Chapter 9: JOEMEEK Plug-ins 29
Tips and Tricks
Not Perfect. Just Right
Standard engineering practice says that a com-
pressor should work logarithmically. For a cer-
tain increase of volume, the output volume
should rise proportionally less, with a result that
the more you put in, the more it’s pushed down.
The JOEMEEK compressor doesn’t work this
way. As volume increases at the input, a point is
reached where the compressor starts to work
and the gain through the amplifier is reduced. If
the input level keeps rising, gradually the gain
reduction becomes less effective and the ampli-
fier goes back to being a linear amplifier except
with the volume turned down.
This is by design, and is based on an understand-
ing of how the human ear behaves! The result is
that the listener is fooled into thinking that the
JOEMEEK compressed sound is louder than it re-
ally is—but without the strange psycho-acoustic
effect of “deadness” that other compressors suf-
fer from.
Overshoot
At fast Attack settings, it is possible to make the
JOEMEEK “overshoot” on percussive program
material. This means that the compression elec-
tronics are driven hard before the light cells re-
spond to the increased level. The cells catch up
and overcompress momentarily giving a tiny
dip immediately following the start of the note.
To hear it, use a drum track, set Slope to 5, and
Attack and Release to Fast. Used sparingly, this
effect can contribute to musical drive in your
tracks.
Attack/Release Times
It may be difficult to understand the interac-
tions between the Attack and Release controls,
because the JOEMEEK Compressor behaves very
differently than typical compressors. Experi-
mentation is the best option, but an explana-
tion may help you understand what’s going on.
The JOEMEEK Compressor uses a compound re-
lease circuit that reacts quickly to short bursts of
volume, and less quickly to sustained volume.
While the unit was being prototyped and de-
signed, the values and ranges of these timings
were chosen by experimentation using wide
ranges of program material.
Because of these intentional effects produced by
the compressor, the JOEMEEK makes a perfect
tool for general enhancement of tracks to
“brighten,” “tighten,” “clarify,” and catch the
attention of the listener, functions that are diffi-
cult or impossible to achieve with conventional
compressor designs.
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