On-Board Compressor; Threshold - Mesa/Boogie M9 Carbine Owner's Manual

FrONT PANeL CONTrOLS:
GRAPHIC EQUALIZER: (Continued)
an innate mid bump) and you use the Graphic EQ to boost the midrange bands, you will be boosting boosted mids and the Graphic
won't seem very useful either. In this example you also run the risk of using power unnecessarily to amplify an unbalanced sound
and you will use up your headroom and push things into clip. You could even be in danger of damaging speakers if this was done at
close to a full power setting of the MASTER. Take care when boosting things with the 9 Band EQ!
For these reasons it is advisable to use the Graphic EQ to enhance the sound when you are not using the VOICE feature. You will
achieve better results and you won't be fighting a pre-existing curve and putting sauce on sauce instead of sauce on the dish. We
have even provided a feature (VOICE DEFEAT) aimed at helping you avoid this pitfall and make sure you are much less likely to get
into an EQ battle.
NOTE: When using the Graphic EQ to create a sound, sometimes it is just as effective to take something away that you don't want
- as it is to add something you do want. Experiment with this approach when you want to boost some frequencies. Identify the fre-
quencies you want to enhance, leave those sliders at the center line (or boost them minimally) and then pull the others back (sliders
down) a bit to showcase more of the desired frequencies in relation to the overall sound. In this way you increase headroom in the
preamp and lower the overall noise floor. It will also affect the setting of your THRESHOLD less (on-board COMPRESSOR) because
you are not increasing the overall signal strength by adding gain with the EQ Sliders.

ON-BOARD COMPRESSOR:

This can be used for anything from subtle compression of the attack to complete squashing of the signal and anywhere in between.
The compression effect can be useful for leveling out the dynamic peaks of your playing – which in some cases allows you to increase
the overall volume of your instrument in a mix. It can also give the impression of fattening-up the sound at certain settings.

THRESHOLD:

This control determines the attack threshold at which the compression effect will be triggered. Basically, it is a
sensitivity control with 0db being the least sensitive and -40db being the most sensitive. The more you turn the control clockwise,
toward -40db (maximum sensitivity), the lower you are setting the threshold - and the softer (lower) the signal strength has to be
(Continued)
The same holds true for boosting frequencies. If you are using VOICE mode #4 (which has
Your CARBINE is equipped with an on-board compressor for the handling of dynamic transients.
The feel of the strings changes with compression and can be different from that of an uncom-
pressed sound. Be forewarned... some players get addicted to the more liquid feel that occurs as
compression effect is increased. This overuse of compression can become a sort of crutch if left
unchecked and could eventually lead to the point where there are no dynamic events left at all in
your playing. Yet dynamic fluctuation has a huge emotional impact and is a critical part of any pow-
erful music. May we suggest using the compressor more as a subtle dynamic "effect" that is used
as needed instead of as an integral part of your sound - leaving it on all the time. The CARBINE
is an accurate amplifier in the time domain and has the potential to make you play more articulately
and in-the-pocket if you take full advantage of this added clarity, speed and dynamic response.
before the compression effect is triggered. Think of it as a ceiling you are setting that the dynamic
events in your playing cannot pass above.
The setting of the THRESHOLD will likely want to be set differently for different types of playing
styles and techniques. For example the THRESHOLD setting might want to be set lower (toward
-40db) for finger-style playing than it would for thumbing or plucking where the attack transients
and output from the strings is higher (assuming you want to trigger the compression on just the
dynamic peaks). If you want the compression on all the time, set the THRESHOLD lower still and
you will trigger it so that any input from your instrument will activate the compression.
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