Is the compressor compressing in both of these examples?

[NewLogic]

So this might be a bit more of a compressor question than a logic question as such. But it's in relation to the logic compressor.

When you have the compressor in graph mode so you can see the white line threshold, is the sound only being compressed when it drops down to the actual sound level, say a bit below the peaks? I've screen grabbed two examples below. The only difference is in B I've dropped the threshold down so it is clipping the peaks visually.

Is the sound being compressed in both examples? In example B I've had to drop the threshold to about -45dB which seems a huge amount more than the books, videos and education tells you. With example A it doesn't sound any different at all though. What's happening here exactly? Thanks.

 

 

[David Nahmani]

Yes, in both examples the sound is being compressed. The white line indicates the amount of compression as read on the scale on the left. 

• In example A you have around -5 dB of compression.
• In example B you have around -15 dB of compression. 

12 minutes ago, NewLogic said:

With example A it doesn't sound any different at all though. What's happening here exactly?

You can see that when the audio is louder, the white line goes down (more compression) = the audio is turned down. When the audio is softer, the white line goes up (Less compression) = the audio is not turned down as much. 

The result should be an overall more consistent level. The louder parts aren't as loud and the softer parts aren't as soft as in the original. 

[NewLogic]

That was a very fast response thank you.

So would example B where there -15 dB of compression generally be considered far too much in most circumstances? Example A is so subtle I can't hear any difference.

I think what I'm not understanding is if the peaks aren't touching the threshold white line on the graph (A), how come it's being compressed? 'Threshold' implies that it needs to hit that level before the compressor activates does it not? I feel like I'm still not understanding something!

[des99]

4 minutes ago, NewLogic said:

I think what I'm not understanding is if the peaks aren't touching the threshold white line

As David says above, that white line is not the threshold level to reach, it's the amount of compression you are seeing with your current settings.

if you're new to compression, it takes a while to learn how to hear it, and how it behaves - it's a normal part of the learning process.

[NewLogic]

Ah right ok. I've only really thought to try the graph view today. I assumed the white line would be a visual representation of the threshold. But I understand now it's not, it's showing the amount of compression. Thank you.

[David Nahmani]

Yes, it's showing the amount of compression, exactly. 

If you don't hear the difference, you should at least see it on your meters. Especially if you turn off auto-gain and zero every other parameter. 

What I suggest to hear the difference is to really exaggerate the compression at first. Low threshold, high ratio. You'll hear it. 

[NewLogic]

Great, I'll try that - thanks.

[David Nahmani]

You're welcome! 🙂