Mackie DL806 and DL1608 Reference Guide
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Modern Gate and Compressor Swipe Zone
Here in the modern gate and compression view, swipe anywhere in the gray areas outlined below.
Swiping up displays that channel’s FX view. Swiping down displays that channel’s EQ view.
And swiping left and right changes channels.
Modern Gate Display and Settings
The gate for each channel may be adjusted by moving the threshold and range balls or moving any
of the five sliders left and right. Additionally, exact settings may be entered into the current parameter
display. The gate may be adjusted whether the gate is on or off. The iPad channel only has a compressor,
not a gate.
Threshold
— Threshold determines the level at which the gate acts on the incoming signal.
The range of the threshold setting varies from –80 dBFS to 0 dBFS.
Range
— Range determines how far the gain drops once the signal is below threshold. Setting the
range control to something in the 10-20 dB range allows some amount of signal leakage when the
gate is closed, which may make its action more subtle (less abrupt) and therefore less noticeable.
The range of the gated signal varies from 0 dB to 60 dB.
Attack
— Attack determines how quickly the gate opens once the signal is above threshold.
Short attack times allow triggering on short transients, while longer attack times cause these
transients to be ignored. The range of the attack time varies from 0 ms to 300 ms.
Hold
— Hold sets a fixed time that the gate remains open once the signal drops below the threshold
setting. During the hold time, the gain is held constant, whereas during the release time, the gain
is falling at the release rate. The range of the hold time varies from 0 seconds to 5 seconds.
Release
— Release determines how long it takes for the gain to fall to the setting of the range control
once the signal falls below threshold and the hold time elapses. The range of the release speed varies
from 50 ms to 3 seconds.
Modern Gate Meters
These three meters show the input level, amount of gain reduction and output level. The input and
output meters range from –90 dBFS to 0 dBFS. The reduction meter of the gate ranges from 0 to 60 dB.
