What’s up with that? What am I trying to achieve with my compression? are in correlation and different types can give similar results with quite different settings and different results with the same settings, I thought to give a bit wider explanation. Want to get all of Soundfly’s premium online courses for a low monthly cost? This can be more of a factor with hardware compressors, but plugins — especially those that faithfully model analog gear — are susceptible as well. If you’re using a compressor plugin, the other option is to. I am honored to have the possibility to share my way of thinking about “setting the threshold” and “always compressing,” but “…hearing the effect…” is rather an attack-release thing, so I’ll answer it in another post. Since transients are often louder than the rest of your waveform, compressors will affect them considerably. Is it moving in time with the music? Understanding your tools is essential for your mixes to sound polished and professional. If you're interested in becoming a content partner, please send articles and inquiries to support(at)soundfly.com! Now you know the ins and outs of every knob on your compressor. But you really can have too much of a good thing. – There are also “Hard To Know What It Does” compressors with strange names on their 2 or 30 knobs, and takes some experimenting to learn what they really refer to and exactly do. BUT, as soon as the sound hits -24dB, the compressor will kick in and reduce the volume. If there is a switch between RMS and Peak  or the type is known, it is an extra joy. + Welcome to Soundfly! It’s All About The Threshold This is the point that the compressor kicks in. They generally have 5 knobs: Threshold and Ratio, Attack and Release, and the Makeup gain. A softer knee means a smoother sound while a harsher knee means more abrupt changes in volume as the sound dips and jumps around the threshold value. When you set your threshold, you’re deciding which part of your signal you want to reduce. A waveform with good dynamics will have many transients as certain sounds hit and then decay in your composition. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. But with a strong understanding of these four settings, you’ll have a solid base to achieve healthy compression. I understand compressors!” I had made a little summary of that “invention” at that time and you can Check It Out Here. You might be tempted to stylishly slam the percussive elements of your mix with your favorite compressor. Compression is one of your most powerful mixing tools. Your threshold sets the signal level where your compressor will start working. When you use a compressor to change those dynamics, the mix engineer becomes part of the musical performance. It’s called the ratio because it’s expressed in comparison to the unaffected signal. When you set your threshold, you’re deciding which part of your signal you want to reduce. Setting it higher will affect only the most aggressive peaks and leave the rest untouched. There are other settings for controlling compression that I won’t get into here. Experienced engineers will often talk about how one compressor is more “musical” than another. Nevertheless, the limiter is already working, but the inner algorithm has not triggered its led or needle because this visible signal needs maybe 3 dB (like in SSL channel), but it reduces the 0-2.9 dB signals. It’s easy to think faster attack settings sound better when the drums are soloed, but in the context of the track, the drums will disappear if the the transients have been limited too aggressively. You already know that when the signal goes above your threshold, the compressor will begin to reduce the gain based on your the ratio you set. For example: We can say that an uncompressed signal would have a ratio of 1:1 and a brick wall limiter (which allows no signal whatsoever to go above the threshold) would have a ratio of ∞:1. There are no rational reasons, just what my ears are familiar with; 2:1 set at 3dB below average peaks and 30/300ms is what i know how to hear, if i can't hear it, it means i have to lower threshold. The perfect threshold setting will depend on your needs. The opposite is true too, no dynamics can lead to a lifeless and fatiguing sound, and a waveform that looks like a big brick. While listening to your entire mix (do not solo the vocal), pull down the threshold until the compressor starts compressing. I’m also having trouble hearing the effects of the compressor, maybe it’s my ears, maybe it’s the Threshold thing…?”. Pro tip: You can do this with hardware as well by duplicating the track in your DAW, nudging it a few samples earlier on the timeline and sending it to the compressor’s sidechain input while the original track is sent to its normal input. To understand compression, you need to know what transients are. To set the perfect threshold, think about what you’re trying to accomplish by compressing your audio, and which parts of the signal are the most problematic. The sound gets more consistent. your mixes to sound polished and professional, How to Develop a Positive Working Relationship with an Engineer, Basic Vocal Processing in Hip-Hop Production, What Not to Buy: How to Stretch Your Home Studio Budget Wisely, How I Built a Lo-Fi Hip-Hop Groove With Outdoor Samples, How to Make Your Mixes Louder (the Right Way), Uncancel the Holidays! First off: a good rule of thumb for compression is “do no harm.”. Are the signal’s loud transients distracting from the rest of your mix? Add makeup gain as needed so the vocal doesn’t drop in volume. Transients, and their eventual decay, are what make a waveform look like a fishbone. It’s an important concept. In this case, the plugin needs harder settings to get the shaped sound even at its lower signal levels to be consistent. Occasional course announcements and special offers This article will help you learn what compression does, how to choose the perfect compressor settings, and some common pitfalls to avoid. Is it a corrective or aesthetic change? Set the attack too fast and your transients will be crushed. Your Attack and Release are two parts of the same range of control — the timing with which the compressor’s gain reduction starts (attack) and stops (release) acting on your signal. This extra learning process does not take anything away from their being great sounding, and easy to use, it just takes a little extra time to learn how to operate these compressors. Attack and release define whether the compressor reaches its full range of gain reduction right away or more gradually. Threshold is measured in dB, so any signal above your threshold dB will be compressed. One of the most glaring signs that a track has been mixed by an inexperienced engineer is the improper use of compression. Learn what you want, whenever you want, with total freedom. Is it obvious where the gain reduction is occurring? These bursts give our brains a lot of information about the quality of a sound. I understand the concept of what a compressor does, but I notice that a lot of people (specifically in tutorials) set the Threshold down way lower than just below the peaks that they’re trying to compress, so in effect, the compressor is always compressing & not just when those unwanted peaks pop up. There can be many other reasons, so please provide us some more details of the material in question. + Learn more on Soundfly: Train your ears and your fingers with our popular online mixing courses, Faders Up I & II: Modern Mix Techniques and Advanced Mix Techniques. Your dynamics are one of the most fundamental aspects for making your mix sound unique. The other case can be when the compressor/limiter is used to perform sound shaping (snare is a good example that I will show in another video post.) Here are a few mistakes to avoid as you explore and experiment with your compressor settings. Because a threshold is a relative value that depends on the incoming signal level, that is the input gain of the compressor. https://theproaudiofiles.com/video/compressor-threshold-explained Play your track back and adjust on the fly to find the perfect amount. Even if you’re using a very coloured compressor or applying intense compression for effect, your goal should be to enhance the natural and musical dynamics of your signal — not destroy them. We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Transients are the initial high-energy moments of a certain sound in your waveform. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. With the threshold set to affect the range you need, listen to how increasing the ratio changes the source material to find the best ratio. , with total freedom of gain reduction your compressor will kick in and reduce dynamic... Threshold until the compressor is more of a low frequency wave is actually quite long before it becomes and... For example: imagine a whisper and a scream on the ’ Fly at Autoland member. For your mixes to sound polished and professional most simple and common parameter in audio.! 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