Edelweiss GAMBIT DS1-MK3 User Manual
Page 11
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS FOR GAMBIT DE-ESSER/COMPRESSOR DS1-MK3
OPERATION
Weiss Engineering Ltd., Florastr. 42, CH-8610 Uster
Page 11
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(*) Peak / RMS: In the DS1-MK3 the peak
measurement is supplemented with an RMS
measurement with variable averaging time. To
access the RMS detection timeconstant touch
the gain / data controller (
) which opens this
window:
Graphic 10: Gain / Data Knob menu
Hit Key B to assign the gain / data knob to the
RMS detection time constant. The left endstop of
this parameter switches the detection to peak
mode, as used in all previous DS1 versions.
Graphic 11: Timing 2 window
Release Delay: Normally the release phase
begins immediately after the programme mate-
rial has fallen in level. The release delay deter-
mines how long the DS1-MK3 holds the current
level before entering release (see Graphic 9).
The resulting dynamic characteristic is very
smooth and avoids otherwise typical 'pumping'
effects. The ideal setting is programme depend-
ent and experimentation may be necessary to
achieve the best combination of all dynamic
parameters.
Non-Linear Transfer Curve
The transfer curve parameter controllers are in
area
+
. This part of the sidechain is re-
sponsible for the actual gain reduction (
) cal-
culations. The detected signal envelope is com-
pared with the transfer curve, the gain control
signal (see Graphic 5) is then adjusted accord-
ingly if the envelope overshoots the transfer
curve.
Threshold: Sets the level which the envelope
signal has to reach before gain reduction is ap-
plied.
Ratio: Sets the slope of the segment above the
threshold. The ratio can be adjusted for com-
pression or expansion, depending on the re-
quirement. For full band expansion (e.g. to re-
introduce dynamics into an over-compressed
signal), one will usually work with the gain
makeup set to maximum. This means that a
0.0dB input will be passed through without gain,
signals below the threshold will be reduced with
a constant gain (depending on threshold and
ratio setting, can be read from the display when
touching the gain makeup controller), and
signals between the threshold and 0.0dBFS get
expanded. For full band expansion, one will
typically have quite high thresholds (-1dB ... –
4dB), because of the resulting overall gain.
The expander can also be used in frequency
selective mode, for example to repair the effect
of a misused multi-band compressor – for this
purpose, the gain makeup can be set higher
than the calculated maximum setting, to
compensate for the overall gain that the
expander causes. This can potentially cause
overs (for loud signals in the expanded band), it
is therefore good practice to engage the safety
limiter (see below).
Graphic 12: Transfer Curve Parameters