They both interact to get the effect you want, and that requires some experimenting. The most important controls are the and knobs. switch allows you to see the levels before the engineer does his job, or after. gain control located after our “automatic engineer in the box." When it's turned counter-clockwise ,he pushes the fader back up instantly and when it's full clockwise, he'll take longer to push his fader back up to unity gain. tells the engineer how quickly he should push the fader back up again after a loud signal has stopped. Short attack times order the engineer to get his hands on the fader 1/10,000th of a second after he sees a too-loud signal long attack times tell him to let transients less than 1/5th of a second pass. and controls involve the speed of the engineer's response. If these LEDs aren't on, his hands are in his pockets. switch affects how he reacts as signal approaches and travels through the threshold: does he reduce it exactly by the ratio only after it crosses the threshold, or does he gradually ease into the full ratio as it passes through? The LEDs of the gain reduction meter tell you how much the “engineer" is pulling down the “fader" at any time. tells him how far he should “pull the fader down" when the signal is above the threshold level: should he pull it down just a little bit (compression) or pull the fader as far down as necessary to make sure the output level is never higher than the threshold (limiting)? If it's turned fully clockwise, he won't pull down his fader until the highest red LED comes on, if it's turned counter-clockwise, he'll have his hand on the fader even before the lowest green LED lights. tells him how high the input meter can rise before he has to start pulling down the fader. The front panel controls simply tell the “engineer" what rules he should follow. Let's go back to the “engineer with his hand on a fader and eyes on the meter analogy. By using the threshold and ratio controls, you can set a stable sound that will hold its position in the mix whether the singer is whispering or screaming. Paradoxically, by cutting the peak levels, a compressor allows you to raise the average level of a sound using the Output control to make it sound louder. That's what the compressor is doing, except much faster and more accurately than humanly possible. After the sound gets soft again, the engineer will push the fader back up. The instant the sound gets louder, the engineer pulls down the fader by a certain amount. As long as the meter stays below a certain point (the threshold), he leaves the fader all the way up and the gain is unchanged. Imagine an engineer with his hand on a fader and his eyes on an input level meter. Finally, when you hear the song on your favorite radio station, it passes through yet another compressor before it's transmitted.Ī compressor/limiter is essentially an automatic volume control. Often the entire stereo mix maybe compressed or limited during the mastering process. Almost every lead vocal on a pop record is compressed during tracking or mixdown. Only if you hear the original dynamic range of a signal and compare it to the compressed version will the effect be noticeable, yet compressors are essential in modern audio work. Most listeners won't be aware that signal processing is being used. Most types of signal processors such as reverbs, equalizers, and delays are designed to make an obvious change in the sound, but a compressor's action is much more subtle when used properly. If you've just purchased a compressor and aren't sure how to use it, or are considering the purchase of a compressor, this will help you understand what compressors are used for. This paper offers a basic explanation of compression for beginners. How do I setup my compressor? Answer: Introduction
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