compression

[jnorman]

where should compression occur in the reording process? on the original track, or on the whole mix at mixdown? i am recording flutes - should i compress or just limit them? i have an alesis nano-compressor - is it useable, or is it so crummy that i should just not use it at all? if i should use it for a small amount of compression or limiting, how should i set it?

 

[drstawl]

From the limited experience I've had with compression in general, what I've found is that a limiter is merely a subset of settings on a compressor. The attack and release determine how quickly after the trigger condition has been satisfied that individual sections are modified and released from modification. The threshold value determines
the level below which no changes are made to the input signal. The compression amount determines how severely the signal is modified. A limiter merely selects an infinite compression amount with a zero (infinitely short) attack time.