tunning the compressor/limiter.what a mess

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threshhold2

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is it just me, or you really have to be a sound engineer in order to get this thing to work.
no matter what i do-------it all sounds the same !!!!

maybe i should just get one of these compressor/limiters for ignorant such as myself, with ready-to-use presets (like PRESONUS BLUEMAX)


:mad:
 
threshhold2 said:
is it just me, or you really have to be a sound engineer in order to get this thing to work.
Click to expand...
Isn't that kinda the idea? :confused:

What are you monitoring on?
 
I Meant To Say.........

the rest of the equipment is kinda easy to set up (and feel +hear the change as you do it) but with this baby, i think it requires some more knowledge in soundcrafting

?
 
I want to take great pictures with my new camera, but what a mess to have to learn how shutter speed/f-stop/ISO works, and that crazy focus thingy. I just want to turn it on, point it at something, click the shutter release and have a great picture!

Oh, I just got a guitar and I don't want to learn about frets,scales, chords, melody, harmony, I just want to hit the strings and have it make music.

Sorry, recording is just like photography/musical instruments, sure it's an art, but you really need to learn the technical stuff in order to get consistently good results.

Oh, don't bother with presets on a compressor. The very essence of what a compressor does renders presets completely useless. It would be like having a "Sunny Day" preset on a camera which always sets the shutter speed to 1/500 and the aperature to f8.
 
ouch!

hey, take it easy pal.

i am trying to find my way around : professional equipment in the hands of a hobbyst. reproach is not helpfull in this case.

thank u
 
threshhold2, like yourself I am entirely self-taught.
But I spent a hell of a lot of time researching stuff on the net about what compressors are/do and how to use them, then went home and applied some of that knowledge in my studio.
Over time I have now got a fairly good idea of what I am doing, but am in no way an expert, and try to devour as much information as I can find to help my knowledge of these beasties.

Really, its like riding a bike. You can ask others about it, but you just gotta jump on and start pedalling to really learn how its done.

Just do a google search on "what is a compressor" with a +audio addition (to rule out air compressors, hopefully) and enjoy the learning curve! :)

Dags
 
Dags said:
Just do a google search on "what is a compressor" with a +audio addition (to rule out air compressors, hopefully) and enjoy the learning curve! :)

Dags
Click to expand...

Ditto - I've gone from not knowing what a compressor was, to trying plug-ins and learning just how much of a mess I could make of things, to getting an outboard unit and using the automatic feature, to actually using the thing the way it was designed to do and marveling that it works - when I remember what I'm doing.

I've read everything I can get my hands on about compression for the last three years and still I have to work it through; like counting backwards in French from 32 or something. It's not intuitive to me because I don't have the experience to make it intuitive. But I'm somewhere on the learning curve and that's the idea.

You and I (and a hell of a lot of us on the BBS) are in the same boat. We all have our own little spots on this huge learning curve. That's half the fun of it.

Now I gotta go pull my hair out over some problems I have with some wierd compression artifacts...

:cool:
 
The tendency at the beginning is to overdo compression big time. I know I did. This might be one reason why you can't hear much difference between settings. If it is all smashed, then you are just hearing different degrees of smashed. This would also explain why you are getting artifacts. Those usually don't show up until the compressor is working overly hard.

If you want to learn how compression sounds you need to start with low ratios and barely dig into the signal. So you'd maybe want to light up 2-4 db on the reduction meter. Then try lighting up 2-4 db at higher ratios. Then mess with the threshold and dig into the signal more. All the while making mental notes of how it sounds to you.

It takes years to learn compression. Even though compressors have only a few knobs, they are very complex in how they respond. There's a lot of interaction between the compressor and the music, and the settings of the compressor to themselves. It's one of the harder things to learn, and takes quite some time.
 
Treeline said:
Now I gotta go pull my hair out over some problems I have with some wierd compression artifacts...
Click to expand...

Ooooh - that sounds interesting. What's the problem?
......Not that I could offer any real "based on my years of experience" assistance ;)

Dags
 
SonicAlbert is absolutely right. The compressor is one of the hardest tools to learn, but once you do learn it you will regret buying that little box with presets. You are on the right track if you cannot hear it working. The compressor should be seen (as in watching the meters to see what its doing) and not heard (as in the sound should fool your ear into believing it has not changed). If you can hear it working it's too much compression.

The easiest way I've found to actually toy with a compressor so you can hear what it does is to run a kick drum thru it. A drum machine kick works great for this because it will repeat over and over while you turn the knobs on the compressor. But a bass will work well too.

Set the threshold to 0, ratio to 1:1, attack to 50ms, release to 500ms, and gain to 0. Play a repeating kick drum sound thru it, one that hits really hard and has a lot of punchy attack to it and the input meters go over 0 quite often. Then turn the ratio knob up slowly and watch the gain reduction meters. The higher the ratio knob goes the more gain reduction meter you'll see lighting up. Set the ratio high, like 10:1, then manually tap the kick drum and watch how the gain reduction meter lights up more the harder you hit the kick. The harder you hit it, the more it tries to go over 0, and the more the compressor knocks it back down in an effort to keep it from going over 0.

Hit the kick really hard and turn the attack knob to 1ms and notice how the crispy attack of the kick disappears. The attack is soo fast that the compressor clamps down on the kick before the sound can even get fully developed, making it sound dull and lifeless. If you go the other way and set the attack not fast enough, the kick will complete it's sound "curve" before the compressor ahs a chance to kick in and keep it from going over 0.

A basic compressor manual

I know a lot of people knock the Alesis 3630, but the manual is straight forward and easy to understand, it is a good primer for what a compressor is supposed to do. Dont give up on it, learning the compressor is a huge step toward making your own great demo mixes. - SC
 
if you can hear the compressor working you're probably using too much unless you're going for that horrible squashed sound, in which case a limiter is sometimes a better option.
 
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