Compression

[MoP_86]

What exactly is compression?


And I have a Korg D1600... can that perform compression for me?

[moaner]

A compressor lowers the gain for high vvolume signals, and increases it for low volume signals, to give a smooth volume level. Somewhere in all those FX on your multitack, there will be 1.

[MoP_86]

sweet. Thanks man.

[jmlb13]

A compressor lowers the gain for high vvolume signals, and increases it for low volume signals, to give a smooth volume level. Somewhere in all those FX on your multitack, there will be 1.

only partially true.

Compressers generally have 5 adjustable settings gain threshold ratio attack and release. also used with compressers are expanders but well get to that later. input gain adjusts the level comming into the compressor. the threshold sets the level at which the compressor begins. the ration is the ratio at which the compressor compresses the sound. so say we have a constant sound at alevel of -10dbv the treshold on the copressor is -20 and the ratio is 5:1 the sound at input is 10 db louder than the threshold so so compression is enacted. the ration is that of input to output. so for every5 db above threshold the compressor will only allow the sound to increase by 1 so with an input level of -10db in this scenario output would be -18db. understand though this is not a hard two db cut across the board it is a logarithic cut related on to the input. attack and release relate to how fast the compressor turs on and off at threshold to ake the trasition sound natural. expanders workin the exact opposite direction and make low level higher.

[moaner]

only partially true.

Compressers generally have 5 adjustable settings gain threshold ratio attack and release. also used with compressers are expanders but well get to that later. input gain adjusts the level comming into the compressor. the threshold sets the level at which the compressor begins. the ration is the ratio at which the compressor compresses the sound. so say we have a constant sound at alevel of -10dbv the treshold on the copressor is -20 and the ratio is 5:1 the sound at input is 10 db louder than the threshold so so compression is enacted. the ration is that of input to output. so for every5 db above threshold the compressor will only allow the sound to increase by 1 so with an input level of -10db in this scenario output would be -18db. understand though this is not a hard two db cut across the board it is a logarithic cut related on to the input. attack and release relate to how fast the compressor turs on and off at threshold to ake the trasition sound natural. expanders workin the exact opposite direction and make low level higher.

sorry, i was only talking in simplistic terms.

The threshold exists so that background hum isn't amplified, else compressors would be useless.

I was really under the impression an expander was included in every compressor, but an expander on its own is a compressor that ony amplifies quieter signals and leaves louder ones as they are.

[moaner]

and for reference, jmlb, a few punctation marks go a long way, as does correct grammar. especially for long posts.