4.6
Gain Make Up.
While the subjective sound quality of the signal can be improved by compression, the overall
signal level will be reduced when gain reduction is taking place. The Gain Make Up control
is designed to boost the compressed signal by between 0 and 20dB, in order to bring back
the level to the same loudness as the uncompressed signal. Without this control, comparing
the original and compressed signals becomes difficult, since there would be a level drop each
time the compressor is switched in: therefore it is normal to adjust the Gain Make Up control
so that when the ‘compressor on’ switch is activated, the audio signal remains constant in
level.
Unlike the Output Level control, the Gain Make Up control is active
only when the
‘compressor on’
switch is engaged.
Once the Gain Make Up has been adjusted, use the
Output Level control to set the overall output level of the FAT 1.
Assuming the compressor is activated, the Gain Make Up control is active whether the
Program control is set to Manual or Preset modes.
4.7
Program Control.
This 16 way rotary switch enables factory preset compression settings to be selected for
different types of audio signal. The ‘Manual’ mode enables the Threshold, Ratio, Attack,
Release, and Knee controls to be adjusted, along with the Input Gain, Output Gain and Gain
Make Up controls (which are active at all times). In this mode the FAT 1 works like a
standard compressor in the sense that the user can create their own unique compression
setting and have full control over it at all times.
In all the other 15 program settings, the Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Release and Knee
controls are pre-selected and fixed within the FAT 1 to give optimum results for that given
type of signal. Thus these controls are disabled and will have no effect when adjusted, unless
the user returns to ‘Manual’ mode. In the Preset modes, all the user has to do is select the
required preset and then adjust the Input Gain, Output Gain and Gain Make Up to taste (see
particularly section 4.4 on Input Gain) The 15 presets are shown in Table 1.
The way the Program control works is by using a digital switching circuit to replace the
controls mentioned by a series of fixed components (in the case of Threshold and Ratio) and
on/off switch values (in the case of Attack, Release and Knee). This doesn’t mean that the
signal itself is converted to digital format within the FAT 1: it simply means that the signal
parameters are controlled digitally.
How did we create the Program settings? Simply by operating the unit in Manual mode and
arriving at an optimum set of adjustments for vocals, keyboards, basses, guitars, drums and
stereo mixes. These settings were then programmed into the FAT 1, and as a result we’ve
