Audio Compression Made Easy! Part 1 скачать в хорошем качестве

Audio Compression Made Easy! Part 1

If you were like me when you first started learning about audio compression, you probably said a bunch of “what the hells”, “What does that even mean?”. I’ve been recording and mixing music for years now and I STILL get confused on compression sometimes. Teaching it to you guys has had tremendous benefits on my understanding, so I’m gonna break this down for you. The Truth At its basic infant state description, a compressor is really just an automatic volume fader control thing-a-ma-jigger. Remember trolls, I said basic. It does more than just turn things up or down, but I’m trying to simplify it for the normal people like me and my followers. It can add dynamics, punch, energy, sustain, and add tone, but for now I want to stick to the basics. I will be covering more on this topic as the weeks go by. Music and all its instruments and variety of sounds is by nature very dynamic. Audio compression helps us tame these dynamics and “Glue” them together. Dynamics are very good in music, so we don’t want to kill the dynamics, just tame, enhance, massage, where needed. Music should breath, not be a flat line. I want you to have the fundamental knowledge so when someone asks you what is compression in music, you can say “I’ll tell you!” lets dive into the controls of a compressor and I’ll explain. Threshold This is the “BOSS” of the knobs in my opinion. Mr. Threshold tells all of us if there is going to be any audio compression or not. If the Threshold is set to “0db” then aint a damn thing happening on the job today. You have to set the threshold at what volume level (dbs) you want the compressor to kick on. If you turn the threshold down just a small amount, then you prob will just compress the peaks of audio going over your threshold, and not compress the rest of the audio below your threshold. If you turn the threshold WAY down you will essentially be compressing the whole audio signal, because most of the signal will have met the threshold and gone way over it. Ratio Now This SOB was the most confusing part of a compressor for me. After doing tons of research, I see this explained with the least amount of clarity. I also see people getting confused between what Ratio and Threshold do. Threshold tells you WHEN to compress, and The Compressor Ratio tells you HOW MUCH to compress once it’s passed the threshold level. Comprende? I’ll go into more detail in a second, but the main thing you need to know is the lower the Ratio settings, 1.5:1 2:1 3:1 etc etc, the LESS compression will be taking place. The HIGER the Ratio, 5:1 6:1 8:1, the more compression you will be using. Here’s the confusing part I’ll try to explain the best I can So if your ratio is 3:1, then for every 3dbs an audio source (snare) goes over your set threshold, only 1db will actually be allowed to pass that threshold. I guess Mr. Ratio is the door man. He decides how many people (dbs) get through. So lets Say you have a snare that is hanging around -6db in volume. (no compressor) you slap on a compressor, and set the threshold to -10db (which is more quiet than the -6db snare) and you set the ratio at 2:1 So for every 2dbs (2:1) above -10dbs (threshold) only 1db of the snare will pass the threshold. so your new snare signal will be at -8dbs, so a compression of 2dbs quieter than before. (Gain Reduction of 2dbs) (BIG BREATH) confusing I know!! Once you get your head wrapped around it, it becomes easier. Just remember, low ratio less compression, high ratio more compression. Attack and Release So if Mr. Threshold and Mr. Ratio decide when and how much audio compression is applied, Attack and Release decide how fast or slow, and for how long the compression is applied. This is where compression can affect the tone of the sound, not just the volume. The faster you have the attack set, the quicker the compressor clamps down on the signal. If its set at a slower attack, the compressor will let some of the signal pass before it starts to act. We are talking milliseconds here. SUPER small measurements. If you have a fast release, then the compressor will let go really fast after it initially clamps down. If you have a slow release, then it will hold on and compress a little longer before it lets go. The full article covering all controls with pics and examples can be found here This post can be found over at https://www.therecordingsolution.com/... grab my FREE ebook and FREE EQ chart at http://www.therecordingsolution.com/f...