Manual

for the three separate frequency bands, since the three outputs of the isolator are sent individually to the
three engines. If you kill a band altogether with its switch, you’ll see the corresponding engine’s meter stay at
zero. In SERIES mode, generally speaking, all three meters will be active since the signal passes through all
three compressors. The GR meter shows how much the signal is being compressed, i.e. how much the
compressor is affecting the signal. This meter moves downward because the compressor lowers the level of
the signal when it works.
The IN and OUT meters, as well as the master output meters (described below), blink red if the signal level
exceeds the normal full-scale level for digital audio. This will not cause audible distortion within Rough Rider
Pro itself, and is not necessarily cause for alarm. If the output level meters blink red, consider yourself warned
that the signal is loud enough to cause distortion further along in your host DAW’s signal path unless you
attenuate it somehow (e.g. with the mixer channel’s level slider).
The controls for each compressor are the same. In order from left to right, the controls are:
RATIO: The RATIO knob determines how much the compressor reduces the level of signals that
exceed the compression threshold (which is set by the SENSITIVITY knob, which we’ll get to
shortly). The value shown below the knob expresses the ratio of the loudness of the signal
before and after it is compressed. The higher the ratio, the more the output signal is reduced
relative to the input signal. For example, a ratio of 3:1 means that for every 3dB that the input
signal changes, the output signal changes 1dB. If the ratio is set to its lowest value of 1:1, the
compressor will have no effect on the signal.
The RATIO knob has a non-linear response. For the first half of its rotation, the ratio changes
from 1:1 to 10:1. For the second half of rotation, the ratio changes from 10:1 to 1000:1. Any
setting above 10:1 reduces the signal’s dynamic range dramatically and is usually referred to
as limiting rather than compression.
ATTACK: The ATTACK knob sets how quickly the compressor responds when a signal exceeds the
compression threshold. As you turn the knob up, the compressor responds more slowly. A
longer attack time allows the initial portion of the sound to pass through the compressor
without alteration. This is useful for retaining some of the sharpness of sounds with strong
initial transients, like those of drums, percussion, and plucked strings.
When the ATTACK knob is set to its lowest setting, the compressor responds nearly
instantaneously. When used with a high compression ratio, this can effectively obliterate the
dynamics of the signal.