Compression - Attack and Release I would like some advice on compression

Recording & Production
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Good evening everyone. I want to share something I’m very unsure about, and I’d appreciate your help.

I practice every day to be able to listen and understand the changes made with each parameter, but I can’t figure out what I should keep in mind or what I should listen for.

With vocals and guitars, both acoustic and rhythmic, or with arpeggios, I can’t distinguish what I should listen for or what I should keep in mind.

I would like some advice on what I should keep in mind when compressing. I know there’s an infinite amount of creativity, but we’re always striving for a goal, and I would like some advice on how to start listening closely, understanding the goals, and working with even greater creativity.

I hope I’ve accurately shared my concerns and doubts.

Best regards.

Compresion - Ataque y Release
Me gustaria consejos para comprimir.

Buenas noches con todos, quiero compartir algo que dudo mucho y me gustaria su ayuda.

Practico dia a dia para poder escuchar y enteder los cambios que se hacen con cada parametro, solo que no logro comprender a que debo tener presente o que debo escuchar.

En voces y guitarras tanto acusticas ritmicas o arpegios no distingo que debo escuchar o que debo tener presente.

Me gustaria consejos de que debo tener en cuenta al momento de comprimir, se que hay una infinidad de creatividad pero siempre buscamos un objetivo y me gustaria consejos para comenzar a escuchar con detalle y comprender los objetivos y conllevar con mas infinidad de creatividad.

Espero haber compartido de manera conrrecta mi inquietud y mis dudas.

Saludos.

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Hi Byron!

Yeah, dialing in a compressor can feel very confusing at first, but it’s actually simpler than it seems. In about 80% of cases, you’ll want a slow or medium attack and a relatively fast release. That’s because in most situations, you want to preserve the transients (slow or medium attack) and avoid killing the sustain (fast release).

So for kick, snare, bass, guitars, and lead vocals, that kind of compression setting usually works well.

For drum rooms, a fast attack is often the way to go (since you get the transients from the close mics) along with a fast release to keep the sustain. For parallel drum compression, if you want to emphasize the transients, go with a slow attack and a fast or medium release. If you want to squash the drums and bring out more sustain, try a fast attack and fast release.

On lead vocals, I prefer slow or medium attack. On background vocals, I usually go with a fast attack. A fast attack pushes the backing vocals a bit farther back and keeps them from jumping out, while a slower attack brings the lead vocal closer and makes it more present.

Hope this wasn’t too all over the place haha. Feel free to ask more if anything’s unclear!

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Hi, Artem_Shcherbakov!

Thank you for your time and response.

The truth is, everything seems very confusing to me. I listen carefully but can’t understand the details.

To share:

I do a lot of exercises with all the instruments to learn how to listen.

When I use a fast attack, I feel like it distorts completely. I feel like there’s no “impact,” for example, with the kick drum. I feel like the guitars distort, and in turn, they’re very cloudy, you could say (I hope I’m making myself clear since I don’t know the right word to say it). And the vocals distort, but it seems like I only understand the vowels, and the consonants are lost or distorted.

The release I feel:
The fast release distorts, and at the same time, there’s a kind of pumping, although I also feel some spaciousness.
I feel like the slow release dulls the opposite of amplitude, and also gives me a feeling that the sound is coming and going (as if it’s getting closer and further away).

And here comes my doubt: Am I hearing correctly? Am I really hearing those sensations, or what should I be listening to?
What should I look for in each mix?

Thanks for sharing; any advice and criticism would be greatly appreciated.

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I understand you mentioned compression, but I am a bit confused. I thought compression reduces the dynamic range by turning down the volume of parts that are louder than a set threshold. It is different from a “Gate”, which you can set attack and release times. Did you mean to say Gate instead of Compression? Or am I missing something?

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