Topmusicanswers
Most of the reason a compressor makes a given signal sound better is indeed simply that it allows you to turn up the gain – much more than would be possible without compression, because then it would either run you into headroom limitations or drown out some other instruments in the mix because the peaks are too loud.
- Why is compression useful during recording?
- How can compression be used to improve a recorded signal?
- What does compression do to an audio signal?
- Why does compression increase volume?
Why is compression useful during recording?
Why Use a Compressor
When you've decreased the dynamic range of a vocal, the track “sits” much better in the mix since you're not losing the quiet notes and being blown away by the loud ones. It also tends to “fatten” up the sound of tracks, which is why compression is often so important on bass and drum tracks.
How can compression be used to improve a recorded signal?
Basically, compression reduces the dynamic range of your recording by bringing down the level of the loudest parts, meaning the loud and quiet parts are now closer together in volume and the natural volume variations are less obvious. The audio compressor unit can then boost the overall level of this compressed signal.
What does compression do to an audio signal?
Dynamic range compression (DRC) or simply compression is an audio signal processing operation that reduces the volume of loud sounds or amplifies quiet sounds, thus reducing or compressing an audio signal's dynamic range.
Why does compression increase volume?
Compression makes a quiet portion of the sounds louder relative to a louder portion by reducing the signal strength when the signal strength is high. Often a gain is applied after compression to keep the signal strength up, but this is no different from any other gain.
