Glossary

The terms this manual uses, in plain language.

Anti-causal

Processing that affects the sound before an event happens, such as energy arriving ahead of a hit. It needs the plugin to hear ahead, which is why True mode has latency.

Auto Level

Automatic level matching against the dry signal, so you compare sound rather than loudness.

Bipolar / one-directional

How a modulator moves a dial. One-directional pushes up from the dial's position; bipolar swings both ways around it.

Chirp

The quick sweep you hear when a hit is dispersed: frequencies arriving one after another.

dBFS

Decibels relative to full scale. 0 dBFS is the loudest a digital signal can be without clipping.

Detector

The part of a compressor that listens to the signal and decides how much to turn it down.

Dispersion

Delaying different frequencies by different amounts, so a sound spreads out in time.

Dry / wet

Dry is the unprocessed signal; wet is the processed one.

Expander

A gentle gate that turns quiet parts down gradually instead of cutting them off.

Gain reduction

How many dB a compressor is turning the signal down at a given moment.

Knee

How gradually compression starts as the signal approaches the threshold.

Latency

The delay a plugin adds. DAWs compensate for reported latency so tracks stay in time.

Lookahead

Delaying the audio slightly so the compressor can react before a transient arrives.

Makeup gain

Gain added after compression to restore or raise the level.

Modulator

A built-in source of movement that changes a control over time.

Oversampling

Processing at a higher internal sample rate to reduce harsh artifacts from distortion.

Phase

Where in its cycle a frequency is at a given moment. Changing phase changes the timing between frequencies without changing their level.

Q

How narrow or wide a frequency band is. High Q is narrow; low Q is wide.

Ratio

How strongly a compressor turns down signal above the threshold. At 4:1, 4 dB over the threshold comes out as 1 dB over.

Semitone (st)

One step on a piano keyboard. Twelve semitones make an octave.

Sidechain

A second input that controls the compressor, often another track such as a kick drum.

Soft clipper

A stage that rounds peaks off smoothly instead of chopping them flat.

Threshold

The level above which a compressor starts working, or below which a gate starts closing.

Transient

The sharp start of a sound, such as the click of a kick or the consonant of a word.