One other important benefit of using compressors is that, when set properly, the net effect is to increase the apparent overall level of a track, making it seem louder by compressing the loudest parts without creating any overload. Once again, spending a few minutes playing with these controls is the fastest way to hear how they work. It’s up to you to decide whether or not such a sound may be useful in your overall concept for a song. If the Release is set too fast, it may result in a sound often referred to as “pumping” or “breathing,” which draws attention to the compressed track. Conversely, the Release control allows you to set how fast the compressor lets the original signal return to normal once it is no longer above the Threshold. The Attack control allows you to fine-tune just how fast the compressor reacts to the input signal with gain reduction when the signal overshoots the Threshold point. Two other controls affect the sound of the compressor: these are the Attack and Release controls. If you have a home studio, put a compressor in your audio chain and click between the different compression ratios available while you compress a track and you’ll quickly be able to discern which ratio works best on various instruments. Higher ratios result in more dramatic gain reduction. At a 4:1 setting, for every 4 dB of increase of input level beyond the threshold, the output level will increase only 1 dB. At a 2:1 setting, for every 2 dB of increase to the input signal beyond the threshold, the output signal level will increase by 1 dB. How much the signal is reduced is determined by the ratio. This is the point at which the device will begin to reduce the level of the output signal. The first and most crucial setting is the Threshold. The controls on most compressors are fairly similar. However, if we consider a lead vocal track where the singer starts near a whisper and is wailing over a pounding band by the song’s end, putting a compressor on that lead vocal track may help reduce the dynamic range so it rides atop the band and allows for an easier mixing process. ![]() If the original performance has a fairly limited range from the loudest to softest note, using a compressor will make little or no difference. Not every track will benefit from compression. Compressors are handy for controlling many of the typical instruments you may be recording, such as bass guitar, vocals, acoustic guitars, and keyboards. A good way to envision the dynamic range of a track is to chart the difference in volume between the loudest notes to the quietest notes of a recording. What is a compressor?Ĭompressors, on the other hand, are frequently used tools that reduce or control the dynamic range of a recorded track. Compressors will normally use lower compression ratios - often in the 2:1, 4:1, or 8:1 range - meaning the amount of gain reduction applied is not as drastic as with a limiter. Limiters are seldom needed in a typical home recording session. Limiters are critical for in-ear monitoring systems, radio and TV broadcasting, and vinyl disc-cutting systems. (A compression ratio of 20:1 means that for every 20dB that the input signal increases beyond a preset point, the limiter will only allow output gain of 1 dB.) They generally have very high compression ratios of 20:1 up to Infinity:1. Limiters are designed to prevent the sound level of an audio program from going beyond a certain, pre-set point. ![]() ![]() What is a limiter?Ī limiter is a compressor, but a compressor is not necessarily a limiter. Using compressors and limiters allows you to smooth out passages where the volume may be too loud. While dynamic changes in volume help give music its shape and emotion, wild and sudden changes in volume can create challenges when recording and mixing your music.
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