level signals, the 1066 won't change gain, but if large signals come along, the gain will be reduced to
prevent clipping and save sensitive system components from excessive heat buildup or other type of
damage.
Note: PeakStopPlus™ Limiting can also be used to prevent speaker damage.
Preventing digital recording overload
Some digital recorders and samplers produce audible distortion when they exceed their headroom (i.e.,
the range above their maximum operating level). The 1066 effectively ensures that audio input does not
overload a digital recorder's A/D (analog-to-digital) converters. The 1066 can perform this function quietly
enough for all digital media. To use the 1066 so that no changes in gain occur unless an emergency
arises (wildly excessive levels), set Hard Knee mode On, the RATIO to ∞:1, and the THRESHOLD to the
highest permissible level.
Note: PeakStopPlus™ limiting can also be used to prevent raucous-sounding digital overload
Gating Dry Percussive Sounds (e.g., Snare Drum, Kick Drum)
To effectively gate percussive sounds with a high level transient, you need to set the 1066's gate controls
to ensure that the gate is less sensitive to nearby signals that would cause the gate to open or "false
trigger."
Set the Expander/Gate ratio setting high enough to enable the gate to close abruptly as the signal
decays below the THRESHOLD.
Note: Fast expansion of sustained low frequency signals can result in "chattering." Because the
1066 is capable of extremely fast expansion, make sure the ratio is not set too high in these
applications. The proper THRESHOLD setting will also minimize false triggering and "chattering."
These types of settings are most useful for tightening up drum tracks, removing the "ring" from some
drums, or gating out the leakage of one drum through another's mic.
Gating Sounds That Have Longer Decay (e.g., Cymbal, Piano)
To effectively gate sounds which have more decay after the initial transient, set the RATIO control low
enough to allow the gate to remain open and capture the signal's entire envelope.
Changing Sound Quality
The 1066's expander/gate can effectively change the sonic character of a sound because it can reduce
or otherwise alter the quality of instrumental ambience and reverb. For example, as an instrument stops,
its reverberation level will fall through the 1066's THRESHOLD setting. It can now be made to die out
more quickly - faster than the natural delay (of the sound). Experiment with different THRESHOLD and
RATIO settings to change the "tail" of the sound; a HIGH RATIO setting will nearly eliminate reverb.
Keyed Gating
Keyed gating, that is, controlling the gating of one signal by another, can be used to add dynamics to a
sound (e.g., creating perfectly in-sync playing and overdubbing among individual instruments or "fatten-
ing" a dynamically weak track).
To create two distinct channels of bass guitar for your mix (by splitting the bass signal into two channels
and synchronizing one channel of bass guitar with the kick drum), start by feeding one channel of bass
directly into the mix and the other into the gate's INPUT. Then key the gate with a signal from the kick
®
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11
Applications