Release

•Determines how fast the compressor turns off once the signal falls below the threshold. It is calibrated in milliseconds, ranging from 10 ms to 1000 ms (1 second).

Ratio

•Determines the change in output level as a function of the change in input level, once the threshold has been exceeded. The Ratio control ranges from 1.00:1 to 20.00:1. Thus, if the ratio is 10:1, an increase in input level of 10 dB (as- suming the input is above the threshold level) results in a 1 dB increase in output level.

•When set to 20:1, the compressor acts as a peak limiter. After the initial attack time, the output changes very little once the input crosses the threshold.

Output

•Determines the amount of makeup gain applied after the compressor. Use this control to com- pensate for the loss of gain caused by the action of the compressor. It is calibrated in decibels, ranging from unity (0.00 dB) to +20.00 dB.

Soft

•This button turn on the compressor soft knee function. The knee of the compressor describes the point on the input-output graph where the threshold begins to reduce the output.

•A hard-knee compressor means that, up until the moment the input signal crosses the thresh- old, no compression occurs. Once the threshold is crossed, the full ratio of gain reduction is applied to the input signal (assuming the attack time has passed).

•With the soft knee engaged, the gain reduc- tion begins to occur before the input signal reaches the threshold. The amount of reduction gradually increases until the full ratio setting is reached slightly after the threshold is crossed. This can be seen as a curve around the knee point on the compressor graphic display.

Meters

There are three vertical bars to indicate metering for the compressor. One indicates the input signal level entering the compressor (IN), one indicates the output signal level leaving the compressor (OUT), and one indicates the amount of gain reduction being applied to the signal (R). The gain reduction meter indicates from the top to the bottom, starting at 0 dB (no gain reduction), and moving down as the compression increases.

A gate is used to duck or mute a channel when

Owner's

Note that the meters indicate compressor function

 

only, and do not indicate the closing or opening of

 

the gate.

 

Gate

 

the signal level drops below a certain point. This

Manual

axis represents the input signal level to the gate,

can reduce the overall noise level in your mix by

 

muting unused or noisy channels.

 

The gate is represented graphically by a diagonal

 

line across an X-Y coordinate display. The horizontal

 

and the vertical axis represents the output signal

 

level from the gate. When the input signal level is

 

below the threshold setting for the gate, there is

 

no output and the red indicating LED in the gate

 

window lights. When the input signal level is above

 

the threshold, the signal passes through the gate

 

unaffected.

 

There are five controls for the gate along the bot-

 

tom edge of the window. These are controlled by the

 

V-Pots located just below them.

 

 

 

Note: When we say the gate opens, it means the

 

gate is not acting on the signal and the signal is

 

allowed to pass. When the gate closes, the gate

 

acts on the signal by attenuating it.

 

 

 

Threshold

•Determines the level at which the gate acts on

the incoming signal. It is calibrated in decibels, ranging from off (–∞) to 0 dB.

Attack

•Determines how fast the gate opens once the threshold has been exceeded. It is calibrated in milliseconds, ranging from 0.1 ms to 100 ms.

Hold

•This determines how long the gate remains open after the input signal has fallen below, and remains below, the threshold before closing. It is calibrated in milliseconds, ranging from 20 ms to 1000 ms (1 second).

Release

•Determines how fast the gate closes after the hold time has expired, once the signal falls below the threshold. It is calibrated in millisec- onds, ranging from 10 ms to 1000 ms (1 sec- ond).

Owner's Manual

41