So: THANK YOU!! This is the best tutorial I have come across that explains compression, Don’t have any tutorials on EQ on this site, but there’s plenty online :), Okay, please send me the audio examples via my email. Take note of the maximum dB as well as the time of your signal attack and the time between notes. In the square wave above, you can say that the: Period= 16ms Frequency= 1/t = 1/16ms = 62.5 Hz Maximum level (amplitude) = +10dB, ********* Update: October 1, 2012, Thank you Brun Leiser for the correction on compression ratio formula. In order to add sustain to the bass I used a compressor with 2ms attack time (shortest possible), 10ms release time (shortest possible) and a ratio of 1:2. It’s a very old tutorial, glad to hear it’s still useful :). For the theory presented here, the actual loudness of the signal is irrelevant. – the 4 black lines all represent 4 differing levels of signals from the input, which can be instruments or vocals or anything you are working with (also dB measurements) Before you read this tutorial, make sure you fully understand dynamic range compression first as being applied in music production. But now let’s say the release time is long and the signal dips below the threshold. This will avoid making the instruments sound ‘blunt’, How much and what type of compression is appropriate will depend on the instrument, the type of music and the effect you’re after. Now I understand why compressors so important and how to use them in EDM. I prepared where the bass guitar notes are fading away too fast. Perfect explanation of compression.Audio examples really helped to easily understand what you explained.Thank you very much for the excellent and very helpful work well done!. Thank you very much :) Glad you enjoyed the post! This is an excellent tutorial – finally read something that I could relate to the real physical activity of making music. Because the signal is then below the threshold, so it normally wouldn’t be compressed, but because it’s still releasing the signal is still being compressed a little, gradually coming back to it’s original level. Supposing you are adjusting a bass frequency, for the sake of simple illustration let’s use a square wave. Respect from Slovenia! It works on the exact same principles as increasing the attack of a signal, but is somewhat the inverse effect. Emphasizing attack. This transition phase is called “release phase”, how long this phase depends on the compressor “release time”. We then raise the entire signal by using the appropriate make-up gain and therefore end up with a signal with an increased attack :) Be careful not to clip your signal when applying the make-up gain. Your email address will not be published. Any ideas? Tags: Audio compression tutorials. Doch Vorsicht! It’s a really old post, but I’m glad to hear that it’s still helping people out today! Good job! Here is what our compressed signal would look like if we used a little bit of attack and release time. That’s what I call a perfect explanation! (adsbygoogle=window.adsbygoogle||[]).push({}); Copyright © 2009 – 2020 Emerson R. Maningo Music Publishing. In the first part we have covered the volume threshold, compression ratio, and make-up gain parameters of the compressor. Absolutely amazing…); Dope explanation…simply genius. Simply don’t apply the make-up gain and the compression will reduce the part of the signal after the initial attack. Since the threshold is +3dB; the compressor won’t do anything to the input level as long as it is below +3dB (no compression, input level=output level). Note that only the part of the signal after the initial attack is being compressed. For example, they use the beats per minute method of the music. Refer below: attack and release time of the compressor. Every frequency/range needs a different attack and release times treatment. I’ve just realized why I need to spend money for a good compressor that lets me adjust all the parameters. Thank you so much for the great feedback. By the visual representation it appeared the signal went almost silent before raising back up to the uncompressed signal. What’s the best bass compressor plugin? Sir! This transition phase is called the “attack phase” as indicated in the diagram above. Your email address will not be published. :D. Thank you very much :) Always really happy to hear that my tutorials are helpful to other musicians out there! These are the basic elements of a compressor. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Compressors usually have an adjustable threshold setting. The compressor will only kick in slowly and if your attack time is slow, it will take a moment before it reaches maximum volume reduction. Thank you for the comment! Thanks so much and congrats to a great article! Your results will sound more natural, Before setting up your compressor, have a look at your track. 1) yes. Thank you for the comment. I agree, this was very logical and precicly explained. Allgemein gesprochen sollte die Attack aber unter 10ms liegen. In the context of the full drum track, the bass drum now sounds clearer and stands out a little more. This time is called the release time. By Emerson Maningo on January 14, 2011. Ottawa, CAN (November 12, 2020) -- Empress Effects is releasing two new compressors on Nov. 25th! The bottom graph represents compression with 0 attack and 0 release. Categories: Music Mixing. How long this attack phase depends on the compressor “attack time”. Notice that the compression effect is fairly subtle (at least to my ears) which is due to a low compression ratio and a threshold that only affects the signal directly below the peaks of the signal. ❤️️. Thank you, glad you found the tutorial useful! I have prepared a drum track with pumping. Today we will be looking at the attack and release parameters. We can do this by compressing only the attack and raising the entire signal, thus increasing the relative loudness of the signal after the initial spike. https://www.surfacedstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/bass_drum_no_compression_solo.mp3, https://www.surfacedstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/bass_drum_no_compression_full.mp3, https://www.surfacedstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/bass_drum_10msattack_400msrelease_compression_solo.mp3, https://www.surfacedstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/bass_drum_10msattack_400msrelease_compression_full.mp3, https://www.surfacedstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/bass_guitar_no_sustain_solo.mp3, https://www.surfacedstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/bass_guitar_no_sustain_full.mp3, https://www.surfacedstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/bass_guitar_added_sustain_solo.mp3, https://www.surfacedstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/bass_guitar_added_sustain_full.mp3, https://www.surfacedstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/drums_pumping_and_breathing.mp3, ActionVFX Black Friday Sale up to 55% OFF, The Ring – Girl out of the TV After Effects Tutorial, Advanced Rotoscoping in After Effects with Mocha AE, Create FREE Particle Effects with Boris FX Particle Illusion, After Effects Basics Tutorial – Track Mattes, It is better to compressor more frequently in a subtle way than to compress once heavily.