Compression Question

[riffmachine]

Hello all, would someone be willing to give me and explanation and a bit of information on compression please. In particular, I was curious if someone could go into the aspects of Threshold, Attack, and release, and how these parameters can be tweaked for different instruments. For example, how might some of you manipulate those parameters in order to get a focused kick drum sound, or a good guitar sound/bass sound? I assume that because the different instruments have different frequency ranges, you have to approach the parameters differently so as not to kill their tone.

 

[EtherForBreakfast]

Set the knobs in this order:

G
O
O
G
L
E

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

Set the knobs in this order:

G
O
O
G
L
E

Damn!! cough! cough!!! OH!! oh!!! Take it easy on the guy, Ether! Oh snap!!

 

[Paul Steen]

Hope this helps:
http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/articles3.htm

Lots of info about compression.

 

[Sinister Mephisto]

Try this

http://www.practicalpc.co.uk/computing/sound/dynamics1.htm

http://www.practicalpc.co.uk/computing/sound/dynamics2.htm

 

[EtherForBreakfast]

ggi - I didnt mean to sound like a jagoff.

riffmachine - Just saying it might be a good idea to do some google action first before asking for a "cliffs notes" version about a comp/lim and wanting "stock" settings. Start with presets in your host that are labeled "rock kick" or "punchy snare" and take note of the settings used and then tweak them, listen to the changes... become an audio hack-ologist learning by doing.

Here is a very non cliffs notes version... found via google:

http://psbg.emusician.com/ar/emusic_big_squeeze/

 

[EtherForBreakfast]

Hope this helps:
http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/articles3.htm

Lots of info about compression.

Excellent link, Sir Steen! Thanks.

 

[riffmachine]

Hope this helps:
http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/articles3.htm

Lots of info about compression.

thank you very much.

 

[riffmachine]

ggi - I didnt mean to sound like a jagoff.

riffmachine - Just saying it might be a good idea to do some google action first before asking for a "cliffs notes" version about a comp/lim and wanting "stock" settings. Start with presets in your host that are labeled "rock kick" or "punchy snare" and take note of the settings used and then tweak them, listen to the changes... become an audio hack-ologist learning by doing.

Here is a very non cliffs notes version... found via google:

http://psbg.emusician.com/ar/emusic_big_squeeze/

Point taken, thanks for the link. I'm in the basic learning stage with all technical stuff, so I must have a lot of elementary questions. Sometimes I find it a bit difficult to wade through the technical jargon of some of the definitions, so I just kind of went for the shortcut.