3.4

Time parameters

The time parameters section at the top of the compressor contains the attack and release settings.

• Attack
  The Attack knob sets the time after which gain reduction sets in. For transient-rich program material like drums, fast attack times are needed to minimize overshoot. For other program material, too short attack times may dull the sound a bit. FabFilter Pro-C is capable of very fast attack times and they are program dependent.
  
• Release
  The Release knob sets the time that the compressor takes to recover from gain reduction. The various compression characteristics of Pro-C use different release models, and in most cases, the release time is very program dependent.
• Auto Release
  The Auto Release button enables a smart auto release feature. When enabled, the compressor adjusts the release time depending on the current amount of gain reduction, so this actually introduces an additional form of program dependency. When Auto Release is used, the Release knob changes into the Auto Release Speed knob that adjusts the overall effect of the auto release feature on the release time.

Program dependency

The different compressor styles in FabFilter Pro-C all have their own kind of program dependency. This means that the compressor reacts differently to different kinds of input (program material). For example, Pro-C will recover very fast from transients (fast changes/peaks), but will react quite a bit slower after longer periods of gain reduction. Both the attack and release times are program dependent.

The Classic style is by far the most program dependent style. Even at the fastest release time setting, the actual release time can increase up to a few seconds! Also the Clean style uses a form of program dependency to sound smooth on various types of program material. The Opto style implements only little program dependency.

Next: Output section

See Also
Compressor basics
Overview