Two small but possibly significant points:
A piercing or focus-grabbing sound can appear to the ear/mind more "powerful" than a mellow one in such a way that even when it's being compressed appropriately according to it's electrical magnitude it still demands significant attention.
If you're compressing a mix with a single compressor and one element suddenly dominates the compressor will reduce the gain of the entire mix which maintains the balance of the elements so if you're expecting the vocal to blend better into the guitar it won't, as the guitar is also being compressed.
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Jack Ruston - proof positive that great minds and magnificent lovers think alike.
Audio Compressor Question.
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Re: Audio Compressor Question.
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- shufflebeat
Jedi Poster - Posts: 9091 Joined: Sun Dec 09, 2007 12:00 am Location: Manchester, UK
“…I can tell you I don't have money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career” - (folk musician, Manchester).
Re: Audio Compressor Question.
Could be proof that I don't properly read previous comments.
shufflebeat wrote:Two small but possibly significant points:
A piercing or focus-grabbing sound can appear to the ear/mind more "powerful" than a mellow one in such a way that even when it's being compressed appropriately according to it's electrical magnitude it still demands significant attention.
If you're compressing a mix with a single compressor and one element suddenly dominates the compressor will reduce the gain of the entire mix which maintains the balance of the elements so if you're expecting the vocal to blend better into the guitar it won't, as the guitar is also being compressed.
[Edit]
Jack Ruston - proof positive that great minds and magnificent lovers think alike.
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- Jack Ruston
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Re: Audio Compressor Question.
Jack Ruston wrote:Could be proof that I don't properly read previous comments.
We made very similar suggestions at the same time but yours made it's way through the pipeline marginally quicker.
Valid points expressed beautifully - twice - bonus!
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- shufflebeat
Jedi Poster - Posts: 9091 Joined: Sun Dec 09, 2007 12:00 am Location: Manchester, UK
“…I can tell you I don't have money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career” - (folk musician, Manchester).
Re: Audio Compressor Question.
Wise words from many fine folks here...
Also worth mentioning the side-chain (the signal that the compressor reacts to, which may or may not be identical to the one that's being processed).
First, some compressors react to signal peaks, others to an average signal. For very brief high level sounds, this could affect the compressor's action. You can also choose to filter the side-chain signal — eg use a low pass filter, high shelf cut/boost, tilt EQ or a regular boost/cut to make the compressor more or less sensitive to the cymbal. You can even automate that so that it's only more/less sensitive at certain times.
But in this specific situation, I think I'd be editing the guitar part where that cymbal strikes! Maybe taking notes from elsewhere to cover it up. Maybe using a spectral editor to remove the worst excesses of the cymbal. Etc.
Also worth mentioning the side-chain (the signal that the compressor reacts to, which may or may not be identical to the one that's being processed).
First, some compressors react to signal peaks, others to an average signal. For very brief high level sounds, this could affect the compressor's action. You can also choose to filter the side-chain signal — eg use a low pass filter, high shelf cut/boost, tilt EQ or a regular boost/cut to make the compressor more or less sensitive to the cymbal. You can even automate that so that it's only more/less sensitive at certain times.
But in this specific situation, I think I'd be editing the guitar part where that cymbal strikes! Maybe taking notes from elsewhere to cover it up. Maybe using a spectral editor to remove the worst excesses of the cymbal. Etc.
Re: Audio Compressor Question.
The cymbal was just an example. The actual problem is a rock singer who occasionally shouts/sings/screams very loud, so in this instance it's all the same sound that's being processed. The peak vs RMS setting is a good one to consider here.
Reliably fallible.
Re: Audio Compressor Question.
Fixing a vocal level individually with automation would be much more transparent and natural sounding than relying on an algorithm, almost like having a singer with decent mic technique. This frees up the compressor to do what it does best, coaxing rather than hammering.
Specific compressors have their own character and role in the process, of course, and it's difficult for anyone to pronounce chapter and verse without hearing the context so all advice here (particularly mine) will be pretty generic and come with caveats.
Specific compressors have their own character and role in the process, of course, and it's difficult for anyone to pronounce chapter and verse without hearing the context so all advice here (particularly mine) will be pretty generic and come with caveats.
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- shufflebeat
Jedi Poster - Posts: 9091 Joined: Sun Dec 09, 2007 12:00 am Location: Manchester, UK
“…I can tell you I don't have money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career” - (folk musician, Manchester).
Re: Audio Compressor Question.
Yeah if this is a vocal, automate it.
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- Jack Ruston
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Re: Audio Compressor Question.
Yeah. Automation. Or editing and clip gains. Or both.
I mean, if you're really lazy, you can tackle this to an extent using multiple compressors. But the results won't be as good...
I mean, if you're really lazy, you can tackle this to an extent using multiple compressors. But the results won't be as good...