Presonus Audio electronic Smart Compressor - Manual (Page 11)

CONTROLS & CONNECTIONS
10
Attack and Release
Attack sets the speed at which the compressor ‘acts’ on the input
signal. A slow attack time (fully clockwise) allows the beginning
envelope of a signal (commonly referred to as the initial transient)
to pass through the compressor uncompressed, whereas a fast
attack time (fully counter-clockwise) immediately subjects the
signal to the ratio and threshold settings of the compressor.
Release sets the length of time the compressor takes to return the
gain reduction back to zero (no gain reduction). Very short release
times can produce a very choppy or ‘jittery’ sound, especially in
low frequency instruments such as a bass guitar. Very long
release times can result in an over compressed sound, sometimes
referred to as ‘squashing’ the sound. All ranges of release can be
useful at different times however and you should experiment to
become familiar with the different sound possibilities.
Note: The Attack and Release controls are only active in
Manual mode.
Input / Output Meter
The Input/Output meter shows the signal level being processed by
the Blue Max. Input refers to the signal level being processed by
the Blue Max before processing. Output refers to the signal level