Compression... Ratio... etc...

  • Thread starter Thread starter peeler
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peeler

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I've not used compression very much in my recordings, but I'm starting to realize it's benefits. My problem is I REALLY don't know what the settings mean. What's ratio really mean 2:1, 32:1, etc., etc.... What's the difference. Also threshold, attach and all that jazz. I think I chose the right forum for this question... don't laugh!!!
 
I'm not by any stretch of the means an expert on this, but I am aware of what at least most of the controls are capable of, so I'll try to explain it.

The ratio is the rate by which the signal gets compressed. For example, if the ratio is 2:1, that means that for ever dB that the signal goes over the threshold, it is reduced by 2 dB.

The attack is how fast the compressor kicks in, and the release is how long it takes the compressor to "let go of the signal"

The threshold is similar to setting the peak or level that the signal has to hit before the compressor is activated, so if you set the threshold to -10 dB, whenever the signal hit that or passed it, the compressor would kick in.

Now, the signal will seems quieter when it's compressed, so that's what the make-up gain meter is for, as you slowly bring that up to get the signal back to a comfortable volume.
 
captions87 said:
The ratio is the rate by which the signal gets compressed. For example, if the ratio is 2:1, that means that for ever dB that the signal goes over the threshold, it is reduced by 2 dB.
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Not quite. If the ratio is 2:1 then you would have to go over the threshold by 2 dB input to get 1 dB output. 3:1 would be 3 in, 1 out. (or 6 in, 2 out etc...)

As you increase the ratio it squashes the signal harder.

captions87 said:
The attack is how fast the compressor kicks in, and the release is how long it takes the compressor to "let go of the signal"
Click to expand...

Yup.

captions87 said:
The threshold is similar to setting the peak or level that the signal has to hit before the compressor is activated, so if you set the threshold to -10 dB, whenever the signal hit that or passed it, the compressor would kick in.
Click to expand...

I'd replace "similar to setting the peak or" with "the". Otherwise, yup.

captions87 said:
Now, the signal will seems quieter when it's compressed, so that's what the make-up gain meter is for, as you slowly bring that up to get the signal back to a comfortable volume.
Click to expand...

Not sure why you're grouping "make-up gain" and "meter" together here. The most common type of meter on a compressor is to indicate gain reduction, or how hard the signal is being squashed. Make-up gain without the "meter" part is what you've described here.

Beyond that, the OP asked this question 11 years ago.
 
This thread is ancient ! Peeler only ever posted 26 times. He's probably the president of Burundi now because no one answered his query back in............2000 !
 
No he is not, he has been waiting by the computer for 11 years waiting for the answer.
ibm5120.webp
 
From a gentler, simpler time before you could Google everything...
 
:laughings: haha did it really take 11 years for someone to answer this poor guys question... and not even accurately. Poor guy. He's probably given up by now.
 
Spare Dougal said:
:laughings: haha did it really take 11 years for someone to answer this poor guys question... and not even accurately. Poor guy. He's probably given up by now.
Click to expand...

hey, hey, hey, did i not preface my answer with "i'm not an expert." and....i didn't see the date of the original post

:facepalm:
 
You can recover from this captions... don't let it get to you... :)
 
recover from what? nothing ever happened....why are you guys looking at this old thread anyway, geez...
 
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