What does compression do??

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Drummingfreak

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I guess I'm looking for basics and how my recording will change by using it. I have an Aardvark Q10 with Sonar and want to add a compression unit mainly because I've heard they make a huge difference. Without getting overly technical, can someone explain what it does???
 
Ever played with the block, triangle, & ball toys when you were about 1 or 2 years old? The ones were you match the same with the hole?

Good.

Now try putting those through smaller holes.
 
...."why does the garden hose spray so far with the nozzle on it,daddy??".......

Compressors can be very very useful toys....they can also be very very destructive of perfectly good recordings..especially in the wrong hands....

Simply reading somewhere that somebody got a way cool sound using a certain compressor doesnt mean you need to go get one..

Search through these threads and find the BLUE BEARS guide to compression....read it....or ask him direct...

I see this a LOT...and its good you want to know...but knowledge is first before wallet....If most newcomers would learn basic recording concepts like mic placement and level control in a room, there would be a lot less need for these special pieces of gear....and the mic preamp thing these days....I suppose with those who are using a DAW or a standalone digital system its a 'need'....we all know how sterile digital is without some frontend warmth....but now it seems that theres such vibe to HAVE some kind of this or that...people...learn your craft with the basics....then the application of thses devices will make much more sense......................................................sorry
 
Compression

I'll tell you what a compressor does homie....basically...a compressor is a device that keeps an incoming signal from varying too much from the quieter parts to the louder parts. An amplitude regulator. Take a vocalist as an example...say this vocalist sings relatively softly during the verses and during the choruses gets super loud. By running his/her vocal thru a compressor, you could control the extent to which the vocal increased in volume during the louder parts of the song. Say, during the verse, the singer was singing at 60 db (random number) and during the chorus he/she jumped up to 75 db, with the controls on a compressor you could specify exactly how much of that fifteen db increase you would allow to get thru to your recorder. By setting the ratio control on the compressor, you could say that "for every 10 db increase over my threshold (which can also be set wherever you want, but in this case we'll say 60 as well) I will allow a 1db increase to my recorder. This would be an example of a 10:1 ratio setting on your compressor. In the case of your singer, instead of her vocal track increasing 15db during the verse, then, it would only increase 1.5db since you only allow a 1db increase per each 10db real increase. K - this is wordy I know, but am I making any sense at all?
 
I'd say you got it good.



...you didn't mention that it will change the sound a bit.;)
 
Agent Fitz... thanks 10x :) for myself anyway and i'm sure all here to...

there's enought info in this forum to write a studio guide for sure, thanks again... not that i'm writing one, heh, i still need learn to master a few config before i even start to think about that, like it hasn't been done many times already...
 
Agent Fitz gave you a good primer... another way of saying it would be that a compressor reduces the available dynamic range... it compresses the available dynamic range.

It does this by reducing how loud things can get... so it effectively makes loud things softer, and soft things louder [a.k.a. : less dynamic range].

Best of luck.
 
Well, this is going to be technical, but also easily understandable. Compression belongs to a category of processing know as dynamics processing. As this name implies, dynamics processing changes the gain, which is the electronic version of volume. Dynamics processors fall into two broad categories: Expanders and Compressors. The names of these effects are completely appropriate. Compressors compress the dynamic range, and Expanders expand the dynamic range.

Compressors have two basic parts, the compressor, and an amplifier. The compressor reduces the level of any signal which is higher than a set level. That level is called the threshold, and is set with the threshold control. The amount by which this signal is reduced is called the ratio. This means exactly what the name suggests: for instance, if the ratio is set at 2:1, than for every 2 dB the input signal rises above the threshold, the output of the compressor will rise 1 dB. Similarly, if the threshold is 4:1, than for every 4 dB the input signal rises, the output signal only rises 1 dB. The attack and release control the speed at which the compressor begins to reduce the level, and the speed at which it stops reducing the level. The second part of the Compressor is the make-up amplifier. This raises the level of the whole signal, so your perceived level remains the same.

Compression IS basic recording technique, and I have only touched on the basics here. Dynamics Processing is one of the most powerful areas of processing, and without a thorough knowledge of dynamics you will not be able to make professional, nor even semi-professional, recordings.

Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
check www.prorec.com for a great series of articles about dynamics and compression.
(I remember it called 'squashing..' or anything like that, by Rip Rowan)

Compressions is not just a 'cool' FX you'll add to your audio signal
 
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