Mackie DL Series Reference Guide

Mackie DL806 and DL1608 Reference Guide
68
Chapter 10: Channel View : Gate and Compression
Introduction
Gates are typically used to reduce leakage from open microphones. Signals below the threshold level are
muted, while signals above the threshold get to pass through. The range control changes the rule slightly.
Signals below the threshold are attenuated by the amount of the range setting, while signals above the
threshold get to pass through.
The operation of the gate is further modied by the attack, hold, and release controls. In order to open
the gate, the trigger signal must exceed the threshold for at least the duration of the attack time. This is
useful for helping the gate discriminate between something that is short duration and long duration,
such as hi-hat leakage into one of the tom-tom mikes.
Once the gate has opened, the hold time begins. The hold timer resets any time the input signal crosses
thethresholdagain,aslongasitremainsabovethethresholdforlongerthantheattacksetting.Afterthe
hold time passes, the gain falls at a rate determined by the release setting. The range control allows the
gate to remain partly open, even if the input is below the threshold.
Compressorsareusedtoreduceorlimittransientpeaksinasignal.Ifthesignalistoohot,turnitdown,
otherwiseleaveitalone.Astheinputleveltothecompressorincreases,theoutputlevelincreases 
linearlyuntilthethresholdpointisreached.Afterthatpoint,theoutputlevelnolongerincreaseslinearly.
Instead, it increases at a reduced rate determined by the ratio setting.
Theattackandreleasecontrolsaecttherateofthegainchange;attackaectstherateoftheonset
of gain reduction and release aects the recovery rate once the transient has passed.
For stereo linked channels, the gain reduction is applied equally to both the left and right side.
There are actually two dierent types of gates and compressors to choose from on each channel:
clean,surgicalmoderndynamicsandclassicsoundingvintagedynamics.That’sright,youcanmix
andmatchtoheart’scontent!Wewilldissectboththemodernandvintagedynamicsseparately,but
let’sbeginbytakingapeekatwhatfeaturesapplytoboth.Moderngatesandcompressorsarediscussed
further on pages 69-71, while more information about the vintage gates and compressors may be found
on pages 72-74.

Mackie DL Series Specifications

General

Brand	Mackie
Model	DL Series
Category	Music Mixer
Language	English