TC-Helicon Voiceprism Manual - Manual (Page 20)

VoicePrism User Manual
20
Compressor/EQ: EQ1/EQ2, Compressor
High Shelf
Opposite to low shelf, the EQ response begins to rise or fall from the cutoff frequen-
cy until reaching the shelf frequency, at which point the curve becomes flat.
Nice for adding that high frequency “sheen”.
FREQUENCY
(80Hz - 16.3kHz): sets the cutoff frequency
GAIN
/
CUT
(-12dB - 12dB): sets the gain or the cut of the shelf
Low Pass
Also known as high-cut, this filter kills everything above your selected frequency.
Removes unwanted high end from voice/instruments.
FREQUENCY
(80Hz - 16.3kHz): sets the cutoff frequency of the high pass filter
COMPRESSOR
Compression helps keep your vocals “in the pocket” of your mix, attenuating the
louder parts so they don’t drown out the quieter portions: sort of like a sonic shock
absorber that smooths out the bumps in your sound. This can be a useful studio tool
for leveling out small volume changes while recording tracks, such as when the
singer is moving relative to the microphone. Once recorded, compression can be
used as a mixing tool to balance multiple tracks or adjust the dynamic range of a sin-
gle track.
Compressors attenuate the loudness of your signal over a specific threshold level by
a desired ratio. For example, if you set your threshold to -20dB and the ratio to 2:1,
an input signal of -16dB (4dB over the threshold) would be reduced to a -18dB out-
put(2 dB over the threshold). Higher ratios (10:1, 20:1) put a hard limit on your sig-
nal, keeping the level very close to your threshold.
Attack and release control the compressor’s response in terms of the time it takes for
the compressor to ramp up to full activation or ramp down to deactivate. A longer
response time helps promote a smooth, flowing sound, while a shorter duration will
shift faster to accommodate quick level changes. The attack time is usually shorter
than the release time.
The LCD displays the voices assigned to the compressor (lead, harmony, both or
none) as well as the softknob controls.
THRESHOLD
(-60dB - 0dB): sets the level at which the compressor will start compressing.
RATIO
(1:1 - 20:1): controls attenuation ratio for the compressor. (1:1 = no attenuation)
ATTACK RATE
(1ms - 40ms): sets the duration to ramp up to full activation.
RELEASE RATE
(1ms - 3000ms): sets the duration to ramp down to deactivation.
Key Point:
you’ll need to reduce your levels in
the mix screen once you’ve applied
compression, as the compressor
increases your volume.