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Basics of Compressors/Limiters

Basics of Compressors/Limiters

LittleWing posted on Sep 19, 2019 #1
LittleWing
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Source: https://www.musicianonamission.com/limiter-vs-compressor/

A limiter is a compressor with a high ratio and, generally, a fast attack time. Compression with ratio of 10:1 or more is generally considered limiting.

When to Use a Compressor

As a general rule, you use compressors on individual instruments and busses.

If your vocal track is too dynamic, you wouldn’t want to put a limiter on it. The strong ratio of a limiter would squash your vocal too much, making it sound unnatural.

The lower ratio of a compressor allows you to control the volume of the vocal in a way that the listener won’t even notice.

Depending on the style of music, you might use compression on every track. Or you might not compress a single thing.


When to Use a Limiter

By and large, your mix bus is the only place you will consistently need to use a limiter. The main goal here is to turn up the overall volume of your mix without distorting your song.


[img]https://www.musicianonamission.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Anatomy-Of-A-Compressor-RGB.jpg[/img]

[img]https://www.musicianonamission.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/How-To-Use-A-Compressor.jpg[/img]

[img]https://www.musicianonamission.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/How-To-Use-A-Limiter-When-Mastering.jpg[/img]
+8
magirtiko posted on Sep 19, 2019 #2
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So much kind and professional :o

Many thanks for your post :)
+3
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wjl posted on Jan 2, 2020 #3
wjl
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Hey friends,

just found this good explanation and example, mostly on vocals here, with a little bit of guitar in the end:

[youtube]yi0J9JsRdI4[/youtube]

Hoping that this is useful for some,

Cheers,
Wolfgang
+6
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