Borrowing from a great overview
article on transient controllers from the folks at Waves ( Charles Hoffman , Black Ghost Audio ), these graphics may help to bring some clarity to the distinction via a few rough charts .
An uncompressed sample signal , showing a number of transients .
The same signal as it would be processed via a compressor — above the threshold line we see compression coming into scope . The orange parts of the signal would be the bits that the compressor would compress depending on the settings you choose . The yellow line is ‘ threshold ’.
Here is a good representation of what a transient controller does . Note that even the lower ( quieter ) transients are in scope now . And the really high ( louder ) transient peaks aren ’ t as processed when compared to how a compressor would generally function .