Front Panel Controls

OverEasy® Switch: This switch activates/deactivates the OverEasy® characteristics of the 162SL. When the switch is IN, the 162SL is in OVEREASY mode. OverEasy is a process which allows the user to compress a signal more gently than a hard knee compressor through the threshold region. This action produces a much smoother “natural-sounding” compression effect. When the OverEasy switch is OUT, the regular, hard knee action of the compressor is active. Hard knee operation can produce a much harder (hence the nick-name “hard knee”) compression effect as the signal passes over the threshold level. Note that when the OverEasy switch is IN, the yellow LED above the Threshold control lights whenever the input signal level is in the OverEasy region of compression. In HARD KNEE mode the signal is either below the threshold and not being compressed, or it is above the threshold and is being compressed, and therefore the yellow LED does not light. See the sec- tion entitled Operating Notes later in this manual for a more in-depth discussion of the differences between OverEasy and hard knee compression.

Threshold Control: This control adjusts the signal amplitude (volume, or level) above which com- pression occurs. In OVEREASY mode the threshold of compression is defined as the approximate mid- dle of the OverEasy region. The markings around the Threshold control are measured in dBu (where 0dBu = .775V) and range from -40dBu (7.8mV rms) on the low end, to +20dBu (7.75V rms) at the high end of the scale.

Threshold LEDs: These LEDs (above the Threshold control) indicate the relationship between the input signal and the threshold set by the Threshold control. The green LED lights when the input signal is below the set threshold. The yellow LED lights when the 162SL is set in OVEREASY mode via the OverEasy switch, and the input signal level is in the OverEasy threshold range. The red LED lights when the input signal level is above the set threshold. (See the section entitled Operating Notes for a discussion on the differences between OverEasy and hard knee compression.)

Compression Control: This control adjusts the amount of compression that is applied to the input sig- nal level when it exceeds the set threshold level. The amount of compression is expressed in a ratio formula, where the first number of the ratio indicates the amount of input signal level in dB, and the second number indicates the amount of output signal level, in dB, when the threshold is exceed- ed. For example, in HARD KNEE mode, the compression ratio of 5:1 means that for every 5dB of sig- nal level that exceeds the set threshold level, the resultant output signal level is 1dB. Therefore if the threshold level is exceeded by 15dB, and the compression ratio is set to a 5:1 ratio, the output signal level will be 3dB. In OVEREASY mode, the ratio set by the Compression control is not reached until the signal has passed through the OverEasy region of compression (the yellow LED turns off and the red LED lights). When the ratio of ∞:1 is selected, the input signal level is “limited” to a 0dB