Universal Audio SHADOW HILLS MASTERING COMPRESSOR - Manual (Page 3)

The Mastering Compressor
p. 3
METERING AND THE MAGIC EYE
The
Shadow
Hills
Mastering
Compressor
is
equipped
with
two
VU
meters
for
proper
visual
analysis
of
audio
processing.
Each
VU
meter
has
the
capability
of
displaying
optical
gain
reduction,
discrete
gain
reduction,
and
output
level,
as
determined
by
the
position
of
the
“Meter
Select”
switch.
When
used
on
mono
signals,
the
two
VU
meters
can
be
used
to
display
the
gain
reduction
of
both
compressors
simultaneously.
The
same
goes
for
linked
Stereo
mode.
It
is
only
in
Dual
Mono
mode
that
the
VU
meters
show
gain
reduction
independently
for
both
channels.
The
internal
reference
level
corresponding
to
0
VU
can
be
set
in
the
“About”
dialog,
which
is
brought
up
by
clicking
on
any
of
the
two
meters.
The
green,
glowing
Magic
Eye
tube
at
the
bottom
of
the
unit
is
the
final
component
in
the
metering
system.
When
both
VU
Meters
are
in
“Output”
mode,
the
Magic
Eye
displays
a
mono
signal
in
its
top
quadrant.
TRANSFORMER SWITCHING MATRIX
You
have
remarkable
control
over
the
tone
and
vibe
of
your
music
thanks
to
three
switchable
output
transformers.
This
matrix
switches
the
selected
transformers
in
and
out
of
the
circuit.
The
various
material
compositions,
size
and
methods
of
winding
impart
different
frequency
and
distortion
characteristics
as
well
as
the
transient
limiting
caused
by
the
magnetics.
The
ability
to
switch
between
the
different
transformer
selections,
equates
to
being
able
to
switch
in
the
final
gain
stages
from
different
vintage
consoles
and
providing
remarkable
flexibility.
Besides
its
obvious
use
on
the
stereo
master
buss
and
stereo
subgroups,
we
highly
recommend
to
use
the
mono
version
of
the
Mastering
Compressor
Plugin
on
individual
tracks,
adding
coloration
to
vocals,
electric
bass
or
guitar.