compression

[taxidriver]

2 questions in one here

1)when applying compression how do you know how much to apply.
if the answer is go by your ear, then what do you listen out for.

2)how do you know how much gain to apply after compression.
again if the answer is go by your ear, then what do you listen out for.

 

[hookiefree]

I wondered the same things a while back. Here are the responses I got.

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=103401

PS. Nevermind Mary.

 

[TexRoadkill]

Whatever happened to good ol' Mary?

TD- Compression can be used for different reasons. Sometimes you just want a bit of limiting (High ratio/minimal gain reduction to protect against peaks. Often you want to smooth out a track that is too dynamic (or you just want it that way). That usually requires a more trained ear because the when compression is done properly you don't really notice it unless you hear the raw tracks to compare.

What you don't want to hear is sudden and obvious drops in volume (attack is too fast), a slow and obvious rise in volume (release is too slow) or pumping where the volume goes in and out in a rythmic way (but it can also be a cool effect on rhythm tracks).

Most often the makeup gain will be the opposite of the gain reduction. Most compressors have meters that go down to show you how much the signal is being compressed. If the meter shows you are applying -8db of compression you would usually add 8db of makeup gain. As a rule of thumb your gain will be a little higher then the opposite of the threshold setting. If the threshold is set to -10db then the gain is probably going to end up around +10-12db.