Compression, what have i done wrong?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Salabim
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Salabim

Salabim

New member
g'day all
im using a dbx 266xl compressor/gate. When i use it, there is a slight clicking noise, that shows up in recordings.
Ive tryed adjusting the threshold and litmit amoutn etc, but i cant quicte get the same sound as i want...its nothing major...but i was just wondering what i have done wrong...
Salabim
 
Perhaps it is your cables; test each one individually. I ruined a master tape with a bad cord coming from a Crybaby. Ensure that your power cables are fastened securely to their respective pieces of equipment. Hope this helps...
 
I'm with Mr Rocks, i think it's the gate. I'd say be careful about gating vox during recording anyway, you might be cutting off breaths or the very end of phrases...
 
Where does the click show up?

Are you using both the gate and the compressor or just the compressor?

Do you see anything on your meters while recording that might match with when the click takes place? VU meters wouldn't show much but a peak meter should show a fairly obvious change.

Does it happen every time you record vocals? Only with a certain person? Only on a certain phrase? Only when the cat is chasing a cricket?

What comes before or after the click - if you hear nothing before but other sounds after the click, it might just be a fairly sharp sound crossing the gating threshold, for instance. If you hear sounds before the click and then nothing afterwards, it might be the limiter cutting off a pop into the mic, for another instance.

There should be nothing caused by the electronics that would put a click into the track, however actions that take place in the middle of a sound can affect your ability to figure out what sound it was that triggered the problem.

BillS
 
Are you using a digital recorder?
If you are, the compressor/gate is probably raising the audible level of the digital clock... (that clicking you hear when a digital unit is in the "record" or "play" mode). Some have described it as sounding like "crickets".
If the clicking sound is barely audible during quiet parts of your recording, that's probably what it is.
If it's there constantly, even during louder recorded parts, then it's something else.

How do you fix the digital crickets?
I don't know... go ask Mister Owl. (kidding)
Actually, I haven't figured it out yet. If someone does, please let us know.
 
This is an unfortunate characteristic of this otherwise not bad compressor / gate. In spite of its claim of soft knee compression, both the compressor and the gate have a hard "kick in" point that tends to click on more sensitive inputs.
 
Yup, this has happened to me too with gate and expanders. I think its caused by the sound level fluxuating over/under the thresh hold as the gate kicks in and out. This occours especially on long release times with a gradually degrading slope.

This is worst for me when Im gating the hum/hiss out of amps and trying to make the guitar "cutoff" sound most natural.

Hope that made sense.
 
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