Different Ratio personalities?

[stuntmixer]

Dave,

Welcome and thanks for being here. I don't know how to phrase this question, but that has never stopped me before so here it goes anyway...

Is it correct that my beloved Distressor is actually several different digitally controlled comps.? I know that the different ratios have very different qualities and charactaristics (sp?).

Basicaly, if you could as genericaly or specificaly as you want, give us an idea of how the different ratios behave, beyond what's in the manual (which is way more informative than most, by the way.)

I.e. While it's obvious that 2:1 and 3:1 have softer knees and 10:1 (ultimately my fav) has its own "weird" attack and delay shape. I find myself wondering if, say an attack setting of 4 at 3:1 is as fast as an attack setting of 4 at 6:1? Generally it seams to my ears that the knees get sharper and attack and release times get more severe as the ratios increase. I know there is more of a difference than the ratio betwixt say, identical knob settings at 4:1 and 6:1.

It also sounds to me like there is different detector settings inherent in the different ratios. (?)

I hope this isn't too convoluted. I know it is all a little obsessive and academic since all the ratios are musical in their own way and I have found a use for them all. I just find that the more detailed information and understanding I have of my gear, the quicker and better I am as an AE.

Thanks for the great gear,

Charles
Southwind Studios
Austin, Tx.

[Dave Derr]

Well this is actually a very easy (but GOOD) question to answer.

There are more or less 4 different compressors in the Distressor.

*) 2:1 is its own thing. It starts compression very very soon but is very very gentle. It can actually overload easier than the other compressors even tho its threshold is a lot lower. Verrrry soft Knee circuit with a different threshold operation.

*) 3:1, 4:1, 6:1, 20:1 all are the same circuitry.

*) 10:1 is the most different and adds its own set of components into the mix to emulate the optocouplers

*) Nuke has an extreme biasing in the threshold circuit, giving it its own character which makes the brick wall seem faster and more brutal.

Since the ratios all differ a little in their threshold and slope, the attack and decays will seem a little different, but in actuality, only the 10:1 physically changes the time constant circuitry.

When an owner gets the British modification, a new circuit is added to the Distressor which can be applied to all of the ratios. It will pretty radically change the "personality" to all the ratios.

Thanks for the question

[Fuzzy Logic]

Thank you for the Q + A. very helpful explaination.

[CrazyBeast]

Originally posted by Dave Derr

When an owner gets the British modification, a new circuit is added to the Distressor which can be applied to all of the ratios. It will pretty radically change the "personality" to all the ratios.

Thanks for the question

Damn! Now that is interesting. What is the $$ and lead time on getting this mod done these days? I've meaning to for a while but hate to part with mine for long...

[stuntmixer]

Yes yes yes, Thank you Dave. That is very illumunating. I kinda thought that 3, 4 and 6:1 were related but I didn't realize that 20:1 was in that family too. I knew that 10:1 and Nuke are definitely beasts of their own feather. I wondered about 2:1 as it always sounded different than 3:1 but I wasn't sure.

If possible, could you explain how the thresholds differ for the four basic families? I really don't want to dig too deep and expose the mysteries that make the box so magical (well I really do) if you don't want to go there.

Thanks!

Charles