Release time

no matter how many times I read up on compressors and how many times I experiment with the fl compressor I still cant grasp the release time.

for example: The attack time is how many MiliSeconds the unaffected signal gets thru before being compressed....

fine... i understand that....

but now the release. I dont understand what happens with the release.

here's some things I would like to know...

The maximum release time for the FL compressor is 4 seconds (i think), then the audio snaps back to being uncompressed... but what happens if I want to compress something for more than 4 seconds (if it is a long synth or something)???

Also, I need to understand which is more common; A fast release time or a very slow one? i.e which one is more of a no-no?

Thank you all for your time, it's just something that is bothering me because being a music maker, it's a necessity to know such things.

The release time only starts going when the incoming signal drops below the threshold

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_range_compression said:

The time it takes for the compressor to respond to changes in input level is known as attack, and how quickly the compressor returns to no gain reduction once the input level falls below the threshold is known as release.

So if it's below the threshold, then it's obviously not being compressed, meaning it's the same thing as the attack, just reversed.

  Braintree said:

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_range_compression said:

The time it takes for the compressor to respond to changes in input level is known as attack, and how quickly the compressor returns to no gain reduction once the input level falls below the threshold is known as release.

 

So if it's below the threshold, then it's obviously not being compressed, meaning it's the same thing as the attack, just reversed.

nyeaaaaaaaaah!!

sorry braintree i dont know why I cant understand this one thing...

Who knows, it might even take pictures in the end. :confused:

Though I'm no expert, so correct me if I'm wrong.

  meneedit said:

nyeaaaaaaaaah!!

 

sorry braintree i dont know why I cant understand this one thing...

 

Who knows, it might even take pictures in the end. :confused:

I don't think there's any easier way to say it. Just like how an attack adjusts how the compression comes in, the release decides how fast it goes out.

It's just like the release time on your ADSR envelope.

ADSR:

When the gate signal goes away on an ADSR envelope (you let go of a key on your keyboard or stop drawing the note in your DAW), the amplitude decays to 0 based on the release time.

Compressor:

When the input signal level falls below the threshold value (set by your "threshold" knob), the amount of makeup gain decays to 0 based on the release time.

It's the same thing really.