stupid question about compression

D

deathofamind

New member
Ok, so I'm a beginner, but I understand what compression is all about. So my question is-- what's the opposite of compression? I mean, if compression can squeeze all of the sound into the top 10 decibels, then is there something that can sort of make the volume range more spread out? I don't even know if I'm making any sense. I guess I could rephrase my question like this... if you have a recording that has had too much compression, then is there a way to fix it?

Hm. Maybe the answer to my question is just the same thing as compression, but with different settings?
 
Yes, an expander. If your compressor has ratio settings that go below 1:1 (ie 0.5:1) it is behaving like an expander. It pretty much works the same way as a compressor, except when the signal hits the threshold, the volume increases instead of decreases. You are effectively increasing the dynamic range of the signal. I've heard of some mastering engineers doing this to reverse the effects of too much 2-bus compression.
 
ah, expansion. That makes sense.

So why is everybody always talking about compression, compression, compression... but expansion is rarely mentioned?
 
The truth is - if you've overcompressed a signal, there's very little you can do to recover the peaks....

Think about it -- you'd have to know exactly how quickly and for how long a peak was "tempered", and also by how much... not to mention where the peak was! And that info just isn't there within an audio signal to allow recovery!

Expansion units as such don't restore dynamics as much as they help in reduciing or lowering the noise floor. Functionaly, they aren't the opposite of compression at all....
 
deathofamind said:
ah, expansion. That makes sense.

So why is everybody always talking about compression, compression, compression... but expansion is rarely mentioned?
Click to expand...

Well, you do hear at least one kind of expander mentioned quite often: it's called a "gate".
 
kick the baby

scottboyher said:
See there no stupid questions only stupid answers. ;)
Click to expand...


According to Mr Garrison that's: 'there are no stupid questions, only stupid people.'

I mean look at me, quoting South Park in the middle of a serious discussion about compression :)

Isn't the opposite of compression no compression?

Sorry.:rolleyes:
 
Bruce said the truth. Things will never gonna be the same again after you compress it. Like food, once you ate it, it won't come out the same again but sh@#t. :D
 
deathofamind said:
ah, expansion. That makes sense.

So why is everybody always talking about compression, compression, compression... but expansion is rarely mentioned?
Click to expand...

Because. No one likes dynamics in their music. It annoys people and sounds unprofessional!
Gees. Where have YOU been?!?
:p <---please note tounge planted in cheek)
Wayne
 
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