User`s guide

User’s Guide
16
Final Mix for Tracktion
to the makeup gain automatically applied. When
you fi rst push the AUTO MAKEUP button in, Fi-
nal Mix adjusts your makeup gain parameter so
that the volume does not suddenly jump up. This
is hearing (and speaker) protection!
Attack and Release
The Attack parameter specifi es how quickly
gain reduction (or expansion) occurs at the at-
tack, or beginning, of a signal. Release controls
how quickly gain reduction backs off when the
signal drops back down. The time is measured
in milliseconds and corresponds to the length of
time it takes to achieve a fi xed amount of com-
pression (or expansion).
In general, the attack time should be much
faster than the release time to get pleasing re-
sults. If the attack time is set too quickly, you
hear something resembling clipping on attacks,
especially with low-frequency signals. Leaving
the attack a little bit longer also allows more
of the ‘snap’ of the attacks to pass through the
compressor. Setting a release time too fast can
result in ‘buzzing’, especially on low notes. This
occurs because the compressor gain is actu-
ally following individual cycles of the incoming
waveform.
If you set the attack time to 0 ms, the dynamics
section actually behaves as a limiter. It won't
permit the signal to go over the end point value.
As a general rule of thumb, lower frequencies
require longer release times than higher fre-
quencies. If a high- or mid-frequency band has a
release time that is too long, you hear the com-
pressor ‘breathing’.
Threshold
Threshold sets the point at which compres-
sion (or expansion) starts to occur. Final Mix’s
threshold is displayed as the black line in the
middle of the graph with the green “T” node at-
tached. You can adjust the threshold using your
mouse to drag the line up or down. The thresh-
old level ranges from –48 dBfs to 0.0 dBfs. The
Threshold can also be adjusted in the Threshold
window—use your mouse to scroll the values
up or down.
and louder signals become quieter. We see an
example of this below. For input signals below
node 2 in amplitude (approximately –28 dB),
the dynamics processor acts as an expander.
For signals above node 3, the processor is a
compressor. See the "Node Editing" section on
the next page to fi nd out more about how to set
up these kinds of contours.
Expansion and compression together to “level” a
signal
Band View/Edit
One dynamics band can be edited at a time from
the contour screen. However, individual bands
can be quickly accessed by choosing a band
from the BAND VIEW/EDIT buttons.
Note: If you press the ‘LINK ALL’ button,
located in the DYNAMICS section, all three
bands are affected at once by any future
edits.
Gain Makeup and Auto Makeup
Gain Makeup is used to make up for volume
that has been decreased due to compression.
The Gain Makeup window ranges from –15 dB
to +15 dB and can be adjusted with a mouse to
scroll the values up or down. This control can
also be accessed from the window labeled as
GAIN found in the Dynamics overview. You can
also apply attenuation using this control. This is
represented by a negative value (i.e., –3.0 dB).
When the AUTO MAKEUP button is in, Final Mix
automatically chooses an appropriate makeup
gain for you. This makeup gain is based on your
dynamics contour. You can still use the ‘manual’
gain makeup control in this case. It merely adds