DP is not FX

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DP is not FX 2006-03-16T15:34:38+00:00 Just an observation that irks me a little. Effects has become a generic name for anything that you do to a sound. But that is just not true...kinda similar to the term pistol being a generic term for all hand guns (fwiw a pistol and a revolver are both handguns, but a revolver is not a pistol). I don't know if it's a by-product of so many vsts or what...but as of the last few years a compressor is considered an effect. True when using it as an effect it is an effect. But under normal circumstances compression, eqs, limiters, gates, exciters and such are not effects at all. They are dynamic processors. I know here I will call them effects because if I don't I won't make sense, but when I'm dealing with other producers and musicians of my generation we call it what it is, DP. Yeah it doesn't make a big difference does it? Sure it does, because as a result some people do not understand the nature of the two and end up getting the wrong thing. An example is here today, someone asked for vocal effects...and I am quite sure that his question was answered as he intended it. However a channel strip is not an effect, reverb, delay..they are both effects that may be added to the channel strip...but in this case Voxformer is not an effect, nor is de-essing (actually that's like removing an effect), compressing or gating. From google about channel strips One of multiple identical sections in a mixing console from the mic preamp and phantom power (if present) to the bus outputs, and typically includes the input pad, EQ, and signal routing, including pan, effect sends and effects returns, and main channel fader, and optionally an automation interface. There is one channel strip per mixer input. Note it says a channel strip has effect send and returns. Granted Voxformer does not have sends or returns, but it is part of the signal chain. Really Voxformer isn't a channel strip either, but dynamic processing. From Google on DP Dynamics processing is simply what the name implies ... manipulating the dynamics of an audio signal. The two processes with which we are most familiar with are compression and limiting. Compression and limiting involve automatically lowering the signal as the level of one signal increases, thereby reducing, restricting or limiting the dynamic range. See that is not reverb, delay, flange, ect...those are effects. So what the hell difference does it make? Well imo I find that people are confused and expectations are not met because of miscommunications in life as it is. But when it comes to DP/FX it can be really confusing. People buy compressors, limiters and subtle dynamic processors and expect it to be a magic box that makes everything radio ready, pro sounding and finishes the project. All true, however when they start tweaking they do not hear these great feats of magic, soon they blame the piece...but it's not so...they have the wrong tool, or are mis-using the correct tool because of a fundemental lack of knowledge. As a rule (I understand that we do use DP as an effect sometimes, I speak in general) an effect is something that should be heard, dynamic processing is something that no one should know is there. So I hope for an intelligent thread about the differences between the two and why it's important so that all of us can have a better understanding of what we need for the task at hand...ultimately I would like to see people (myself included, because there is always so much to learn) understand the differences between the two, understand the techniques to use each effectively so they benefit us the best they can. Even if you're going to use DP as an effect you will understand the best way to do so. I think it's important to have them in their proper categories. So there it is flame me, support me, but let's get a good educational thread here about effects/dp and which is which that everyone can learn from...:) Hink https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=8838

DWb DWb https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=55205: KVRAF; 1811 posts since 18 Jan, 2005 from Lost in the blinding whiteness of the tundra

Post by DWb » Thu Mar 16, 2006 5:47 pm

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Well, I thought Hink's definitions were both sensible definitions of something, but they aren't compatible unless you change one of the instances of 'dynamic processing' to some other term. In my opinion the first one doesn't make sense as a definition of a DP.

Yeah, I see what you mean about the electric instruments, but was quoting more or less verbatim and couldn't be bothered making it more accurate...

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