User manual

11.4 Guitar

treatment

A general problem encountered with acoustic guitars is the difference in mid

range signal level produced when the guitar is strummed relative to the

amount when it is picked.

The DPR 944 can be configured to reduce this problem. Start by setting the

frequency control to 1kHz, width to 3 Oct, and the ratio control to 3 o’clock.

While picking some notes, set the threshold control so that the below

Fig 11.4 Acoustic guitar

treatment

threshold meter flashes its 3dB below threshold light when the instrument is

picked. If the guitar is now strummed, you should see the gain reduction

meter show an indication. Experiment with the controls to find the most

pleasing settings.

This procedure, but at lower frequency and narrower width settings, is very

useful for levelling the signal from a bass guitar. Quite often, either due to

technique or the instrument, particular notes will be a great deal louder than

others. Setting the DPR 944 to reduce the level of those notes rather than the

whole frequency band offers an alternative to traditional broadband

compression.

Above a certain critical sound level output, horn loaded speakers start to

produce an unacceptable amount of distortion. This is due to the irregular

movement of air in the horn throat and is usually a problem over a restricted

range of frequencies. The band of frequencies affected is dependant on the

dimensions of the horn. The DPR 944 can be used to reduce the energy in the

frequency band that aggravates the horn, resulting in both a much improved

sound and the possibility of higher sound levels.

11.5 Control of

horn distortion