Dynamic processors

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Dynamic Processors

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  • Compression (inc. side-chain compression)

  • De-essing

  • Limiting

  • Expansion

  • Noise gates

  • Sidechains and expansion/gating

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Compression

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  • Reduces dynamic range of a track

  • Most basic way of compressing is to ‘ride the fader’ - Manual compression which was how engineers originally controlled dynamic range in music

  • No ideal as takes time for hand to respond to what ear hears.

  • After peaks in dynamic range have been reduced, the make-up gain boosts the whole signal

  • Overall process ‘squashes’ the dynamic range of the music

  • Extreme compression is audible, but when subtle, only really identifiable when comparing two signals

  • Riding the fader is still used but usually by automation

  • Engineer can graphically draw in changes that control the level of the track.

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15 Terms

1
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Dynamic Processors

  • Compression (inc. side-chain compression)

  • De-essing

  • Limiting

  • Expansion

  • Noise gates

  • Sidechains and expansion/gating

2
New cards

Compression

  • Reduces dynamic range of a track

  • Most basic way of compressing is to ‘ride the fader’ - Manual compression which was how engineers originally controlled dynamic range in music

  • No ideal as takes time for hand to respond to what ear hears.

  • After peaks in dynamic range have been reduced, the make-up gain boosts the whole signal

  • Overall process ‘squashes’ the dynamic range of the music

  • Extreme compression is audible, but when subtle, only really identifiable when comparing two signals

  • Riding the fader is still used but usually by automation

  • Engineer can graphically draw in changes that control the level of the track.

3
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Compressor controls / Parameters

  • Threshold

  • Ratio Make-up gain

  • Knee

  • Attack

  • Release

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Compressor controls / Parameters - Threshold

The volume above which a compressor begins to compress.

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Compressor controls / Parameters - Ratio

Ratio = input volume : Output volume.

How much the compressor will reduce the signal by, once the signal is above the threshold

The amount of compression

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Compressor controls / Parameters - Make-up Gain

Compensates for the reduction in volume that occurs as part of the compression process.

Increases the overall volume after compression

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Compressor controls / Parameters - Knee

Characteristic bend in the response curve when the signal crosses the threshold.

A soft knee compressor gradually applies the ratio, whereas a hard knee compressor will apply the ratio instantly once signal is above the threshold.

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Compressor controls / Parameters - Attack

How quickly compression is applied once the signal is above the threshold

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Compressor controls / Parameters - Release

How long it takes for the compressor to stop compressing once the signal has fallen below the threshold value.

When set to fast, Release times can introduce ‘pumping’ or ‘ducking’ effects.

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Sidechain Compession

  • Where a compressor is triggered by the volume of one track, but the compression is applied to another

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De-essing

  • Sibilant sounds such as ‘sss’ or ‘shh’ or ‘t’ or ‘oh’ can be distracting in a recording

  • These sounds generally exist at frequencies between 5kHz-10kHz

  • De-essers can control these specific frequencies within the mix and thus reduce the sibilance.

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Limiting

  • Compressors with extreme settings. They will have a ratio set as close to infinite:1 as possible (usually 20:1). Term ‘brick wall limiting’ is used to describe this'

  • Used to prevent signals from increasing beyond a certain level to avoid damaging equipment or increasing beyond an acceptable limit (e.g. 0dB), controlling the peaks a compressor might have missed.

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Expansion

  • Expanders work in opposite way to a compressor - They reduce the level of signals that fall below a set threshold, expanding the dynamic range instead of reducing it.

  • Most commonly used as noise reducers, by setting the threshold for the quiet sections of the music so that the background noise is reduced in level, but when vocalist begins singing, the level rises above the threshold and is unaffected.

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Noise Gates

  • Extreme expanders - they have a ratio set as close to infinte:1 as possible, reducing any signal to silence when it passes below the threshold.

  • Noise gates can be used to remove background noise as long as nothing else is playing

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Sidechains and Expansion/Gating

  • A noise gate or expander can be controlled by a side chain. This is also known as ‘keyed gate’, and the gate will only open when the level of the side chain trigger exceeds the threshold

  • Can be used in EDM to create short and choppy synth notes that play in time with rhythm parts.