Compression Depression

O

obee

New member
I'm new - I guess "newbie" is the term we like to use here. I'll be doing a lot of recording of vocals, accoustic guitars, drum machine and samples. Any advice on what would be a good starting point to set compression ratios so I can get the instruments to jump out without crushing the life out of the track. I know what I want my voice and instruments to sound like - I've made professionally done recordings before so I have a good reference CD. But it would be nice to know where to start. Please help - I don't want to start using the expensive equipment I just purshased only to make CD copies of all my old vinyl! The other issue I have - would using a sound gate for very soft sounds work to block out room noise? - I'm recording pretty much in a family room so would this help. I'm assuming that even if I turn the refrigerator off and the furnace off (even in January in Minnesota!) there will be many other little sounds to contend with. Any suggestions.
 
While we're waiting for the experts to show up, I'll lob over an idea you can try out for the time being. Since a lot of pros use little or no compression, that would be a pretty good place to start. 'Use Only As Necessary' seems to be the rule. If you have to use it, how about a low ratio (2:1 - 4:1), a moderately high threshold (+10), and quickish attacks and releases? As a place to start, I mean.
 
Forget the gate it won't help unless the recorded part has faded out completly.
You'll do more damage then good using it on soft recorded tracks.

As to the compression -start by reading some articles. Their all over the net as well as this site. Use the search button.

If you'll still need help, ask.
 
Threshold Setting

If you are using the compressor just to knock down some of the peeks, a quick way to set the threshold is to look at the VU meter or LED display on the compressor. Adjust the threshold so that the needle or LED's are just bouncing off the peeks. Now you can see that the compressor is doing nothing to a majority of the incoming audio but when a peek comes along the needle jumps. You can now adjust the ratio to determine how much gain you will be reducing.
I hope this helps,
j
 
I bookmarked a few links to some compression articles and threads, so I can save you some time searching. However, do a little searching on your own and you should find a lot more. Compression is one of the big topics around here.

One of the articles is Shailat's - I guess he was too modest to point to his own. It was very good and if I remember correctly he even included sample sound clips. Make sure you also see Ed Rei's article.


http://www.prorec.com/prorec/articles.nsf/files/B425578C027460898625661000745390

http://www.homerecording.com/dynamics.html

http://www.geocities.com/shailat2000/

http://www.echostarstudio.com/thecompressor.html
 
Thanks for the help DaveO - I think I'm getting the idea, basically use it only if you need it - I'll do some expirimenting. I just got shipment on my Yamaha AW4416 workstation. Hey Paulie, you're a real drummer and I'm a real guitar player - we should form a band and play real instruments - what a novel idea!
 
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