Seeing as we have 5dB of headroom, let's say we really want to crank our bass loop and set the makeup gain to 5dB - now our quietest moment is -25dB, loudest moment is back up to -10dB and the dynamic range is still 15dB.

Hand-in-hand with the compression or reduction part of the process is the gain makeup stage, which allows us now to push the level of the entire signal up by a uniform amount. Thus, our new total dynamic range is 15dB (-15-(-30)=15), giving us what can be referred to as 5dB of 'headroom' (the difference between the previous maximum amplitude and the new peak level). In other words, the actual compression part of the process attempts to reduce the maximum level the loop is reaching - let's say we've knocked off 5dB from the loud part of our bass loop, giving us a new maximum amplitude of -15dB. If we add a compressor to this signal, given we've adjusted its settings appropriately, we'll begin to reduce this difference between the loudest and quietest moments of our bass loop. For example, let's say our loud part is -10dB and the quiet part is -30dB, leaving us with a total dynamic range of 20dB (-10-(-30)=20). Let's say we're working with a bass synth loop with no processing applied - the difference between the loudest and quietest moments in the loop is its dynamic range. I firmly believe that understanding every element of compression intimately and asking yourself the right questions whilst using it can only lead to better mixes and, ultimately, better music!Īt its most basic, compression is the reduction of the total dynamic range of a given audio signal. In this tutorial, I will describe compression's essential elements and will be outlining what I regard as 3 of the most important uses of the humble device in a companion compression tutorial later. Compressors are nothing short of audio work-horses - they can be used in countless ways to solve countless mixing issues and when used in the right fashion, can totally transform the dynamic character of a piece of music for the better. Compression is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most fundamental aspects of mixing and, by extension, electronic music production in general.

Compression level echofon