Explaining compressor settings...would this help?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Fat_Satchel
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Fat_Satchel

I suffer Narcoleptic Rage
First off...I certainly do not claim to understand compressors in detail...but Im getting closer. So if my little diagram is off in any way or you have some info I should be showing, PLEASE let me know and Ill update and repost.

That said...I was reading the compressor chart thread and heard a few people repeating the same laments I have in the past...compressor settings ugghh!! what do they all mean? how do they work? So...I thought I draft this little pic up to graphically explain what they mean and do.

Enjoy!

edit: sorry if this is double posted...Im an idoit.....hehehe
 

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Um... I don't think the whole jpeg made it up there...
 
I'm not seeing anything below "Compressor release signal" Are you seeing the same thing or am I just on crack?
 
Ok, am I nuts? All I get is about the first quarter of the pic. I've refreshed, CTRL refreshed, ALT Refreshed, SHIFT refeshed and that's all I get... I take it everyone else can see it fine?
 
yea yea yea i know....damn thing stalled while u/l'ing the jpg, tried again (hence the repost note) and did the same thing...what can I say, the internet hates me!!

gonna try it one more time on this post, if it dont work, Im sorry ya all gotta figure out compressors solo hehe
 

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Um. I agree with TrackRat. In all reality, the JPEG does seem to be a little overly compressed. I can hardly read a lot of it. :(
 
You're close with the release but not quite right. The release time is how long compression takes place after the signal goes below the threshold, not how long it will compress after the attack time. Everything else seems right.
 
i was thinkin it didnt look right. Like I said...I dont claim to unnerstand em intimately. Ill update it tomorrow and repost it. Anything else it could use to clarify compressors all in one picture?

Ill look into improving the pic...its cut n paste from my old autocad12 so theres not alot of options i did touch it up a bit already in irfanview though (shoulda seen it when I first pasted it ugggglly)

Anyways...

Lates!
 
Is this for yourself to understand or to explain to someone else? Because if you want to understand it better then just play around with a compressor. Use your definition of threshold, attack, decay, etc. and play with the settings until you understand how they function.

Personally I like these pictures, they don't show attack and release but it works.

http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/index.html
 
this came about after reading another post here, where the explainers seemed to be confusing the explainees and it occurred to me a pic is worth a grand of words so...but as you have seen Im learning from it also heheh (release thing).

Its easy for people knowledgable in compressors to say it works this way or that, in terms THEY understand, not realising theyve just confused the student even more, or raised more questions than answered. Im shooting for one simple crayola picture defining what the settings are and how they apply to a signal.

That site you linked to looks excellent and I cant wait to get time to devour it. I looked at the compressor page and the pics are great, but a little on the technical side...closer to a nice Bic sharpy than my crayola idea heheh
 
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