DigiDesign Drawmer Dynamics Owner's Manual page 23

Release Control
The Release control sets the rate at which gain
returns to normal after the input signal level has
fallen below the Threshold. Release range is
from 50 ms to 5 seconds.
With very long release settings the Compressor
may not have enough time to recover between
the signal peaks.
With very short release settings low frequency
signals will have a tendency to distort as the
Compressor tries to release on the signal sine
wave.
Gain Control
The Gain control has two functions, depending
on the current state of the Auto Gain Make-up
toggle switch. When Auto Gain Make-up is on,
the control has a center-zero and is used as a fine
trim for optimum output level. This should be
centered at 0 dBfs, but can be reduced up to
9 dB, or driven harder, in which case the signal
will hit the Limiter.
When Auto Gain Make Up is turned on, the gain
control becomes a ±9 dB trim. In manual mode,
up to 36 dB of gain compensation can be added
for level changes caused by Compression.
In the signal path, this control comes before the
Peak Limiter detector. This fact should be taken
into account when setting the Peak limiter
threshold. Driving the gain too hard will often
produce excessive limiting.
Auto Gain Make-Up Switch
With Auto Gain Make-Up on, Gain Make Up is
adjusted automatically when the Compressor's
Threshold, Attack and Ratio or Limiter Thresh-
old are adjusted, so that the output level is as
close as possible to the Limit Threshold.
When set to extremes, the Auto Gain Make-
up feature cannot restore enough gain to
make back all the level that would be re-
quired to repair excessive Compression.
Compressor Gain Reduction Meter
This nine-element LED-style meter indicates
from 0 dB to 30 dB of gain reduction.
Limit Threshold Control
The Limit Threshold control sets an absolute
limit in decibels that the output signal is not al-
lowed to exceed. This control is normally left in
its fully clockwise position, where preventative
limiting will sometimes occur with audio mate-
rial containing high level peaks.
The Compressor Gain control should be used to
ensure that the Peak Limiter operates rarely, if at
all. Alternatively, you can deliberately drive it
into limiting for creative effects.
Limit Gain Reduction Meter
This five-element LED-style meter indicates
from 1 dB to 16 dB of gain reduction. The meter
scale has been designed so that more sensitive
amounts of limiting are displayed, rather than
the maximum available.
Chapter 3: Drawmer Dynamics Parameters 19