2 – Introducing the TASCAM TA-1VP Vocal Producer

Used on a vocal track, this setting will compress only hot peaks in the voice, while gating out the room sounds, mike stand sounds, and breath noises in the track. Precisely what gets compressed and gated is a function of the compressor and gate threshold settings.

The graph below shows a dynamic expander. In this application, the gate threshold and ratio are set to gently expand the program material at a 1 to 1.5 ratio. The compressor ratio is set to 1 to 1. The setting is useful for repairing over-compressed material or for adding some punch to drums or other percussive sounds.

COMPRESSOR

THRESHOLD

GATE THRESHOLD

LOUDER

OUTPUT

 

LEVEL

1 TO 1.5 EXPANSION RATIO

 

LOUDER

INPUT LEVEL

Hard Knee/Soft Knee

The graphs shown above have what are described as “hard knees” in their gain curves. This means that as the signal passes through the threshold, the gain reduction it receives will begin abruptly. In settings where the compression or expansion ratios have high values, the abrupt change can be heard and often sounds artificial.

To make it possible to create settings where the dynamic effects are more natural sounding, the TA-1VP incorporates a Knee control which allows you to soften the transition between sections of the gain curve. The graph below shows a curve which has “soft knees,”making the dynamic transitions more subtle.

COMPRESSOR THRESHOLD

SOFT KNEES

KNEE = 100

GATE THRESHOLD

OUTPUT

LEVEL

Attack and Release Times

The attack time of a compressor is how long it takes for the compressor to react once the input level has met or exceeded the threshold level. With a fast attack time, the signal is brought under control almost immediately, whereas a slower attack time will allow the start of

a transient or a percussive sound to pass through uncompressed before the processor begins to react.

For sounds without percussive attacks (voices, synth pads, etc.), a fairly short attack time is usually used to ensure even compression. For instruments with percussive attacks (drums and guitars, for example), a slower attack time is typically used to preserve the attack transients and, hence, the characteristic nature of the instruments.

The illustration below shows the effect of various the attack times.

UNCOMPRESSED INPUT

COMPRESSED

COMPRESSED

 

1 mSEC ATTACK

10 mSEC ATTACK

The release time of a compressor is the time it takes for the gain to return to normal after the input level drops below the threshold. A fast release time is used on rapidly varying signals to avoid affecting subsequent transients. However, setting too quick a release time can cause undesirable artifacts with some signals. On the other hand, while slower release times can give a smoother effect, if the release time is too long, the compressor will not accurately track level changes in the input. Slow release times may also result in audible level changes known as “pumping.”

INPUT LEVEL

12 TASCAM TA-1VP