How To Hit The Limiter; How To Compare Bypassed And Finalized Signals; Classical Or Acoustic Source Material - TC Electronic Finalizer Express User Manual

WORKING THE FINALIZER EXPRESS

How to hit the Limiter

If you want to hit the Limiter harder without adding more compression, you may use the Spectral Balance controls.
Since the Spectral Balance controls are positioned between the Compressor and the Limiter, boosting them equally
will hit the Limiter harder without affecting the Compressor.
How to Compare Bypass and Finalized signal
Comparing the actual sound between the original source material and the Finalized signal can be somewhat difficult
because of the added gain. Use the Fader for this purpose. Adjust the Fader until you feel that the two signals are
evenly levelled. Then press the "Bypass All" key to compare. The Fader setting will indicate how much gain has
been added to the signal.

Classical or Acoustic Source Material

When using the Finalizer Express for classical music, it is preferable to choose a subtle setting. Here is a
suggestion: Disable both Softclippers. This will eliminate the risk of adding second harmonic distortion to your
signal. This type of distortion is easily recognizable and not desirable on acoustic types of music. Choose the Matrix
setting in the lower left corner in order to get the most subtle setting of the Compressor, using a low Ratio, a fairly
slow Attack time and a quite rapid Release time. Enable all three EMPHASIS keys in order to lower the Threshold
of the Compressor. Now set the Normalizer GAIN knob until you see the GAIN REDUCTION meters move. It is
recommended to stay below -3dB of gain reduction.
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