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Compression and EQ mystery

Wow, haven't been on here in a while.

So I've been compressing my bass to keep the lower end tighter and I notice a drop in db giving me headroom. Now, intuition tells me that if I apply equalization afterwards by cutting out the highs with no boosting, that the db should at the least stay the same level if not be lower. However, the resulting signal actually has a higher db which is SO WEIRD. It doesn't make sense... I cut out freq...

it might be because when the compressor is acting, it mainly gets triggered by the sharper transients of the higher freqs therefore if you cut it or make it softer, you decrease the chances of the compressor acting upon it's ratio (for example, 2:1 which means for for every 2db that goes in, 1 db goes out) which basically makes the signal quieter.

that's my theory :P
haha. hope that helps.

But assuming that the sequence of effects matters, the eq after the compression shouldn't affect how the compressor works right? Because when a note is played, it goes through the compressor then the eq. Or is it done continuously over time.

quote:

Originally posted by TaylorR it might be because when the compressor is acting, it mainly gets triggered by the sharper transients of the higher freqs

hmmm...i don't think so. he said he applied the eq after the compression, so the eq as no influence as it is applied on the compressed signal.

i think it has something to do with the eq device itself. check for other parameters than frequency and gain, like q factor and stuff. that may be actually boosting the low end as you cut down hi fq.

not sure tho. let us know if you got it fixed.

quote:

Originally posted by djsphere hmmm...i don't think so. he said he applied the eq after the compression, so the eq as no influence as it is applied on the compressed signal.

oh shoot, forgot about that part. haha.

wait, i remember it happened to me too:

i was playing a track trough my mixer and the vu-meter was just bellow 0 db. after i turned the hi knob all the way down it started going above 0 db when the kick was triggered.

quote:

Originally posted by djsphere hmmm...i don't think so. he said he applied the eq after the compression, so the eq as no influence as it is applied on the compressed signal. i think it has something to do with the eq device itself. check for other parameters than frequency and gain, like q factor and stuff. that may be actually boosting the low end as you cut down hi fq. not sure tho. let us know if you got it fixed.

Yeah, that's a good point. What kind of EQ Unit have you got your compressor linked to? Parametric?

If your using a parametric, check your Bandwidth Q and parameter settings. Between both parameters, If you set a low enough Q, sometimes cutting a lot of the high-end frequencies can induce a rise in dB of the mid-level frequencies and possibly the lower level ones depending on where the cut is taking place.

does the compressor have automatic make up gain? to 0 db or whatever?

the silver compressor in logic has auto make up gain and sometimes it comes out higher than the original db.

djsphere if high transients are turning on the compressor, you can adjust the attack and make it longer

Is it a linear phase EQ?

quote:

Originally posted by hadi ****** does the compressor have automatic make up gain? to 0 db or whatever? the silver compressor in logic has auto make up gain and sometimes it comes out higher than the original db. djsphere if high transients are turning on the compressor, you can adjust the attack and make it longer

But transients are usually at the start of the sound, making the attack longer which would reduce the ammount of compression on that part of the sound. Shortening the attack would help

So I'm using the fruity compressor with 0 ms attack and about 100 ms release at a ratio of 4 to 1 with hard knee. I then (want to) use a parametric equalizer with a low pass filter around 4-5 khz with a STEEP slope just to cut out all higher frequencies. But, with the parametric equalizer graph, I don't let any resonance rise above the 0 db line. It's still soo weird. Maybe i'll just work around it.

Some EQ's create some kind of strange bell-shaped curve at the point where you cut wiht a low pass filter, it doesn't go as perfect as the GUI is showing you, which could be an explanation of the boost you're experiencing?

I'm not sure which EQ it was, but maybe it is with one of those EQ's you used :P

quote:

Originally posted by Eldritch Is it a linear phase EQ?

I'm right with you Eldritch. If the EQ is not linear phase, perhaps the phase shift is causing certain frequencies to peak higher than before. I'm no DSP guru, so maybe someone else can explain the technical side of things more precisely than I. That was my first suspicion, however.

quote:

Originally posted by Storyteller But transients are usually at the start of the sound, making the attack longer which would reduce the ammount of compression on that part of the sound. Shortening the attack would help

ah yes, i thought he was saying that the high transient was turning the compressor on too early.

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