Topic: Compression Question

[Josephine]

I've got a recording that has some pretty heavy applause in the left channel that will need to be compressed.
Should I compress just the left channel, or should I do both?
Thanks in advance.

[Chuck]

Let your ears decide. I'm guessing that both channels will need it, so it sounds the same on both channels, but trust your ears. They will tell you.

[bluntforcetrauma]

my 2 cents

1. dont master audio using headphones ( i am not saying you are) it distorts the entrie sound. always use good speakers
2. dont master audio late at night--your ears change range at night as the semicircular canlas fill with more fluid giving you a thuddy type of hearing.
3. trust your ears--

[jeromejello]

my 2 cents

1. dont master audio using headphones ( i am not saying you are) it distorts the entrie sound. always use good speakers
2. dont master audio late at night--your ears change range at night as the semicircular canlas fill with more fluid giving you a thuddy type of hearing.
3. trust your ears--

sounds like $0.03 

[Sparge Master]

I would do the same compression on both channels since it only kicks in when the threshold is met.

[John Kary]

my 2 cents

1. dont master audio using headphones ( i am not saying you are) it distorts the entrie sound. always use good speakers

I actually disagree with this, but only on one condition.  That condition being you have some headphones better than your typical phones you can buy at Best Buy.
I have had Sennheiser HD570 headphones for the last 2-3 years and listened to every type of music through them with probably a few thousand hours.  I know what music should sound like coming out of these phones, and I do master with them, and things come out great.

The rule I am trying to set is, know your equipment.  Listen to everything you can through your speaker or headphone setup you want to do mastering on.  There is a line to be drawn on equipment quality to do it with, but a decent pair of headphones costs a heck of a lot less than a decent pair of speakers.

[Chuck]

Bob Ludwig uses headphones during the mastering process. HD-580's according to Mike Grace. Of course most of the mastering is done with very nice monitors. I use HD-600's myself. I like to use them to check balance and timber.

[Roving Sign]

Is compression really what you want to use...? I would think some limiting + normalizing might work well also (which is sort of like compression...)

[Josephine]

Is compression really what you want to use...? I would think some limiting + normalizing might work well also (which is sort of like compression...)

After doing some research here on TS re loud clappers a while back (and speaking with a few folks here), I was under the impression that compression would be the best avenue for what I was trying to accomplish.  As I truly consider myself quite the novice when it comes to taping, I am always open to suggestion. 

[Brian Skalinder]

Is compression really what you want to use...? I would think some limiting + normalizing might work well also (which is sort of like compression...)

After doing some research here on TS re loud clappers a while back (and speaking with a few folks here), I was under the impression that compression would be the best avenue for what I was trying to accomplish.  As I truly consider myself quite the novice when it comes to taping, I am always open to suggestion. 

Compression and limiting are basically the same thing - think of limiting as compression simply with a very high ratio.  I'd try compressing both L and R, then just L, see how both sound and decide which your ears like best - that's what really matters, here.

[Brian]

limiting is not compression with a high ratio.  it can be but it is not soley that. 

[Brian Skalinder]

limiting is not compression with a high ratio.  it can be but it is not soley that.

So what else is it, when not?  I've only dabbled a bit in compression/limiting, so looking to learn here, not call you out...

[Brian]

you can put a limiter on a recording that does not allow it to go above say -.3dB and put the threshold at say -1dB.  This is only compressing the transient peaks above -1dB and "limits" your recording so that you do not go over 0dB or clip.

now i've seen compressors where if you push it hard, it has a "limiting" LED that lights up.  To me that "limiting" meant you were limiting the maximum headroom.  let me try to represent it graphically:

1. normal dynamic range:

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2. compression type number 1 (no limiting) also known as "upward compression":

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in this example you've essentially compressed your waveform by raising the noise floor.

3. compression type 3(with limiting); also known as downward compression:



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in this example you have "limited" the maximum dynamic range but maintained the same noise floor.  this is what people call limiting in terms of compression.

I mostly like to use the term limiting when referring to a "mastering limiter" as I described in the first sentance.

[Brian]

oh and then there's the fourth type we like to refer as "squashing"

that's when you limit the maximum level as well as raise the noisefloor.  you hear this on almost every major release today in the pop world 

[Chuck]

Technically a limiter is an audio compressor set at 10:1 or more. Most engineers use them to limit the absolute level of an instrument or recording.