From the course: Fundamentals of Pro Audio Equipment
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Optical - Pro Tools Tutorial
From the course: Fundamentals of Pro Audio Equipment
Optical
- [Instructor] An optical compressor is based around a light bulb and photocell that's used to achieve gain reduction. As audio passes through the light bulb, the photocell detects it, triggering gain reduction. The amount of gain reduction is dependent upon the signal's level strength. Higher compression will be achieved by a hotter signal and vice versa. Generally, an optical compressor is best suited for less transient signals, as the attack times are much slower. Ideal applications would be vocals and stringed instruments. Here are some of the most recognizable optical compressors. The Teletronix LA-2A is probably the most iconic in pro audio history. It's based around a special designed T4 optical attenuator photocell, with a fixed attack time of 10 milliseconds and a slow gradual release that begins at 60 milliseconds and gets slower until the signal returns back to 100%. The LA-2A is the first compressor to use a photocell to achieve gain reduction. It started as the LA-1 which…
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