I was reading the following article and it stated that the faster the
compressor's attack, the punchier the sound.

http://www.guitar.com/cda/ColumnCorn...00&sSection=TL

However, I got to thinking about this and wouldn't it be possible that
you could have too fast of a attack and therefore the compressor could
kick in before the signal has naturally peaked? If so, this would make
the signal less punchy.

Or is it difficult to set a compressor so fast as to attenuate before
the transient is naturally reached?

Also, if one is using a compressor to get a punchy sound, does this
prevent the loss of dynamics?

After all, the peaks and the valleys are coming through just as they
would without compression. The only difference is that with
compression, the peaks and valleys are coming through more quickly.

(Ludwig77) writes:

I was reading the following article and it stated that the faster the
compressor's attack, the punchier the sound.

http://www.guitar.com/cda/ColumnCorn...?sPath=8100000
C2039000000010000794A00000000&sSection=TL

However, I got to thinking about this and wouldn't it be possible that
you could have too fast of a attack and therefore the compressor could
kick in before the signal has naturally peaked? If so, this would make
the signal less punchy.

Depends on the instrument. On drums, for instance, you can lose the punch by
setting the attack too fast.


Or is it difficult to set a compressor so fast as to attenuate before
the transient is naturally reached?

Some compressors aren't capable of very fast attack times. However the RNC can
be set for very very fast attack and release times and there can be
side-effects from that.


Also, if one is using a compressor to get a punchy sound, does this
prevent the loss of dynamics?

What? By using a compresor you are reducing dynamics by definition. Thats what
a compressor does. Whether you take it too far is the issue. If you have a
track whose dynamics are too much then a compressor can be used to bring things
under control.


After all, the peaks and the valleys are coming through just as they
would without compression. The only difference is that with
compression, the peaks and valleys are coming through more quickly.

You are very confused. The "peaks and valleys" are not coming through more
quickly. I'm not sure if I can adequately explain the principle of a compressor
but there are people on this group who can.

Garth~


"I think the fact that music can come up a wire is a miracle."
Ed Cherney

Ludwig77 wrote:
I was reading the following article and it stated that the faster the
compressor's attack, the punchier the sound.

http://www.guitar.com/cda/ColumnCorn...00&sSection=TL

To some extent, yes.

However, I got to thinking about this and wouldn't it be possible that
you could have too fast of a attack and therefore the compressor could
kick in before the signal has naturally peaked? If so, this would make
the signal less punchy.

That's when it starts to sound muffled.

Or is it difficult to set a compressor so fast as to attenuate before
the transient is naturally reached?

Depends on the compressor. On a fast VCA compressor it's quite easy.
On an old opto unit with a soft knee, it's pretty hard.

Also, if one is using a compressor to get a punchy sound, does this
prevent the loss of dynamics?

Ummm... the whole POINT of using a compressor is to lose dynamics. That's
what it's for.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

In article ,
(Ludwig77) wrote:

I was reading the following article and it stated that the faster the
compressor's attack, the punchier the sound.

http://www.guitar.com/cda/ColumnCorn...h=8100000C2039
000000010000794A00000000&sSection=TL

However, I got to thinking about this and wouldn't it be possible that
you could have too fast of a attack and therefore the compressor could
kick in before the signal has naturally peaked? If so, this would make
the signal less punchy.

Since there's no technical definition of "punchy", it's a bit misleading. Fast
attack compression indeed clamps down on the onset transient of a sound,
removing the attack of the note. To me, this is "mushy", not "punchy".


Or is it difficult to set a compressor so fast as to attenuate before
the transient is naturally reached?


Not difficult at all: settings below 20-40 msec begin to remove the onset
transient.

Also, if one is using a compressor to get a punchy sound, does this
prevent the loss of dynamics?

After all, the peaks and the valleys are coming through just as they
would without compression. The only difference is that with
compression, the peaks and valleys are coming through more quickly.

This doesn't make sense. Compressors make sounds more punchy by boosting the
softer parts of the sound relative to the louder parts, so that the softer parts
are not as hidden by other sounds as they were originally. If you do this to
all the elements of a mix, it has the effect of making each sound more present
and better defining it's apparent location in the panorama.

-Jay
--
x------- Jay Kadis ------- x---- Jay's Attic Studio ------x
x Lecturer, Audio Engineer x Dexter Records x
x CCRMA, Stanford University x http://www.offbeats.com/ x
x-------- http://ccrma-www.stanford.edu/~jay/ ----------x

In article ,
(Ludwig77) writes:


http://www.guitar.com/cda/ColumnCorn...?sPath=8100000
C2039000000010000794A00000000&sSection=TL

I read some of the article at the link above. Its written by Jay Graydon who is
a great guitarist and a knowledgable studio guy. Its really written for
recording guitarists. Most of what he says is helpful but I think in the
attempt to make the explanation clear to the novice he has kind of
oversimplified things a bit.

You will definitely find that if you set a compressor attack too fast it will
rob the sound of punch instead of adding to it. You have to just try different
settings till you find whats right for the particular guitar, amp and song.

Garth~


"I think the fact that music can come up a wire is a miracle."
Ed Cherney

"Jay Kadis" wrote in message news:jay- This
doesn't make sense. Compressors make sounds more punchy by boosting the
softer parts of the sound relative to the louder parts, so that the softer
parts
are not as hidden by other sounds as they were originally.

Actually a compressor brings down the louder parts, moving them closer to
the softer sounds. What you were describing is actually expansion, not
compression.

I think you'll be **** out of luck if you try to increase transient punch by
setting the compressor attack fast. This guy was doing good as he talked about
the "spike" and "transient" but lost base when he claimed that kicking in gain
reduction QUICKLY will make things punchier. You want punch? The formula is
slowish attack fast release. Done.
Steve

In article m writes:

Actually a compressor brings down the louder parts, moving them closer to
the softer sounds. What you were describing is actually expansion, not
compression.

Expansion is usually a relatively long term process.

One way to get a punchy sound with a compressor is to set the attack
time so that it's a bit longer than the attack portion of the waveform
envelope. That way the attack isn't affected by the compressor, but
gain reduction is applied to the sustained part of the waveform.
Release time has to be on the order of the sustain of an average note
so the compressor is open when the next attack comes along.

If you slow the attack time down a pinch more, you'll let some of the
sustain portion of the envelope get through, essentially adding some
energy to the natural attack to strengthen it further. Add some peak
limiting and boost the level back up. Or you could get an SPL Transient
Designer.

What this accomplishes is increasing the level of the attack releative
to the sustained portion of the note.

--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo