best way to really learn compression

general questions, comments and ideas about recording, audio, music, etc.
dungeonsound615
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best way to really learn compression

Post by dungeonsound615 » Mon Apr 19, 2004 11:50 am

So i know what the different knobs do and all that and what a compressor does. However i have noticed that i just turn knobs till i hear what i like. Does anyone hear have any good suggestions for truly learning compression. I always hear people say oh i compressed this two dB or i dit this to get that. What i want to know is how do they know this i never know exacetly what it is im doing im just turning knobs till i hear what i like, and i know thats not a wrong way of doing things but i would like to know more.
thanks

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Re: best way to really learn compression

Post by @?,*???&? » Mon Apr 19, 2004 11:59 am

dungeonsound615 wrote:However i have noticed that i just turn knobs till i hear what i like.
Listening is essential.

They say compression is creative and limiting is mechanical. With the normalization thread running right now, we can say that normalizing is mechanical too.

Stick to using your ears.

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Re: best way to really learn compression

Post by darkskyy1 » Mon Apr 19, 2004 12:47 pm

you have to think about what is your objective in compressing this track(s)? is it...

1) to control the peaks so I can bring up the rest of my track?
2) to compress my peaks duck it back into the mix?

if you answered yes to #1 then...
solo the track, set your makeup gain to zero, start with a moderate ratio (i.e. 3 or 4 to 1), then slowly bring down your threshold and audjust your attack and release times to taste, once the desired compression is achieved, then unsolo the track and makeup the lost gain until the track is at the correct level for the mix

if you answered yes to #2 then...
solo the track, set your makeup gain to zero and adjust attack and release to taste, then unsolo the track and adjust your threshold and ration, to duck the peaks of your track back into your mix

another handy tip would be to minimize the "sound" of your compressor, or more or less smoothen the compression curve, by setting your ratio incredibly low, (1.2 to 1) and then crank down your threshold really hard, sometimes -45db, which will really soften the knee of your compression

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Re: best way to really learn compression

Post by AstroDan » Mon Apr 19, 2004 1:36 pm

You could run something perpetual, like a drum machine, through one when you're not busy. Maybe two beats; a fast one and a slow one.

Set the controls of the comp at around 12 and just go through left to right with the knobbies and do 'the mess around'. Threshold. Cool. Compression. Cool. Attack, release. I see, cool.

The reason I would go with two varying tempos is be because the appropriate settings would be very different for, say, fast drum beats with no decaying instrumentation like rides, and a slower beat with all kinds of decay going on.

Just an idea.
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aurelialuz
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Re: best way to really learn compression

Post by aurelialuz » Mon Apr 19, 2004 1:37 pm

i think a great way to learn about compressors is to run a drum machine with a kind of sparse beat into the compressor. it really teaches you a lot about the attack/relase functions and how hard the compressor hits when you adjust the ratio control. from that you can start to see where you could use that information in a musical setting.

but i agree that you should just use your ears a lot of the time. over time, you'll learn about using it on certain things during a mix (3db down at blah blah blah) but really, lots of people have made lots of great records by just turning the knobs in a studio till it sounded right and not knowing anything about why it was so.

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Re: best way to really learn compression

Post by stillafool » Mon Apr 19, 2004 1:50 pm

There was an excellent article on this in last months (or maybe the month before last's) Tape Op. I can't remember the name of the engineer or the article, but he described how he uses buss compression, and he briefly mentioned how he learned to train his ear.

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Re: best way to really learn compression

Post by joeysimms » Mon Apr 19, 2004 2:03 pm

That would be "Michael Brauer on Buss Compression". Great article. The kind you read more than once.
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Re: best way to really learn compression

Post by jajjguy » Mon Apr 19, 2004 2:25 pm

like aurelialuz, i think percussive sounds are a great way to learn.

imagine the envelope of the note (or durm hit, whatever). imagine the volume shooting up and then dropping back down. which part of that do you want to change? maybe you just want the spike lower, and everything else can stay the same (fast attack, fast release). Maybe you want to leave the spike the way it is but bring up some of the sustain (slower attack, fast-to-medium release). Maybe you want to suppress the spike almost entirely and hear the note really ring out long (fast attack, slow release). of course, threshold and ratio will affect how drastic all of this is, but the attack and release knobs are the ones to really focus on when you're shaping an envelope.

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Re: best way to really learn compression

Post by dungeonsound615 » Mon Apr 19, 2004 3:03 pm

Hey I currently do not own a drum machine, however i do have a crappy casio keyboard, or i coudl get an actual drummer to play while i twiddle knobs and such. Maybe actually knowing what it is im doing could be a bad thing and take away the creative part but at the same time knowing what im doing would be nice. So any suggestions for this being that i dont have a drum machine will my keyboard work, oh i also have an old wooden metronome if that would help.
thanks guys just trying to learn as much as possible

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aurelialuz
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Re: best way to really learn compression

Post by aurelialuz » Mon Apr 19, 2004 3:12 pm

yeah, a casio beat is fine. you just want a beat, any beat. something consistent. a real drummer would work, but usually they stop and say something dumb like "uh, is that good enough?" right when you're really nailing the sound. drum machine just so you can sit there for as long as you want tweaking.

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dungeonsound615
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Re: best way to really learn compression

Post by dungeonsound615 » Mon Apr 19, 2004 3:16 pm

alright casio drumbeat it is i will play around with that tonight. Maybe i can actually get a casio drumbeat to sound bad ass with compression cause most are pretty cheesy.
MIke

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Re: best way to really learn compression

Post by jajjguy » Tue Apr 20, 2004 1:24 pm

Also try micing up a wood table while you hit it with your knuckles. Seriously. Record a few hits and then mess with the compression. I swear you can get some real "Ksh!" out of what starts out sounding more like "p."

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Re: best way to really learn compression

Post by chris harris » Tue Apr 20, 2004 1:35 pm

don't forget to watch the meters on your compressor. they can show you what's happening, even when it's very transparent compression.

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Re: best way to really learn compression

Post by drummerdan » Wed Apr 21, 2004 2:34 pm

I was doing voiceover work for a friend of mine, and it was just talking for 10 minutes. I sat down with the comp on, and for the first time I was able to actually hear the attack anbd release, exactly where it was and how it was working. It helped me a WHOLE lot!

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Re: best way to really learn compression

Post by syrupcore » Wed Apr 21, 2004 6:55 pm

if you have some real drums recorded onto a computer, you can loop them instead of using a drum machine. I think drum machine sounds are already kinda compressed. that said, drum machines are beautiful things to have around for things just like this - need a constant signal but dont wanna listen to a sine wave for 20 minutes. then again, compressed casio beats kinda rule.

If you use a computer, plug-in compressors can help visualize things. I never really understood parametric EQ until I saw the curves on a screen. but then again, I'm slower than the other kids.



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