremes of gain approach self reso-
nance. The EQ IN switch up position is
a special mode that allows cleaner low
boosts at higher DRIVE settings.
HARMONICS
Engage HARM (middle position is
stronger 3rd, upper 2nd) to see how it
interacts and can ‘control’ the eq
boosts. Increase DRIVE, compensating
with the CHANNEL fader to get it’s feel,
with and without HARM engaged. The
threshold of the HARM circuitry is
lower than the threshold of the DRIVE
amplifier, so it can be driven somewhat
cleanly if desired. The HARM smooths,
rounds peaks, and generates low order
harmonics, and is critical in that it
allows all the blocks ahead of it (Filters,
EQ, Limiter) to be used more broadly
(somewhat of a safety net to get wild).
DRIVE
DRIVE is post shelves and pre bells, so
you can shape tonally into it and after it.
Increase DRIVE, compensating with the
CHANNEL fader to get it’s feel, with and
without HARM engaged. DRIVE is post
shelves and pre bells, so you can shape
tonally into it and after it. The threshold
of the HARM circuitry is lower than the
threshold of the DRIVE amplifier, so it
can be driven somewhat cleanly if
desired. DRIVE can go deep into
distortion, and experimenting with
HARM settings has a dramatic effect on
how raw or smooth this can sound.
LIMITER
Set DRIVE back close to 0, and engage
the LIM IN, then adjust the LIM IN
control to set the desired amount of
limiting, and compensate with the LIM
OUT control. Setting the LIM IN switch
to the top SC HPF position engages the
limiter with a hpf on the sidechain. Set
the meter switch to LIM to show gain
reduction on the meter. The limiter
comes after the eq and DRIVE, and
before the HARM circuits, so when it is
engaged, DRIVE effects how hard the
limiter is driven, and LIM OUT effects
how hard HARM is driven.
PARALLEL MIXING
The PREAMP fader, which is essentially
a dry signal (unless the GAIN is over-
driven) allows the parallel mixing with
the fully processed CHANNEL fader and
the dry MIX fader. The faders are
additive so they may require balancing
to maintain headroom. The preamp
fader has an access point on the rear
panel, and any other signal from the
unit (EQ, or LIMITER for example) can
be patched here. An external signal
(effects, pedal, etc.) can also be
patched here.
