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User’s Guide
14
User’s Guide
15
Expansion occurs when the amplitude of the output increases faster than the amplitude
of the input. Compression, on the other hand, occurs when the amplitude of the output in-
creases slower than the amplitude of the input. Final Mix allows expansion or compression
above the threshold. Expansion can be used to increase the volume of quiet passages and
bring a little bit more "life" into a performance. Note that each individual segment can be
set as either a compressor, an expander, or both. Having expansion for low input signals and
compression for higher signals is a good way to level out a signal's dynamics. Quiet signals
become louder and louder signals become quieter. We see an example of this below. For input
signals below node 2 in amplitude (approximately –28 dB), the dynamics processor acts as
an expander. For signals above node 2, the processor is a compressor. See the "Node Editing"
section on page 16 to nd out more about how to set up these kinds of contours.
Expansion and compression together to “level” a signal
Band View/Edit
One dynamics band can be edited at a time from the contour screen. However, individual
bands can be quickly accessed by choosing a band from the BAND VIEW/EDIT radio buttons
found at the top of the contour edit section.
Note: If you press the ‘LINK ALL’ button, located just to the right of the
dynamics graph, all three bands are affected at once.
Gain Makeup and Auto Makeup
Gain Makeup is used to make up for volume that has been decreased due to compression.
The Gain Makeup window ranges from –15 dB to +15 dB and can be adjusted with a mouse
to scroll the values up or down. This control can also be accessed from the window labeled
as GAIN found in the Dynamics overview. You can also apply attenuation using this control.
This is represented by a negative value (i.e., –3.0 dB).
When the AUTO MAKEUP button is in, Final Mix automatically chooses an appropriate makeup
gain for you. This makeup gain is based on your dynamics contour. You can still use the ‘manu-
al’ gain makeup control in this case. It merely adds to the makeup gain automatically applied.
When you rst push the AUTO MAKEUP button in, Final Mix adjusts your makeup gain param-
eter so that the volume does not suddenly jump up. This is hearing (and speaker) protection!
Attack and Release
The attack parameter species how quickly gain reduction (or expansion) occurs at the at-
tack, or beginning, of a signal. Release controls how quickly gain reduction backs off when
the signal drops back down. The time is measured in milliseconds and corresponds to the
length of time it takes to achieve a xed amount of compression (or expansion).