Gate/Expander section
The gate/expander feature only allows the input and output gates to be soloed, giving the user the choice of turning both gates (usually referred to as "program" and "performance" by some engineers) on and off, leaving the dual "send" as "active". The gate/expander is only set to pass all signals to the buss.
This section is almost always marked as the default setting as the master bus "send" is the default sound, so any incoming bus signals (from aux send, insert, or other busses) are passed through the "gate" (which lets the incoming signal pass) and the "expander" (which lets the outgoing signal pass) and then all the bus signals are passed through the buss compressor.
The gate and expander section of the compressor plugin can be turned off or even removed, meaning that all incoming signals (from aux send, insert, or other busses) are not passed through the "gate" and "expander" and buss compression takes place in the section "Master Compressor".
Master Compressor section
The master compressor section is where all the magic happens. The SND-RX DSP plug-in works by turning the full bus signal down to 0 dB, and then converting this compressed bus signal into the original uncompressed bus signal in real-time. This process of conversion takes place in the processing block that sits on the right side of the SND-RX DSP plug-in.
The result of this conversion process is saved in the "M" section of the SND-RX DSP plug-in. The M section is where the user can control the compression level and attack, release times in real-time.
This section is often referred to as the "master buss compressor" section, as it is almost always set to compress the master bus (usually referred to as "send") or the "main" bus signal in most systems. When using the SND-RX DSP plug-in with a DAW or sound editor, the user can adjust the M section and the compression levels and attack, release times in real-time for each bus.
The original master buss compressor design from the SL 4000 console, had "quick" attack and release times, but it could not provide deep compression. The SSL G Series console master buss compressor has "slow" be359ba680
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