BBE MAXCOM Owner's Manual page 22

SPECIAL APPLICATIONS
equalizing process, feedback remains a difficult problem. Often enough, acoustic changes occur as the audi-
ence enters the room, which again leads to feedback problems. In addition, the frequency response of the whole
system is modified and thus affected by equalizer operation. Dynamic feedback control is a better solution.
Similar to the previously mentioned de-esser application, an equalizer is not inserted into the audio path but into
the sidechain path of the MAXCOM. To effectively suppress feedback, the centre frequency of the equalizer is
correctly adjusted to match the room's resonant frequency. This selected frequency now controls the MAXCOM.
The signal coming from the equalizer is applied to the SIDECHAIN input, while the audio signal is routed through
the MAXCOM audio path. As soon as feedback occurs, the unit temporarily reduces the system gain and thus
effectively suppresses the feedback. In contrast to the technique mentioned above,the frequency response of
the PA system is not affected in any way at all.
• "vOICE-OvER" COMPRESSION ("DUCKING")
The MAXCOM can be used to automatically reduce music to a background level, when an announcer is speak-
ing through a microphone. For this purpose, the MAXCOM is used as an automatic fader and is controlled by
the announcer's microphone, which is connected to the SIDECHAIN input via a preamplifier.
The music output and the announcer's voice, are then mixed. This application is known as "voice over" compres-
sion or "Ducking" and is commonly used in discos, radio stations, etc.
• ANTICIPATED COMPRESSION
If you feed the audio signal directly into the SIDECHAIN input and send the audio signal through a delay before the
audio input, the MAXCOM can anticipate the need for gain change. With experimentation, the effect can create a
"zero" attack time at a given frequency. Additional delay beyond this "zero" attack time will produce a special sound
effect, similar to the dynamic envelope inversion you may already be familiar with from reverse tape playback.
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