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Junior Varsity
Compression and dynamics and why
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<blockquote data-quote="Paul Johnson" data-source="post: 218176" data-attributes="member: 2643"><p>It’s because some sources simply don’t retain their ability to cut through in a mix, live and studio. Bass is a good example. A repeated rhythm maybe 8 in a bar with a bit of emphasis on beat one. This sits very well in the mix, but then the player plays a twiddly bit with the sides of his fingers. On the meters, this is well down, compared to the main riff. It gets lost in a busy mix, and especially on a loud stage. The singer has her lips on the mic for most of the time, but sometimes, she turns a bit towards one of the band, and even gets excited and moves away a bit, and these get lost. Maybe the drummer sometimes plays heavy, busy bits on the big toms that overpower everything, but he doesn’t do it every time, or even at the same places. You just cannot manage this yourself with fader pushes. By the time you notice, it’s over. Compressors can manage these things pretty well. They’ll let something get louder until it’s too loud, then grab the level and stop it getting higher. Too much sounds bad, but too little means it gets lost. The trouble is so few people can hear compression until the magic eureka moment when you suddenly do, and realise you didn’t notice before. I didn’t use it for the first 25% of my music career. Now, bass gets a little almost automatically, usually vocals benefit too, but now I recognise when pressing the on button will make a source better.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Paul Johnson, post: 218176, member: 2643"] It’s because some sources simply don’t retain their ability to cut through in a mix, live and studio. Bass is a good example. A repeated rhythm maybe 8 in a bar with a bit of emphasis on beat one. This sits very well in the mix, but then the player plays a twiddly bit with the sides of his fingers. On the meters, this is well down, compared to the main riff. It gets lost in a busy mix, and especially on a loud stage. The singer has her lips on the mic for most of the time, but sometimes, she turns a bit towards one of the band, and even gets excited and moves away a bit, and these get lost. Maybe the drummer sometimes plays heavy, busy bits on the big toms that overpower everything, but he doesn’t do it every time, or even at the same places. You just cannot manage this yourself with fader pushes. By the time you notice, it’s over. Compressors can manage these things pretty well. They’ll let something get louder until it’s too loud, then grab the level and stop it getting higher. Too much sounds bad, but too little means it gets lost. The trouble is so few people can hear compression until the magic eureka moment when you suddenly do, and realise you didn’t notice before. I didn’t use it for the first 25% of my music career. Now, bass gets a little almost automatically, usually vocals benefit too, but now I recognise when pressing the on button will make a source better. [/QUOTE]
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Compression and dynamics and why
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