What term: "Push compressor hard" means?

[loscolorados]

I read, that when you push compessors hard, you can hear the differences in flava between them. How you push compressor hard?

[BillSimpkins]

A lot of gain reduction. Usually over 10-20 db gain reduction.

[RightOnRome]

Originally Posted by loscolorados

I read, that when you push compessors hard, you can hear the differences in flava between them. How you push compressor hard?

i could mean pumping ..its when the attack and release are working contstantly ..it sounds unnateral .. somtimes you want that ..somtimes you need that.. some times you just use a distressor and.. forgetaboutit

[Kiwi]

Hit the input with a hot signal. Or crank up the input gain if it's a model that works that way. Analog gear in general has a 'sweet spot' which is where the input and output voltages are in the designed region of operation for the components used. Using them with a lower input signal means the signal is too close to the noise floor, so this gives a poor signal-to-noise. Cranking them too hot can cause distortion, as the voltages exceed the designed parameters of the components (e.g. transformers, transistors,tubes, etc).

But many analog devices actually can sound good when they distort a bit. Distortion doesn't necessarily mean high gain guitar-like fuzz - most of this gear is trying to be clean, but it can add harmonics and a bit of dirt when pushed.

Then there is the compressor action itself, which is another form of 'distortion', and you will hear this best when slamming it.

I like to hear what happens when you abuse something - if it sounds pleasing when distorted, it's merely a matter of taste as to how hard you choose to hit it. But some gear sounds really bad when it starts to distort, so with that gear you need to allow plenty of headroom and stay away from that zone.

[loscolorados]

Originally Posted by BillSimpkins

A lot of gain reduction. Usually over 10-20 db gain reduction.

like limiter?

[loscolorados]

Originally Posted by RightOnRome

i could mean pumping ..its when the attack and release are working contstantly ..it sounds unnateral .. somtimes you want that ..somtimes you need that.. some times you just use a distressor and.. forgetaboutit

you mean fast attack and relese?

[loscolorados]

Originally Posted by Kiwi

Hit the input with a hot signal. Or crank up the input gain if it's a model that works that way. Analog gear in general has a 'sweet spot' which is where the input and output voltages are in the designed region of operation for the components used. Using them with a lower input signal means the signal is too close to the noise floor, so this gives a poor signal-to-noise. Cranking them too hot can cause distortion, as the voltages exceed the designed parameters of the components (e.g. transformers, transistors,tubes, etc).

But many analog devices actually can sound good when they distort a bit. Distortion doesn't necessarily mean high gain guitar-like fuzz - most of this gear is trying to be clean, but it can add harmonics and a bit of dirt when pushed.

Then there is the compressor action itself, which is another form of 'distortion', and you will hear this best when slamming it.

I like to hear what happens when you abuse something - if it sounds pleasing when distorted, it's merely a matter of taste as to how hard you choose to hit it. But some gear sounds really bad when it starts to distort, so with that gear you need to allow plenty of headroom and stay away from that zone.

Is hitting input, like lowering the threshold?
I didn't know that output of compressor changes the sound

Im getting into parallel compression for vocal, something like michael brauer this day's

[Enlightened Hand]

Originally Posted by loscolorados

Is hitting input, like lowering the threshold?
I didn't know that output of compressor changes the sound

No; it means to intentionally feed it a "hot" signal (a signal that registers high on your level meters). That way the compressor will start to distort a bit (or maybe more than "a bit") just by virtue of it's circuit being fed a level that is way higher than necessary. This usually produces a pleasing sound depending on the specific compressor you're using. Not all compressors react the same way though. So it's really a matter of which compressor specifically you're "hitting hard".

Lowering the threshold is telling the compressor what signal level it should start compressing at.

[nosebleedaudio]

Originally Posted by loscolorados

I read, that when you push compessors hard, you can hear the differences in flava between them. How you push compressor hard?

To me it simply means MORE compression...

[Zooey]

Originally Posted by nosebleedaudio

To me it simply means MORE compression...

Same here. More compression, more gain reduction, however you want to put it.

[theblue1]

Originally Posted by Kiwi

Hit the input with a hot signal. Or crank up the input gain if it's a model that works that way. Analog gear in general has a 'sweet spot' which is where the input and output voltages are in the designed region of operation for the components used. Using them with a lower input signal means the signal is too close to the noise floor, so this gives a poor signal-to-noise. Cranking them too hot can cause distortion, as the voltages exceed the designed parameters of the components (e.g. transformers, transistors,tubes, etc).

But many analog devices actually can sound good when they distort a bit. Distortion doesn't necessarily mean high gain guitar-like fuzz - most of this gear is trying to be clean, but it can add harmonics and a bit of dirt when pushed.

Then there is the compressor action itself, which is another form of 'distortion', and you will hear this best when slamming it.

I like to hear what happens when you abuse something - if it sounds pleasing when distorted, it's merely a matter of taste as to how hard you choose to hit it. But some gear sounds really bad when it starts to distort, so with that gear you need to allow plenty of headroom and stay away from that zone.

Kiwi's on the money.

Originally Posted by loscolorados

Is hitting input, like lowering the threshold?
I didn't know that output of compressor changes the sound

Im getting into parallel compression for vocal, something like michael brauer this day's

Read his post again. He's suggesting that you must optimize the gain structure so that you are running not just your source at its optimal level but also the compressor within its optimal range.

With regard to compressors changing the sound -- why else would you use an effect besides to change the sound?

Depending on the level and type of compression, your sound may be radically modified, both in dynamics as well as perceived tonal balance (because of the basic process of compression, that tonal balance often shifts lower). And, of course, nowadays, we have much more access to multi-band compressors and compressor plugins and, with those tools, we can target our compression to certain frequency ranges and modify the sound with far greater control.

[wineredno1]

To hit 'it' hard in my world is to crank the input. But everyone's world is different.
I have some 1176 clones with input and output transformers fitted and cranking them hard on input and output sounds superb. But thats not the point of the post and I'm waffling.

[nosebleedaudio]

One fact some of you may be forgetting is that not ALL compressors have this ability to change the sound simply by hitting it Harder...Transformerless for example..
Also this thinking would also have to Include Eq's...

[Go Nigel Go]

If you feed it a hot signal or increase the gain at the input, you can apply compression to areas of the signal that would ordinarily be too quiet to be effected without extreme threshold settings. By doing this you can reduce the overall dynamic variation in the performance and stay in the "sweet spot" where the compressor doesn't sound artificial or suffer from a noisy make up gain stage. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you are trying to do, but if you want the source to be uniformly "loud" throughout the song, squeezing the dynamic range with a compressor will get the job done. Also as others have noted, you can get some vibe from the electronics (much like the electronic "character" of different guitar amp circuitry) in this way. That can also be good or bad...