Samson S-com 4 Manual Del Propietário página 15

Applications
Leveling a Vocal Track
When recording a vocal track, the vocalist may change the distance between them and the microphone, or they may
naturally have a lot of dynamic range in their performance. In either case, the sound engineer must decide how much
compression should be used to balance the natural performance and printing a good level to tape or disk. Adjust the
S•com 4's Ratio to 4:1. The S•com 4 uses the AEG (Auto Envelope Generator) for automatic attack and release.
Now adjust the Threshold level so that the Gain Reduction meters show 6 to 10 dB of gain reduction. Adjust the
Ratio control if necessary.
Leveling a Guitar or Bass
Guitar and especially bass guitar can have a lot of level change between strings and even frets on the fingerboard.
Using compression when recording guitars and bass will even out these differences. Adjust the S•com 4's Ratio to
4:1. The S•com 4 uses the AEG (Auto Envelope Generator) for automatic attack and release. Now adjust the
Threshold level so that the Gain Reduction meters show 10 to 12 dB of gain reduction. You'll notice that the each
note is at the same loudness and the overall sustain is increased.
Compressing Drums
Adding compression on drums can make a boomy kick drum tighten up, almost as if you were tightening the head of
the drum. Adjust the S•com 4's Ratio to 6:1. The S•com 4 uses the AEG (Auto Envelope Generator) for automatic
attack and release. Set the Threshold so that the Gain Reduction meter reads 12 to 15 dB. Adjust the Ratio control if
necessary. You can use the same basic set up on snare and toms as well.
Getting a Track to Sit in the Mix
By using a heavy amount of compression you can get the effect of the vocal suspending in the mix. While this may be
a bit radical for some, the effect can be dramatic, especially if the vocal is mixed without any reverb or delay. Adjust
the S•com 4's Ratio to 6:1. The S•com 4 uses the AEG (Auto Envelope Generator) for automatic attack and release.
Now adjust the Threshold level to so that the Gain Reduction meters show 21 to 24 dB of gain reduction.
Speaker Protection
There are several ways to use a compressor to protect a speaker system and many considerations can be made
including whether the speaker system is crossed over actively or passively.
If the speaker system is stereo using a passive crossover, then the line output of the mixer or equalizer is run directly
into the S•com 4 inputs. The S•com 4 should be last in the chain before the power amps with its outputs feeding the
inputs of the amp. Now set the S•com 4 to Stereo Link mode. Adjust the Threshold and Ratio so that the system's
entire dynamic range is under control.
When using an active crossover, multiple compressors can be used to compress each section of the PA. For exam-
ple, if the PA is using an active crossover to run a four-way mono system, the S•com 4 can be used for four band
compression. By compressing each output of the crossover, you can maximize the output level while minimizing the
gain to sensitive speakers like the mid-range. Run the low and low-mid frequencies into channel 1 and 2 of S•com 4
and the high-mid and high frequencies into channel 3 and 4 of the second S•com 4.
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