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User’s Guide
20
Stereo and Mono Sidechain Compressors for Tracktion
Reduction Meter
The reduction meter along the right edge of the
screen shows the overall reduction in output
level due to the compressor operation. If you
are using expansion, then there will be an in-
crease in output level. This meter will help you
add or adjust the makeup gain.
The meter reads 0 dB whenever the input is
below threshold, and moves down as the input
level goes above threshold and gain reduction
starts.
Input and Output Meters
The meters below the graph show the input lev-
els of the signals going into the compressor and
the left and right output levels.
The stereo compressor takes its input from a
mixed sample of the left and right, so there is
only one input meter. Its compressor action
then works equally on the left and right of your
stereo track.
It is interesting to see the position of the
threshold with respect to the input level meter,
and to see the output meters. Some say they are
almost hypnotic, and you can even predict Lotto
numbers.
Input and Output OL LEDs
The small boxes at the right of the input and
output meters are the overload LEDs. They
light if the signal goes above 0 dB, and this
should be avoided. Most little red lights which
come on should be avoided, like that one in the
car which says "Oil."
You can generally get rid of clipping by backing
off the makeup gain slider slightly, or by engag-
ing the Soft Clip switch (see the previous page).