I cant believe im asking this

When youv'e compressed a synth and got it at the volume you need it at but it still doesnt sound right, what does it need?

also I have a question about compressors and limiters. A compressor is used to take care of harsh peaks and have some more control over the synth. From what

From what I understand, a compressor not only keeps the sound above a certain level but depending on how you use the threshold it can also be used to keep the sound above a certain level at the same time.

what does a limiter do and what sort of things should you use it on.

I dunno guys, I guess i've just been pissed off lately because I can't get synths to sound the way I want them. There's nothing worse than having an idea for a song then not being able to do anything with it.

P.S

The other thing is, i'm in the bad habit of compressing everything the same way because I dont know that much about compressors. Especially the compressor type (Hard, Medium, Soft, Hard/R, Soft/R)... I cant notice any difference when flicking between them. Every compressor guide that I have come across doesn't explain things in english.

There's a .pdf on an internet called "Cracking Compressors", it'll splain some stuff. G-double o-g-l-e it.

with enough expiramentation you'll learn to tweak synth sounds to be what you want. just keep playing with filters and eqing and figuring out what effects do what. it just takes some practice really.

i used compressors and limiters for a little under 8 years before i knew what they did (scientifically, i knew what they DID, just now what they DID).

compression is teh black art. .

doesnt a limiter just squash frequencies so they dont peak above 0db? i hate limiters.

Compressors force sound to be "compressed" (not like mp3 compression or something, it's like a compression of the amplitudes not of the filesize) so basically, if it's quieter than a certain point, it makes it louder, if it's louder, it makes it quieter... uhhh.. I think the "hard" and "soft" control how much this stuff takes aeffect.

a limiter is just a compressor with plenty of gain, a ceiling of 0db (traditionally), and an almost completely flat "shape" - i.e, will flatten peaks pretty indiscriminately. a good limiter is more responsive and colors the sound instead of just making it into a big oversaturated mess. i can't use limiters yet because i don't know how. also i think the sound they create is more suited to music that's really in-your-face, pop music, hiphop, metal, etc. and they often cut down drastically on dynamic range.

the antares tube bitches!!

  Celatid said:

Compressors force sound to be "compressed" (not like mp3 compression or something, it's like a compression of the amplitudes not of the filesize) so basically, if it's quieter than a certain point, it makes it louder, if it's louder, it makes it quieter... uhhh.. I think the "hard" and "soft" control how much this stuff takes aeffect.

If you are referring to hard compressing and soft compressing, that's related to the ratio (e.g. higher ratio = harder compression).

  Quote

i'm in the bad habit of compressing everything the same way because I dont know that much about compressors. Especially the compressor type (Hard, Medium, Soft, Hard/R, Soft/R)... I cant notice any difference when flicking between them. Every compressor guide that I have come across doesn't explain things in english.

Firstly, the amount you compress is totally dependant on what instrument you are compressing. Vocals, for example, usually sound far better with quite a hard ratio.

But anyway, the annoying thing about compression is that there is no written in stone guide, although you can get rough guides as to how much you should compress, but unfortunately that is merely a guideline and ultimately i've been taught to use your ears. The best thing is to try and play with it yourself. For instance, having a high threshold limit but a hard ratio will leave a slightly different sound than say having a softratio and a low threshold limit. Try doing both and see if you can hear the difference (have two identical tracks set up with each and solo between the two would probably be the easiest way).

Also, it's also worth thinking about why you want to compress it. The Compressor is a primarily dynamic tool and whilst it can alter the overall tonality of a sound, there are better processes to use if you're not happy with the tone/sound, or other processes to use in conjunction with compressing. It sounds to me like you are better off investigating either EQ or the various setting on your synth if you don't like the overall sound of it.....although i'm a little unsure what you mean when you say 'sound'.

I have a nice document from uni regarding compression, including rough guides for instruments but unfortunately at this moment i can't be bothered to type it out for you!

try an Aural Exciter vst.

I've always used a compressor to give me the harmonic range of the synth patch without having to give it the amplitude required to get all the good overtones and such. Performing compression on a sound can only bring out what's there, so try some mild distortion or detune one of the oscs slightly or mess with the pulsewidth. Add a white/pink noise osc? Then filter? ??!??

I'm not sure I'm grasping this, are you asking us what you do when you make a sound? I'll respond with, what do you do when you make a painting? Make decisions about where to apply paint to canvas repeat until satisfied.

  we_kill_soapscum said:

i used compressors and limiters for a little under 8 years before i knew what they did (scientifically, i knew what they DID, just now what they DID).

huh? your 20. so you been an audio engineer since you was 12.

noice.

:wink2: