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Limiter
A limiter is basically the same as a compressor but with a very high compression ratio. Limit-
ers are used to make sure a signal does not exceed a certain level, e.g. as overload protection.
The limiter section has the following parameters:
THRESHOLD adjusts level when limiting sets in
ATTACK 0.1 … 200 ms adjusts how fast gain reduction sets in after the signal
exceeds the threshold
RELEASE 12 ms … 2 s adjusts how fast gain reduction fades after the signal is
below the threshold
MAKEUP GAIN to compensate for gain loss
This can be switched to AUTO GAIN for automatic gain
compensation.
Sidechain
Instead of reacting to the input signal, the Dynamics processor can also be triggered by an
external signal. You can use any channel that has Dynamics processing activated(!).
A typical application would be “ducking”. This is a technique you have often heard applied on
the radio: Music plays, and as soon as the announcer speaks, the music is attenuated so the
voice can be clearly heard without interrupting the music completely. This is done by feeding
the music signal through a compressor and sending the voice signal to its sidechain input. The
compressor thus does not react to the music, gain (volume) is controlled by the voice signal.
As soon as the announcer speaks, the voice signal “ducks” the music.
Please note: Sidechaining aects all three sections of the Dynamics processor.
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