Drawmer Advanced Dynamics for Mackie D8B - Manual (Page 19)

19
User’s Guide
Compressor/Limiter
Compressor
A compressor is
traditionally used to fit a
large signal into a small
space, especially in a
situation where the dynamic range of the original audio signal is
larger than the electronic reproduction equipment will accept
(broadcast engineers appreciate this very much). Compression
might also be thought of as being one of the most important
tools used in both recording and mixing.
Automatic gain makeup is active at all times. This adjusts the
compressor output level to compensate for the amount of gain
reduction. This reduces the need to readjust the compressor gain
after changing ratio, threshold, or knee settings.
Limiter
Limiting is basically extreme compression. The limiter is set to
affect only signals above a certain level. This is particularly
useful for limiting peaks that would otherwise send the signal
beyond the capacity of the equipment being used. Limiting has
become very popular when using a digital recorder because
peaking a digital signal sounds like a car wreck. When used in
this fashion, thresholds are set at around –2 db to prevent the
signal from clipping.
1:1
2:1
No Compression
Compression
Limiting Threshold
Input Signal Level
O
u
tp
u
t
S
ig
n
a
l
L
e
v
e
l
Threshold
Level
0 10
10
Active Button
The compressor and limiter have their own Active buttons. The
compressor Active button (when off) routes the input signal
directly to the limiter, with no processing or gain.