[Evan Deez]

Forgive the noobness, but I'm slowly learning about compression.

If a default compression setting produces too much "snap" on a snare, but it
otherwise very close to what I need... in other words, the first few
milliseconds are a bit TOO loud compared to the rest of the trail... what do
I tweak?

My first instinct is to make the attack a bit longer... am I an idiot?

[[email protected]]

On Aug 16, 7:04*pm, "Evan Deez" wrote:
Forgive the noobness, but I'm slowly learning about compression.

If a default compression setting produces too much "snap" on a snare, but it
otherwise very close to what I need... in other words, the first few
milliseconds are a bit TOO loud compared to the rest of the trail... what do
I tweak?

My first instinct is to make the attack a bit longer... am I an idiot?

Nope, you're not an idiot but you should increase the ratio and
decrease the release time (the length of time the compression is in
effect.. If the attack is correct but still a bit loud, increase the
ratio from 2.5:1 (or whatever the stock ratio is) to 4:1 and try that.
Try something like a 40 msec attack with a 250 msec release time and a
ratio of 4:1. Play with any combination of those settings until you
find the one you like.

[Scott Dorsey]

Evan Deez wrote:
Forgive the noobness, but I'm slowly learning about compression.

If a default compression setting produces too much "snap" on a snare, but it
otherwise very close to what I need... in other words, the first few
milliseconds are a bit TOO loud compared to the rest of the trail... what do
I tweak?

My first instinct is to make the attack a bit longer... am I an idiot?

Other way around... reduce the attack time, so that it starts dropping
the gain earlier.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Ty Ford]

On Sun, 17 Aug 2008 08:27:50 -0400, Scott Dorsey wrote
(in article ):

Evan Deez wrote:
Forgive the noobness, but I'm slowly learning about compression.

If a default compression setting produces too much "snap" on a snare, but
it
otherwise very close to what I need... in other words, the first few
milliseconds are a bit TOO loud compared to the rest of the trail... what
do
I tweak?

My first instinct is to make the attack a bit longer... am I an idiot?

Other way around... reduce the attack time, so that it starts dropping
the gain earlier.
--scott


+1.

Regards,

Ty Ford



--Audio Equipment Reviews Audio Production Services
Acting and Voiceover Demos http://www.tyford.com
Guitar player?:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RZJ9MptZmU

[[email protected]]

On Aug 17, 12:04*pm, "Evan Deez" wrote:
Forgive the noobness, but I'm slowly learning about compression.

If a default compression setting produces too much "snap" on a snare, but it
otherwise very close to what I need... in other words, the first few
milliseconds are a bit TOO loud compared to the rest of the trail... what do
I tweak?

My first instinct is to make the attack a bit longer... am I an idiot?

+2

Take your time, proper understanding and use of compression can take a
while...

[Tony[_11_]]

On Sun, 24 Aug 2008 23:32:36 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

On Aug 17, 12:04*pm, "Evan Deez" wrote:
Forgive the noobness, but I'm slowly learning about compression.

If a default compression setting produces too much "snap" on a snare, but it
otherwise very close to what I need... in other words, the first few
milliseconds are a bit TOO loud compared to the rest of the trail... what do
I tweak?

My first instinct is to make the attack a bit longer... am I an idiot?


No, but it's the other way 'round - longer attack means that more of the original (louder)
snare transient gets through before the compressor sees it, so MORE "snap". However, as
others have implied, it's not quite as 1:1 linear at that, and the results depend a lot on
the design of the compressor and the kind of music. To further complicate (and often
improve) things, some compressors have multiple or variable attack time constants which
can react more appropriately to different kinds of transients.