Compressing Modulars?

[Roy Tate]

R. Fahl wrote:
>That leads me to this question:  Would it make more sense to build a set of
>compressor modules, or should I just go and get myself a multichannel unit,
>such as the Behringer Multicom.  I want to keep the signal path as clean as
>possible.

I've been considering this idea as well.  The SSM2122 (or some successor),
the NE570, and several others offer an easy way to make a compressor.
One half of the circuit converts the current signal level to a control
voltage
(a precision rectifier), and some additional circuitry controls a VCA.  The
rectifier could have a direct out and be uses as an envelope follower, and
the VCA could be fed a different signal than the rectifier, offering a
full-featured compressor.

Or, you could just have a switch on your VCA to control whether the
rectifier + compressor circuit kicks in.  This would be a minimalist
thing, with a switch and knobs for threshold and ratio.

The next question:  would a "simple" compressor with hard-knee
be acceptable?

Regards,

Roy Tate
roytate at ionet.net
http://www.ionet.net/~roytate