Compression

Make-up gain

Allows you to boost the compressed signal, increasing the dynamic of the quieter signals

What compression is required on Acoustic Guitar? Include attack speed, release, knee and ratio

5-10ms attack 50ms release Soft/Hard Knee 5:1 to 10:1 ratio

What is compression?

Controls the dynamic range by reducing the signal by a certain ratio, when the signal passes above a certain threshold (like volume automation) -When the input signal exceeds a predetermined threshold the rate of increase is slowed (or even stopped) beyond that point. -It gives kick drums more 'thump', makes bass sound 'fat'. Importantly, compression makes a mix sound much louder.

Fruity Compressor : Type

Controls the knee type and TCR. (soft/hard) -While attack controls the speed with which compression is applied, the compressor's knee characteristics control the rate at which compression is applied. -Soft means there is a gradual increase from no to full compression as the input volume increases, while hard means the transition from no to full compression is instant once a predefined input level is exceeded.

Fruity Multiband Compressor : C (Compression Meter)

Displays the amount of gain reduction. -Hover your mouse pointer over the peak meter and look at the Hint Bar to see exact values.

Fruity Soft Clipper : Levels display

Displays the compression settings (hold your cursor over the display to see input to output levels mapping in the hint bar). Drag the cursor in the display to change the compression threshold.

Fruity Soft Clipper : Output Meter

Displays the output volume levels of the plugin. -The graph on the plugin shows input (horizontal axis) vs output (vertical axis).

Is compression a dynamic processor or FX?

Dynamic processor

Fruity Soft Clipper

Fruity Soft Clipper is a CPU-friendly soft limiter -It is worth noting that soft knee compression will cause 'saturation' effects when the signal level exceeds the threshold level. -While a little saturation brings 'warmth', too much can sound distorted.

What is the rate of the limiter?

Infinity:1 -Limiter is an intense form of compression.

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : LMH DEL (Low, Medium, High Delay)

Look-ahead delay, used for the LMH band compressors. -The purpose is to allow the compressor algorithm to see transients before they arrive, so they can be reacted to instantly. -This adds latency to the plugin

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) :

Maximus applies level maximization via compression and/or limiting across three frequency bands, to enhance and improve the final track. -Used sparingly, Maximus raises the volume of the track without introducing unwanted distortion and ensures that the quieter parts, often lost in the mix, are more easily heard. -Bass can be increased and higher frequencies sharpened. Selected elements of a mix, instruments or vocals for example, or complete tracks are given a professionally mastered 'presence'.

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : PEAK

Peak detection, best suited for Limiting. -This mode tracks the instantaneous peak level of the input signal and will give the fastest detection of transients and therefore the quickest compression response. -Peak detection is most appropriate when the compressor is used with a high compression ratio, to prevent clipping.

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : Store in spare state (Down arrow symbol)

Saves the current state to the comparison bank. -Lock spare state, under the General options, allows this state to be protected from overwriting.

Fruity Multiband Compressor : IIR/FIR (Filter type)

Select either an IIR (ButterWorth IIR, 24dB/oct) or a FIR (LinearPhase) filter. FIR is recommended for mastering applications.

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : CURVE (Attack & Release 2 curves)

Select from curve 1 (steep slope) to 8 (low slope). -This control sets both the Attack and Release 2 curves.

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : Band slopes

Switches between 12dB and 24dB per octave cutoff slopes. -A higher value maintains greater separation between the boundary frequencies.

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : Flip with spare state (A/B compare)

Selecting this control will allow you to make A/B comparisons between the stored and current settings. -Useful for hearing the effect of a tweak more clearly.

Fruity Multiband Compressor : Filter cutoff

Sets the bands place -Be careful to make sure the bands are in place and not excluding any frequencies.

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : SUSTAIN

Sets the duration over which the input is averaged (RMS), from 0 to 1000 ms. -The effect is to control compressor sustain time and prevents the compression envelope from releasing too early.

Fruity Limiter : Saturation

Signals reaching into red region will be saturated (Amplitude distortion)

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : MORE info

You can go to FL tutorials for tips/tutorials for Maximus

Threshold

The level a signal has to reach before compression is applied

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : Stereo Separation

The stereo separation control increases or reduces unique L/R channel stereo information in the signal. -Uses include narrowing the stereo information in the bass frequencies and add more separation to the high frequencies; a process applied to many master mixes.

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : Compression envelops

There are 4 independent compression envelopes in Maximus, one for each of the three user-definable frequency bands and one for the Master band. -It is important to note that the compression envelope interacts closely with the PRE & POST GAIN, ATT & REL controls.

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : Analysis Display

There are two display modes accessed by selecting the BANDS or MONITOR tabs to the lower right of the display area.

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : THRES (Level and Type) (SATURATION)

There are two types of Saturation A (turn left) and B (turn right). -Sets the threshold by the amount the knob is turned in either direction. Set the type by ear. -NOTE: Adjusting type A saturation (left), while Maximus is processing audio, may cause clicking as a look-up table is re-calculated, this is normal.

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : Frequency Control Section

These controls set the Low-Medium and Medium-High band cut-offs. -You can also select the BANDS view and Left-click and drag the level and cutoff frequency.

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : SATURATION tip

We suggest setting any band you wish to saturate to a hard-limiting envelope and allow the input to peak a little over 0 dB, then blend in some 'Soft-clip' from the saturator. -Superb results can come from a combination of these two.

What is side-chain compression?

Where the compression applied is triggered by an external source, such as drums or rhythmic part

SOUNDGOODIZER

a stereo 'maximizer-enhancer' plugin based on the Maximus soundprocess engine (presets)

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : Combining REL and REL2

Combining both controls will allow you to create more complex release shapes. For example, a release that happens on the off-beat (1/2 beat) is often favoured to create a 'syncopated' ducking or sidechain effect. The compression curve below was triggered with an audio spike.

How much compression is applied if the ratio is ∞:1?

Maximum compression applied, for every dB above will result in the threshold dB being output ∞:1 is called a limiter

Fruity Limiter : Gate

Useful to suppress the noise that sometimes becomes audible in the background.

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : Release curve

-Rel 1 has a accelerating curve (uphill) -Rel 2 has a declerating curve (downhill)

What compression is applied to Drums? Include attack speed, release, knee and ratio

1-5ms attack 20ms release Hard Knee 5:1 to 10:1 ratio

Fruity Limiter : SIGNAL FLOW

1. Compression 2. Gain 3. Limiter and Gain 4. Saturation

What compression is applied to Electric Guitar? Include attack speed, release, knee and ratio

2-5ms attack 50ms release Hard Knee 8:1 ratio

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : LO.CUT

A High-Pass filter on the input of the plugin. -Default value is set to filter frequencies below 20 Hz. -Improves headroom without affecting the quality and depth of the audible bass.

Output

Accentuate or attenuate the level of the signal output from the compressor

What compression is applied to mixes? Include attack speed, release, knee and ratio

Fast attack 40ms release Soft Knee 2:1 to 6:1 ratio

What compression is required on VOX? Include attack speed, release, knee and ratio

Fast attack 50ms release Soft Knee 2:1 to 8:1 ratio

How much compression is applied if the ratio is 2:1?

For every 2 dB above the threshold 1dB will be output

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : PEAK vs RMS NOTE

For the master band, a limiter (PEAK mode) is normally used. -For the other bands, PEAK or RMS is used depending on the desired results. -Most analog compressors work in RMS mode, however peak generally gives better results with complete mixes.

Fruity Limiter : Green

Green = Output

Fruity Compressor : knee type

Hard - 0 dB Medium - 6 dB Vintage - 7 dB Soft - 15 dB - (R) means report latency

What is the difference between hard and soft knee?

Hard knee compression is more defined and aggressive than soft knee compression which is softer and more gradual

Attack

How fast compression is applied once the signal passes above the threshold -Fast attack means that compression will be more or less instant. -Slow attack results in the compression being gradually increased, allowing for more variations in the signal than a fast setting. -Attack should be adjusted according to the type of audio material being used.

Release

How fast the compression is stopped once the signal passes below the threshold -Short release times will make the compression more flexible and able to adapt to the input signal, but can cause fast changes in gain that may sound unpleasant. -Long release times produce a signal with a more even level and less distortion, but make it harder to maximize the overall compression because small variations in signal level will be ignored.

Knee

How hard compression is applied

Fruity Multiband Compressor : Knee

Left 0%=Soft, Right 100%=Hard. -While attack controls how fast a compressor acts, the knee characteristics control the rate at which the full amount of compression is applied.

Fruity Multiband Compressor : Workflow

Left to right Top then bottom

Fruity Multiband Compressor : A/M/B

Lets you select the state as Active (): compressor activated, Muted (): band sound muted, or Bypass (): band sound passed without alteration.

Fruity Multiband Compressor : IN/OUT (Peak Meter)

Located below the peak meter, this switch () displays either the incoming or outgoing signal strength.

Fruity Limiter : Purple

Purple = Input

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : RMS

RMS (or average input) detection. -RMS mode allows transients to pass but the compressor will still respond to longer-duration sounds. It's best suited for compression of instruments or vocals. -RMS is favoured for these duties as it is less likely to affect the transients in the original material and result in a smoother, less aggressive and more natural sounding compression. -NOTE: Don't rely on RMS for any final level control, remember those transients are passing uncompressed.

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : CEIL (Ceiling) (SATURATION)

Soft saturation ceiling. -Represents the maximum amplitude that the simulated analog device can carry. -Lower ceilings create harsher saturation.

Ratio

The amount of compression applied when the threhold is reaches e.g. 3:1

Fruity Multiband Compressor : GAIN

The gain should be adjusted to normalize the signal amplitude after compression, or to control the amount of limiting. -This parameter has an effect during Active and Bypass modes.

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : LMH MIX (Low, Medium, High Mix)

The mix between plugin input & LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH output, - i.e. Turn fully left (counter-clockwise) to pass dry input to the MASTER (0% LMH) and fully right to pass 100% LMH to the MASTER. -Used in 'NY Compression' techniques.

Fruity Multiband Compressor :

Three band stereo compressor using ButterWorth IIR or LinearPhase FIR filters to separate the incoming signal into three bands for processing. -For buses and mastering

Fruity Compressor : When to use

Use the Fruity Compressor on individual sounds in mixer tracks. It is particularly well suited to vocal tracks, individual kick/percussion and bass sounds. -The art of setting a compressor is mainly in fine-tuning the magnitude, speed and timing of the automated gain changes so that the compression process does not introduce artifacts. -Compressing the peak transients in a signal, frees up headroom to raise the gain of the sustained portions of the sound, this step increases loudness.

Fruity Limiter : For more info

Watch fruity limiter series/or compression series

Fruity Multiband Compressor : LIMITER

When selected (ON) the output of the Multiband Compressor will not exceed 0 dB.

MAXIMUS (multiband compressor) : Compression envelope tip

When the time variables (ATT, REL & SUSTAIN) are set to values shorter than frequencies of the waveform, the Compression Envelope behaves as a Waveshaper. -When they are set longer than frequencies in the waveform, volume envelope compression is achieved.