CHAPTER 21. LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE
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Hz, the mid band from 500 Hz to 2000 Hz and the high band from 2000 Hz up to whatever
your soundcard or sample rate supports.
Each band has activator and solo buttons. With the activator button disabled for a given
band, its compression/expansion and gain controls are bypassed. Soloing a band mutes
the others. The Input knobs boost or attenuate the level of each band before it undergoes
dynamics processing, while the Output knobs to the right of the display adjust the levels of
the bands after processing.
The display area provides a way of both visualizing your dynamics processing and adjusting
the relevant compression and expansion behavior. For each band, the output level is
represented by large bars, while the input level before processing is represented by small
bars. With no processing applied, the input meters will be aligned with the top of the output
meters. The scaling along the bottom of the display shows dB. As you adjust the gain or
dynamics processing for a band, you can see how its output changes in comparison to its
input.
As you move your mouse over the display, the cursor will change to a bracket as it passes
over the edges of the blocks on the left or right side. These blocks represent the signal levels
under the Below and over the Above thresholds, respectively. Dragging left or right on the
edges of these blocks adjusts the threshold level. Holding down
while dragging
a threshold will adjust the same threshold for all bands. Hold down
Alt
(PC) /
Alt
(Mac) to simultaneously adjust the Above and Below thresholds for a single band.
As you mouse over the middle of the block, the cursor will change to an up-down arrow.
Click and drag up or down to make the signal within the selected volume range louder or
quieter. Holding down
while dragging up or down will adjust the volume of the
same block for all bands. Hold down
Alt
(PC) /
Alt
(Mac) to simultaneously adjust
the Above and Below volumes for a single band. Double-clicking within the region resets
the volume to its default.
In technical terms, lowering the volume in the block above the Above threshold applies
downward compression, while raising it applies upward expansion. Likewise, lowering the
volume in the block below the Below threshold applies downward expansion, while raising
it applies upward compression. In all cases, you are adjusting the
ratio
of the compressor
or expander.
The thresholds and ratios of all bands can also be adjusted via the column to the right of
the display. The T,
B and A buttons at the bottom right of the display area toggle
