Channel strip recording with preamp, de-esser, compressor, and EQ
The SPL Track One Mk3 is a compact recording channel strip that has earned a prominent place in broadcast and vocal recording. Whether you’re recording a singer-songwriter, a live event, or a podcast, the Track One enhances the signal from a microphone, line, or instrument and combines a preamp, de-esser, compressor/limiter, and equalizer into a single rack-mount unit. The third generation features numerous technical improvements and adopts the black design of the SPL Studio series, making it more intuitive to use during recording sessions.
The Track One Mk3 features two preamps: a microphone preamp with 48 V phantom power and a separate instrument preamp, both tuned for a neutral, open, and transparent sound. The microphone input offers up to +63 dB of gain, sufficient even for dynamic vocal mics and ribbon microphones; the line input ranges from -12 to +22 dB, and the instrument input from 0 to +35 dB. The 6 dB/octave high-pass filter eliminates impact noise and vibrations below 80 Hz.
Thanks to the line input, you can insert the Track One Mk3 into a DAW insert slot: send a track from the audio interface, process it with a de-esser, compressor, limiter, and EQ, and record it back. A simple way to apply analog processing even to tracks that have already been recorded.
The SPL de-esser detects sibilants, inverts their phase, and adds them back to the original signal, eliminating them without affecting the rest of the spectrum. The Auto-Threshold feature maintains a consistent reduction even when the speaker or singer moves closer to or farther from the microphone, so there’s no need to adjust the settings during the take. Simply adjust the S-Reduction: even at high settings, the character and timbre of the voice remain intact. The S-DET LED indicates each sibilant detected.
The compressor is adjusted using the Compression knob, which sets the threshold between 0 and -20 dB, and the Make-Up Gain up to +20 dB, aided by the gain reduction indicator in 1.5 dB steps. Attack and release times automatically adapt to the signal: a fast response to plosive consonants like P and T, and a slower response to soft attacks and sustained notes, for musical, uncolored compression. The Limiter button transforms the section into a discrete soft limiter, useful for protecting the converter in broadcast and live applications.
With the Compressor Link function, you can link two Track One units and control both compressors with the same signal, choosing which unit acts as the master and which as the slave. The stereo image remains consistent across microphone pairs, keyboards, or stereo buses.
The EQ covers the entire spectrum with two semi-parametric bands featuring proportional Q: LMF from 30 to 700 Hz with ±14 dB, ideal for adding body to the fundamental of a vocal or reducing rumble, and MHF from 680 Hz to 15 kHz with ±12 dB. The bandwidth narrows as gain increases, allowing for precise, pronounced corrections and broader, more musical subtle adjustments. The Air filter—a bell-shaped coil-capacitor circuit centered at 19 kHz with ±10 dB—adds air and presence to vocals or softens harshness.
The Output control attenuates up to -20 dB or amplifies up to +5.5 dB to properly drive the AD converter or the next device in the chain. The PPM display shows the peak output level and helps set up the preamp; the SIG LED indicates signal presence, and the CLIP LED monitors critical points in the signal chain: after the preamp, the compressor, the EQ, and the output.
Neutrik connectors with gold-plated contacts, electronically balanced signal at a nominal level of +6 dBu, and an internal linear power supply with a shielded toroidal transformer: studio-grade construction in a single-rack-unit format.
SPL Track One Mk3 Technical Specifications
Channels
1 (Mono)
Hardware format
Rack
€ 1.161,00 € 1.000,86 + VAT
Normally shipped in 10-15 working days
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