Compressors,who needs them?

  • Thread starter Thread starter DAN.O96
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DAN.O96

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I'm not sure if I really understand exactly what compressors do.I know they can make your recorded material louder without distorting it.(I think...) I, (as you can tell.) am very new at recording I have a Tascam 564 minidisc 4 track recorder .The stuff that I have recorded so far is very satisfactory for what I am doing.I have played all the music in my recordings.Hopefully soon I will have some real muicians to use but since I'm just learning my skills will be ok for now.

To get to the question at hand,is there something that I am missing about compressors? The material I have done so far has turned out ok,(other than the actual playing ability).I have plenty of volume and no distortion that I can tell.Is there more to them and what other benifits are there for having one.

Thanks in advance for answering my stupid questions.
 
compressors

actually there is if your looking for a great steady recording..for example if you use a compressor/limiter on vocals. the dynamics are very harsh and will get drowned in the mix..thats why you would limit it so if theres a ye'll or a scream you wanna squash that sound to the same volume as a whisper..a distorted guitar wont really need a compressor becuase distortion is already compressed..i would use it on every instrument except distortion..and dont forget adding compression to the whole mix gives a great punch on the overall recording..hope this helps..
 
All I can say to ya JoeJoe is -- YIKES!!!!!!! The idea of compression is not to "squash" anything, but rather simply control dynamics IF THE TRACK NEEDS IT....

I think you should check out Shailat's link above too....

Bruce
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
All I can say to ya JoeJoe is -- YIKES!!!!!!! The idea of compression is not to "squash" anything, but rather simply control dynamics IF THE TRACK NEEDS IT....

I think you should check out Shailat's link above too....

Bruce
Click to expand...

Yup, you got it Bruce. You are probably running into the same thing I did JoeJoe. When you are playing everything you can control the dynamics so you don't have any problems with clipping and all that. It's when you start recording other musicians that you'll start to have problems. The bass player that plays real smooth with fingers then throws in some slap and pop, the drummer that plays with one level when setting up, then plays with a higher level during tracking. The singer that goes from whisper to scream in one track, blah blah blah, peak city.

As you can probably tell I use my compressor as a limiter right now since I don't have a seperate limiter.

Compressors also have other uses that you'll figure out once you start using them. Note the MJ vocal track on Shailats page ( thanks Shailat, I learned from that page!!) , can't get that sound without one.

I'm a pretty new convert myself and had the same question not so long ago. But after getting a hard disk recorder and using the built in compressor I can definately see why they are so essential. Heck, I want to get a stand alone compressor now as the built in compressor in my recorder isn't flexible enough for me !!

Do yourself a favor and GET A COMPRESSOR, the best that you can afford. It will make a world of difference in your recordings. Not to mention make your life easier, especially when tracking other musicians.
Just my .02.
Phil W.
 
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