Compressor/Limiter not limiting worth crap...

[Dananlayleigh]

I just recently bought a compressor/limiter for my little home studio I got goin' on. I was looking forward to being able to finally record some vocals on my computer and when I hook it up and read the instructions 15 different times...I still can't get the levels to...well...level.

I have the gain on my preamp barely turned up and I have all the settings on the compressor where they're "supposed" to be...but when I look at the meter on my program...it'll clip anytime I raise my voice a little bit louder.

It's always been my understanding that you could yell at the top of your lungs or just sing softly and a compressor/limiter will put them at about the same volume level. But I can't seem to get it to get anywhere near that.

If anyone can help me with my little problem that would be just great....

 

[Chris Tondreau]

What compressor are you using? Perhaps you have it on bypass, or less obviously, on the monitoring function that allows you to compare the original signal to the compressed one?

What threshold/attack/release/ratio settings are you using?

How is it hooked up, and where is it in the chain?

Any of these could be your problem.

Chris

 

[mixsit]

<<I have the gain on my preamp barely turned up and I have all the settings on the compressor where they're "supposed" to be...but when I look at the meter on my program...it'll clip anytime I raise my voice a little bit louder. >>

Let's get things in prespective. With a moderately loud voice, with those settings, how many db below max is the meter? A good 10-15 db to spare would be a decent amount of extra space for peaks. But if you're going to go from there to screaming with no mic technique, set it with more to spare if needed. With that as a starting guideline, you can record prefectly undistorted vocals with no compression at all.

<<It's always been my understanding that you could yell at the top of your lungs or just sing softly and a compressor/limiter will put them at about the same volume level. But I can't seem to get it to get anywhere near that. >>

This is a bit unrealistic. Eight to ten db of gain reduction is alot. You can get more, but it might sound pretty funky. A wisper to a scream is a lot more that that.
Wayne

 

[TimOBrien]

" It's always been my understanding that you could yell at the top of your lungs or just sing softly and a compressor/limiter will put them at about the same volume level. "



There are no "magic boxes" or "magic buttons" in the world. ... that's only in TV or the movies.

Gear will only do so much. You have to work within what is reasonable.