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3.3 The Compressor section
The purpose of the Compressor is to reduce the dynamic range of the program material and monitor the levels.
The extensive selection of controls in the Compressor section permit a wide variety of dynamic effects, from
gentle, musical compression, to the limiting of signal peaks, to an extreme, effective compression of the entire
dynamic range.
A low ratio and very low Threshold setting can be used, for example, to provide a soft, musical compression of
the overall dynamic range of the program material. Relatively high ratios in conjunction with a low Threshold
setting will result in a relatively constant volume (leveling) for instruments and vocals. High Threshold values are
generally used to limit the overall level of the program material. Ratios greater than 6:1 effectively prevent the
output levels from significantly exceeding the Threshold value, provided that the Outgain parameter has been
set to 0 dB).
Please note that compression of the entire program material due to low Threshold settings tends to sound
unnatural at higher ratios. Ratios in the range of 3:1 or less have less effect on the dynamic range and are
often used to compress the signals of a bass guitars, snares or vocals. Careful, moderate settings are
generally used for mixes and level control in the broadcasting field.
The ULTRA-DYNE PRO is equipped with six Compressors with intelligent look-ahead functions. The Thresh-
old, Ratio, Attack and Release times can be configured in the <PROCESS> and <EDIT> menus. In addition,
a knee configuration function with 36 increments can be found in the band setup menu. The look-ahead for the
six Compressors can be set using the delay parameter in the <GLOBAL SETUP> menu. The following defini-
tions describe the Compressor parameters in greater detail:
Compressor threshold:
The Compressor Threshold is the Threshold value at which the attack time starts to regulate the Compressor
to the set Ratio.
Compressor Ratio:
The Compressor Ratio is the Ratio of the input gain to the output gain.
Compressor attack time:
The Compressor Attack time is the time in which the Compressor regulates the signal to the set Ratio after the
threshold has been exceeded.
Compressor release time:
The Compressor release time is the time in which the Compressor returns the signal to 1:1 after the level has
dropped below the Threshold.
Compressor knee:
This parameter determines the Compressor characteristic at the Threshold.
"Hard knee" is an abrupt transition to preset gain. The use of a hard knee in conjunction with powerful compres-
sion at high ratios can sound conspicuously unnatural.
Threshold
Gain 0 dB
Input
Output
Hard Knee
Ratio
Fig. 3.1: Hard-knee compressor characteristic
3. APPLICATIONS
