How To Use A Compressor: Compression 101 - Beginner (Part 1)

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• published: 01 May 2014
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This is part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1U2hZHHFY0 Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg5W2uXjP7M Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UE6Z7tdV2E An introduction to audio compression with lots of helpful graphics & audio examples. Find more tips & tricks in our compression article: http://www.sonicsense.com/resourcecenter/reviews/reviews-and-tutorials/how-to-use-a-compressor-audio-compression-explained Music Provided By: Foxfield Four feat. Sakile: Never Gonna Come Back http://foxfieldfour.com/ Transcript: Hey everyone, this is Matt from Sonic Sense Pro Audio. Over the next 7 minutes we're gonna go over the basics of compression and we'll hear some audio samples too. But what is compression? How can you use it to make better recordings? Compressors are one of the most important tools an audio engineer has. During a typical recording session some degree of compression may used on nearly every channel of audio as well as the main output. Having a good grasp of how compression works will help immensely in creating better mixes. When recording sound, some parts will be loud and other parts will be much quieter. This is called dynamics, and often these differences are supposed to be there, like when the drummer hits just a little harder during the chorus to give it more power... But sometimes dynamics are not intended. Picture a guitar player strumming those strings a little too hard or a singer getting a little too close to the mic during a vocal performance. This is where compression comes in. Compression is the art of controlling dynamics over time. With good control over dynamics, mixing will become much easier. Everything from getting the vocal at just the right level, to balancing the bass guitar with the kick drum. First, let's quickly explain the basic concept of compression. I like to think of a compressor as similar to a volume control that automatically adjusts itself, turning a signal down when it gets too loud or bringing it up if it gets too quiet. This can be quite valuable when you are trying to get a very dynamic track to sit nicely in the mix. Simple, right? Well, let's dive a little deeper and see what all the fuss is about. A compressor has five basic settings: Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Release & Make Up Gain. In addition, you will usually find some sort of gain reduction meter, which will tell you how much you are attenuating your signal, or the difference between your input and output levels. First, the Threshold. A compressor reduces the level of audio that exceeds a certain threshold. You can think of this as a certain metering level, -12dBfs for example. A lower threshold means a larger portion of the signal will be treated. If you want the compressor to reduce only the loudest peaks of a signal, you would use a higher threshold setting. Next is the Ratio. Ratio controls the strength of the compression. A Ratio of 4:1 means that if the input level is 4 decibels over Threshold, the signal will be compressed to be only 1 decibel over threshold. A ratio of 1:1 is the same as no compression since the input level is always the same as the output level. On the other hand, a ratio of 8:1 would be considered A LOT of compression (to most) since every 8decibels over threshold will be reduced to only 1 decibel over threshold. Next is the Attack control. The attack is the speed at which the compressor reacts once its threshold has been exceeded. A shorter attack will make the signal reduction happen quicker. A longer attack will have a more gradual increase in reduction until the level specified by the ratio is reached. And finally, the Release control. The release is pretty much the opposite of the attack. It controls how quickly or slowly the level returns to uncompressed once the signal falls back below the threshold. You'll hear some examples of fast and slow attack and release times in just a moment. The fifth control is pretty self explanatory. The Gain or Make-Up Gain is simply an output volume control. Since compressors reduce the level of the louder parts of the track, the overall volume will slightly decrease. The Make-Up gain can be used to bring the overall level back up. Now, with your signal compressed and your make-up gain increased, that channel will stand out front of the other tracks whose levels may have wider dynamics but won't remain consistently as loud. I'm going to show you a chart really quickly that may help you define some basic terminology with regards to compression settings. You can download this chart from our resource center at sonic sense .com0 Follow us: Twitter: http://goo.gl/VEP8Qy SSRC: http://goo.gl/5Z2etJ Facebook: http://goo.gl/G39JcM Pinterest: http://goo.gl/6RnXEI Google Plus: http://goo.gl/lyPXjt Youtube: http://goo.gl/2rwqaC