Empress Effects Compressor - Manual (Page 4)

Controls at a Glance
Power: 9V - 18V DC negative
tip 2.1mm jack. 100mA or greater
- +
sidechain: used to alter the signal going to the gain
reduction control circuit. It accepts a ¼” TRS plug:
Tip = send, Ring = return, Sleeve= ground.
input: sets the level entering the compressor circuit.
Higher levels will result in more compression.
ratio: determines how aggressive the gain reduction is.
2:1 - good for gentle gain control and smoothing out
uneven playing. Very transparent.
4:1 - a great general purpose setting. Still transparent
but offers a large range of compression.
10:1 - close to limiting. Good for acheiving the classic
coutry overcompressed sound and adding a lot of
sustain for soloing.
attack: controls how quickly the compressor will react to
an incoming signal. Attack time increases as you turn the
knob clockwise. Range: 50us - 50ms
release: controls how quickly the compressor retuns to
its initial level. Release time increases as your turn the
knob clockwise. Range: 50ms - 1s