Output Jacks - Xaoc Devices TALLIN Operator's Manual

determine the gain of the VCA. A CV of 0V at
either jack will close the VCA entirely, however
both jacks are internally normalized to a con-
stant voltage, so it is possible to use both, just
one, or—for manual control only—neither. It
is convenient to think of each channel of Tallin
as consisting of two VCAs in series (exponen-
tial followed by linear), even though the inter-
nal implementation is a single circuit. Both
CV inputs are optimized for voltages up to 8V,
however they can handle envelopes as hot as
10V, or as low as 5V (although the VCA may
not open fully in such a case). The internal
normalization of both CV inputs is set to 8V.
Tallin's response to combined CV and manual
settings is discussed in next section.
Each channel of Tallin features a 3-position
drive switch 5 that selects between the
non-distorted linear operation (switch in mid-
dle position), a symmetric overdrive yielding
mostly 3rd harmonic distortion (switch in up
position), or a non-symmetric overdrive yield-
ing mostly 2nd harmonic distortion (switch in
down position). See "Overdrive Operation" for
more details.
The amplified signals are available at the

output jacks

6 . Signals that would exceed
18Vpp are subject to internal soft clipping to
avoid harsh distortions due to the limited dy-
namic range (20Vpp) of Tallin's operational
amplifiers.
The multi-color LEDs
nal levels in four stages, from silence to the
normal 10Vpp level (gradually lit green), ex-
ceeding it (by changing to yellow), and finally,
reaching very hot levels (by turning orange),
and engaging the soft clipping circuit (by
turning red).
7 indicate output sig-
OPERATING THE VOLUME CONTROL
The volume knobs are scaled so that the central
position yields 0dB, or 100% of original ampli-
tude, provided there is either nothing patched
to the CV inputs, or there is a control voltage
of 8V (fig. 2). Turning the knob past the central
position will engage a boost allowing the am-
plification of quiet signals up to modular lev-
els. Keep in mind that if the input is a modular
level signal you should expect soft clipping to
engage quickly and provide a heavy distortion
by the end of the knob's travel.
The expo input offers an exponential control
of the output amplitude, which means the am-
plitude will decrease rapidly as the voltage ap-
proaches zero (fig. 3). Since human sensitivity
to sound intensity is nearly exponential, this
exponential input yields a natural sounding
loudness decrease when using CV sources that
change linearly in time. Since there is a signifi-
cant variety of envelope amplitudes in eurorack,
the sensitivity of this input can be adjusted to
adapt to the provided control source by using
the knob. It is optimally suited to 8V envelopes
in the central (12 o'clock) position, and should
be turned down to the 10 o'clock position when
using a 10V envelope. Using 10V envelopes
without turning down the knob will result in a
severely compressed response, that delivers a
thick, and somewhat unnatural, sound which
can be creatively abused if that's your prefer-
ence. For 5V envelopes, the output will be very
quiet. This can be compensated with the boost
range of the knob, however you may be unable
to reach overdrive levels in this case.
The linear input offers linear control, which
means the output amplitude will scale propor-
tionally to the CV (fig. 4). If you have an expo-
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