HOW TO USE COMPRESSION

- Dynamic Range is important

o Certain sounds’ waveforms vary largely (very wide at beginning and thin at tail,
ex)  these have a high dynamic range
o Others don’t have a large dynamic range
- Compression is altering a sound’s dynamic range

Fundamental Controls:
- Threshold
o Blue line thru a waveform (in dB)
o The level you tell the compressor to start compressing at
o Threshold must be crossed for compression to occur IF ratio is NOT 1:1
- Ratio (X:1)
o For every X dB that crosses threshold, give 1 db back in return
o The higher the ratio, the higher the compression
o As ratio gets higher, volume decreases
- Gain
o Adjusts volume after compressing (i.e. makeup gain)

Other Controls
- Attack  how quickly to take away the gain after compression
o longer attack will keep the sound smoother, keeps the transient
o shorter attack time will almost cut off the start of a sound
- Release  how quickly it takes for compressor to recover from edits
o Too slow = compression bogs down sound
o E.g. when the vocal is loud, it gets compressed. Then, the compressor releases
and everything else gets a gain
- Knee  softens the threshold (instead of :yes: or :no: it’s a softer feel)

HOW
- Start by setting the threshold compression to a value where you see a visible change in
the waveform and HEAR a reduction in volume
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