The TC Electronic M350 is a dual-engine rackmount effects processor designed for both live and studio applications. The TC Electronic M350 combined a dedicated stereo reverb engine with a multi-purpose effects engine, providing 15 TC reverbs and 15 effects covering delay, modulation and compression. The unit was designed to provide direct front-panel access, software editor control, preset automation, digital I/O and 24-bit processing in a compact 1U rackmount format.
The TC Electronic M350 expanded the earlier dual-engine concept with computer-based control. Through the included AU/VST compatible software editor, studio engineers and recording musicians could control and edit the TC Electronic M350 from within a DAW environment. Parameters and preset recalls could be automated or controlled in real time, allowing the hardware processor to be integrated into computer-based recording systems while still operating as a standalone rack processor.
The TC Electronic M350 used high-density 24-bit processing and 24-bit AD/DA conversion. Its digital input and output were provided through S/PDIF, with auto-sensing 24-bit digital I/O at 44.1kHz to 48kHz. The unit also included analogue inputs and outputs on 6.35mm phone jacks, MIDI In and Out, MIDI Clock tempo synchronisation, pedal control for tap tempo, and global bypass. Its internal power supply removed the need for an external wall-mounted power supply.
The effects structure of the TC Electronic M350 was based on dual send/return and serial-style setups. This made the unit suitable for conventional effects loop use, as well as situations where one processor block needed to feed into another. The 256 factory presets covered a wide range of applications and audio sources, while 99 user preset locations brought the total number of available presets to 355.
The reverb section of the TC Electronic M350 included TC Classic Hall, Hall Acoustic, Vocal Reverb, Live Vocal, Drum Ambience, Drum Room, Cathedral, Living Room, Gold Plate, Silver Plate, Spring Vintage, Live Stage, Ambience, Damped Room and Nearfield. These algorithms covered large halls, vocal spaces, drum ambience, plates, spring reverb, small rooms, live-stage spaces and early-reflection-based ambience.
TC Classic Hall emulated a large hall with a broad reverb and relatively long decay time. Hall Acoustic simulated a large environment with a more diffuse acoustic character. Vocal Reverb and Live Vocal were intended for vocal sources, with the Live Vocal algorithm based on a large room or venue with wooden surfaces. Drum Ambience simulated a small 1980s-style ambient room with very short reflections, while Drum Room provided a medium-sized room with a longer reverb character for drums and percussion.
Cathedral emulated a large location with hard and uneven surfaces. Living Room simulated a small, furnished room with fewer sustained reflections. Gold Plate and Silver Plate were based on the metallic plate reverb concept used before digital signal processing became common. Spring Vintage simulated spring reverb as used in older guitar amplifiers. Live Stage provided a reverb type intended for live use, while Ambience focused on early reflections for dry source material. Damped Room simulated a small padded studio or vocal box, and Nearfield provided a tight reverb with a strong early-reflection component.
The multi-purpose effects section of the TC Electronic M350 included Dynamic Delay, Triplets Delay, Studio Delay, Soft Delay, PingPong Delay, Slapback Delay, Smooth Phaser, Vintage Phaser, Lush Chorus, Soft Chorus, Instrument Flanger, Compressor, Hard Compressor, De-Esser and Tremolo. These effects provided delay, modulation, dynamics and vocal processing options within the same dual-engine architecture.
Dynamic Delay altered the delay output level according to the dynamics of the input signal, allowing lower delay levels while a source was active and higher delay levels during pauses. Triplets Delay provided a rhythmic delay structure based on triplets. Studio Delay produced a clearer reproduction of the source material, while Soft Delay used high-frequency filtering to provide a softer delay response. PingPong Delay panned delay repeats from left to right while keeping the input signal in its original position, and Slapback Delay provided short repeat structures for doubling effects.
The modulation effects included Smooth Phaser, Vintage Phaser, Lush Chorus, Soft Chorus, Instrument Flanger and Tremolo. Smooth Phaser used twelve all-pass filters for a smoother phaser response, while Vintage Phaser used four all-pass filters for a more direct phasing effect. Lush Chorus provided a broader and more complex chorus effect, while Soft Chorus was intended for more stable and natural chorus processing. Instrument Flanger provided a broad flanging effect, and Tremolo used a triangular wave shape.
The dynamics section of the TC Electronic M350 included Compressor, Hard Compressor and De-Esser. The Compressor was designed for general-purpose compression, while Hard Compressor provided stronger compression for sources such as drums and percussion. The De-Esser was designed to reduce unwanted sibilance, particularly on vocal material.
Retrospectively, the TC Electronic M350 represents a later development of TC Electronic’s compact dual-engine rack processors. It retained the direct front-panel access and 1U hardware format associated with practical live and studio processors, while adding AU/VST software editor control for DAW integration. This positioned the TC Electronic M350 between traditional rackmount effects processing and computer-based production workflows, giving users hardware reverbs and effects with software-based editing, automation and recall.
Features
- Dual-engine rackmount effects processor
- Designed for live and studio applications
- 15 stereo reverbs
- 15 multi-purpose effects
- Delay, modulation and compression effects
- AU/VST compatible software editor
- Standalone and DAW-based parameter editing
- Preset recall and parameter automation through software editor
- 24-bit processing
- 24-bit AD/DA conversion
- 256 factory presets
- 99 user preset locations
- 355 presets in total
- Direct front-panel access to reverb and effect types and parameters
- Dual send/return and serial-style setups
- Auto-sensing 24-bit S/PDIF digital I/O
- 44.1kHz to 48kHz digital operation
- MIDI In and Out
- MIDI Clock tempo synchronisation
- Pedal control for tap tempo
- Global bypass
- Internal power supply
- Five seconds of delay
- TC Classic Hall, Hall Acoustic, Vocal Reverb, Live Vocal and Drum Ambience reverbs
- Drum Room, Cathedral, Living Room, Gold Plate and Silver Plate reverbs
- Spring Vintage, Live Stage, Ambience, Damped Room and Nearfield reverbs
- Dynamic Delay, Triplets Delay, Studio Delay, Soft Delay, PingPong Delay and Slapback Delay effects
- Smooth Phaser, Vintage Phaser, Lush Chorus, Soft Chorus, Instrument Flanger and Tremolo effects
- Compressor, Hard Compressor and De-Esser effects
