Mackie DL806 and DL1608 Reference Guide
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Modern Compressor Display and Settings
The compressor for each channel may be adjusted by moving the gain, threshold and ratio balls
ormovinganyoftheveslidersleftandright.Additionally,exactsettingsmaybeenteredinto
the current parameter display. The compressor may be adjusted whether the compressor is on or o.
TheiPadchannelonlyhasacompressor,notagate.
Threshold — Threshold sets the threshold of the compressor in dB below 0 dBFS.
The range of the threshold setting varies from –80 dBFS to 0 dBFS.
Ratio — Ratio sets the amount of gain reduction applied as the signal exceeds the threshold level.
The range of the ratio of the compressor varies from 1:1 to inf:1.
Attack — Attackdetermineshowquicklythecompressorreactsoncethesignalisabovethreshold.
Short attack times allow compressing on short transients, while longer attack times cause these transients
to be ignored. The range of the attack time varies from 0 ms to 300 ms.
Release — Release determines how long it takes for the compressor to end gain reduction once the signal
drops back below the threshold. The range of the release speed varies from 50 ms to 3 seconds.
Gain — Gain adds make-up gain to the output of the compressor. This is useful to make the
apparent volume of the signal the same with the compressor in and out of the signal chain.
The range of the make-up gain varies from 0 dB to 20 dB.
Soft Knee / Hard Knee Compression
This switch sets the shape of the gain reduction curve at the threshold level. When set to hard, the gain
reduction curve changes abruptly at the threshold level. When set to soft, the gain reduction curve changes
gently as it transitions to the nal ratio amount.
Modern Compressor Meters
These three meters show the input level, amount of gain reduction and output level. The input and output
meters range from –80 dBFS to 0 dBFS. The reduction meter of the compressor ranges from 0 to 20 dB.
Mono metering is displayed for inputs and outputs on unlinked channels and stereo metering is displayed
for inputs and outputs on linked channels.
Modern Gate at a Glance
Modern Compressor at a Glance
Parameter Low Value High Value Default
Gate Enable O On On
Threshold –80 dBFS 0 dBFS –80 dBFS
Attack 0 ms 300 ms 0.1 ms
Release 50 ms 3 s 250 ms
Range 0 dB 60 dB 60 dB
Hold 0 ms 5 s 0 ms
Parameter Low Value High Value Default
CompEnable O On On
Threshold –80 dBFS 0 dBFS 0 dBFS
Ratio 1 : 1 INF:1 2 : 1
Gain 0 dB 20 dB 0 dB
Attack 0 ms 300 ms 0.1 ms
Release 50 ms 3 s 250 ms
Knee Soft Hard Soft