Specifications

10
Operating Manual - CLX-52 and CLX-51 Compressor/Limiter
7.4 Special Effects
Altering the Texture of Musical Instruments
It would be impossible to mention here all the
ways that compression is used to create new sounds with
familiar instruments. Some typical uses are:
1. Creating a “fatter” kick drum or snare sound.
2. “Thickening” acoustic guitars.
3. Adding punch and sustain to electric bass or
guitar.
In general, use a gentle compression ratio, say
4:1, with a 10 mS attack time, 0.1 Sec. release time, and
a low enough threshold to cause 6 to 10dB of Gain Re-
duction. Try using this effect to help bring out a lead
vocal or instrumental solo in a cluttered mix. The com-
pressor is also a great corrective tool when working with
singers whose own dynamic control is less than perfect.
A little compression helps to keep their quieter lines from
becoming buried in the mix. Experimentation is highly
recommended.
Voice-Over Compression (“Ducking”)
The CLX units can be used to automatically re-
duce music to a background level when an announcer is
speaking. In this scheme, only the music signal is actu-
ally gain-reduced by the Ashly limiter. However, the de-
tector is connected to respond to an announcer’s voice
instead of the music’s peaks. Voice-Over compression
assumes you are already using some sort of mixer to com-
bine the music and mic signals. Use the direct out (send)
of the mic channel to feed the detector input on the CLX
unit. Note: Be sure to use a mono plug for the CLX
detector input. Then use the Threshold and Ratio con-
trols to determine when and by how much the announcer’s
voice affects the music level.
Stereo Operation
On the CLX-52, pressing the Stereo Tie switch
combines the detector outputs so that the loudest channel
(one which activates the threshold first) also controls the
limiter action of the other channel. Note that the stereo
audio signals never mix, just the detector circuits. This
allows true stereo imaging to be preserved regardless of
which channel is in gain reduction.
The Stereo Tie switch overrides an individual
channel’s In/Out switch. For example, if Ch. 2 is switched
out but Ch. 1 and the Stereo Tie switch are both in, then
any limiting action which occurs on Ch. 1 will also occur
on Ch. 2, even though Ch. 2 is switched out. The channel
2 Gain Reduction meter will verify that this is true. Use
this technique if you want to make one channel a slave to
the other.
8. BLOCK DIAGRAM
-
+
+
-
3
2
1
CHANNEL
INSERT
DETECTOR
CLIP
OUTPUT
TH
STEREO TIE
3
2
1
IN/OUT
GAIN REDUCTION DISPLAY
THRESHOLD
RELEASE
ATTACK
RATIO
CIRCUIT
DETECTOR
INPUT
BALANCED
GAIN
LEVEL
OUTPUT
INPUT/OUTPUT METERS
VCA