I dont know how many videos I have watched on how to hear compressor. You explain it very well. Now I know how to use the input and output level when Im messing with the gain. No-one ever talk about the input and output level on a compressor meter as well.
Understanding compression is easier if you use a "lights" analogy to compare it (as in the "lights" in a room). A simple example is a compressor only triggers compression when the volume of the source goes above and over the "threshold" that was set (at the knob). Only the portion that goes above and over the "threshold" is lowered by the "ratio" that was set. The key is that only the volume of this portion above and over the "threshold" is compressed, and all the volume below the "threshold" remains untouched (uncompressed). This means that the loud peaks in volume are lowered so that they fall more in range with the rest of the source's overall volume. This effectively means you are lowering the volume range (ex. a volume-level range from 1-to-10 is now a range of 1-to-6). Those loud parts are now lower, but the overall volume is also lower compared to the rest of the mix. So to compensate for this, you use the "make-up gain" knob to bring up the overall volume of the resulting compressed source so that it is more on the same level as the rest of the mix. Even if you don't use the "make-up gain" - your ears will tell you to move the fader up for that track (to hear it better again). This effectively does the same thing as the "make-up" gain. So how does this translate to the "lights" in a room analogy? Say the "lights" are the sound source (the volume). And you have magic sunglasses with transition lenses (a lens that gets darker as the light becomes stronger). The sunglasses are the compressor. Again, using a simple example and not getting all scientific here... In normal light levels, the sunglasses are not triggered and remain clear (because the "threshold" has not been triggered yet). But once the light level increases above and over the "threshold", the sunglasses get triggered and the lenses become darker. This happens in order to protect our eyes from "burning" and being blinded. This is the compression part. But now our human eyes perceive that the room is darker (because of the sunglasses). This is the lower volume range that our human ears are perceiving. Wouldn't it be nice if the sunglasses could somehow make it so that no matter what the higher light levels are (above and over the "threshold"), the lenses will change shades in such a way that the room lighting levels remain the same to our eyes. In other words, the sunglasses will do the job of protecting our eyes so good, that we wouldn't even see or tell a change in the room light levels is happening. This is the "make-up gain", so that our ears can again hear the overall volume of the source. The negative side effect of over-using the sunglasses is that you might walk out of that room with a raccoon-face "sun-burn" - where the skin around your eyes is lighter than the sun tanned/burnt skin around the rest of your face =) This is the same as over using the compressor and making the sound and tone too muddy and losing some of the natural dynamics of the source. It becomes muddy because when "making-up" the gain, you are also increasing the volume of all the tones that were living below the "threshold." And some of those tones might be the "bad" darker tones we didn't want to accidentally increase. EQing can help fix that, but in lots of cases it can't. So be careful, and use compression as a tool - but not a weapon. Unless you're actually looking for this effect on purpose (like "crunching" an electric guitar to get that bad-ass grunge sound). I hope this helps you newbies on the world of compression.
Have to say Joes compression course was worth it’s weight in gold. So many moments where the penny finally dropped for me. Great resource, Can’t recommend it highly enough.
I've been watching a lot of video on youtube of what is compression and what does it do. this is the best one so far and now I understand what does a compressor do. Thnk you
I compressed a mix, first I had a heavy setting and set attack and release to values, that the difference between compressed and bypass is little as possible, after this I reduced treshold and rate and noticed, that the only difference was, little details are better audible.
Hi Joe, this was very informative, but it only discussed what a compressor is supposed to do. Can you also cover how a compressor " colors" a sound, and why some compressors are more desirable than others. Thanks!!
Moses Ramirez Tube compressors can do things like add upper harmonics to a sound and the ratios of compression probably varies to a small degree over the range of frequencies. Yes, details from the original signal are lost, but the compressor will in turn, impart it's own sound signature to the incoming signal. There really isn't a lot of gear out there with a truly 100% flat frequency response.
The thing about the compressor making things louder is really easy to explain. It compresses the peaks so the levels of the peak are closer to the sustain so if your attack is at -1 Db and the sustain at -8 Db you can compress so the attack is -4 Db and the sustain is -8 Db still because that is not loud enough to be compressed (ofcourse that depends on threshhold) so you can then boost the signal by 3 Db so your attack is -1 Db and then sustain is -5 Db which means the attack is just as loud but the sustain is getting louder with the makeup gain. so what a compressor does it makes the different between peaks and sustain smaller so you can have more of the sound audible in a mix. it's really usefull. for example if you have a snare drum that doesn't cut through the mix and is already almost going into the red you can use compressor in conjunction with EQ to make it sit really well and be able to cut through the mix.
Your videos are SO helpful. Thanks Joe. SO glad that PreSonus brought you on board. BTW - understandingcompression.com/ doesn't seem to be active. For future compression videos, I wonder if showing a bounced version of the track might help visually illustrate what the compression is actually doing. Glad to see you're a fan of Roswell mics. Just built and T-12 mic from microphone-parts.com/ , (same company as Roswell I reckon). it is truly remarkable.
Hey Joe :) Thank You. Thanks to You know I really feel what compression is. I tried it on my percussion samples. It makes really big difference. I only have problems with Your 5StepMix. When I fill the form it does not send me an email. Only the window apperas that "Sorry we could not accept your submission at this time. Please try again". Best Regards.
Joe, Thanx for the video.. Why not render the tracks with the compression on them so Your watchers can see the Wave files and how the tail sizes and peaks change . This way they’ll have a “ visual “ to reference. Just like the graphic equalizer You mentioned earlier. All the best, ACME
@@HomeStudioCorner While I understand your point, “Need to learn to HEAR the difference rather than see it,” showing people the impact of compression will help beginners (like me) better understand the concept. Hearing and seeing are different and both are valuable paths to understanding. Too bad we can’t include the taste, touch, and smell of compression in the morning. ;) For the longest time I didn’t understand saturation and harmonics. Then I watched an iZotope video that “showed” me the impact saturation has on wave forms. BOOM. I got it. Now when I apply saturation, I use my ears, not my eyes, to hear the saturation. Seeing helped me understand the concept. Now I’m training and refining my ears to make good use of saturation.
Nice tutorial. Now, what surprised me was that it was you singing, actually. Your singing voice is so much different than your speaking voice. That's beside the subject of the video, of course, but I just gotta say. You've got a good vibrato in your singing, which is well-placed, precise, and not overdone. Did you practice that? Or is it mostly instinct?
I"d say that we can rather talk about reduction of difference between compressed and uncompressed parts of signal instead, thus making quieter parts more present and then increasing it all together with make up gain.
Hey thanks for that orientation. I been recording at prootools studio and the engenier dint never compres the vocals and drums Of my music. Now i know why the bad cuality in.my music.
Well up to watching this I had been using the pre sets on the C.LA compressors were on most of them you can hear a distinct difference, then I have chosen the one that appeals to my ears is that cheating 😂 or do they really need further tweaking? Thanks Joe
Well, I do see your point about not mixing based on visuals, and I agree that a visual analysis should never be the final word in a mixing decision. But while you should not *end* on it, it is still *a great place to start* , especially for newcomers, because it helps you notice things that you simply don't hear without a lot of training. And if you never notice these to begin with, chances are that you will neglect them for a long time and be frustrated about what is wrong with your mix.
I never really mess with the knee setting. You might be right, but that's not the point of this video. The quiet parts are brought up because they're the parts that AREN'T being compressed.
I mean, it CAN, but there are better ways to bring out background instruments (like making sure they’re playing the right parts and/or turning them up)
My Samsung phone makes me hear some things better than ever before, but it's at a 144kbps bitrate (so it says). I guess it squeezes ... brings up the stuff more low in the mix and lowers the highs. Best guess. @@HomeStudioCorner
This is the prefect example how studio professionals f*ck up the nice sound of the instruments with compression. Result: lifeless, artificial something with added noise, which causes listening fatigue.
It might cause that a single instrument or track like drums can be more assertive in a mix - but with less sound quality of this instrument. You can get much better results with a good predictive mixing that includes all the necessary loudness differences of all instruments and a well-placed panorama. Dynamic compression always reduces your dynamic range and with it the clarity of everything you compress with a compressor, limiter or so-called "maximizers". ruclips.net/video/dcKDMBuGodU/видео.html
@@Master.Mi.777 Hey if you don't wanna use compression, more power to ya. But every major label mix engineer I've ever met or heard speak uses compression all over the place.
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I dont know how many videos I have watched on how to hear compressor. You explain it very well. Now I know how to use the input and output level when Im messing with the gain. No-one ever talk about the input and output level on a compressor meter as well.
Really great channel. You have a talent for explaining things clearly.
Thanks Richard
I'm so glad that I found your channel Joe. Thanks for helping me understand and use your great content.
You’re literally the best bro…God bless you, and stay healthy ❤️🙌🏾
Joe! you really are a teacher!
I met you from the Studio One tutorials and I loved your way of explaining things. Thank you!
Understanding compression is easier if you use a "lights" analogy to compare it (as in the "lights" in a room). A simple example is a compressor only triggers compression when the volume of the source goes above and over the "threshold" that was set (at the knob). Only the portion that goes above and over the "threshold" is lowered by the "ratio" that was set. The key is that only the volume of this portion above and over the "threshold" is compressed, and all the volume below the "threshold" remains untouched (uncompressed). This means that the loud peaks in volume are lowered so that they fall more in range with the rest of the source's overall volume. This effectively means you are lowering the volume range (ex. a volume-level range from 1-to-10 is now a range of 1-to-6). Those loud parts are now lower, but the overall volume is also lower compared to the rest of the mix. So to compensate for this, you use the "make-up gain" knob to bring up the overall volume of the resulting compressed source so that it is more on the same level as the rest of the mix. Even if you don't use the "make-up gain" - your ears will tell you to move the fader up for that track (to hear it better again). This effectively does the same thing as the "make-up" gain.
So how does this translate to the "lights" in a room analogy? Say the "lights" are the sound source (the volume). And you have magic sunglasses with transition lenses (a lens that gets darker as the light becomes stronger). The sunglasses are the compressor. Again, using a simple example and not getting all scientific here... In normal light levels, the sunglasses are not triggered and remain clear (because the "threshold" has not been triggered yet). But once the light level increases above and over the "threshold", the sunglasses get triggered and the lenses become darker. This happens in order to protect our eyes from "burning" and being blinded. This is the compression part. But now our human eyes perceive that the room is darker (because of the sunglasses). This is the lower volume range that our human ears are perceiving. Wouldn't it be nice if the sunglasses could somehow make it so that no matter what the higher light levels are (above and over the "threshold"), the lenses will change shades in such a way that the room lighting levels remain the same to our eyes. In other words, the sunglasses will do the job of protecting our eyes so good, that we wouldn't even see or tell a change in the room light levels is happening. This is the "make-up gain", so that our ears can again hear the overall volume of the source.
The negative side effect of over-using the sunglasses is that you might walk out of that room with a raccoon-face "sun-burn" - where the skin around your eyes is lighter than the sun tanned/burnt skin around the rest of your face =) This is the same as over using the compressor and making the sound and tone too muddy and losing some of the natural dynamics of the source. It becomes muddy because when "making-up" the gain, you are also increasing the volume of all the tones that were living below the "threshold." And some of those tones might be the "bad" darker tones we didn't want to accidentally increase. EQing can help fix that, but in lots of cases it can't. So be careful, and use compression as a tool - but not a weapon. Unless you're actually looking for this effect on purpose (like "crunching" an electric guitar to get that bad-ass grunge sound). I hope this helps you newbies on the world of compression.
The first compression Tutorial I really understand from start to end. Thanks a lot!! Things can be so easy, with the right teacher.
I really love coming across your videos. Every time your videos are informative and concise. Thank you for cluing me in about compression.
Omg wow! As a producer, i've always had trouble explaining how it sounds! I can explain what it does, but not how it sounds
👍
Thanks- good examples that clearly demonstrate the process.
really wish I had this kind of guidance 20 years ago. would have made all the difference
Have to say Joes compression course was worth it’s weight in gold. So many moments where the penny finally dropped for me. Great resource, Can’t recommend it highly enough.
Thanks bud
I've been watching a lot of video on youtube of what is compression and what does it do. this is the best one so far and now I understand what does a compressor do. Thnk you
I compressed a mix, first I had a heavy setting and set attack and release to values, that the difference between compressed and bypass is little as possible, after this I reduced treshold and rate and noticed, that the only difference was, little details are better audible.
Thank you for the explanation with a visual.
Great clarity on this topic. Thanks man. Cool vocal too. ✌🏼
Your videos are really really good ! Good explanation, no beating around the bush just nice and clear ! Thank you so much !👍
Thank you sir. Great info
You singing sounds great
Thanks Joe, one of the best compression videos in youtube.
Thanks!
Very well said, Joe. Thank you!
Why don’t u start online tuition. U r a wonderful teacher. U r adding value in me. Thanks n regards from India 🇮🇳
Hi Joe, this was very informative, but it only discussed what a compressor is supposed to do. Can you also cover how a compressor " colors" a sound, and why some compressors are more desirable than others. Thanks!!
Good idea
Bruce Dickert Why not to buy an Alesis 3630.
I was always under the impression that you lost sonic details due to compression, not gained them.
Moses Ramirez Tube compressors can do things like add upper harmonics to a sound and the ratios of compression probably varies to a small degree over the range of frequencies. Yes, details from the original signal are lost, but the compressor will in turn, impart it's own sound signature to the incoming signal. There really isn't a lot of gear out there with a truly 100% flat frequency response.
Mostly the saturation (exmpl: tube, tape, transistor...) and the curve of the attack and release (exmpl: log, sqrt, linear)
This is the best video I have aeen5 on RUclips explaining the compressor. Thanks buddy.
The thing about the compressor making things louder is really easy to explain. It compresses the peaks so the levels of the peak are closer to the sustain so if your attack is at -1 Db and the sustain at -8 Db you can compress so the attack is -4 Db and the sustain is -8 Db still because that is not loud enough to be compressed (ofcourse that depends on threshhold) so you can then boost the signal by 3 Db so your attack is -1 Db and then sustain is -5 Db which means the attack is just as loud but the sustain is getting louder with the makeup gain. so what a compressor does it makes the different between peaks and sustain smaller so you can have more of the sound audible in a mix. it's really usefull. for example if you have a snare drum that doesn't cut through the mix and is already almost going into the red you can use compressor in conjunction with EQ to make it sit really well and be able to cut through the mix.
Great tuto! Great voice. Thank you.
You are one bad ma’am ma jamma! I hope to explain things as well as you do!
Thanks Joe. Relatively new follower and subscriber about to record my first (well almost) vocal tracks ever. Looking forward to learning!
Hi Joe what a wonderful explanation of compression it's really going to help lot of people who are struggling to hear what compressor actually does
Thanks Md
Great video. Your vocals are pretty good.
Thanks for the tip Joe🎶🎶🎶👍🏻
Useful video Joe
thank you so much ive been letting all my favorite youtubers know to talk about this exact topic
Nice!
Awesome demo and explanation...Joe
Really great demonstration.
What a great video. Joe you really helped by touching on the makeup gain bringing up low level info.
Glad to hear it.
Been waiting for you Jo!!!,! Life saver thank you so much for all your content. Great teacher
I like a gentle compressor with a slow attack/quick release at a 3:1 ratio followed by EQ and a limiter to catch stray peaks
Great insights as always Joe! Very illustrative thank you so very much my friend!
Thanks Mark
Your videos are SO helpful. Thanks Joe. SO glad that PreSonus brought you on board.
BTW - understandingcompression.com/ doesn't seem to be active. For future compression videos, I wonder if showing a bounced version of the track might help visually illustrate what the compression is actually doing.
Glad to see you're a fan of Roswell mics. Just built and T-12 mic from microphone-parts.com/ , (same company as Roswell I reckon). it is truly remarkable.
Hey Joe :) Thank You. Thanks to You know I really feel what compression is. I tried it on my percussion samples. It makes really big difference. I only have problems with Your 5StepMix. When I fill the form it does not send me an email. Only the window apperas that "Sorry we could not accept your submission at this time. Please try again". Best Regards.
You're a good singer!
Well this is like my 5th video watching and learning something useful. Just subbed
Thanks Joe great video
Thanks!
Joe,
Thanx for the video..
Why not render the tracks with the compression on them so
Your watchers can see the Wave files and how the tail sizes and peaks change .
This way they’ll have a “ visual “ to reference. Just like the graphic equalizer
You mentioned earlier.
All the best,
ACME
Because people mix with their eyes too much as it is. Need to learn to HEAR the difference rather than see it.
@@HomeStudioCorner While I understand your point, “Need to learn to HEAR the difference rather than see it,” showing people the impact of compression will help beginners (like me) better understand the concept. Hearing and seeing are different and both are valuable paths to understanding. Too bad we can’t include the taste, touch, and smell of compression in the morning. ;)
For the longest time I didn’t understand saturation and harmonics. Then I watched an iZotope video that “showed” me the impact saturation has on wave forms. BOOM. I got it. Now when I apply saturation, I use my ears, not my eyes, to hear the saturation. Seeing helped me understand the concept. Now I’m training and refining my ears to make good use of saturation.
Great video
I m German .i dont speak so good but i understand what you lesson 👍
Nice tutorial. Now, what surprised me was that it was you singing, actually. Your singing voice is so much different than your speaking voice. That's beside the subject of the video, of course, but I just gotta say. You've got a good vibrato in your singing, which is well-placed, precise, and not overdone. Did you practice that? Or is it mostly instinct?
Thanks David! Probably a combination of practice and instinct. And recording thousands of vocal parts. 😊
Can we do the same with Melody by making the high notes low and the low high
I"d say that we can rather talk about reduction of difference between compressed and uncompressed parts of signal instead, thus making quieter parts more present and then increasing it all together with make up gain.
Thank you!
Thank YOU
great explanation!
Thanks!
Hey thanks for that orientation.
I been recording at prootools studio and the engenier dint never compres the vocals and drums
Of my music. Now i know why the bad cuality in.my music.
holy shit i finally understand it
Taught me sound better when u sang it. 😀
The gain/ makeup gain, is also sometimes called regain.
Thank's a lot
This guy look like Wayne Rooney xD
👍
Do do ever use it as a global effect?
Well up to watching this I had been using the pre sets on the C.LA compressors were on most of them you can hear a distinct difference, then I have chosen the one that appeals to my ears is that cheating 😂 or do they really need further tweaking? Thanks Joe
number one rule of audio: if it sounds good, it is good. 😊
@@HomeStudioCorner carefully replied thanks
Sir I have a question what is the technique how to get a crispy vocals like yours ?
Good singer in a good room with a good mic!
clear
Why don't you prepare a rendered track of the processed signal? The increase in base volume is clearly visible in waveform view.
Because I don't want to teach people how to SEE compression. 😊
Well, I do see your point about not mixing based on visuals, and I agree that a visual analysis should never be the final word in a mixing decision. But while you should not *end* on it, it is still *a great place to start* , especially for newcomers, because it helps you notice things that you simply don't hear without a lot of training. And if you never notice these to begin with, chances are that you will neglect them for a long time and be frustrated about what is wrong with your mix.
Great opinion. It's just not a good fit for me.
I subbed! Nice vid
Hi Joe i can't hear and see signal wave recording in my studiolive 32 series iii also studioone 4 Recording software...? Please Can you help me please
Why have you bought so many different domains for all these things rather than just put them under one?
Would it not be better to use a soft knee compressor to bring up the quite parts?
I never really mess with the knee setting. You might be right, but that's not the point of this video. The quiet parts are brought up because they're the parts that AREN'T being compressed.
I'm a dummy. Does compression bring out background instruments to be more noticeable in complex music? Like Mike Oldfield music...
I mean, it CAN, but there are better ways to bring out background instruments (like making sure they’re playing the right parts and/or turning them up)
My Samsung phone makes me hear some things better than ever before, but it's at a 144kbps bitrate (so it says). I guess it squeezes ... brings up the stuff more low in the mix and lowers the highs. Best guess.
@@HomeStudioCorner
No that’s data compression. Completely different animal.
Dude... you're more fun than Deus Ex Machina.
Whoa
I like to leave transients of drums by playing with an attack knob
@@Fonkemman yeah, it's a great way to get both transience and compression. Thanks for reminding! :)
Sir I used studio one too , Please help me to get a better vocals to my rap music :(
#onpoint
👊
1:18 good 1:52 bad 5:18 good 5:40 bad
You can't see this in the mix where it sounds better
If you had a classroom, 100% wouldn’t miss a day
How are you zooming in like that
Ctrl + Scroll w/ mouse
How do you zoom your screen?
Ctrl - scroll up
Sounds like something my older brothers would say to me before they kicked my butt :)
:)
I Thought this video is about how to hear what sounds we are losing while using compressor. 😑
This is the prefect example how studio professionals f*ck up the nice sound of the instruments with compression.
Result: lifeless, artificial something with added noise, which causes listening fatigue.
Isn't compression and Brickwalling killing music? The lack of dynamic range in modern music is appalling.
Just like any good thing, compression can be overused. It's also a huge part of whatever your favorite music is.
step 1: dont be deaf Step 2 listen to a cd of the song then a shitty mp3
Nope. Not talking about data compression.
That ringing is overbearing.
Compression kills definition & clarity.
I would say it this way: Compression CAN kill definition and clarity. It can also IMPROVE definition and clarity if you use it right.
It might cause that a single instrument or track like drums can be more assertive in a mix - but with less sound quality of this instrument.
You can get much better results with a good predictive mixing that includes all the necessary loudness differences of all instruments and a well-placed panorama.
Dynamic compression always reduces your dynamic range and with it the clarity of everything you compress with a compressor, limiter or so-called "maximizers".
ruclips.net/video/dcKDMBuGodU/видео.html
@@Master.Mi.777 Hey if you don't wanna use compression, more power to ya. But every major label mix engineer I've ever met or heard speak uses compression all over the place.
You’re literally the best bro…God bless you, and stay healthy ❤️🙌🏾