Behringer MDX1600 - Manual (Page 9)

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AUTOCOM PRO-XL MDX1600/COMPOSER PRO-XL MDX2600/MULTICOM PRO-XL MDX4600
3.2 Emphasizing instruments
Conversely, you can also use your COMPOSER PRO-XL or
AUTOCOM PRO-XL to highlight solo instruments or vocal tracks
acoustically in a less than perfect recording.
Please note that in this application only the amplitudes of the
selected frequencies should be reduced in level.
Compression produces a subjective volume reduction of the
entire program material. Only those frequencies selected on the
equalizer will cause NO compression and thus they seem to be
emphasized acoustically. This inverse type of compression helps
you make instruments stand out even in low-level passages.
3.3 Time-delayed compression
If you feed the audio signal directly into the SC RETURN input
and at the same time route it to the audio input via a delay unit,
the dynamics processor will work “anticipatorily”. With a bit of
tweaking you can achieve “zero” attack effects for specific
frequencies. Longer delays produce an effect that is similar to an
audio tape being played back in reverse.
3.4 “Voice over” compression (“ducking”)
You can use the COMPOSER PRO-XL and AUTOCOM PRO-XL
to lower music to a low background level as soon as a speaker
speaks into the microphone. In this type of application the
compressor section functions like an automatic fader controlled
by the speaker’s microphone, which is also connected to the SC
RETURN input via a preamplifier. Music and microphone signal
are then mixed with the help of a console. This application is called
“voice over” compression or “ducking”, and is used frequently in
discotheques or radio stations.
3.5 Triggering additional sounds from a
rhythm track
This technique is used to give a rhythm track more “punch” by
synchronizing the rhythm instruments after recording. Only the
expander/gate section is required, the compressor and/or peak
limiter remain disabled. Insert the bass guitar track into the audio
path of the COMPOSER PRO-XL (or AUTOCOM PRO-XL), and
route the bass drum to the SC RETURN input. Activate the SC
EXT function to trigger the bass guitar with the kick drum, i.e. the
kick drum exceeds the expander threshold, allowing the bass guitar
signal to pass until the level has dropped below threshold again.
4. WIRING
Dynamics processors are usually inserted into the insert paths
of a mixing console, because their signals are not added to the
mix (unlike reverb or phaser effects, which are fed into the signal
path via the aux busses).