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Using the Smashup
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De-Ess
De-essing is commonly used to process voices where the “s”
sound and other sibilants are too loud and distracting. By telling
the compressor to be extra sensitive to a certain range of
frequencies, the “s” sound can be almost completely removed
from a voice. The ratio is 8:1 with a soft knee, but because the
detector is listening most closely to 4.5 kHz, the resulting sound is
still relatively transparent.
Pump
On the other hand, PUMP is designed to emulate a limiter
deliberately overdriven to provide creative processing. With a
100:1 compression ratio and a hard knee, the [THRESHOLD] sets
a wall that the input signal can’t rise above. The PUMP type has
some secret ingredients that are especially suited for extreme guitar
and drum processing. On drums, adjust the [ATTACK] and
[RELEASE] controls properly, and you’ll make a polyrhythm out
of the resulting pumping sound. Note that even at full counter-
clockwise, the [RELEASE] setting is still relatively short; though
the release times will vary according to the [THRESHOLD] setting
automatically.
Fat
FAT is a close relative of PUMP, but designed for extra bottom
end. This is another heavy compression type with an infinite ratio,
but has a softer knee than PUMP. The most important
characteristic of FAT is that it won’t compress the bottom end as
much, and adds a little high end EQ for brightness. Pressing
[SIZZLE] doubles this effect.
I
n m a n y stan d ar d
c om pr es s or s, a “d ete ctor
loo p” is inc lud ed . By p lac in g
a n eq ua liz er in this loo p with
a b oo st at a r ou nd 4 kH z, th e
d etec to r will b e mo r e
s en sitiv e to th e “s ” s ou n ds in
tha t ra n ge . No te th at th e to ne
o f th e s ig na l d oe sn ’ t
c ha ng e—it will ju st co mp r es s
the s ig n al wh en the high
f
re qu en c y co n te nt r ise s a bo ve
the thr e sh old .