TC Electronic DB4 MKII - Manual (Page 80)

ATX / DX
76 DB4 / DB8 MKII Algorithms
Thresholds A & B
Range: -25 to 20 dB
Thresholds and the overall All Threshold. Press
this button to access the five individual band
Threshold is relative to Reference Level set at
the Main page.
Gain
Range: 0 to 18 dB
Press this button to access the five individual
band Gains and the overall All Gain.
DXP Mode – introduction
The 5-band section is either in normal compres-
sion mode, or DXP mode. Instead of attenuating
signals above a certain threshold, DXP mode
(Detail Expansion) lifts up signals below the
Threshold; thereby bringing out details rather
than squashing the loud parts. DXP mode there-
fore is capable of adding intelligibility and air to
speech, lifting harmonics, or emphasizing ambi-
ence without increasing overall peak level.
Multiband parameters
As shown on the illustration, gain is positive be-
low threshold, unity at Threshold, and the ef-
fect decreases above Threshold. In DXP mode,
Ratio becomes Steer. Steer can be regarded as
an adaptive Ratio that gradually approaches 1:1
above the threshold.
Multiband DXP
DXP mode can be used with any number of
bands up to 5. When used multiband it is par-
ticularly effective in bringing out air and clarity.
The processor can act as an automatic Eq that
removes a boost when it’s not needed: At very
low levels, where noise is dominant, and at loud
levels where sibilance would become a problem.
Besides from being effective on speech, DXP
mode can be used in mastering to bring up low
levels, e.g. when preparing film or concerts for
domestic or noisy environment listening.
Try setting the Steer and/or Threshold param-
eters differently in the bands to hear the effect.
High Steer values add more detail gain than low
values, but remember that Threshold has to be
negative to add detail gain at all.
DXP Threshold relates to the Reference Level set
on the Main page.
To disable DXP detail gain at very low levels, use
the Defeat Threshold and Defeat Ratio controls.
Defeat threshold relates to the DXP threshold,
and allows for a certain level-window, inside
which detail gain is applied. Defeat Ratio deter-
mines the slope at which DXP detail gain is de-
feated.
Ratio – DXP mode OFF
Range: Off to Infinity:1
Press this button to access the five individual
band Ratios and the overall All Ratio.
The parameters are automatically assigned to
fader 1 to 6.
Attack
Range: 0.3 to 250 ms
Press this button to access the five individual
band Attacks and the overall All Attack.
The parameters are automatically assigned to
fader 1 to 6.
Release
Range: 20 ms to 7 s
Press this button to access the five individual
band Release and the overall All Release.
The parameters are automatically assigned to
fader 1 to 6.