PUNEET SAMTANI
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Compression!
Point of compression in your mix.
Earlier compression was used as a way to protect electronic
equipment and tape from overloading. With the changing
recording and listening mediums, the application of the
compressor has evolved as well.
Sound is very dynamic. A singer, a snare drum, violin,
acoustic guitar can go from very quiet to blasting loud within
a second.
Before compressors came into the picture, an engineer had to
ride volume faders to control the signal level before it went
onto tape every instance.
The compressor can look at an audio signal coming in and can
determine if it is at an acceptable level. If it’s too loud it can
turn the signal down and if it’s too low, it can turn It up.
By setting a slow attack, you can make the quiet parts of the
tracks loud while containing the louder parts of the track
without killing the transient, thus instilling instant energy and
excitement to the tracks.
You can adjust the sustain of a sound and create an illusion.
This is great for snare drums and bass guitar.
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Score Magazine
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Compressors have a certain sonic characteristic that impart
a certain frequency response to the audio. They can be
considered as tone machines as well.
All compressors have the same settings. Why we chose one
make over the other is because if gives us different tonal
quality.
A vocal track going through 2 different compressors having
exactly the same settings are bound to sound different for
this reason.
Types of Compression.
There are 2 types of compression broadly.
Upward compression and downward compression.
Downward compression maintains the level of the quiet
sounds and reduces loud sounds which are over a certain
threshold. A limiter is a type of downward compression.
Upward compression leaves louder sounds unaffected and
makes the soft sounds louder which fall below the threshold.
Both these methods of compression end up reducing the
dynamic range of the signal.