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Originally posted by DigiNut No, no, no, NO. Jesus, compressing a vocal with a 10:1 ratio? This is exactly why I said that throwing around some trivial math isn't going to help you apply it. You shouldn't even be considering trying to squash a dynamic range of 20 dB down to 2 dB. You might use a ratio that high with a very low threshold as a kind of leveler, to eliminate sudden and unintended peaks in the source. If it's really truly necessary to increase the gain by 18 dB then you might use multiple stages of compression. But much more likely you should be adjusting your actual levels, EQ, and other parts of the mix if it has those kinds of problems. My advice is to stop worrying about the nitty gritty of how compression works and start learning about how it's actually used, in practice, otherwise you're going to end up with some awful mixes.

Well it was just an example, an extreme and maybe not well chosen one I grant you. haha

Maybe a more realistic case would be -3db to -6db threshold with a 1.5:1 - 2:1 ratio (depending on the source material of course)

Of course it's best to try it in practice in real world scenario's, but dont shoot me down for just trying to get a better understanding of how a compressor works.

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i always used the compressor to make the kick..and the bass more pumping ..i dont really understand it i just know it makes everything louder.

Try adjusting each parameter and listening to what it does to the sound, reading what it does to the dB output and seeing for yourself.

I feel you learn more by doing and experimenting than by reading and reading and "understanding" what everything is.

When you apply high ratios like 10:1 you're really limiting the signal and removing a lot of transient peaks and the whole sound becomes squashed with no dynamics. Sometimes you want it (not to always to that extent) and a lot of the time you don't.

Mess around and see what you learn in that time frame. Good Luck

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Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.

You'd be better off learning the standard settings for different applications and why they're used, and then learning to tweak these to suit. Thats how I learnt.

PS download the sonalksis demo and look at the meters, they'll tell you what you need to know about how compression works in a visual way.

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if(Signal.Level > Threshold)
{
Signal.Level = Threshold + ( (Signal.Level - Threshold) / Ratio );
}

Attack = How fast the above is applied to the signal.
Release = Once the above is applied, this is how fast the compression is reduced.

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quote:

Originally posted by coroknight if(Signal.Level > Threshold) { Signal.Level = Threshold + ( (Signal.Level - Threshold) / Ratio ); }

i spot a loop here! u need to separate it input to output.