SSL G Buss Compressor Ratio

[hhuang9611]

So, I found something weird about the ratio setting of SSL compressor plugin I just bought from Waves (the series is on sale BTW)

As far as I understand, for the same level of threshold, the higher ratio will result in higher gain reduction as well as lower outcome volume. However, this seems to be the opposite for SSL. When I switch from 2:1 to 10:1 (the threshold is kept the same), not only the volume increases, but the gain reduction also goes down.

Increasing volume may result from automatic makeup gain (if there is one, I am not sure), but I am confused how the gain reduction can go down with ratio going up.

Can someone enlighten me on this?

Many thanks!

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

From Andy Cytomic when asked the same question about The Glue...

Each ratio has a different threshold offset. This is done so that when compressing around -5 to -10 dB you can switch ratios and more easily compare the sound. This is modeled directly from the analog circuit of the original.

[poshook]

So, I found something weird about the ratio setting of SSL compressor plugin I just bought from Waves (the series is on sale BTW)

As far as I understand, for the same level of threshold, the higher ratio will result in higher gain reduction as well as lower outcome volume. However, this seems to be the opposite for SSL. When I switch from 2:1 to 10:1 (the threshold is kept the same), not only the volume increases, but the gain reduction also goes down.

Increasing volume may result from automatic makeup gain (if there is one, I am not sure), but I am confused how the gain reduction can go down with ratio going up.

Can someone enlighten me on this?

Many thanks!

It is OK with SSL Bus compressors as they use soft knee curves so lower ratios might result in higher gain reduction

[hhuang9611]

From Andy Cytomic when asked the same question about The Glue...

Each ratio has a different threshold offset. This is done so that when compressing around -5 to -10 dB you can switch ratios and more easily compare the sound. This is modeled directly from the analog circuit of the original.

That makes sense. I just tried to mess around and found that with higher ratio, the gain reduction actually jumps much more dramatically with proper threshold.

Thanks!

[hhuang9611]

So, I found something weird about the ratio setting of SSL compressor plugin I just bought from Waves (the series is on sale BTW)

As far as I understand, for the same level of threshold, the higher ratio will result in higher gain reduction as well as lower outcome volume. However, this seems to be the opposite for SSL. When I switch from 2:1 to 10:1 (the threshold is kept the same), not only the volume increases, but the gain reduction also goes down.

Increasing volume may result from automatic makeup gain (if there is one, I am not sure), but I am confused how the gain reduction can go down with ratio going up.

Can someone enlighten me on this?

Many thanks!

It is OK with SSL Bus compressors as they use soft knee curves so lower ratios might result in higher gain reduction

So if I want some gentle compression should I still go with lower ratio?

[poshook]

So, I found something weird about the ratio setting of SSL compressor plugin I just bought from Waves (the series is on sale BTW)

As far as I understand, for the same level of threshold, the higher ratio will result in higher gain reduction as well as lower outcome volume. However, this seems to be the opposite for SSL. When I switch from 2:1 to 10:1 (the threshold is kept the same), not only the volume increases, but the gain reduction also goes down.

Increasing volume may result from automatic makeup gain (if there is one, I am not sure), but I am confused how the gain reduction can go down with ratio going up.

Can someone enlighten me on this?

Many thanks!

It is OK with SSL Bus compressors as they use soft knee curves so lower ratios might result in higher gain reduction

So if I want some gentle compression should I still go with lower ratio?

If you talk about 2BUS compression, I recommend 4:1 as it is the most commonly used for mix bus

[simon.a.billington]

From Andy Cytomic when asked the same question about The Glue...

Each ratio has a different threshold offset. This is done so that when compressing around -5 to -10 dB you can switch ratios and more easily compare the sound. This is modeled directly from the analog circuit of the original.

Yes, this is SSL’s approach to automatic gain compensation, just so it’s easier to compare ratios. So it’s no surprise the emulation from Waves or Cytomic, or or whoever reflects this trait.