TC Electronic G-Major, User Manual

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COMPRESSOR
Illustration
Threshold
Range: -30dB to 0dB
When the signal is above the set Threshold
point the Compressor is activated and the gain
of any signal above the Threshold point is
processed according to the Ratio, Attack and
Release settings.
Ratio
Range: Off to Infinite: 1
The Ratio setting determines how hard the
signal is compressed. (see illustration above).
Example: With a Ratio setting of 2:1 an Input
signal at 4dB above Threshold is reduced to
only 2dB on the Output side. Infinite setting
gives you a Limiter function.
Attack
Range: 0 to 200ms
The Attack time is the response time of the
Compressor. The shorter the Attack time the
sooner the Compressor will reach the specified
Ratio after the signal rises above the Threshold
point.
Release
Range: 0 to 200ms
The Release time is the time it takes for the
Compressor to release the gain reduction of the
signal after the Input signal drops below the
Threshold point again.
Gain
Range: -6 to +6dB
Use this Gain parameter to compensate for the
level changes caused by the applied
compression.
Introduction
A Compressor is used to reduce the dynamic
content of a signal. How can this improve your
guitars appearance in the overall sound? There
are situations where a compressor should not
be applied on the guitar and there are definitely
situations where it is the key to letting the
guitar stand out and appear rock solid. Here
are a few examples.
Let’s say your aim is playing a steady clean
rhythm guitar figure at the same level all the
time. This is to some extend virtually
impossible. You cannot avoid playing a few
strokes too hard once in while. This will most
likely result in the sound engineer backing off a
bit on the guitar channels in live situations to
avoid harsh sounding peaks. At this “lower”
overall level (that neither you or the sound
engineer intended in the first place), your
weakest strokes in the guitar rhythm figure will
now disappear completely. - The answer to this
situation is using a Compressor. Correctly set,
the highest peaks will be reduced, giving you
and the sound engineer a much more
homogeneous guitar level to work with.
You can also apply compression to a lead
sound to even out variations in level.
Combining a low set Threshold, that lets the
Compressor operate constantly with a high
Ratio, a very audible compression effect is
achieved. As an example try listening to the
famous solo played by David Gilmour on the
record “The Wall” in the song “Another Brick In
the Wall.”
However, if your style of playing utilizes having
great dynamics to work with - as e.g. Robben
Fords excellent comping style or similar - you
might not want to apply any compression at all.
As with many effects, but particularly the
Compressor it goes that when applied correctly
you will clearly benefit from using it, but it is
just as easy to find settings that work against
your goals.
- Try out our presets containing the
Compressor block in the G•Major with both
lead and rhythm sounds, and get an idea of
where you will get the most of using it.