Drawmer S2 Dual Channel Tube Compressor - Manual (Page 9)

9 DRAWMER S2 O
PERATOR’S M ANUAL
QUICK SETUP PROCEDURE
Please note that the following procedure is only a guide. All audio is different, requiring numerous settings, however,
this should give a good staring point:
For single channel use, each channel may be considered as being completely independent and set up
accordingly. For use with stereo signals such as complete mixes or submixes, the S2 should be switched to
Stereo Link mode and all setting up done using the left hand channel controls.
To begin set the compressor controls as above - Threshold fully anti-clockwise, Ratio set to 2:1, the Attack
in a mid position (around 20mS) and the Auto Release switch to 1, with Gain at 0dB.
V-Big, V-Air and Dry can be bypassed for the time being.
Keeping an eye on the Gain Reduction Meters alter the Threshold control for each channel to a level that
‘triggers’ the compressor, and then adjust the the Ratio until the desired compression level is achieved - as a rule,
higher ratios provide a higher degree of control but also tend to be more audible in operation when high levels of gain
reduction are required - a G.R. level up to -10dB is acceptable.
Compensate for the overall drop in output caused by the compression by adjusting the Gain control until 0dB is
reached on the Output VU meter (more if in +10dB VU or +20dB modes).
Set the Attack knob according to the speed of the audio being processed. It is recommended that the Auto Rel.
switch remains on, as it adapts dynamically to the audio, however, if manual release is preferred set the Auto Rel.
switch to off, and adjust the Release control. Bear in mind that too short a release time will result in pumping.
At this point the Bypass switches can be toggled to listen to the affect that the S2 is having on the audio. Repeat
steps 2,3 and 4 to suit.
V-Big can now be introduced - set the switch to your target frequency, and rotate the level control until the
desired amount of bass is reached.
To improve the audio at higher frequencies use the V-Air section, setting the controls in much the same way as
V-Big - adjust to suit your taste.
The S2 is now basically set up, however, further control is provided via the Dry section. With the switch active,
rotating the level control clockwise adds the original, uncompressed signal to the compressed, effectively reducing
the percieved amount of compression taking place. Using Dry can bring even the most severely compressed audio
under control - again, adjust to suit your own taste. The Gain control may need to be adjusted to bring the output
to a suitable level.
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