15
Leveling a Vocal Track
When recording a vocal track, the vocalist may change the distance between them and the microphone, or they
may naturally have a lot of dynamic range in their performance. In either case, the sound engineer must decide
how much compression should be used to balance the natural performance and printing a good level to tape or
disk. In PROGRAM mode you can use the PROGRAM pre-set, 1- SMOOTH VOCAL. In MANUAL mode, set up
the C Com 16 with a medium attack and release time and a ratio of 4:1. Now adjust the SENSITIVITY level so
that the Gain Reduction meters show 6 to 12 dB of gain reduction. Adjust the RATIO control if necessary.
Leveling a Guitar or Bass
Guitar and especially bass guitar can have a lot of level change between strings and even frets on the finger-
board. Using compression when recording guitars and bass will even out these differences. In PROGRAM mode
you can use the PROGRAM pre-set, 3 - BASS. In MANUAL mode, set up the compressor section of the C Com
16 with a medium attack and release time and a ratio of 4:1. Now adjust the Threshold level so that the Gain
Reduction meters show about 12 dB of gain reduction. You’ll notice that each note is at the same loudness and
the overall sustain is increased.
Compressing Drums
Adding compression on drums can make a boomy kick drum tighten up, almost as if you were tightening the
head. In PROGRAM mode, select the PROGRAM pre-set, 8 - PERC 1. In MANUAL mode, set the C Com 16 to a
fairly quick attack time and use a ratio of 6:1. Set the SENSITIVITY so that the Gain Reduction meter reads 12 to
24 dB. Adjust the RATIO control if necessary. You can use the same basic set-up on snare and toms as well.
Getting a Track to Sit in the Mix
By using a heavy amount of compression you can get the effect of the vocal suspending in the mix. While this
may be a bit radical for some, the effect can be dramatic especially if the vocal is mixed without any reverb or
delay. In PROGRAM mode, select the PROGRAM pre-set, 2 - AGGRESSIVE VOCAL. In MANUAL mode, set up
the compressor section of the C Com 16 with a medium attack and release time and a ratio of 6:1. Now adjust
the Threshold level to so that the Gain Reduction meters show 12 to 24 dB of gain reduction.
Speaker Protection
There are several ways to use a compressor to protect a speaker system and many considerations can be made
whether the speaker system is crossed-over actively or passively.
If the speaker system is stereo using a passive crossover, then the line output of the mixer or equalizer is run
directly into the C Com 16 inputs. The C Com 16 should be last in the chain before the power amps with its out-
puts feeding the inputs of the amp. In PROGRAM mode select the PROGRAM pre-set,14 - STEREO LIMIT. In
MANUAL mode, adjust the SENSITIVITY and RATIO so that the systems entire dynamic range is under control.
Applications
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