Mackie DL806 and DL1608 Reference Guide
66
Modern Compressor Display and Settings
The compressor for each channel may be adjusted by moving the gain, threshold and ratio balls
or moving any of the five sliders left and right. Additionally, exact settings may be entered into
the current parameter display. The compressor may be adjusted whether the compressor is on or off.
The iPad channel only has a compressor, not a gate.
Threshold
— Threshold
sets the threshold of the compressor in dB below 0 dBFS.
The range of the threshold setting varies from –80 dBFS to 0 dBFS.
Ratio
—
Ratio sets the amount of gain reduction applied as the signal exceeds the threshold level.
The range of the ratio of the compressor varies from 1:1 to inf:1.
Attack
—
Attack determines how quickly the compressor reacts once the signal is above threshold.
Short attack times allow compressing 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.
Release
—
Release determines how long it takes for the compressor to end gain reduction once the signal
drops back below the threshold. The range of the release speed varies from 50 ms to 3 seconds.
Gain
—
Gain adds make-up gain to the output of the compressor. This is useful to make the
apparent volume of the signal the same with the compressor in and out of the signal chain.
The range of the make-up gain varies from 0 dB to 20 dB.
Soft Knee / Hard Knee Compression
This switch sets the shape of the gain reduction curve at the threshold level. When set to hard, the gain
reduction curve changes abruptly at the threshold level. When set to soft, the gain reduction curve changes
gently as it transitions to the final ratio amount.
Modern Compressor 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 compressor ranges from 0 to 20 dB.
Modern Gate at a Glance
Modern Compressor at a Glance
Parameter
Low Value
High Value
Default
Gate Enable
Off
On
On
Threshold
–80 dBFS
0 dBFS
–80 dBFS
Attack
0 ms
300 ms
0.1 ms
Release
50 ms
3 s
250 ms
Range
0 dB
60 dB
60 dB
Hold
0 ms
5 s
0 ms
Parameter
Low Value
High Value
Default
Comp Enable
Off
On
On
Threshold
–80 dBFS
0 dBFS
0 dBFS
Ratio
1 : 1
INF : 1
2 : 1
Gain
0 dB
20 dB
0 dB
Attack
0 ms
300 ms
0.1 ms
Release
50 ms
3 s
250 ms
Knee
Soft
Hard
Soft
