Reduce dynamics without compressors

[jamcat]

You can adjust the volume of individual notes with Melodyne. Use Editor or Studio for polyphonic guitar parts. It’s a lot quicker and easier than SpectraLayers. The results are better too.

[SybilSztorm]

I'm not an expert on the matter but the only logical thing I would think about is a limiter, you might not be able to force a certain restricted dynamic range with a compressor but with a limiter you can set a ceiling and increase the sound until the dynamic range is so short everything will pretty much sound the same, the level will be even. But bear in mind the transients will be clipped, you would need to find a limiter that gives you a method of clipping with a desirable sound.

Good luck.

[France]

Waves has a voice plugin Vocal Rider that generate volume automation instead of what compressors do.
- that sounds pretty much like what you are after

https://www.waves.com/plugins/vocal-rider

There are probably more brands and plugins that use similar approach.

Since you still have to have reaction times(attack) and knee how to transgress to actual compression the right compressor with the adjusting the knee as well can work.
- so attack, knee, and release fully customizable, as ratio and threshold of course
- I think Image Line has a plugin with custom knee on a compressor

Or some transient designer plugin whatever they are called.
https://www.waves.com/plugins/transx

Combine transient stuff with compressor/limiter maybe.

I second this! Vocal rider is a great tool. You also also automate the volume manually which is more time consuming.

[bencuri]

I have not tried it yet. What do you mean by done correctly? Can you link a tutorial where it is described? I mean the way you refer to?

[zerocrossing]

It has to be said though: you need to practice playing.

Bingo.

[nix808]

It has to be said though: you need to practice playing.

Bingo.

maybe he does need a compressor(or similar solution) for guitar?
I, for one, do
No amount of playing technique will turn up my volume when I have low volume
to the degree I can with an RMS inverse multiplier

to the op: I think you will find you need a realtime solution so you can hear it
when you play, as well as in post recording

[cryophonik]

I agree with some of the others here recommending Vocal Rider - it's designed to do exactly what you're trying to accomplish manually. The best part is that it can be used to write volume automation right into the track in your DAW, so you can go in and fine tune the automation envelope to your liking. Caveat - I don't believe I've ever used it for guitars, but there's no reason that it shouldn't work. Waves also makes a very similar plugin called Bass Rider, but again I've never used it on guitars. You might want to download both demos and see which one works better on guitar.

[zerocrossing]

It has to be said though: you need to practice playing.

Bingo.

maybe he does need a compressor(or similar solution) for guitar?
I, for one, do
No amount of playing technique will turn up my volume when I have low volume
to the degree I can with an RMS inverse multiplier

to the op: I think you will find you need a realtime solution so you can hear it
when you play, as well as in post recording

Sure, I'll use a compressor in front of an amp sometimes, almost mostly as a clean boost, but that's sort of a bit of polish. If your notes are wildly off in a way that's not intended, you should improve your picking technique. Too much compression is going to make your part sound kind of lifeless. Plus, a mid to high gain amp is its own compression.

[nix808]

Sure, I'll use a compressor sometimes

I find I have more consistent sustain
The guitar sounds alive compared to midi guitar,
not dull to me
To emulate high gain in the box,
I imagine compression is an element
(although in an amp sim often,
I just use stomps or fx though(not amps))

atm I'm not using a guitar amp, but 6.5" monitors

-for my lead sound, I think I prefer compression
My playing is off wildly heh, I'm trying though

[SideChainKid]

Not an expert, but compressors that run live (pedal, VST) cannot look into the future. They need a live trigger point and the settings already need to be set how the volume will be shaped. When you manually adjust the volumes of the notes after you recorded them, you have a very different situation and can change a notes volume in its entirety and you can do it differently for each note.

And what you want to do (dynamically adjust the volume) is basically the definition of a compressor.

Since you already have some manually edited tracks: You could keep the original version and the manually edited one side by side and then try in the DAW to get as close as possible to the desired result. You can bounce / analyze the results and compare visually, too. Maybe that helps to learn which compressor and which settings come at least closest?

This is very good advice imo, I would do the same in op’s spot.