The TC 1210 Spatial Expander & Stereo Chorus Flanger is an analogue machine with a difference.

TC Electronics are based in Denmark. I can only assume that the name of this unit is less of a mouthful in the native tongue. The English rendition reminds me of boy racers who say 'Granada GT1 with twin Webber's and low-profile alloy wheels', when 'Yes, I've got a car' would have sufficed.

The TC is not for boy racers though, as both the price tag and the quality will testify. You may wonder what's so special about a box that contains two analogue stereo chorus/flangers. Well, when the two devices are combined, the results are some very clever and ear-tricking spatial effects, of both the static and shifting variety.

To understand how this unit works, it's useful to look at some of the theory behind it. The design is based on the 'Haas effect', also known as the 'principle of first arrival'. Noting that sound travels at 340 metres per second, the theory reasons that the brain works out where a sound is coming from by the fractionally different time it takes the sound to reach each ear.

This calculation is based on the direct sound, which reaches the ear before any reflected or reverberant sound and the brain will maintain this perception even when the reflections are louder than the direct sound. In terms of stereo image, therefore, it's possible to give the illusion that a sound is coming from the left speaker, even if the sound is louder in the right speaker, providing the sound from the right speaker arrives a little later.

This effect can be heard very clearly when the 1210 is set to 'Delay Panning'. Although there's no alteration in volume, the sound seems to sweep from one side to the other as the time relationship between the channels is altered.

Because the delay times involved are very short, it is more appropriate to refer to them as phase shifts. Some psychoacoustic enhancers use the same principle to create static stereo images from mono sources. The TC will also perform this trick, with a setting they call Spatial Expander.

During the course of all this heady stuff you may have forgotten that the unit contains two chorus/flangers. The two channels may be used independently to process two separate tracks. When I first looked at the back and saw two sockets marked 'Outputs 1, Outputs 2', I thought it was another piece of quaint Anglo-Danish. In fact the jacks are stereo giving you the option of two stereo choruses or even linking the channels for quadraphonic effects!

Now that you have some idea of the units capabilities, let's take a look at the controls.

Layout

The unit is housed in a well constructed 19 inch rack box, which is steel with a hefty alloy front panel and stands 1U high. The finish is an unobtrusive but readable combination of brushed matt black with white lettering.

In terms of layout, the front panel has identical controls for channels 1 & 2, with four LED indicated push buttons in the centre that determine the way in which the two channels are combined.

"When I first looked at the back and saw two sockets marked 'Outputs 1, Outputs 2' I thought it was another piece of quaint Anglo-Danish. In fact the jacks are stereo giving you the option of two stereo choruses or even linking the channels for quadraphonic effects!"

Each channel has an input section with an Input Sensitivity control, a Bypass switch and a 5-segment LED bargraph. Although this all seems pretty standard, there are a number of interesting features that show real attention to detail. The input control simultaneously adjusts the output for unity gain, so that altering the input sensitivity does not cause irritating level changes to the overall output. With a range of -20 to +3dB, the bargraph shows yellow at zero, green below and red at peak levels.

The Bypass switch is a generously proportioned square push button. When the channel is active an LED in the LFO (modulation) section is illuminated which changes from green to red to indicate LFO speed. All these little touches make the unit easy to setup.

Until I read the instructions (real men don't need intructions!) I was happy to tell you that the next section has an Intensity control that determines the wet to dry mix and a Mode button, with 4 LEDs, that functions rather like the button on a Yamaha R1000 by providing four delay times. However, the manual tells us that there is a more complex arrangement.

In Mode 1 the Intensity controls the amount direct signal but in Mode 2 it controls the amount of effect signal. In Mode 3, Intensity controls the amount of regeneration and in Mode 4, the amount of inverse signal. Confused? So was I. In practice, you learn what this section will do almost instinctively and it is actually very logical.

The LFO section is next and includes the LFO rate LED, as mentioned earlier. Three rotary controls are provided for Speed, Width and Delay. Speed is variable from 1 sweep every 10 seconds to 10 sweeps per second. Width goes from 0 to 100% and delay ranges from 0.65 to 12 mSecs.

Of the centre push buttons, two are Input Mode and two are Link Mode. In the Input section, Stereo Inputs allows you the option of mono in/stereo out or stereo throughout. Separate Input divides the unit into two separate mono-in/stereo-out chorus/flangers.

In the Link section there is a Cross Off button and a Sweep Sync button. The function of these depends on the setting of the Separate Input button. In the normal mode (where both channels are used together), the Cross Off button 'switches off the cross mixings of the channels'. Translated, this offers you the option of having two discrete left/right outputs or having both channels (they're both stereo, remember) appear at the outputs as a mix. In other words, do you want a mono chorus on the left and a mono chorus on the right, or do you want them both to chorus in stereo (possibly at different rates). In the Separate mode, Cross Off disables the Bypass function. Quite what practical benefit is gained by this I have yet to fathom.

Sweep Sync is a bit more straightforward. In normal mode it synchronises the two LFO modulators and in separate mode it mixes the two LFO sections, allowing more varied modulation.

If this all sounds a bit complicated, don't worry. 'Hands on' it all gets much easier. The remainder of the front panel contains channel 2, which is a precise duplication of channel 1.

"If this unit were a permanent fixture in my studio, it would probably see frequent use."

The rear panel has an IEC mains connector, voltage switch and mains fuse on the left hand side. Two jacks allow external control of Bypass and LFO speed.

Ex. Bypass is pretty obvious but Ex. Speed does bear further explanation. If a stereo jack is shorted across, the LFO rate increases to five times the previous speed. This is not the most flexible of arrangements but it would at least give you some remote facility in a live situation.

There follows a Direct Mute button. As most people will use this unit with a mixer and not require any dry signal from the effect return, this button is sensibly placed.

Two jacks labelled Outputs 1 and Outputs 2 are next. Accompanying these sockets are jacks for Input 2 and Input 1. In case you think I'm being awkward about the numbering, please remember that I'm reading left to right and it all makes good sense from the front of the unit.

The inputs and outputs are further duplicated by balanced XLRs. So much for the whistles and bells and onto the real fun.

The Sounds

TC provide a chart with seven suggested settings and these provide a useful guided tour of the sonic capabilities. They can all be used with a mono or stereo input. I tried it both ways and was equally impressed each time.

'Spatial Expander', as TC call the first setting, uses both channels to produce the Haas effect mentioned at the beginning of this review. A subtle stereo ADT type setting is used to produce a very big stereo image. After about 10 minutes you start to doubt whether it's doing much but when you switch it out, the sound becomes so lifeless by comparison that you tend to whack it back on pretty quickly!

'Chorus 1' is very rich and also has a great deal of clarity. 'Chorus 2' uses more width on the LFO section, a slower speed and sounds more 'flangey'.

'Doubler' produces a bright and very realistic effect, far more like double tracking than the ADT settings on many delay units.

"It's both more subtle and more versatile than a lot of units on offer."

Purely as an aside, did you know that when Ken Townsend produced the first ADT device at Abbey Road Studios, he termed it Artificial Double Tracking, not Automatic Double Tracking? John Lennon heard the device and called it 'Ken's Flanger'. Not a lot of people know that.

'Flanger 1' is quite a musical setting. I don't normally like flanging because it sounds too much like someone shouting down a drainpipe. By contrast, this effect is quite pleasant. 'Flanger 2' is similar but veers a little more toward chorus.

'Delay Panning' is quite spectacular, causing the sound to sweep from one side to the other. Try it with cans on and you stand a real danger of losing your balance! To my ear this effect is far more successful than Auto-panners. It's that Haas effect again. While an auto panner will sweep from the left channel to the right, this unit can kid you that the sound is coming from beyond the width of the speakers. Clever stuff eh?

The best news comes when you forget the suggested settings and try a few of you own. Unlike DDLs with LFO sections, the delay times on the 1210 are fairly short. This means that very few combinations produce the ludicrous 'Goinoinoing' sounds that injudicious LFO/delay combinations create on a DDL. Tweaking the controls therefore produces a constant series of spectacular sounds.

String sounds come alive, using the two LFO sections on different speeds. Normally, chorus effects can get a bit tedious, due to the constant oscillation. With this beast, much of that effect can be removed, leaving you with a great, wide and thoroughly satisfying sound.

Vocals sound very good with the Spacial Expander setting and variations upon it. Because it gives them so much presence, you can mix the vocal a little lower and still retain clarity. This is an advantage of psychoacoustic processors of course; you get a greater sense of separation between instruments.

I also put bass guitar and guitar through the unit. Once again, you can get a really nice phase sound but without a constant 'woosh, woosh'. Presumably, this is part of what TC term 'static effects'.

I even put complete tracks through it with creditable results. You can actually reprocess a mono track into some sense of stereo. Of course, you don't get true separation but you do get a very nice 'wrap around' effect.

Conclusion

For an analogue, bucket brigade device, TC seem to be asking a lot of money. After all, it costs the best part of £600 including VAT.

Having said that, it's a very well conceived unit and it is obvious that a great deal of thought has gone into the design and construction. Certainly, it produces a large number of usable effects and is not difficult to use. Nor would I want to cast any aspersions on the specification. It's very good indeed and obviously designed for the top end studio market. (How many digital devices can you find with a frequency response of 20Hz to 20kHz through the effect?)

If this unit were a permanent fixture in my studio, it would probably see frequent use. It's both more subtle and more versatile than a lot of units on offer. If you are considering investing in a new unit for your rack that is either an enhancer or some sort of chorus unit, check the 1210 out because it offers a great deal.

The TC1210 costs £581.62 including VAT and is available from: Musimex, (Contact Details).