3ple Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 I'm compressing a synth using the Studio FET option and I get 2 weird behaviors. I tried with the other options and they work as expected. If someone can enlighten me... 1 - Even though my threshold is set to 0dB and the input peaks at -3dB (average), the compressor is still working: 2 - When I set the ratio to 3:1 I get more compression than when set to 8:1 or higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solution des99 Posted April 8, 2020 Solution Share Posted April 8, 2020 (edited) Welcome to the complexities of analog compressor design and behaviour! Compressors don't do nothing until your threshold is reached. They start compressing more as you approach the threshold, and at the threshold they are already compressing to a known degree. Different ratios and other settings will all change the compression curve, and these things are modelled on the behaviour of their real world counterparts. Without a visual of the curve, it's difficult to see what's going on, but other compressors to have a visual of the transfer curve. Note that a threshold at the highest possible level is a pretty odd setting, but, like I say, the exact behaviour you get depends on the curves of the compressor as they approach and pass the threshold, and these are not the same at different ratios. A more clinical, simple compressor that doesn't model real-world analog hardware has much simpler, or linear curves, and they may be consisted at different ratios and knee characteristics, but boutique hardware can have interesting behaviours, and that's part of why they sound like they do. Edited April 8, 2020 by des99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Nahmani Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 A more clinical, simple compressor that doesn't model real-world analog hardware has much simpler, or liner curves ... yes, for example the "Platinum" compressor model in Logic. Set the knee to zero and you should see its threshold behave as you're expecting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3ple Posted April 8, 2020 Author Share Posted April 8, 2020 Thanks for the replies. Yes, I just checked and the Studio FET does indeed have a more pronounced curve compared to the other models and also doesn't have the Knee option so it's a fixed knee. I rarely use the Graph visualizer, to be honest, so I wasn't even considering that. Now looking at the Graph I also noticed that the "average" threshold point at 3:1 is lower than the one at 8:1 (which makes sense since the curve gets smaller the higher the ratio) and that makes the compressor compress more at 3:1 than 8:1, because at 8:1 the line only starts curving at a higher threshold. That was an interesting thing that I've never really noticed, but oh well, we are always learning new things Thanks again for the feedback! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
des99 Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 also doesn't have the Knee option so it's a fixed knee. Just because there isn't a knob for it, doesn't mean the knee is fixed. It might vary depending on the set compression ratio, it might vary on the threshold, and even due to attack and release settings - and often all these things are intertwined and all have an affect on the result. Like I say, these things often have complex behaviours, which is one of the reasons why they can be challenging to model. That was an interesting thing that I've never really noticed, but oh well, we are always learning new things Indeed! Thanks again for the feedback! No probs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3ple Posted April 8, 2020 Author Share Posted April 8, 2020 I meant "fixed" as in you can't manually change it with a Knee knob like other models Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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