dbx 1046 - Operating Controls; OverEasy Switch; Compressor Ratio Control; Input;Output Level Meter

4
OverEasy® Switch -OverEasy®providesasmoothtransitionfromthecompressor’slinearregiontothe
compressed region. This smooth transition greatly reduces compression artifacts and allows higher compression
ratioswhilestillmaintainingthenaturalcharacteristicsofthesignal.TheswitchlightstoindicateOverEasy®
processingisenabled.Whenconventionalhardkneeprocessingisdesired,disabletheOverEasy®function.See
Figure 1 below.
1:1
2:1
4:1
:1
−
15
−
10
−
5
0
+5
+15
+20
+10
INPUT LEVEL (dB)
OUTPUT LEVEL (dB)
−
15
−
10
−
5
0
+5
+15
+20
+10
RED
Below Threshold
Above Threshold
OverEasy Range
G
R
E
E
N
A
M
B
E
R
-15
-10
-5
0
+5
+15
+20
+10
INPUT LEVEL (dB)
OUTPUT LEVEL (dB)
-15
-10
-5
0
+5 +15
+20
+10
1:1 Unity
2:1
4:1
:1
20:1
RED
Above Threshold
GREEN
Below Threshold
Rotation Point Threshold
1:1
2:1
4:1
:1
−
15
−
10
−
5
0
+5
+15
+20
+10
INPUT LEVEL (dB)
OUTPUT LEVEL (dB)
−
15
−
10
−
5
0
+5
+15
+20
+10
RED
Below Threshold
Above Threshold
OverEasy Range
G
R
E
E
N
A
M
B
E
R
-15
-10
-5
0
+5
+15
+20
+10
INPUT LEVEL (dB)
OUTPUT LEVEL (dB)
-15
-10
-5
0
+5 +15
+20
+10
1:1 Unity
2:1
4:1
:1
20:1
RED
Above Threshold
GREEN
Below Threshold
Rotation Point Threshold
Figure 1: Hard Knee Compression Curve and OverEasy® Compression Curve.
Compressor Ratio Control - This control selects the ratio between input and the output levels for signals
abovethelevelsetbytheCOMPRESSIONTHRESHOLDcontrol.Itisadjustablebetween1:1and∞:1.Note,when
OverEasy®processingisselected,theratiotransitionssmoothlyfromthelineartothecompressedregion.As
thesignalexceedsthethreshold,theratioapproachestheratiosetbytheCOMPRESSORRATIOcontrol.
Figure 2 shows the effect of 2:1 compression on a signal as it rises above and falls below the threshold. Below
the threshold the signal is not affected. Above the threshold, the output signal increases by only half of the
increase(indB)oftheinputsignallevel.Inotherwords,witha2dBincreaseininputlevel,theoutput
increases by only 1 dB, hence the 2:1 compression ratio.
-40
-30
-20
-10
0
10
Time
Signal Level (dBu)
Below Threshold
Above Threshold
Input Signal
Output Signal
-40
-30
-20
-10
0
10
Time
Signal Level (dBu)
Below Threshold
Above Threshold
Input Signal
Figure 2: Compression Effect on Signal Level with a 2:1 Ratio at a -20 dBu Threshold
Input/Output Level Meter-This8-stagemeterdirectlyreadstheinputandoutputlevelswhentherear-panel
OPERATINGLEVELSWITCHisinthe+4dBuposition.Inthe-10dBVposition,theinputsignalisboostedby
11.8dB(thedifferencebetween+4dBuand-10dBV)toconvertasemi-pro-10dBVlevelsignaltotheprofes-
sional+4dBuinternallevelofthe1046,whiletheoutputsignalisattenuatedby11.8dBtoconvertbacktoa
-10dBVlevel.Sincethemeteriscalibratedfor+4dBuoperation,itreadsabout12dBhigherthantheactual
inputandoutputsignallevelswhentheOPERATINGLEVELSWITCHissetto-10dBV.
Operating controls