Specifications

Chapter 10: Channel Strip 57
With these settings, for every decibel that the in-
coming signal goes over the set Threshold, more
than 1 dB of gain reduction is applied according
to the negative
Ratio setting. For example, at the
setting of –1.0:1, for each decibel over the set
threshold, 2 db of gain reduction is allied. Con-
sequently, the output signal is both compressed
and made softer. You can use this as an creative
effect, or as a kind of ducking effect when used
with an external key input.
Depth
The Depth control sets the amount of gain re-
duction that is applied regardless of the input
signal. For example, if the Limiter is set at a
Threshold of –20 dB and Depth is set at 0 dB, up
to 20 dB of gain reduction is applied to the in-
coming signal (at 0 dB). If you set Depth to
–10 dB, no more than 10 dB of gain reduction is
applied to the incoming signal.
Release
The Release control sets the length of time it
takes for the Compressor/Limiter to be fully de-
activated after the input signal drops below the
threshold.
Release times should be set long enough that if
signal levels repeatedly rise above the threshold,
the gain reduction “recovers” smoothly. If the
release time is too short, the gain can rapidly
fluctuate as the compressor repeatedly tries to
recover from the gain reduction. If the release
time is too long, a loud section of the audio ma-
terial could cause gain reduction that continues
through soft sections of program material with-
out recovering.
Knee
The Knee control sets the rate at which the com-
pressor reaches full compression once the
threshold has been exceeded.
As you increase this control, it goes from apply-
ing “hard-knee” compression to “soft-knee”
compression:
• With hard-knee compression, compression
begins when the input signal exceeds the
threshold. This can sound abrupt and is
ideal for limiting.
• With soft-knee compression, gentle com-
pression begins and increases gradually as
the input signal approaches the threshold,
and reaches full compression after exceed-
ing the threshold. This creates smoother
compression.
Gain
The Gain control lets you boost overall output
gain to compensate for heavily compressed or
limited signals.
Side Chain Processing Controls
Dynamics processors typically use the detected
amplitude of their input signal to trigger gain
reduction. This split-off signal is known as the
side-chain. Compressor/Limiter and Ex-
pander/Gate processing features external key
capabilities and filters for the side-chain.
With external key side-chain processing, you
trigger dynamics processing using an external
signal (such as a separate reference track or au-
dio source) instead of the input signal. This ex-
ternal source is known as the key input.
Dynamics section, Side Chain tab