Universal Audio SHADOW HILLS MASTERING COMPRESSOR - Manual (Page 6)

The Mastering Compressor
p. 6
DISCRETE SECTION
The
Discrete
Section
is
the
final
gain
reduction
circuit
in
the
Mastering
Compressor.
It
achieves
compression
by
means
of
our
custom,
discrete
voltage-­‐controlled
amplifier.
Due
to
the
breadth
of
the
controls,
the
discrete
compressor
is
extremely
versatile
and
can
be
configured
to
attain
a
variety
of
sounds.
DISCRETE
GAIN
This
control
provides
post-­‐compression
make-­‐up
gain
or
attenuation
using
a
24-­‐position
rotary
switch.
The
gain
control
provides
greater
accuracy
around
unity
gain,
which
occurs
roughly
at
position
“7”,
and
offers
coarser
adjustment
towards
more
extreme
settings.
DISCRETE
THRESHOLD
This
control
determines
at
what
input
level
compression
begins
to
occur.
Minimum
compression
occurs
at
“1”
and
maximum
compression
occurs
at
“24”.
DISCRETE
RATIO
This
control
determines
the
amount
of
compression
achieved
when
the
input
signal
reaches
the
threshold.
A
ratio
of
“1.2”
means
that
for
every
1.2
dB
of
input
over
the
threshold,
1
dB
will
be
outputted.
At
“2”,
1
dB
will
be
outputted
for
every
2
dB
of
input
over
the
threshold,
etc.
When
the
dial
is
set
to
“Flood”,
a
ratio
of
20:1
occurs.
DISCRETE
ATTACK
This
control
determines
how
quickly
the
compressor
engages
attenuation
once
the
threshold
has
been
reached.
Each
setting
is
in
milliseconds.
DISCRETE
RECOVER
This
control
determines
how
quickly
the
compressor
disengages
attenuation
once
the
threshold
has
no
longer
been
reached.
Each
setting
is
in
seconds.
At
“Dual”
the
compressor
mimics
the
two-­‐stage
recovery
of
the
optical
section.