Question about compression...

[Hed]

Well I'm a newbie about this and as far as I can, I'm reading lots of "articles-reviews" about meaning and use of compression, EQ, filters and stuff like that...well, there's lotta tricks and notions going down...btw, I usually make beats (I mean mostly drums) using sampled drum loops and samples played through MIDI tracks or "samples cut&paste" through Pro Tools LE, well I'm wondering do you think is it suggested applying compression also to loops??
I read about one-shot sample compression, but nothing about loops...then I also tought: if I actually sample a loop from a record (that it's supposed to have been compressed and EQed...), why should I re-compress it?!
I don't know if you guys understand what I mean.

Thanks in advance.

Hed

[Anonyme]

Try what sounds best for you...

[Melly]

compression could be used in many ways.. If i have a drum loop for example, this drum loop has an open hat that comes every couple of bars.... Its kinda low.. comression might help bring that out more...or if u want to distort a sound and make it sound small and crushed.. its all by taste.. thumbsup

[Igotsoul4u]

This is from the distressor manual. it kinda gives you an idea of some sample settings and suggestions. It also has alot of the "buzz" words used to describe compression that can help understand what compression is doing.

EXAMPLE SETTINGS

Generally, it is difficult to make the unit sound unnatural due to its vintage topology. The ratio and release times are the most critical settings. Again, around 5 on the release knob is a good starting spot. The attack is variable from 50uS to 30mS. The release is variable from 50mS to 3 seconds. For percussive material, if you need to add attack, add attack. That is, slow the attack by turning the knob clockwise towards 10. Conversely, if you need to get rid of some pick noise, or over transient sounds, the fast attack and release is the way to go. With these tools, an engineer can mold the envelope of sounds in a very controlled manner, adding or softening attack, sustaining, smoothing and evening until the sounds fit into the mix as desired.

Vocals
Turn off all distort modes if you're going to tape, however the High-pass (HP) in both the detector and audio paths may be useful. Set ratio to 6:1 or less, attack 5, release 4. Adjust input to produce anywhere from 3 to 17 dB of compression. Sometimes the band emphasis setting is effective for those dynamic, "piercing" vocal passages. On mixdowns Dist 2 can add a warm edge to vocals. The "Opto" mode in 10:1 is guaranteed to give you a classic compression curve. Try 10:1, with attack on 10, release on 0. Separate detector circuitry will be enabled.

Bass
4:1, 6:1 turn attack on 5, release 4. The distortion audio modes sound great on bass, but caution should be observed if you are going to tape. You cannot un-distort. If you have a very "clacky" bass player, sometimes the band emphasis in the detector just flattens that stuff out. Use fast attack and release times to keep "clacks" from pumping. Also, try "Opto" mode.

Elec. guitar
A wide range of settings can be used. To get rid of edgy attacks, use quick attack, medium release. To smooth out solos, try the band emphasis in the detector to pull up the lower, softer notes and push back and sustain the higher, and often, thinner notes. Try "Opto".

Acoustic guitar
We've been told by a couple of engineers that the Distressor is one of the best sounding units for acoustic they've ever heard. Use 6:1, [ 7, 2, 5, 7] settings (i.e. Input 7, Attack 2, Release 5, Output 7). High-pass (HP) is often useful in both detector and audio modes. The fast attack will get you a "glassy" full sound since the pick noise will be attenuated and the sustain lengthened.

Piano/Keys
Start with quick attack (0-4) and medium release (4-6). Acoustic pianos often need less attack to fit into a mix, but there are millions of exceptions. Bruce Hornsbyish pianos are often real or samples of real pianos with medium attack and medium release, getting that "bite" followed by sustained body. Try attack 5, rel 5. Opto mode is very nice here, too. Sometimes brittle high notes can be extra compressed by using the "band emphasis" detector mode.

Drums
Start by keeping the attack over 3 to keep transients. Play with decay to get more or less "in your face" sounds. Because of the wide range of attack, the Distressor puts the drum "percusiveness" much more into the engineer's control than the older, classic units.

Snares/Kicks/Toms - Try [3:1 6,5,5,6].
Shorten decay if you need to bring up "after ring". If a tom has too much attack , turn attack down between 0 - 4. If crackling from L.F., modulation occurs, play with longer attack or release times, or Det HP. Since you can load compression on without sounding funny, watch "mic leakage" which can become a problem. Kick drums sound great using Opto mode (10:1, attack on 10, release 0) and Det HP on.

[Hed]

Thank you guys!
Pretty helpful!

Hed_A.D.S.

[blayz2002]

Another technique might be to use multi band compression on loops or breaks...say if you liked the snare sound but the kik was a bit over powering you can dial in frequencies to tighten up the low end whilst leaving the snare in tact. You can also do the same with other frequencies in the loop.