User Guide

128
Module: Silver
EQComp
This dual-purpose effect consists of a parametric
equalizer and a compressor.
The equalizer: Equalization is the process of
selectively boosting or cutting specific frequency
ranges. The term has its roots in the effect’s initial
purpose, which was to achieve linear frequency
response (for example, to restore upper range
frequencies that are lost when an analog signal is
routed through a long cord) rather than color a
sound. Today the equalizer ranks among the most
important tools for shaping sound and compensating
for environmental conditions.
A parametric EQ lets you zero in on specific
frequency bands individually by defining the cutoff
or center frequency, slope or bandwidth (Q) and gain
for each band and filter.
To this end, Neuron offers two shelving filters (low
shelf and high shelf) as well as two peaking filters
(B1 and B2). The individual frequency bands can
overlap. Gain determines the amount of
amplification, letting you compensate for volume
changes resulting from your sound-shaping efforts.
The compressor: It condenses the dynamic range of
an audio signal by cutting high signal levels and
boosting low signal levels. You can define the level
at which the compressor kicks in via the threshold
parameter. The response time of a compressor is
crucial. When the input level exceeds the threshold,
a certain amount of attack time elapses before the
signal arrives at the output. The same principle
applies to release time after the compressor no
longer receives an input signal. Neuron offers a
parameter called responsiveness; it controls response
as a function of a combination of program-driven
attack and release time.
Distortion
The input signal is boosted to a level exceeding the
clip threshold, which generates distortion.
Neuron’s distortion effect is based on the principle
of soft clipping, a kind of overdrive for the faint-
hearted. Instead of cutting all the peaks of the
distorted signal beyond the clip point hard and at
the same level, it backs these levels off gently. The
higher the input level (and the greater the amount of
distortion), the more radically the oscillation’s peaks
are cut. Taken to extremes, this transforms an
incoming sine wave oscillation into a square wave.
Located in front of the distortion-generating clipper
in the signal chain is a low-pass filter with a user-
definable cutoff frequency.
Neuron.book Seite 128 Montag, 23. Dezember 2002 2:28 14