C2 Stereo Compressor- User's guide
C2
8
CONTROL EXPLANATIONS
There are two main gain controls on the compressor; the input gain control and the
output gain control. The input gain control is a stereo ganged control that sets the
audio gain of the front end amplifier. At maximum, the gain of the unit is about
26dB. This is more than adequate for compression and allows enough gain for the
compressor to be driven by stereo musical instruments, keyboards and computer
cards. If you set the gain to say 10dB and wind in compression until the ouput is is
back at 'zero', you have 10dB true compression. The output gain preset control is to
set the output to a comfortable level for the equipment it is feeding into.
CAUTION.
The compressor has gain, and a high output capability. If you hear signs
of overloading it's likely that your mixer insert point, or whatever you are feeding into
is being overdriven it's very unlikely that you are overdriving the compressor: Try
turning down the output volume.
'COMPRESSION' simply adds gain to the compression sidechain. In simple
terms this changes the 'threshold' of the compression although with this
compressor the 'threshold' is not clearly defined; the compression starts very
gradually and the compression ratio changes with programme content and
amplitude. For practical purposes, winding up the compression control
increases the amount of compression. In use you will find that musically, all
controls are interrelated. It's recommended that the compression control is
operated at or near maximum when heavy compression is needed.
'ATTACK' sets the time that the compressor takes to act. At minimum
(fastest) it's possible to make it 'overshoot' on some percussive programme
material: This means that the compression electronics are driven hard before
the gain has been controlled by the light cells. The cells catch up and
overcompress momentarily giving a tiny dip immediately following the start of
the 'note'. This is best demonstrated by using a drum track and setting the
attack and release to fastest. Used sparingly this can contribute to musical
drive. Slower attacks are used where the compression needs to be less
obvious.
'RELEASE' sets the time during which the path gain returns to normal after
compression. Generally, the longer the time, the less obvious is the
compression.
Summary of Contents for C2
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