Specifications

7
Applications
Audio Outputs-EachchannelfeaturesbothXLRand1/4”TRSservo-balancedoutputs.Outputsmaybeused
inabalancedorunbalancedconfiguration.UnliketheinputsboththeXLRandthe1/4”outputsmaybeused
simultaneously.Anoutputtransformeroptionisavailablewhenverylongcabledistancesarerequired(see
“Specifications”).
Operating Level Switch-Thisswitchselectsbetweena-10dBVand+4dBunominaloperatinglevel.When
theswitchisintheinposition,a-10dBVoperatinglevelisselected.Whenitisintheoutposition,+4dBuis
selected. This switch affects both the input and the output levels.
Applications
Fattening Kick Drums and Compressing Other Drums
Weak, flabby kick drums often have too much boom, and not enough slap. To tighten them up, start with
the1046adjustedforamediumtohighRATIO(e.g.,6:1),adjusttheTHRESHOLDcontrolsothattheGAIN
REDUCTIONmetersshow15dBofgainreduction,thenincreasetheRATIOifnecessary.InOverEasy®mode,
the1046takesslightlylongertoreactthaninHardKneemode,andwillthereforeemphasizetheslapatthe
beginning of the note and reduce the boominess of its body. The 1046 also works well for tightening snare
drums and tom toms and can be used with drum machines to effectively alter the character of any electronic
drum sound.
Raising a Signal Out of a Mix
Sincereducingdynamicrangeincreasestheaveragesignallevelbyasmallamount,asingletrackcanberaised
outofamixbyboostingitslevelslightlyandapplyingcompression.Startwitha2:1RATIOandarelativelylow
THRESHOLDsetting(-20dBu).Adjustbothcontrolsasnecessary.
Compressorshavealsobeenusedtobringvocalstotheforefrontofamixinvolume-restrictedstudios(e.g.
homestudios).Startbyaddingafoamwindscreentothemic(ifitdoesn’thaveone).SettheRATIOto10:1and
theTHRESHOLDto-10dBu.Withyourmouthapproximately2inchesfromthemic,singthevocalpart,butwith
lessvolumethannormal.Usephrasingtogivethepartsomeintensity.Anequalizer(e.g.,adbx242Parametric
Equalizer,dbx30SeriesGraphicEqualizers)oravocaleffectsdevice(e.g.,adbx290digitalreverb)canbe
added to further define the performance.
Note: When compressing a stereo program with a 1046, the factors affecting a compression curve and
theactualRATIOandTHRESHOLDsettingsarethesameasthosepreviouslycoveredwithreference
to single channels of program material. However, it will generally be found that large amounts of
compression are more audible in a mixed stereo program than they might be on the separate tracks that
were mixed to create the program.
Smoothing out Microphone Levels
When distance is created between the vocalist and the microphone there will be a variation in the signal level.
Startwithlowcompression(around2:1)tosmoothoutanyvariations.Limitingalsobenefitsintelligibilityby
allowing low-level input signals to be reproduced through the system at higher volume.
Smoothing out Musical Instrument Levels
Compressionsmoothsoutthevariationsofloudnessamonginstruments.Usingthe1046canalsoincreasethe
instrument’s sustain. Compress the instrument’s output with a ratio of about 4:1.
Speaker Protection
Compressors are frequently used to prevent excessive program levels from distorting power amps and/or