Korg Pa4X User Manual page 536

522| Audio In/Out and the Voice Processor
Programming the traditional Compressor
When Adaptive
reduce the level of your amplification or switch to headphones when adjust-
ing the manual compressor, because high settings can cause more gain and
thus feedback.
▪
Use the Threshold
amount of gain reduction (compression) specified by the Ratio control will
occur. The range is 0 dB to -30 dB: 0 dB being the loudest input signal the
Voice Processor can accept without distortion and -30 dB being a very quiet
signal. If you sing consistently more quietly than the Threshold, you will not
hear any compression. A good setting for experimentation is -10 dB.
▪
Use the Ratio
voice level goes above the threshold. The range is from 1:1 (no gain reduc-
tion) to 4:1 (maximum vocal gain reduction ). The default setting for Ratio is
4:1.
The number on the left side of the : (colon) symbol is how loud the peaks
in your singing have to be in order to achieve a 1 dB gain increase. A brief
example of how adjusting the ratio of compressor works is this: say a word
you sang went 4 dB over the threshold when the Ratio was set to 4:1. The
compressor would only allow it to go 1 dB louder.
Note that the Ratio control has to be set above 1.0 (1.0:1) to apply any com-
pression regardless of the setting of the Threshold.
Also note that automatic makeup gain occurs depending on your combina-
tion of Threshold and Ratio. A side effect of compression is that it can reduce
apparent level until makeup gain is applied to raise the overall level.
Programming the DeEsser
De-essing remains the same whether Adaptive is turned on or off.
▪
Use the DeEss Level
There is a side effect that comes from adding high frequencies and compres-
sion to your voice, and that's excessive sibilance. Sibilance can be described
as the brief whistle that accompanies 'S', 'T' and 'D' syllables in your vocal
performance. Again, when singing acoustically, there is no issue with these
sounds. It's when you amplify and combine with boosted highs and compres-
sion that they can become piercing.
The DeEss Level control monitors the level of sibilance and, when it is de-
tected, will quickly and transparently reduce it. Typically, it's only briefly re-
is off, you switch compression to manual control. Be sure to
control to set the singing level at and above which the
control to set how much gain reduction you prefer when your
control to adjust de-essing.