Just to be clear, I'm not simply looking for a target gain reduction. I'm trying to get color as well as compression from the Compressor as an audio effect, like one might do in a studio with a nice rack unit. Overdrive the hell out of it, it'll sound different. And I'm placing the compressor after the amp block as post processing. I have bottomed out the threshold. I'm using the Tube Compressor, which has no auto makeup switch (which i do not believe is relevant in this scenario). My preset before the compressor hovers around the 0db level of the preset leveling tool in Axe Edit (as I don't want to experience loud "events" when bypassing blocks). From that point I want to hit the Tube Compressor with a ton of clean gain to slaughter the nice emulated circuit. Compressors tend to have an effect when hit hard. And I'm looking for that effect. To do that, either I have to really increase the level of the amp block (may cause loud "events" when blocks are bypassed), or plop a volume block before the compressor (which may cause loud "events" when the compressor block is bypassed). And yes, I want a low to medium ratio, somewhere between 2:1 and 4:1 for the feel of the compression. As well as 15-20db gain reduction which Abby Road recommended on their modified version of the Altec Lansing 436C (axe fx Tube Compressor). I'm running a bass through it now, but I bet drum rooms and other sources would sound great as well.
These are not the values I am using. But they are nice round values that make the math easy to explain. Say you have a 2:1 ratio. Your compressor threshold is at -60. Audio signal is at -40, That makes the audio signal 20db above the threshold. A 20db peak over the threshold at a 2:1 ratio gets compressed in half to 10 above the threshold, or -50. If we want the same target value, with the same signal, but with a 10:1 ratio, the threshold will have to rise to -50ish. That makes the signal of -40db 10db above the threshold. This makes the peak of the signal get compressed to 1/10 of its overage, roughly the same value. But instead of being cut in half, signals are reduced by 1/10 when using a 10:1 ratio. Compression ratios impart an audible difference, even in more subtle changes of ratio. And there is definitely more dynamic range in a 2:1 ratio than a 10:1 ratio (or a 4:1). A hard strum and a soft strum will be compressed to a very similar amount at a 10:1 ratio, while you can still get variances between a hard strum and a soft strum at a 2:1 ratio.
10:1 > 10 becomes 1 and 5 becomes .5. Essentially a limiter.
2:1 > 10 become 5 and 5 becomes 2.5. More dynamics.
Thus my wish for an input trim knob within the compressor block itself. I can get all the clean gain I need for this effect right in the block. And that gain will be bypassed with the compressor block, whether it is bypassed accidentally or otherwise. If this does not explain my intentions and the thought process behind them, then I guess I need to work on how I express myself. If that's the case, sorry for wasting all of your time, guys. I appreciate the FAS community and don't wish to be a nuisance.
