Metering on JLA-3 Compressor?

[Seamus TM]

Just from looking at the front panel, I would assume that "In/Out" means compress/bypass.
In other words, not a function switch for the meter.

[timmetje]

From the website:

" The sidechain IN/OUT switch disables gain reduction and the LIMIT/COMPRESS switch increases the compression ratio in limit mode for tighter peak limiting."

Took me 3 seconds to find on Google.

When the switch is in the 'Out' position it effectively bypasses the compressor. Not sure what the meters are showing in that position, but -if anything- i assume it will be the level going through the compressor (effectively the input level, since it's not doing any gain reduction).

[press tone]

Ok, I read that on the website but didn't really grasp it totally. I thought that seemed too simple. Thanks though...

[jlaber]

Yes that is correct, it disables the sidechain in the "out" position. I was careful not to label it as "Bypass" which could imply a total bypass of the entire audio circuit.

One of the design criteria was that the front panel should be un-cluttered and as few controls as possible, so we decided to exclude output level metering since it was voted as a rarely used feature in a recording studio environment.

Following a severe leg injury I spent most of this year in recovery so I didn't make the AES deadline for showing the newer JLA-3 LN that has improved signal to noise ratio. Although the JLA-3 noise spec is on par with an LA-3A it was possible to reduce the noise level by about 10 dB by using a Jensen JT-115-K-E input transformer and tweaking the amplifier circuit. A secondary benefit is the tonal quality of the JT-115-K-E which is so well revered in its applications such as SSL console pres and (modded?) API 512s. So the LN version will have a slightly different tonality.

Jeff Laber

[press tone]

That's really interesting...when will the LN version be available?

[jlaber]

Around December.