Audio files to accompany the article.
These files accompany the ADL 700 article in the May 2015 issue of SOS
ADL 1700: Audio Examples
These audio files demonstrate the sonic character and gain–reduction action of the ADL 1700 on a number of different sources.
Drum Room
Fast time constants and high ratios are a perfect recipe for thickening drum room mic tracks. The ADL 1700 pairs these qualities with a feedback design and thick–sounding line stages, which makes the results powerful, without making them overly harsh or aggressive.
01: Original
02: Ratio 4:1, Fast Attack/Release
03: Ratio 4:1, Medium Attack, Fast Release, Side–chain Filter
04: Ratio 12:1, Fast Attack/Release
Bass
More density, more punch, more average level and more harmonics: these examples show why the ADL 1700 is almost perfect as a bass compressor.
01: Original
02: Ratio 4:1, Medium Attack, Fast Release
03: Ratio 4:1, Medium Attack, Fast Release, Side–chain Filter
04: Compression off, Input overdriven
Vocals
Handling vocals is a difficult, and perhaps the most critical, task for any audio processor. Vocal signals have a complex structure both in the frequency and time domain, and the human ear is very sensitive to odd or unusual–sounding artifacts. But once again the ADL compressor has many advantages in this role. It handles (ie. clamps down on) transients effortlessly, but in a very effective fashion. This allows the average level to be increased by a remarkable margin without making things sound congested or overly squeezed.
01: Original
02: Ratio 2:1, Fast Attack/Release
03: Ratio 2:1, Fast Attack, Medium Release
04: Ratio 2:1, Fast Attack, Medium Release, Side–chain Filter
05: Compression off, Input overdriven
Guitar
The fast and muscular character of the 1700 also helps to even out guitar tracks, but care should be taken not to overdo it! In many applications the unit can go much further than what would be desirable (a good thing for other potential applications!), so you may want to back off the controls a bit at the end.
01: Original
02: Ratio 2:1, Fast Attack/Release
03: Ratio 2:1, Medium Attack, Fast Release, Side–chain Filter