[sdiy] Advice

[jhaible at debitel.net]

> Am Montag, 02.02.04 um 20:33 Uhr schrieb Cornutt, David K:
> 
> > The other problem often seen in home recording is that the
> > playback level is low, the mix is noisy, and the sound is
> > indistinct and lacks dynamics ("punch").
> [...]
> > Second tip: do try a compressor,
> 
> Seems a contradiction to me. A compressor lowers the dynamics, so it's 
> no good if dynamics are already lacking.
> 
> IMHO many recordings lack dynamics *because* of the over-use of 
> compressors.


Very true. But high dynamic range and "punch" are two quite different
things. 
Compression creating "punch" means (as far as I understand it) 
preserving some of the initial dynamics in the attack phase
of a sonic event (by choosing a not-so-fast attack time for the
compressor), but bringing the "sustain part" of the sonic
event *up* in its level. So you have the (original) attack phase
(undesturbed from comressor, maybe a little distorted when
it hits the ceiling somewhere else in the signal path), then
a "reduced" decay phase or even a second attack phase, as the 
compressor kicks in, and a raised sustain level.

My favorite recording of high compression, creating "punch"
is Peter Gabriels "Mercy Street" on the Secret World Live EP.

Latest example (for me) of great music that is partly ruined
with over compression: Tori Amos' "Scarlet's Walk".

JH.


-------------------------------------------------
debitel.net Webmail