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12 TASCAM TA-1VP
Used on a vocal track, this setting will compress only hot
peaks in the voice, while gating out the room sounds,
mike stand sounds, and breath noises in the track.
Precisely what gets compressed and gated is a function of
the compressor and gate threshold settings.
The graph below shows a dynamic expander. In this
application, the gate threshold and ratio are set to gently
expand the program material at a 1 to 1.5 ratio. The
compressor ratio is set to 1 to 1. The setting is useful for
repairing over-compressed material or for adding some
punch to drums or other percussive sounds.
OUTPUT
LEVEL
INPUT LEVEL
LOUDER
LOUDER
GATE THRESHOLD
1 TO 1.5 EXPANSION RATIO
COMPRESSOR
THRESHOLD
Hard Knee/Soft Knee
The graphs shown above have what are described as
“hard knees” in their gain curves. This means that as the
signal passes through the threshold, the gain reduction
it receives will begin abruptly. In settings where the
compression or expansion ratios have high values, the
abrupt change can be heard and often sounds artificial.
To make it possible to create settings where the
dynamic effects are more natural sounding, the TA-1VP
incorporates a Knee control which allows you to soften
the transition between sections of the gain curve. The
graph below shows a curve which has “soft knees,”making
the dynamic transitions more subtle.
OUTPUT
LEVEL
INPUT LEVEL
SOFT KNEES
KNEE = 100
COMPRESSOR THRESHOLD
GATE THRESHOLD
Attack and Release Times
The attack time of a compressor is how long it takes for
the compressor to react once the input level has met
or exceeded the threshold level. With a fast attack time,
the signal is brought under control almost immediately,
whereas a slower attack time will allow the start of
a transient or a percussive sound to pass through
uncompressed before the processor begins to react.
For sounds without percussive attacks (voices, synth pads,
etc.), a fairly short attack time is usually used to ensure
even compression. For instruments with percussive
attacks (drums and guitars, for example), a slower attack
time is typically used to preserve the attack transients
and, hence, the characteristic nature of the instruments.
The illustration below shows the effect of various the
attack times.
UNCOMPRESSED INPUT COMPRESSED
1 mSEC ATTA CK
COMPRESSED
10 mSEC ATTA CK
The release time of a compressor is the time it takes for
the gain to return to normal after the input level drops
below the threshold. A fast release time is used on rapidly
varying signals to avoid affecting subsequent transients.
However, setting too quick a release time can cause
undesirable artifacts with some signals. On the other
hand, while slower release times can give a smoother
effect, if the release time is too long, the compressor
will not accurately track level changes in the input. Slow
release times may also result in audible level changes
known as “pumping.”
2 – Introducing the TASCAM TA-1VP Vocal Producer