Like most FET compressors and caused by limitations of FET devices, the Fredenstein Artistic Comp SE features a fixed threshold. The compression depth is controlled by changing the input gain. Increasing the input gain will cause the compressor to apply an increased gain reduction. The compressor output level control is used to make up for the gain reduction. The maximum compressor output gain is +/-10 dB.

The ATTACK TIME switch and RELEASE TIME control define how fast the compressor reacts and how fast it falls back after the signal is lower than the threshold. The perfect values are depending on the program material and the desired sound.

The COMP RATIO control sets the relationship between input and output level for signals above the threshold and can be varied from 2:1 to 20:1. A ratio of 20:1 is considered a limiter. Additionally, so called dry/wet mixes can be performed (parallel compression). The dry signal (uncompressed) and the wet signal (compressed) can be mix together in any relationship to achieve special sounds. The Wet-Dry control of the Artistic Comp dramatically boosts the versatility of the device. If you put the Wet-Dry control fully counter clockwise, only the compressed signal is present at the output, if turned fully clockwise only the unprocessed input signal reaches the output. Another sound shaping tool is the three position side-chain low cut filter. If switched to 150 or 300Hz, it prevents low frequency signals below the selected value from being processed by the compressor.