Just had a thought..is it possible to add compression to 'parts' of the FR during recording/mixing? Highly compressed recording has the effect of better detail in certain parts of the spectrum, namely bass. TIA
Wow! I'm 62 born yesterday. I was never interested in eq because of the added potentially audible distortion.
Where did you get that idea? EQ of any kind adds some phase shift but that is not audible normally.
+1.
Multiband comp is what you're after.
Chris
PS - The top-end touring desks (and probably most DAWs) often have linear-phase EQ built-in.
EQ inherently is a form of distortion - you're taking a signal, and changing it in some way. That doesn't mean it's a bad thing - I'd bet over 99% of all records released have some EQ applied.
That's not quite the same thing.
A side-chain means you can use a different signal to compress the audio running through the compressor.
For instance, if you wanted automated voiceover for music, feed a vocal mic into the sidechain, music through the compressor, and the music will dip according to the feed from the mic.
Chris
ducking isn't the only way to use the "side chain", inserting an Eq allows you to select which frequencies will be "pre" compressed by boosting them on the Eq.
sort of a more flexible"de-esser" without being limited to high frequencies.
sort of a more flexible"de-esser" without being limited to high frequencies.
Not quite.
If you EQ the side-chain, all you're doing is pulling the volume of everything down, in response to specific frequencies.
Remember, a compressor is just a programmable finger on a fader.
Chris
How so?
You feed signal in. If the signal level is over the threshold, the compressor will start attenuating the signal. The time to reach full attenuation is set by the "attack" setting. That's how fast the finger pulls the fader down.
The fader stays down for as long as the "hold" setting tells it to, and then the fader is brought back up according to the "release" time.
If you use a side-chain, all you're doing is using a different signal to tell the finger when to move.
To take your example, you could use the same signal for the side-chain, but boost the bass by 10dB. All that will mean is the finger on the fader is now decreasing the volume of the music according to how loud the (boosted) bass is.
Chris
it's better when you have parametric Eq'ing in multiple bands, properly applied it can tame bass notes that jump out at you or disappear into the ether or tame feedback onset, i've used it to good effect in numerous ways but to each his own i guess.
Great info guys. So I take it you could add compression and expansion simultaneously? How is parametric eq the same as compression? My experience is that compression not only increases volume but definition also, especially bottom end. A parametric eq doesn't increase definition. I suppose it would with enough bands to tailor response?
indeed! reading through the link SubSoniks provided, as much as i think i know it's always refreshing to realize there's more to learn...
Gotta love Rane for making these resources available, Powersoft also have some good info on their website.
on compression? could you supply a link? a quick look around didn't lead me to anything specific.
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