Standard engineering practice says that a compressor should work logarithmically. For a certain increase of volume, the output volume should rise proportionally less, with a result that the more you put in, the more it’s pushed down.
The JOEMEEK compressor doesn’t work this way. As volume increases at the input, a point is reached where the compressor starts to work and the gain through the amplifier is reduced. If the input level keeps rising, gradually the gain reduction becomes less effective and the amplifier goes back to being a linear amplifier except with the volume turned down.
This is by design, and is based on an understanding of how the human ear behaves! The result is that the listener is fooled into thinking that the JOEMEEK compressed sound is louder than it really is—but without the strange psycho-acoustic effect of “deadness” that other compressors suffer from.
At fast Attack settings, it is possible to make the JOEMEEK “overshoot” on percussive program material. This means that the compression electronics are driven hard before the light cells respond to the increased level. The cells catch up and overcompress momentarily giving a tiny dip immediately following the start of the note.
To hear it, use a drum track, set Slope to 5, and Attack and Release to Fast. Used sparingly, this effect can contribute to musical drive in your tracks.
It may be difficult to understand the interactions between the Attack and Release controls, because the JOEMEEK Compressor behaves very differently than typical compressors. Experimentation is the best option, but an explanation may help you understand what’s going on.
The JOEMEEK Compressor uses a compound release circuit that reacts quickly to short bursts of volume, and less quickly to sustained volume. While the unit was being prototyped and designed, the values and ranges of these timings were chosen by experimentation using wide ranges of program material.
Because of these intentional effects produced by the compressor, the JOEMEEK makes a perfect tool for general enhancement of tracks to “brighten,” “tighten,” “clarify,” and catch the attention of the listener, functions that are difficult or impossible to achieve with conventional compressor designs.