ABOUT COMPRESSION
General
The purpose of a compressor
is to reduce the dynamic range of
a program and give
you control over its
dynamics.
The i66's Ratio and Threshold
controls can produce a wide
variety of
dynamic
-range-reduction effects, from
gentie taming of overaii dynamics
to
iimiting of peaks to squashing all dynamics.
For example, at
low compression ratios, a very low Threshold
setting can be used to
reduce gently the overall dynamic
range
of
a
program. Higher
ratios with
low thresholds
will provide
leveling for instruments and vocals. High thresholds
generally are used for
limiting program
levels overall. Ratios of 6:1 and higher effectively
prevent outputs
levels from much exceeding the threshold (assuming
the
Output
Gain is set to 0).
Note
that compression of the entire program
(produced
by
low thresholds)
tends to
sound less natural at
high ratios. Ratios of perhaps 4:1 and lower affect
dynamics to a
lesser
degree, and
are
often used
to tighten up a bass guitar, snare, and
vocals.
Moderate
settings typically are used during mixdowns
and
for
leveling the program in a broadcast.
The
166's
OverEasy
circuit prevents compression at high ratios from sounding
too
unnatural. This
is because as the signal rises
above
threshold,
the ratio changes graJ^
uaily, from 1:1
(no
compression)
to that set by the front-panel knob. You
can put this
feature to especially
g<^
use in those situations when you need protection from exces-
sive
F>eak
levels but desire gentle compression
on most of the program. By
setting the
threshold at
a
moderate
level and using a moderately high compression
ratio
(6:1,
10:1,
etc.), you will provide limiting for
signals well above threshold and gentle compression
(much less than
that set) for signals at
or
below
threshold. See the
OverEasy
curve,
p.
2,
to understand how this works.
It's always useful to watch the gain-reduction LEDs
to see the amount of proc-
essing taking
place.
With
practice, a glance will confirm
what your ears tell you
—
that things are going
okay, or that there's a little too much or
too little.
Your
166 can
achieve desirable effects with proper settings derived from experience;
whoi it's used
too liberally, the
unusual results may
be
suited to
special
effects
only.
Here
are some specific situations.
Variations in mike levels
As the distance between vocalist and microphone changes,
signal levels change.
Start at 2:1 with a low threshold setting to
begin to smooth these out.
With
OverEasy,
ratios
up to 10:1 can be used here to good effect.
Variations in instrument
levels
To
achieve smooth electric^ass sound,
start
at about 4:1. Strings and horns like-
wise benefit, and strings
will have their "sustain" increased. Note
that large amounts of
compression are usually more audible
in a
mixed stereo program;
if the separate tracks
were compressed before mixing to create the program, compression
is much less notice-
able.
Raising the signal
out
of
a
mix
Since r^ucing dynamic range can increase the
average signal level and meter
readings, a single track can
be
brought
up out of a mix by boosting its level slightly
and
applying compression. It's
also possible to separate certain vocals and instruments
from
an ciiready mixed program by using the sldechain;
see
p.
10.
-g-
To Next Page
Loading...
