Without getting too mathematical, the ratio of a compressor determines how much gain reduction is applied to a signal after it crosses the threshold. When the signal becomes louder than the threshold, the compressor reduces the gain based on the ratio setting. Instead, you have to use the input gain setting to push the signal up against the threshold. Some compressors, like the UA 1176 and LA-2A feature a fixed threshold, meaning there is no threshold control. The term threshold literally means a line that cannot be crossed without consequence, and in this case, that consequence is gain reduction. The threshold setting controls when the compressor kicks in.
Most compressors feature controls for threshold, ratio and make-up gain in addition to the attack and release settings. In order to understand how to set the attack and release times on a compressor, you need to know how to use the other controls too. In this blog, we’ll break down everything you need to know about attack and release settings to help you learn how to use compressors like a pro. It wasn’t until I mastered the attack and release settings on my favorite compressors that I was able to make tight, cohesive mixes with punchy drums, controlled bass, consistent vocals and a little bit of glue to hold it all together. But my mixes always sounded disconnected, like each of the instruments were mixed separately, in isolation from the other tracks. I would open up whatever plug-in I saw on YouTube and scroll through the presets until I found something that made my tracks sound better.
But I had no idea how to make any of that happen. Instructors had given me countless demonstrations, but I could never really hear the difference between the various settings-especially when it came to the attack and release times.įor months, I would add a compressor to my tracks because I knew I was “supposed to.” I knew that compressors were used to reduce the dynamic range of a signal, which can make tracks sound big and fat, or punchy and exciting. I can still remember when I actually heard the sound of compression for the first time.
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