Creative 1212M, 1820M owner manual Basic Controls

5 - Effects

Core Effects Descriptions

Basic Controls

The three main controls of a compressor are the Ratio control, the Threshold control and the Gain control.

If the signal falls below the Threshold, no processing will take place. Signals exceeding the Threshold will have gain reduction applied as set by the ratio control. This important control allows you to dial in the range of amplitudes you want to tame. For example, if you’re trying to trim off just the loudest peaks, set the threshold so the gain reduction meter only shows compression during these peaks. One of the biggest mistakes in using a compressor is having the threshold set too low. This adds noise as the compressor will always be reducing the volume.

The Ratio control determines how strongly the compressor will affect the signal. The higher the ratio, the more reduction will be applied. If the ratio is high enough, (above 10:1) the signal will effectively be prevented from getting any louder. In this situation, the compressor will be acting as a Limiter, placing an upper limit on the signal level. In general, ratios from 2:1 to 6:1 are considered compression and higher ratios above 10:1 are considered limiting.

The Post Gain control amplifies the signal after it has been compressed to bring it back up in volume. If you don’t increase the gain, the compressed signal will be much lower in volume.

Two other important controls are Attack and Release. Attack controls how quickly the gain is turned down after the signal exceeds the threshold. Release controls how fast the gain is returned to its normal setting after the signal has fallen below the threshold again. An attack setting of about 10 milliseconds will delay the onset of compression long enough to preserve the attack transients in guitar, bass or drums while allowing the sustain portion of the sound to be compressed. Longer release times are generally used to reduce the so called “pumping” effect as the compressor turns on and off. Don’t make the release time too long, however, or the compressor won’t have time to recover for the next pluck or hit. In general, the attack and release controls are used to smooth out the action of the compressor, but they can also be used to create special effects.

The Pre-Delay parameter lets the level detector “look into the future” up to 4 milli- seconds in order to anticipate upcoming peaks in the signal. This is accomplished of course, by inserting delay into the signal path. This lookahead technique allows the use of slower attack times without missing signal peaks. This parameter is especially effective on drums and percussion.

The Input Meter allows you to monitor the strength of your input signal. Always try to boost the signal before the compressor if you can.

The Compression Meter shows the amount of gain reduction being applied. Since this meter displays how much the gain is being turned down, the meter moves from right to left, instead of left to right like a normal meter.

Parameter	Description
Threshold	Threshold sets the input signal level above which dynamic range
	compression takes place. Everything above the threshold will be
	brought down in volume. Range: -60dB to +12dB
Ratio	Sets the ratio of input signal level to output signal level, or “how
	much” compression will be applied. Range: 1:1 to ∞:1
Post Gain	Amplifies the signal after it has been compressed to bring up the
	volume. Range -60dB to +60dB

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