Sound Pure's Take

 At first glance, the Trakker looks like a compressor not too different from any other - it features many familiar controls, but to really grasp its flexibility and huge range of tonal options you’ll have hours of experimenting ahead of you.  

The big new variable with the Trakker is the Character Switch - a 16 position switch that changes the style and tone of compression.  In fact, everything changes about the compressor as you cycle through the various different character types.  

I naively tried printing audio clips of each different character position, keeping all the other controls the same. Initially I thought this would give me a good impression of the different characters.  It may be worth doing as a very initial experiment, but SO MUCH changes when the character switch is moved it’s just not the equal comparison that it seems to be initially.

Put simply, the trakker can give you a really transparent, almost undetectable sounding compression when that’s what you need, but it can also do gooey and smooth as well as fast, grabby and pumpy. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that in stereo linked operation, all settings other than output gain are matched from the master unit to the slave unit(s) - a feature that far too few stereo/dual mono compressors offer.  

If you’re looking for a single compressor that can handle vocals, bass guitar and drums as well as bus work and mastering, there’s really no other compressor that covers so many different applications so well.

From Crane Song

TRAKKER is a high quality Single Channel Discrete Class A Compressor-Limiter. It functions either as a musically transparent compressor or as a vintage compressor-limiter with selectable hard or soft knee. It can create distinct new sounds or maximize existing ones. The TRAKKER has adjustable threshold, attack, release, knee shape, and makeup gain controls. In addition to these controls, a function switch allows the selection of transparent operation or vintage operations such as optical, air optical, soft knee, and hard knee - each with four different amplifier/gain control sounds.

The amplifier/gain control sounds are:

    * Transparent
    * Vintage (tube or old style class A)
    * Transparent with VCA artifacts and
    * Vintage with VCA artifacts.

The front panel contains a 22 element VU meter with over load indicator to show gain reduction and allow accurate monitoring of output levels. In the link mode the master unit controls all functions of the slave units except for make-up gain. An additional feature of the TRAKKER is the ability to link up to 8 units for surround mixing.

TRAKKER is a maximum-versatility toolkit for solving real-world recording, broadcast, and sound reinforcement problems with the utmost attention to signal quality. From single channel operation to bus compression, TRAKKER can provide an artistic choice of sounds at the flip of a switch.

Input: Floating, balanced. Maximum input is +25 dBm. The connectors are XLR.

Output: Floating, balanced. Maximum output is +25 dBm. The connectors are XLR.

For Input and Output: Pin 2 is Sig + , Pin 3 is Sig – , Pin 1 is GND

Side Chain Connections: Floating, balanced. Connections are made by using a DB-9 Male Connector. This is a loop insert and must be normaled back to the TRAKKER.

Unbalanced Connections: Are made by tieing the SIG – Pin to the GND Pin. If the connection is an input, it is best to tie at the signal source. If the connection is an output, it is best to tie at the TRAKKER XLR connector.

Power: 100, 120, 230,240 volt; 50/60 Hz; 45 watts
             MDL 0.4A Fuse for 100V and 120V
             MDL 0.25A Fuse for 230V and 240V

Pilot Lamp: # 7335

Shipping Weight: 14 lbs. (6.34 kg)

Depth Behind Panel: 10 inches plus cabling

Panel Height: 1 rack space

Warranty

This item is sold without the Sound Pure 3-year warranty (used / B-stock / dealer-exempt). Coverage terms for items in this category live in Terms & Conditions, Section 27.

Returns

This item is not eligible for the Try-Before-You-Buy 48-hour audition. Standard return policy applies — see Terms & Conditions, Section 18 for details.

Sound Pure Studios Control Room A — Durham, NC

Sound Pure Studios · Durham, NC

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