New Groove3 video: Compression Explained... looks interesting

I have bought a lot of their training tutorials sight unseen and never been disappointed. I am sure the same would apply to a compression tutorial. It will be very professional and well done. And it will be more general I would imagine making it useful for a wide variety of compressors that you may end up using.

I am going to get it as a sound engineering teacher and get the students to run it and practice doing what they may suggest in that tutorial. 

If you go to the Groove 3 website you can run one of the movies from this tutorial. It is called Common Controls and runs for 14 mins. Check it out to see if it what you may be after.

  I have several Groove 3 products and have been inpressed by the good information they provide. Del

  Truckermusic, I am interested in getting the "Effects' video and was wondering if the discussion on compressors was complete enough (I do have a basic working knowledge of how compressors work)so that I wouldn't have to get the video just on compressors. (not good in math). Anyway, "Effects" sounds like it just covers the basics, correct? And for the price I suspect that its not worth being to concerned over. I did want a good thorough video covering the different effects (reverb, compression, delays etc.) Thanks again

Downloading the video now.

Also, Thanks Jeff for the thread that gives advice on the setup procedure.

Kind regards,
Rick

Jeff Evans


It might be a challenge to really hear the audio effects of a compressor well on a soundtrack to a video but I am sure it can be done. I think it's one thing to explain the principal operation of a compressor and even what the controls do but there is always room for improvement in terms of the process one goes through to get a good setting on any track or buss.

I have brought this up before but this thread that I started some time back does give some advice on procedure.

http://forum.cakewalk.com/tm.aspx?m=2116921 

If you start fiddling around in the wrong order you may end up not ever getting a good sound using a compressor. The reason Attack is good to set first because if its too fast it will jump on destroy any transients that are present. From that point on any setting of other controls will only vary how much of this you hear. But get the Attack right for the transient part of your sound or mix then you have already achieved a good start before moving onto Release which is also a bit elusive to set as well. This one is about the groove and how the compressor is returning back in terms of the groove. Smaller ratios make things sound bigger. Try using lower ratios and work up not the other way around. Threshold almost determines how much of that total compressor action comes into play over your track or mix now.

Don't rule out some great mags in terms of learning. Computer Music have recently released two editions of their mag devoted entirely to a subject. These types of editions are good value. No ads just great articles and tutorials on one subject usually. They also have DVD's full of great free VST's, sounds and the tutorials to practice with. There are two Computer Music editions worth getting right now. One on Effects and the other on Mixing. I have found here in Australia not all the newsagents have these mags and you have to look into finding the shops that do. 

Jeff
(with all due respect to you cause I know you know way more than I do here)
I some what agree with you on being able to hear the audio effects on a video.......but with this one I actually did.....it was crystal clear...He used it on a snare drum and as he did so he said "listen for this" and then play the sample......for what ever reason (maybe casue I am old an decrepit) I have a VERY HARD TIME hearing compression on tracks and in instruments as others do....it takes me a long time for it to jump out at me.....but on this video he made it real simple and I actually heard it so it gave me a starting point at which to point my attention......
 
but that is just me......
 
On the Computer Music Mag......
1. I totally agree with you concerning their "Special Editions" like Mixing and Effects etc...
2. If you are finding a hard time at the stand try on line.....it takes me about 3 weeks to get it once ordered but at least is shows up and it is easy to snag...
3. about the tutorials.....just be a bit careful cause sometimes they leave steps out.....(by mistake of course I am sure)
4. I have been using them for a few years now and they just keep getting better....5. but they are a nice reference souce
 
anyway just my 2 cents.
Clifford
 
P.S. I used your approach referenced in your response above on many occasions and it did help me a lot....it was a great starting place for me....

Jeff Evans


Hi Clifford good to hear from you. Yeah thanks for the kind words about some of my ideas. It is hard at first to really hear compression effects. 

Some have asked me for example with my approach of doing ARRT (Attack, Release, Ratio, Threshold) what do you do with the other parameters while working with the first parameter.

Well I start with the fastest Attack setting so the compressor is going to do the most damage to the front edge of the sound. Ratio can be high and start with the threshold  at maximum so compressor is doing nothing to the sound. Now we lower the threshold so the compressor is well and truly working.  Back to the Attack. It should be smashing the front edge transient and making the snare say sound horrible. Now we slow the attack down to get the sound nice and cracking again. That is where the attack ends up. Do it on a snare track and you will hear what I mean.

Release demands different type of instrument. Bass is a good one for getting into Release settings. The original thread talks about how to set Release. If it's a whole mix then you are listening for something slightly different. In mastering this parameter tends to effect how in your face the mix ends up. 

Ratio and Threshold in a way are easier to set. They can be a bit hard to hear as well. In mastering they effect the evenness of the mix and how much of that professional glue you are starting to pour over the original unmastered mix dynamics. Smaller Ratios make things sound big and visa versa. Threshold also determines how much rms level your mix is going to gain as well.

I just find the mags interesting because although I am mostly familiar with a lot of what they may talk about eg effects there are always signal paths and fx ideas I never thought about and are well worth trying. I see them as input for new ideas and concepts.

 
Jeff
Yep.. But like I said, I am still a beginner at it.....However, say like if I solo an instrument like a snare, I can and do hear the effects of compression very clearly...however how compression effects that instrument while the track is playing...I um still have a ways to go...But I at least have a start.......I am just a little heavy handed still.....but with time and pratice I will get better....
 
sometimes when working I find that if I close my eyes while turning the attack and threshold knobs will force me to use my ears (instead of my eyes) to listen to what is being done to the signal.......I can always then visually check when I reach a sound that I like.....
 
For instance right now I am trying to set up some of my own  PreSets for my Superior Drummer Kits and focused on my ear listening rather than my visual ......One trick I am starting to use is I compare my settings (for let's say a snare) with a name artist's preset and I'm finding that I am not that far out of the ball park......in fact one trick I learnt just this morning was that my vol levels between the Top and Bottom heads are more of a culprit of descripency than my compressor settings.......Can't wait to get home tonite to try this out and adjust them......
 
Anyway.....sorry to ramble....but yeh, right now I'm am learning so much especially on the technique side....and I do agree with you on the Magazine idea's....They are a nice souce for additional idea's plus ya even get samples to fool with....or to give you idea's....
 
just my 2 cents.....
Have a great day sir
Clifford

On the whole closing your eyes and using your ears approach, I love it. I use it with lots of things. Attack for example I'll push the attack to one extreme (eg short) with my eyes closed or not looking, then I'll push it back to the opposite extreme (eg long) and then kind of keep bouncing back and forth, slowly making those bounces less and less until it settles where it wants to settle. Kind of like a pendulum. You get it swinging and it goes back and forth till it slowly comes to equilibrium. In this case, equilibrium is the correct sound. I like it because you hear the full capability of the setting, you can hear exactly what happens in both sides of the extreme to tune your ear into the effect and this lets you hear the subtle positions well as your ear is already tuned to what's happening.

I love it with applying eq too. Finding the right frequency I'll sweep up and back up and back and it'll just tell me where it wants to sit. I find you can get very accruate positions that way.

As for the approach of starting at one extreme and slowly pulling back till it sounds right, you might get a different result than if you started from the opposite extreme and pulled back till it sounded right. Your ear tunes quickly to one aspect of the effect so when it feels right, you have no ear for the converse side of the effect, and you might not get it right. Going back and forth gives you kinda like an average from both extremes and can kick it spot on.

I use it a lot when color balancing in photo shop. I don't know what to look for with colors, so go back and forth till it just looks right, ignoring the original position. More often than not, I land right back on the same place I started, and that tells me the color is already perfect and doesn't even need to be adjusted in the first place! But I don't have the experience to have known that before.

At least that's what I find works well for me! I call it The Pendulum Method :)

cclarry


I watched the "free" chapter, and he discussed 4 different compressors...

The Waves C-1
Logic's compressor, that comes with the program
Sonalksis compressor, and
T-Racks CL compressor (Classic)

He talked about controls and gave examples using each one..

It was somewhat generic, but quite informative...
I have several of the Groove 3 vids...including Effects Explained,
which, as was mentioned, is somewhat generic also...

I would like the Compression Video and the Reverb Video
and when they have sale on them BOTH at the same time
or a package deal I'll pick them up.

Thanks cclarry, I'll keep an eye open for a sale as well.