OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS FOR GAMBIT DE-ESSER/COMPRESSOR DS1-MK2
OPERATION
-
Weiss Engineering Ltd., Florastr. 42, CH-8610 Uster
Page 9 of 29
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*
lecting the „system“ and the „overall delay“ op-
tion. Use the gain / data controller (
Í
) to change
the delay value. Maximum consequential preview
time and delay in frames is also displayed. Please
note that during delay change, audio is muted to
avoid audio signal cuts.
Setting preview
: Touch either the „attack“ or
„release delay“ controller (
Ï
) to activate the
timing 1 window, then use the gain / data con-
troller (
Í
) to adjust preview time.
Envelope Follower
The envelope follower parameter controllers are
in area
Ï
. The purpose of the envelope follower
is to cause gradual gain changes, thus eliminating
distortion. The current values are shown in
±
.
Attack and Preview:
The longer the attack
time, the more will the leading edge of fast tran-
sients pass by the gain reduction circuit unaltered
(as in Graphic 6 during attack phase). Very fast
attack time settings such as 20µs, i.e. one sample
period, do catch every transient, but may distort
low frequencies. To utilise longer attack times and
still catch fast transients, use preview.
Note:
attack phase 3 x attack time parameter
Thus, setting a preview of about 3 to 4 times the
length of the attack time parameter (as seen in the
parameter window of the display when touching
the attack controller) should catch leading edges.
Using a smaller preview value will pass short
transients (livelier sound). In this case engage the
safety limiter (see p. 7) to catch the resulting
overs. Experimenting will be necessary for best
results.
Release and Average:
The input signal is moni-
tored with two different methods: peak amplitude
and RMS value. The peak amplitude is the pro-
gramme portion we don't perceive as very loud,
however which can easily cause overloads. The
RMS value of the programme material we per-
ceive as loudness. Its variations contribute most to
the dynamic range of the audio.
The sidechain processor compares the two
measurements it obtained from the peaks and the
RMS. The ratio between the two determines
which time constant would be the appropriate
release, e.g. after short duration peak the faster
release will be applied during the release phase.
The time period over which the RMS value of the
programme material is averaged is set by the
"average" parameter. The effect of the average
parameter can best be studied on the gain reduc-
tion meter (
²
). Fast "average" settings will cause
most of the gain reduction meter to move very
fast (depending on the "release fast" setting) ,
slower settings will just have the top part of the
gain reduction move fast, with the bottom part
depending on the "release slow" setting.
Release Delay:
Normally the release phase be-
gins immediately after the programme material
has fallen in level. The release delay determines
how long the DS1-MK2 holds the current level
before entering release (see Graphic 6).
The resulting dynamic characteristic is very
smooth and avoids otherwise typical 'pumping'
effects. The ideal setting is programme dependent
and experimentation may be necessary to achieve
the best combination of all dynamic parameters.
Graphic 6: Envelope Parameters
