Specifications
Chapter 6: Dynamics III 27
Threshold
The Threshold (Thresh) control sets the level be-
low which an input signal must fall to trigger ex-
pansion or gating. Signals that fall below the
threshold will be reduced in gain. Signals that
are above it will be unaffected.
An orange arrow on the Input meter indicates
the current threshold, and can also be dragged
up or down to adjust the threshold setting.
The Dynamics Graph display also shows the
threshold as an orange vertical line.
This control has an approximate range of –60 dB
to 0 dB, with a setting of 0 dB equivalent to no
compression or limiting. The default value for
the Threshold control is –24 dB.
Ratio
The Ratio control sets the amount of expansion.
For example, if this is set to 2:1, it will lower sig-
nals below the threshold by one half. At higher
ratio levels (such as 30:1 or 40:1) the Ex-
pander/Gate functions like a gate by cutting off
signals that fall below the threshold. As you ad-
just the ratio control, refer to the built-in graph
to see how the shape of the expansion curve
changes.
This control ranges from 1:1 (no expansion) to
100:1 (gating).
Attack
The Attack control sets the attack time, or the
rate at which gain is reduced after the input sig-
nal crosses the threshold. Use this along with
the Ratio setting to control how soft the Ex-
pander’s gain reduction curve is.
This control ranges from 10 μs (fastest attack
time) to 300 ms (slowest attack time).
Hold
The Hold control specifies the duration (in sec-
onds or milliseconds) during which the Ex-
pander/Gate will stay in effect after the initial at-
tack occurs. This can be used as a function to
keep the Expander/Gate in effect for longer peri-
ods of time with a single crossing of the thresh-
old. It can also be used to prevent gate chatter
that may occur if varying input levels near the
threshold cause the gate to close and open very
rapidly.
This control ranges from 5 ms (shortest hold) to
4 seconds (longest hold).
Threshold arrow on Input meter
Threshold indicator on Dynamics Graph display
Threshold
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Threshold