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VP-8IP / Sep 2013
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P R O C E S S M O D E S
The Multiband Drive
control setting is also somewhat dependent
upon the setting of the
Makeup
control in the four band AGC. For
this reason, the control is not labeled in dB Drive, but instead is
labeled in percent (%). With sane settings of the four band AGC’s
Makeup
control the correct eight band limiter
Multiband Drive
control setting will usually be between 85% and 100%. Full
adjustment range is 0% to 100%.
Higher
Multiband Drive
settings cause deeper gain reduction
in the eight band limiter (as well as higher levels of clipping in the
main clipper algorithm if the
Lim/Clip Drive
is not first reduced
before the
Multiband Drive
is advanced). Therefore, the
Multiband Drive
control
is one of a pair of controls most useful for trading off “loudness,” “density,” and
“distortion.”
Multiband Knee
Each of the eight bands’ threshold, attack, and release are adjustable, as is the
overall transfer function (knee hardness). The knee shape determines how the
limiters behave at or near their thresholds of limiting. The graphic below illustrates
the difference between the two transfer functions.
In the Hard
mode, limiting does not occur until the threshold within a band is
precisely reached. The sound of this setting is more open and free because no limiting
activity occurs
until
the threshold is achieved.
In the Soft
mode, limiting starts to occur at a level that is 3dB below the actual
limiter threshold setting. The transfer function at this point is relatively soft. That
is, the audio waveform is not abruptly limited, but instead is allowed to gradually
increase over a 3dB window until the ultimate limit threshold is reached, whereupon
no further amplitude increase is allowed.
Because of its behavior, the sound of the
Soft
function is more obvious and has
a “spongy” sound when in operation. It is also less precise as a true limiter until the
ultimate limit threshold (the setting of the band threshold) is finally reached.
AM
