Upgrade Manual

Appendix A: "Audio Plugins"74
Release:
The it takes the Expander to attenuate the signal after it falls below
threshold.
Low Release, combined with high Threshold and high Ratio, can cause odd-
sounding decay tails. Sometimes it can sound distorted. This is called Gate
Chatter, and is a common side-effect on expanders. If you get Gate Chatter, try
more conservative settings.
Using Compressor and Expander Together
High compression settings can raise low-level noise (between musical phrases)
to objectionable levels. In these cases, enable both the Compressor and
Gate/Expander. Set the Expander to attenuate between musical phrases, so the
Compressor will not sound so noisy.
When both compression and expansion are enabled, the signal passes through
the Expander first, then passes through the Compressor, and finally the Peak
Limiter (if enabled.)
Soft Distortion
Soft Distortion is similar to the effect of over-driving analog tape or tube
amplifiers. Hard Distortion is caused by over-driving digital audio systems or
solid-state amplifiers.
Soft Distortion is mellow. Soft distortion generates mostly even harmonics.
Even harmonics can complement musical tones and chords.
Odd harmonics have a raucous sound, making un-musical tones and chords.
Tape or Tubes have soft distortion because overloaded signal peaks are not
abruptly "whacked off" with a straight line. Instead, overloaded signal peaks are
gently rounded off.
There is only one control,
Gain
. Increase Gain to increase the amount of Soft
Distortion.
Reverb
Reverb is the spacious sound of multiple reflections in a room. In most rooms,
reverb has three distinct phases.
The listener first hears the direct sound from the instrument. Then he/she hears a
group of distinct echoes, first reflections from the walls and ceiling.