f u n c t i o n s
21
Controls
• The Comp In button switches the compressor in or out.
• The To Meter button modifies what the meter displays, and how it displays it.
When the switch is out, the meter acts as a VU meter displaying the level of the
input signal. It displays the signal in bar mode (that is, the meter lights all the LEDs
up to the signal level, thus creating a bar effect).
• When the switch is in, the yellow LEDs in the meter act as a peak meter,
displaying the amount of compression in dot mode (that is, the meter lights only
the LED for the signal level). Since compression reduces the volume of the signal,
the meter drops as compression is applied: for example, a 3dB drop shows as -3
VU on the meter. The change to peak action means that it is easy to see when
transients occur (which will be compressed more heavily).
• Note that the To Meter button also causes the meter to show the amount of
gating or expansion applied to the signal, using the red LEDs. For more details, see
the Gate/Expander section.
• The threshold and ratio controls set the amount of compression applied to the
signal (see overleaf).
• The Fast button and release control set the duration of the compression
(see Attack and Release, below).
• The Auto Rel button sets an automatic release time for the compressor (see overleaf).
• The Make-Up gain sets the output volume of the compressed signal (see below).
• The To S/C button (located with the filter controls) can assign the filters to the
compressor (see the section Using the High and Low Filters with the
Compressor, further on).
Make-up
dB
20
0
4
8
12
16
S
4.0
0.1
0.2
0.5
1.0
2.0
dB
10
1.5
3.2
4.9
6.6
8.3
dB
12
-24
-17
-10
-2
5
O/L
Release
Auto Rel
Threshold
Comp In
To Meter
Fast
Ratio
