|
learjeff 
Group: Members
Posts: 785
Joined: Oct. 2003
|
|
|
Posted: Mar. 30 2004,12:50
|
|
|
Quote
|
|
The only way I can see compression being effective is over
individual tracks, rather than across the entire
song.
|
Then you're half right.
Like Bubba said, compression changes the dynamics (reduces
it). You can think of it as making the too-loud parts
quieter, but I often find it more helpful to think of it as
making the too-soft parts louder.
You can do this on individual tracks, and it makes any performance
more "even" in volume. You can also do it on
the whole mix, and it makes the whole song more even in volume
(and generally, louder overall). The latter has to be
done with even greater care, though. For example, let's
say we have a keyboard pad sound that's steady in volume, and
a guitar or vocal part that suddenly soars in volume. If
we compress this mix, the soaring part will cause the gain
to be turned down on the whole thing, and what we'll hear is
the pad track "duck" when the lead part soars. Sometimes
this is just what we want. Other times it sounds unnatural.
This is one reason why folks often use a multi-band compressor
for compression on the final mix. That way, a leaping
guitar part won't cause the bass line to duck, because the
different frequency bands are compressed separately. You
can still have the problem, but it's limited on a band--by-band
basis.
But to prove to yourself how valuable a little compression
on a mix can be, try using peak Compressor on a mix, with the
default ratio and threshold set to say, -6 dB, and with a final
gain of about 3 dB. If your original mix doesn't clip,
it probably won't with these settings (and if it does, just
lower the peak threshold -- I think it's a blue horizontal
line).
This isn't how you'd normally dial up compression -- usually
you listen as you draw the threshold down and wait to hear
what you want. But just use these example settings and
try it, and do an A/B comparison of the result. You'll
find you hear more detail in the compressed mix, but there
will be less dynamics too. The compressed mix will sound
louder at the same gain level.
|
Quote
|
|
3) "In digital, 0db of any meter is the loudest possible
volume there is, so the Threshold setting on a digital
compressor will always be a negative value."
So you cannot make it hotter, you can only make it
quiter. If you've mixed it okay, why would you want
to reduce the volume of it all?
|
By making it all quieter, we can push up the gain (master fader,
or the gain knob in the compressor). So the loudest parts
say at the same level (nearly 0 dB), but the quieter parts
are now louder than they were before.
4. The compressor only BEGINS to kick in at the threshold. It
reduces the volume more the higher the input volume is above
the threshold.
Also, note that once you go above the threshold, the compressor's
gain gets turned down according to level and the ratio. But
it doesn't spring back up immediately when the volume goes
back down -- it drifts back up more slowly. This is one
of the trickier parts about adjusting a compressor to the source
material and desired effect.
And frankly, it doesn't even get turned down immediately --
there's also a rate governing on how fast it clamps down (turns
down the gain). That rate is usually much faster than
the release rate (to drift back up). On a peak limiter,
that rate is much higher -- it clamps down much faster, sometimes
immediately (with "look ahead").
--------------
"I
never knew I had one, 'Til I saw yours shine" - Johnny
Clegg
|
(kidding,
my ears need some visual feedback)
