dbx Pro 262 Applications, Raising a Signal Out of a Mix, Preventing Tape Saturation, Systems

Applications

REDUCTION meters show 15dB of gain reduction, then increase the COMPRES- SION RATIO if necessary. In OverEasy® mode, the 262 takes slightly longer to react than in Hard Knee mode, and will therefore emphasize the slap at the beginning of the note and reduce the boominess of its body. The 262 also works well for tightening snare drums and tom toms and can be used with drum machines to effectively alter the character of any electronic drum sound.

For drum kit submixes (e.g., mixing multiple drum tracks to two tracks while using two 262s for compression), consider backing off the COMPRESSION RATIO on each 262 (down to 2:1) to avoid an excess of cymbal “splattering.” In larger multitracking systems, compress the kick and snare separately. A further possibility (if you have two more compressors) is to heavily compress a stereo submix of toms and leave the remaining percussives unaffected.

Raising a Signal Out of a Mix

Since reducing dynamic range increases the average signal level by a small amount, a single track can be raised out of a mix by boosting its level slightly and applying compression. Start with a 2:1 COMPRESSION RATIO and a rela- tively low THRESHOLD setting (-20dB). Adjust both controls as necessary.

Compressors have also been used to bring vocals to the forefront of a mix in volume-restricted studios (e.g. home studios). Start by adding a foam wind- screen to the mic (if it doesn’t have one). Set the COMPRESSION RATIO to 10:1 and the THRESHOLD to -10dB. With your mouth approximately 2 inches from the mic, sing the vocal part, but with less volume than normal. Use phrasing to give the part some intensity. An equalizer (e.g., a dbx 3031 Graphic Equalizer) or a vocal effects device (e.g., dbx 290, delay, distortion) can be added to fur- ther toughen the performance.

Note: When compressing stereo program material, the factors affecting a com- pression curve and the actual COMPRESSION RATIO and THRESHOLD settings, are like those previously covered with reference to single channels of program material. However, it will generally be found that large amounts of compression are more audible in a mixed stereo program than they might be on the separate tracks that were mixed to create the program.

Preventing Tape Saturation

With programs of widely varying levels, compression can prevent recording lev- els (e.g., cymbal tracks in a final mix or drum kit submix) from saturating tape tracks.

Preventing Digital Overload

Digital recorders and samplers produce audible distortion when they exceed their headroom. The 262 effectively ensures that audio input does not overload

adigital recorder’s D/A (digital-to-analog) converters. The 262 can perform this compression quietly enough for all digital media. Set the 262 for limiting with Hard Knee mode On, the COMPRESSION RATIO to °:1, and set the THRESH- OLD 2 to 3 dB below the overload point of the recorder.

Speaker Protection (Auditoriums, Churches, Mobile DJs and Sound

Systems)

Compressors are frequently used to prevent excessive program levels from dam-

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