Specifications

Audio Plug-Ins Guide72
Expander/Gate III Look Ahead
Button
Normally, dynamics processing begins when the
level of the input signal crosses the threshold.
When the Look Ahead button is enabled, dy-
namics processing begins 2 milliseconds before
the level of the input signal crosses the thresh-
old.
The Look Ahead control is useful for avoiding
the loss of transients that may have been other-
wise cut off or trimmed in a signal.
Expander/Gate III Threshold
Control
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.
Expander/Gate III Ratio Control
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).
Look Ahead control
Threshold arrow on Input meter
Threshold indicator on Dynamics Graph display