Talking to AI on Nostr: Please re-write this text as bulletpoints for a presentation : Compression is one of ...
Please re-write this text as bulletpoints for a presentation :
Compression is one of the most misunderstood and often misused techniques in the entire realm of audio engineering. Many use it simply because they feel they have to, with no particular regard or knowledge for what they are doing to the signal. This is an area to tread carefully because as well as being one of our most powerful tools, the compressor can be one of the most prone to destroying our mixes outright. I’m sure there’s a Spiderman quote to bring that concept home, but let’s stay on topic instead.
Compressors are, in essence, dynamic range reduction tools. Hence the name - they ‘compress’ the signal. They shrink the dynamic footprint of the source so that it becomes conducive to working within an arrangement. This allows us greater control over the level and dynamics of our mixes and ultimately allows for finer sculpting.
As well as controlling dynamic range, most compressors also allow us the ability to shape the envelope of the signal we are compressing. This is where the common ‘Attack’ and ‘Release’ parameters come into play. The attack effectively determines how long it takes a compressor, after the input has exceeded the threshold, to reach a set percentage of its final gain reduction value. The release works in opposite, determining how long it takes a compressor, after the input has dropped below the threshold, to reach a set percentage of its original gain value. This makes compressors great tone- shaping tools. They can help to affect how far forward or back in a mix the source will sit, how much it will breathe, how small its footprint will be in the mix and so forth. They help shape how quickly, and how aggressively the compressor acts upon the signal.
Now, you’re not reading this because you want a 101 on the basic functions of your garden-variety compressor. You want to know how to dial the thing, right? Allow me to first bore you with the self-indulgent, esoteric diatribe that most in my position feel tempted to unleash upon newcomers before actually moving onto the practically relevant information you actually want. Dialing compressors is somewhat of an art form, and it can take not only years, but decades to truly refine. Combining the inherently unique characteristics of different types of compressors with the permutable ways of dialing and sequencing them gives an astonishing amount of possibilities. You can rest assured that many more of those will sound ‘wrong’ than they do ‘right’. Picking which compressor to use on which source can at times be half the battle, so you will need to familiarize yourself with as many types of compressors as you can, and their respective tonal characteristics.
To start with, when listening to a signal prior to compression, you need to focus on the dynamic qualities of the signal. Work out what you can do with compression, and what’s best done via other avenues, such as volume automation, re-tracking, sampling etc. It helps to form an idea of how you want this element to sit within your mix - it will determine how you will ultimately dial your compression chain. Assuming we are using a garden-variety compressor with simple Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Release and Output Gain controls, we can proceed as such:
Dial up the Ratio fairly high. Anywhere from 8:1 on up should do. Set the Release & Attack to the fastest they will go. Lower the threshold until you’re compressing the signal quite heavily. What you have here is a compressor that’s acting much like a limiter. It’s not giving the signal very far to go, and with most compressors what you’re hearing now should sound god awfully bad. Good? Ok, let’s move on.
Start by opening up the Attack. This will determine the size of transients you allow through the compressor. If we’re compressing drums, you will generally find that you prefer slower attacks on direct tracks, when searching for punch. On vocals you might find anything faster than a quick/medium attack lets too many plosives and other distractions through. Essentially, the faster your attack, the more you stifle the transient content of the signal. And the slower the attack, the more natural, albeit less controlled it will sound.
Next you will want to set your release. The release is a fairly straightforward one as you want to ensure that your compressor has mostly released by the time the next phrase, drum hit, or whatever else has come into action. The shorter your release, the more you emphasize the resonant, sustained qualities of whatever it is that you’re compressing. The slower your release, the less of that sustained quality will jump up after the compression, and the more it will start to eat into the next transient. If your release is too short, you may emphasize pumping qualities in the signal, but if it’s too long you may eat into too much coming transient content. A good example to use here is to assume we’re dealing with a quick burst of double-bass drums. Most who have dealt with double-kick parts will know that they tend to jump out of the mix quite profoundly and need to be dealt with. Let’s say that for some reason volume automation isn’t an option and we’d rather our compressor deal with them. In this case what you would want to do is set the compressor so that it releases normally for the sparse single-kick parts, but come the double-kick stuff, the release will still be going through its motion by the time all the successive hits have come around. The effect here? The first kick hit (the down beat, which is helpful to emphasize) will be relatively normal, but every successive kick in the pattern will be ducked down in volume, and won’t jump out as much as it would otherwise. Presto! Volume automation with a release control.
After this you will want to balance your threshold and ratio controls until you find a happy balance for whatever it is that you’re compressing. A higher ratio will get you closer to limiting and will have a much more pronounced and aggressive sound. A lower ratio will be more gentle and transparent in nature, allowing you to get away with compressing more of the signal, albeit to a lesser degree. The rest is simply down to practice. The more you compress and the more you mix, the better feel you will develop for your compressors and what they are capable of. Above all, you will learn what to avoid doing, which is possibly the most important lesson of them all.
Naturally, you won’t always dial compressors in this manner. This was simply a case in point, where hearing a compressor working at extremes can help to illustrate what it’s actually doing to the signal, and how to best shape it. With experience under your belt, you will find that each of your compressors will have certain sweet spots, and you will be able to dial to those intuitively over time, much as you would dial a tone on a guitar amp. Rather than using one type of compressor for everything, and varying the settings considerably to suit, you will start to reach for different types of compressors, with sweet spots more attuned to what you are compressing from the outset. All of this is a factor of experience and time, and will develop in concert with your individual mixing personality.
Compression is one of the most misunderstood and often misused techniques in the entire realm of audio engineering. Many use it simply because they feel they have to, with no particular regard or knowledge for what they are doing to the signal. This is an area to tread carefully because as well as being one of our most powerful tools, the compressor can be one of the most prone to destroying our mixes outright. I’m sure there’s a Spiderman quote to bring that concept home, but let’s stay on topic instead.
Compressors are, in essence, dynamic range reduction tools. Hence the name - they ‘compress’ the signal. They shrink the dynamic footprint of the source so that it becomes conducive to working within an arrangement. This allows us greater control over the level and dynamics of our mixes and ultimately allows for finer sculpting.
As well as controlling dynamic range, most compressors also allow us the ability to shape the envelope of the signal we are compressing. This is where the common ‘Attack’ and ‘Release’ parameters come into play. The attack effectively determines how long it takes a compressor, after the input has exceeded the threshold, to reach a set percentage of its final gain reduction value. The release works in opposite, determining how long it takes a compressor, after the input has dropped below the threshold, to reach a set percentage of its original gain value. This makes compressors great tone- shaping tools. They can help to affect how far forward or back in a mix the source will sit, how much it will breathe, how small its footprint will be in the mix and so forth. They help shape how quickly, and how aggressively the compressor acts upon the signal.
Now, you’re not reading this because you want a 101 on the basic functions of your garden-variety compressor. You want to know how to dial the thing, right? Allow me to first bore you with the self-indulgent, esoteric diatribe that most in my position feel tempted to unleash upon newcomers before actually moving onto the practically relevant information you actually want. Dialing compressors is somewhat of an art form, and it can take not only years, but decades to truly refine. Combining the inherently unique characteristics of different types of compressors with the permutable ways of dialing and sequencing them gives an astonishing amount of possibilities. You can rest assured that many more of those will sound ‘wrong’ than they do ‘right’. Picking which compressor to use on which source can at times be half the battle, so you will need to familiarize yourself with as many types of compressors as you can, and their respective tonal characteristics.
To start with, when listening to a signal prior to compression, you need to focus on the dynamic qualities of the signal. Work out what you can do with compression, and what’s best done via other avenues, such as volume automation, re-tracking, sampling etc. It helps to form an idea of how you want this element to sit within your mix - it will determine how you will ultimately dial your compression chain. Assuming we are using a garden-variety compressor with simple Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Release and Output Gain controls, we can proceed as such:
Dial up the Ratio fairly high. Anywhere from 8:1 on up should do. Set the Release & Attack to the fastest they will go. Lower the threshold until you’re compressing the signal quite heavily. What you have here is a compressor that’s acting much like a limiter. It’s not giving the signal very far to go, and with most compressors what you’re hearing now should sound god awfully bad. Good? Ok, let’s move on.
Start by opening up the Attack. This will determine the size of transients you allow through the compressor. If we’re compressing drums, you will generally find that you prefer slower attacks on direct tracks, when searching for punch. On vocals you might find anything faster than a quick/medium attack lets too many plosives and other distractions through. Essentially, the faster your attack, the more you stifle the transient content of the signal. And the slower the attack, the more natural, albeit less controlled it will sound.
Next you will want to set your release. The release is a fairly straightforward one as you want to ensure that your compressor has mostly released by the time the next phrase, drum hit, or whatever else has come into action. The shorter your release, the more you emphasize the resonant, sustained qualities of whatever it is that you’re compressing. The slower your release, the less of that sustained quality will jump up after the compression, and the more it will start to eat into the next transient. If your release is too short, you may emphasize pumping qualities in the signal, but if it’s too long you may eat into too much coming transient content. A good example to use here is to assume we’re dealing with a quick burst of double-bass drums. Most who have dealt with double-kick parts will know that they tend to jump out of the mix quite profoundly and need to be dealt with. Let’s say that for some reason volume automation isn’t an option and we’d rather our compressor deal with them. In this case what you would want to do is set the compressor so that it releases normally for the sparse single-kick parts, but come the double-kick stuff, the release will still be going through its motion by the time all the successive hits have come around. The effect here? The first kick hit (the down beat, which is helpful to emphasize) will be relatively normal, but every successive kick in the pattern will be ducked down in volume, and won’t jump out as much as it would otherwise. Presto! Volume automation with a release control.
After this you will want to balance your threshold and ratio controls until you find a happy balance for whatever it is that you’re compressing. A higher ratio will get you closer to limiting and will have a much more pronounced and aggressive sound. A lower ratio will be more gentle and transparent in nature, allowing you to get away with compressing more of the signal, albeit to a lesser degree. The rest is simply down to practice. The more you compress and the more you mix, the better feel you will develop for your compressors and what they are capable of. Above all, you will learn what to avoid doing, which is possibly the most important lesson of them all.
Naturally, you won’t always dial compressors in this manner. This was simply a case in point, where hearing a compressor working at extremes can help to illustrate what it’s actually doing to the signal, and how to best shape it. With experience under your belt, you will find that each of your compressors will have certain sweet spots, and you will be able to dial to those intuitively over time, much as you would dial a tone on a guitar amp. Rather than using one type of compressor for everything, and varying the settings considerably to suit, you will start to reach for different types of compressors, with sweet spots more attuned to what you are compressing from the outset. All of this is a factor of experience and time, and will develop in concert with your individual mixing personality.