Is there any other different use for a compressor? My friend said that he use compressor sometime to balance the bright and dark of an instrument... is this true?
Compress Synth and VST is not needed, right?
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 16 posts since 29 Jun, 2016 from Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh
Commonly, a compressor compress loud volume and bring up low volume. So an instrument track doesn't need compression if they are a VST and have every note play on the same velocity? is this true?
Is there any other different use for a compressor? My friend said that he use compressor sometime to balance the bright and dark of an instrument... is this true?
Is there any other different use for a compressor? My friend said that he use compressor sometime to balance the bright and dark of an instrument... is this true?
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- KVRAF
- 4590 posts since 7 Jun, 2012 from Warsaw
Velocity is input midi value. Compressor affects output sound level, which can vary drastically even if you hold one key still.Commonly, a compressor compress loud volume and bring up low volume. So an instrument track doesn't need compression if they are a VST and have every note play on the same velocity? is this true?
Sorry, we don't know if your friend is telling truth or cheating you.My friend said that he use compressor sometime to balance the bright and dark of an instrument... is this true?
If he's indeed your friend, you should ask him.Blog ------------- YouTube channel
Tricky-Loops wrote: (...)someone like Armin van Buuren who claims to make a track in half an hour and all his songs sound somewhat boring(...)
Tricky-Loops wrote: (...)someone like Armin van Buuren who claims to make a track in half an hour and all his songs sound somewhat boring(...)
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lectrixboogaloo lectrixboogaloo https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=324338
- KVRist
- 229 posts since 11 Mar, 2014
eh, a compressor can be used to fix 'jumpy' or uneven playing or smooth out vocal dynamics that are too wide for a recording. and general etc. of course, yup.
but it is also a good dynamic shaper for playing 'into' as a general effect (rock and country guitar folks playing into compressor pedals) for manipulating an instrument's natural volume envelope and/or making its timbrel changes more prominent. 'balance the bright and dark of an instrument', sure. you may often want the timbre differences of an instrument/performance to be heard but the wide dynamics resulting from that to be less heard.
but it is also a good dynamic shaper for playing 'into' as a general effect (rock and country guitar folks playing into compressor pedals) for manipulating an instrument's natural volume envelope and/or making its timbrel changes more prominent. 'balance the bright and dark of an instrument', sure. you may often want the timbre differences of an instrument/performance to be heard but the wide dynamics resulting from that to be less heard.
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- KVRAF
- 2110 posts since 5 Oct, 2015 from Swedish / Living in Hong Kong
Compressor can bring color to a track. For compressors with mid/side compression it can give a better stereo field and a compressor can be used to get sounds more snappy by setting a longer attack time and fast recovery time. It can also bring more "body" to sounds like a snare or kick by doing the opposite, i.e short attack time and longer recovery time. Just to mention a few things.
Win 10 -64bit, CPU i7-7700K, 32Gb, Focusrite 2i2, FL-studio 20, Studio One 4, Reason 10
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 16 posts since 29 Jun, 2016 from Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh
What I'm trying to say is that, velocity affect the volume and timbre of the note. So if a single note play over and over again with same velocity = same dynamic and timbre. Which mean, there are no dynamic change here. So with a subtle compression, it doesn't make any difference.DJ Warmonger wrote: Velocity is input midi value. Compressor affects output sound level, which can vary drastically even if you hold one key still.
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 16 posts since 29 Jun, 2016 from Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh
ATN69 wrote:Compressor can bring color to a track. For compressors with mid/side compression it can give a better stereo field and a compressor can be used to get sounds more snappy by setting a longer attack time and fast recovery time. It can also bring more "body" to sounds like a snare or kick by doing the opposite, i.e short attack time and longer recovery time. Just to mention a few things.
Thanks for clearing this for me, this help me understand a little bit better about the use of compressor now.
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- KVRAF
- 3060 posts since 10 Nov, 2013 from Germany
Even if your sound has a simple on-off gate shape (no decay or release) the compressor will change the attack transient.phantamquyen wrote: What I'm trying to say is that, velocity affect the volume and timbre of the note. So if a single note play over and over again with same velocity = same dynamic and timbre. Which mean, there are no dynamic change here. So with a subtle compression, it doesn't make any difference.
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- KVRian
- 626 posts since 15 Jun, 2015
Nope, the filter envelope is used to change the timbre over time, which can also result in a change of volume. And the amp envelope is used to directly control the volume over time. That's the fun part of synthesizers--the sound evolves, even with a single key press.phantamquyen wrote:What I'm trying to say is that, velocity affect the volume and timbre of the note. So if a single note play over and over again with same velocity = same dynamic and timbre. Which mean, there are no dynamic change here. So with a subtle compression, it doesn't make any difference.
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- KVRist
- 236 posts since 3 May, 2006
And velocity *can* be sent to the filter to change timbre, or to volume, but it doesn't have to be. If you say, route a lot of velocity to volume then you might want to compress to even out the volume of uneven playing. Of course the simpler solution in that case would be to turn down the amount of velocity routed to volume and then you don't need to run the whole thing through a compressor.
More generally, with a flexible synth, you can probably reprogram your synth sound so that you don't *need* to compress it afterward. But if you just have a played synth track, there is certainly nothing wrong with compressing it to sit more nicely in the track (or who knows, maybe you want to expand it to give it more movement). The only difference between recordings of synths and of real instruments as far as needing compression is that, unlike a real instrument, you can at least in principle reprogram your synth so it doesn't need any compression.
More generally, with a flexible synth, you can probably reprogram your synth sound so that you don't *need* to compress it afterward. But if you just have a played synth track, there is certainly nothing wrong with compressing it to sit more nicely in the track (or who knows, maybe you want to expand it to give it more movement). The only difference between recordings of synths and of real instruments as far as needing compression is that, unlike a real instrument, you can at least in principle reprogram your synth so it doesn't need any compression.
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- KVRian
- 549 posts since 9 Aug, 2005 from USA
I find that often a limiter used sparingly is a better choice then a compressor.phantamquyen wrote:Commonly, a compressor compress loud volume and bring up low volume. So an instrument track doesn't need compression if they are a VST and have every note play on the same velocity? is this true?
Is there any other different use for a compressor? My friend said that he use compressor sometime to balance the bright and dark of an instrument... is this true?
In some cases, confining the midi velocity data can also work, especially on bass.
