soft or hard knee

  • Thread starter Thread starter mixaholic
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mixaholic

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what do you guys prefer you're compression setting when mixing (soft knee or hard knee) and when mastering (soft knee or hard knee)?
 
I have almost NO use for soft knee compression. I don't like how it responds.
 
Ford Van said:
I have almost NO use for soft knee compression. I don't like how it responds.
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I'm of the same mind. Except it is being pretty gererally speaking'. I guess the UAD LA2A (plug) is a soft knee, but even there, I've pulled it out as often for something with more control. And dbx in auto' -hard knee.
Go figure.
Wayne
 
I prefer to sit on a soft knee but really like it when someone sits on my hard knee...

OOPs...did I say that?!

I'm with the others but I do like to taylor the ramp a bit...I like a sharpish turn but not like an on/off switch. The soft knee presented as a default by most of the plug-in's out there just seem really mushy. Not useful. I prefer something more like a medium hard knee.

There I go again.
 
soft knee simply means the compression kicks in several dB BEFORE the threshold (instead of at the threshold), creating a less obvious change. if you want more transparent compressor action use soft-knee, more obvious then use hard-knee. the setting is there for flexibility in using compression for any application you need. all depends on what you're going for.
 
soft-knee v. hard-knee

I am a soft-knee kinda guy. Just seems to fit what I record better...no drastic changes! I feel it is a much smoother transition.
 
Each comp is going to react differently to the material at hand and the knee if variable should be adjusted accordingly.
 
SumSoundGuy said:
soft knee simply means the compression kicks in several dB BEFORE the threshold (instead of at the threshold), creating a less obvious change. if you want more transparent compressor action use soft-knee, more obvious then use hard-knee. the setting is there for flexibility in using compression for any application you need. all depends on what you're going for.
Click to expand...

well it's not really that that is the big difference when comparing soft knee/hard knee comps.

the big difference is a hard knee comp will, after the threshold has been exceeded, compress in a linear fashion, ie 2:1, 4.5:1, whereas a soft knee comp will not compress in a linear fashion, the comp ration will vary depending on how much above the threshold the signal is..
 
Depends what I'm doing. If I want something a bit more transparent I reach for the soft knee, but most of the time hard knee is what works best.
 
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