TK AUDIO BC1-S
Stereo Bus Compressor
Congratulations on buying one of the most transparent stereo bus compressors ever made, it’s manufactured and assembled by hand in Sweden and thoroughly tested before leaving the factory.
The BC1-S provides smooth bus compression associated with one of the most famous bus compressors from the mid 80’s. Mixing engineers call it the ”magic glue” when transparent compression strengthens mixes without compromising clarity. The BC1-S provides just that kind of compression bringing cohesion and punch; equally useful for drum bus and instrument compression.
The built-in blend control makes it easy to apply parallel compression by adjusting the mix of dry and compressed signal. A mute switch is provided for muting the dry signal making it possible to adjust the compression without changing the blend control.
A switchable side chain filter can be applied at 150Hz which makes the BC1-S less responsive to low frequency energy. The external side chain input makes it possible to have the BC1-S pump to an external source.
The BC1-S will add the ”magic glue” and make your mixes sound punchy and coherent. All controls are stepped for 100% repeatability.
THE PARAMETERS:
THRESHOLD: -20dB to +20dB in 41 steps. The threshold adjusts the level above where the signal is reduced. A lower threshold means a larger portion of the signal will be treated. For optimal results make sure that the input level is high enough.
RATIO: 1.5:1 / 2:1 / 4:1 / 10:1 / Hard. The ratio determines the input/output ratio for signals above the threshold. For example, a 4:1 ratio means that a signal overshooting the threshold by 4 dB will leave the compressor 1 dB above the threshold. At the 1.5:1 and 2:1 setting a relatively subtle soft knee compression is applied. At 4:1, the compression becomes more obvious, and at 10:1 and Hard ratio, the BC1-S is basically a peak limiter.
HPF: When engaged a gentle 6dB/octave high pass filter at 150Hz is applied to the internal or external side chain signal, making the compression less responsive to low frequency energy. In most situations the HPF button should be engaged.
EXT SC: Engages the external side chain input on the back of the BC1-S. By using the external side chain another signal can control the behavior of the compressor; most commonly used by DJs for ducking / lowering the music volume automatically when speaking.
It’s also effectively used for ducking the bass track or background whenever the kick drum hits by sending the kick track to the external sidechain input. For more information please read
the section about side chain compression.
L+R: When engaged the side chain signals are summed to mono before hitting the threshold detectors meaning that the compressor will be 6dB more sensitive to the centre information of the mix. That usually means kick drum, snare drum, bass guitar and lead vocals. In most
cases L+R should not be used.
ATTACK: UF (ultrafast) / 0.1 / 0.3 / 0.6 / 1 / 3 / 10 / 30 / 60 / 120mS. The attack setting defines the time it takes for the compressor to decrease the gain and reach the level determined by the ratio. Faster attack settings means better control of the transient part of the sound, but if set too fast the compressor might cut away more transients than wanted. A good starting point is 10ms.
RELEASE: 50 / 100 / 300 / 600ms / 1.2S / Auto. The release setting defines the time it takes for the compressor to increase the gain to the level determined by the ratio, once the level has fallen below the threshold. Higher release settings will result in a less intrusive compression with lower distortion, but if set too high the compression might not be effective enough. A good starting point is 100ms or Auto.
AUTO RELEASE: Makes the release function time dependent on the duration of the signal peak. In practise it’s a fire-and-forget setting that behaves the same way as a classic British bus compressor used by many since the 80’s.
GAIN REDUCTION METER: The metering shows the average level (RMS) of the gain reduction which differs from the peak level meters of most plug-ins - comparatively it’s slower and in practise it means that a little goes a long way. The proper amount of compression on a mix is usually done when the needle moves in the middle of 0 and 4. Higher ratio and faster release settings will result in a more obvious compression/limiting that sometimes is too fast for the needle to show. Always use your ears first and just use the metering as a quick reference.
MAKE-UP: 0 to+20dB of gain in 41 steps to balance the compressed signal level against the input signal level.
COMP IN: Engages and disengages the compressor. Should be used a lot to control how the compressor is affecting the sound.
STRAIGHT MUTE: When engaged the uncompressed signal is muted; useful when doing parallel compression and you just want to listen to the compressed signal.
BLEND: Straight to compressed sound in 21 steps. Turning the knob clock wise will mix the original signal with the compressed signal. For more information please read the section about parallel compression.
STARTING PRESETS MIX BUS
The main purpose of the BC1-S is to act as a bus compressor and it does it very well.
AUTO RELEASE MAGIC
One of the true unique features of the BC1-S is the auto release setting and it’s ability to glue the mix together. The auto release is a good starting point when setting up the compressor for 2 bus duty. Adjust the Threshold until 2 to 3 dB of compression is shown by the meter. It’s all it takes to glue the mix together.
Threshold: ±0 dB
Ratio: 1.5:1, 2:1 or 4:1
HFP: ON Attack: 10 ms
Release: Auto
Make-up: 8 o’clock
Blend: Comp
POP MIX COMPRESSION
For more obvious compression a fast release should be used. Adjust the Threshold until it shows about 3 to 4 dB of compression on the loudest parts of the song.
Threshold: ±0 dB
Ratio: 4:1
HFP: ON Attack: 10 ms
Release: 100 or 300 ms
Make-up: 9 o’clock
Blend: Comp
SLAMMING 2 BUS COMPRESSION
Depending on the source material sometimes the compression can effectively slam the mix. It usually works for electronic music with fast transients that need to be tamed. The result can be a bit fatiguing but it sure can inject energy when needed rendering a super processed mix.
Threshold: 5 dB Ratio: Hard
HFP: ON
Attack: 3 ms
Release: 50 ms
Make-up: 9 to 10 o’clock Blend: Comp
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