Understanding Compression in The Home Music Studio
Understanding Compression in The Home Music Studio
Understanding Compression in The Home Music Studio
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Copyright
This e-book is copyrighted by David . !axey and "ome !usic #tudio $. %t is protected under the &# 'opyright Act of $()* and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws, with A++ rights reserved. ,o part of this may be copied, or changed in any format, sold, or used in any way other than what is outlined within this e-book under any circumstances without express permission from David !axey and "ome !usic #tudio $.
%f you are new to home music studio editing let me explain what these two images are. 4ach is a screen shot of an audio file imported into a free music editor call Audacity. The blue vertical lines represent the audio at its various db levels. The taller the line the louder the audio with the center being its 5uietest spot. This is a stereo track so the top set of lines represents the left side and the bottom set represents the right side of the stereo field. The uncompressed image shows the loud and soft db points of the audio exactly as the track was recorded. After applying compression you can see the softer parts of the audio appear to be louder and the overall peaks or loudest db points of everything are much closer to the 5uieter spots. %n reality the compression has pushed downed the louder db audio in the file and allows the softer db audio to be brought up. This still gives a good dynamic between loud and soft parts of your audio but the dynamic is decreased a bit. To the ear, the second audio file simply sounds louder and much more balanced between the high and low db places within the track. &sing proper compression in the home music studio can make your tracks sound tight and balanced. #ome audio will need to be compressed a good amount, while others tracks may not need compressional at all. This is completely dependent on your material. %n general instruments like drums, bass and most all percussion will re5uire more compression than say keyboard pad, or vocals. +earning if, and when to use compression is e5ually important as learning how to use compression on your tracks. %n many ways this takes experience combined with trial and error to get the best results. That said, give yourself some time to learn and you too can develop an ear to hear where a little or a lot of compression would really make all the difference in your home recording pro.ect. This brings me to our next 5uestion. ,ow that you know what compression is you also need to understand how compression works in order to learn how you can benefit most from using it to process your audio.
amount of compression being applied to your audio. "ard ?nee;#oft ?nee Another term you may often see when dealing with compression is hard knee;soft knee. This setting refers to the aggressiveness, or lack there of, when compression is being applied to audio above a set threshold. "ard knee compression is often useful for percussion instruments as they generally have a great deal of natural attack acoustically. At the same time, soft knee can be useful in most vocal tracks as the compression applied will sound more natural. ,ote= #ome compressors have a setting called 0@ver4asy1 which is a form of hard knee;soft knee technology.
Cocal Tracks Threshold= Ad.ust this to get about <-D db gain reduction at the loud points. >atio= 8.D=$ Attack= 8Dms >elease= <99ms @utput gain= 7*db Acoustic Euitar= Threshold= Ad.ust this to get about F db gain reduction at the loud points. >atio= <=$ Attack= 89ms >elease= 8D9ms @utput gain= 7Fdb 3ass Euitar= Threshold= Ad.ust this to get about *-$< db gain reduction at the loud points. >atio= D=$ Attack= 89ms >elease= <D9ms @utput gain= 7*db ?ick Drum= Threshold= Ad.ust this to get about *-$9 db gain reduction. >atio= D=$ Attack= Fms >elease= $D9ms @utput gain= 7$9db #nare Drum= Threshold= Ad.ust this to get about *-$9 db gain reduction. >atio= F=$ Attack= <ms >elease= 899ms @utput gain= 7$9db
Conclusion
'ompression is a very much needed tool in your home music studio. The best way to learn how to best use compression is to begin hands on, and listen to the difference. &se professionally mixed and mastered audio as a reference point. 6ind a sound source you like and play with your settings until you are satisfied with the results. %2m sure you2ve noticed by now that almost everyone has an opinion of how to use compression. ust remember that your pro.ect is .ust that, yours. % would encourage you not to get frustrated with the wealth of opinions but to experiment with the information you do find most helpful. !y hope is that this short e-book has been enlightening to you on your .ourney to pro sounding home and pro.ect recordings. % welcome your feed back and any 5uestions you may have. -lease submit them through my blog.
A out !a"id
David !axey is the author and 'reator of "ome !usic #tudio $. "e is a musician, live;recording audio engineer, and consultant with more than $F years experience. "e teaches teams of people and conducts technical, musical and audio training conferences. /ou can find David and "ome !usic #tudio $ on 6acebook, Twitter, and Eoogle 7.