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Compression?

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checht:
My spouse complained that live recordings are 'just too quiet, then too loud'.

It seemed to me that for her car/work listening, she wants compressed and normalized waves. So I took a recording and compressed it in Audacity with default settings, compressed based on peaks checked.
.
She loved it, so I shared with a few friends, who liked it more than the original.

On first listening, I didn't hear any substantial artifacts, though I need to take a listen on my reference AKG cans.

So, wondering about this in general, and whether others have used compression in their mastering workflow, either as a usual step or just for a show with crazy dynamic range.

I've attached screenshots of the original waves and then compressed version.

Thoughts?

Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B):
I would say I use compression in the vast majority of my recordings. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but it's rare that I don't add at least some compression. I'll also run a small amount of EQ.

Basically I do whatever I want to make the recording sound the best to MY ears. If it sounds good to others, cool, but I make my recordings for myself. I'm also open to sending RAW files to anyone that wants to do their own mastering, but I've never really had anyone take me up on that. I do think many regular folk prefer compression because it sounds more like official recordings.

From my experience I think it's best to sleep on (or at least take a break from) the final product. Frequently my ears get tired from working on a recording and I think it helps to take a break and come back later to confirm I'm happy with what I've done.

Gutbucket:
^Totally.

checht, here's a thread on one way to bring up the quiet parts while not doing damage to transients and loud parts (the loud parts and transients are where the compression distortions are most egregious when standard compression is not set carefully)- https://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=137594.msg1786634#msg1786634

This is even easier to do these days now that many software EQ's offer a Dry/Wet control, which can provides the same "parallel" or "bottom up" compression effect if set correctly.  But I still think it's most useful to do it manually at first using the copied channel method to really hear and understand what's going on, then try to duplicate that without channel duplication just using the dry/wet control and other appropriate settings.

morst:

Funny you should mention it, I've been about to share the news about this new book coming out in February 2019, by Craig Anderton about Dynamic Processing!


https://www.halleonardbooks.com/product/viewproduct.action?itemid=269501


How to Use Dynamics Processing
 (This is a new product that is not yet available but may be pre-ordered.)
Series: Musician's Guide Home Recordg
Publisher: Hal Leonard Books
Format: Softcover
Author: Craig Anderton
Release Date: 02/13/2019
$14.99 (US)
Inventory #HL 00269501
ISBN: 9781540024978
UPC: 888680738754
Width: 7.25"
Length: 9.0"
144 pages
(Prices and availability subject to change without notice.)

heathen:

--- Quote from: checht on December 04, 2018, 07:04:28 PM ---She loved it, so I shared with a few friends, who liked it more than the original.

--- End quote ---

This isn't really surprising because it's well established that we tend to prefer music that's louder.  That's why it's essential to match loudness when comparing audio, and it's what led to the "Loudness Wars."

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