How to use the track compressor

[Milt Lee]

Hi folks,
I've been trying to find a tutorial on how to use the track compressor in Vegas 13. I've never really been sure of how to use it - I always use a plugin - in SawStudioLite (called the Levelizer ) which I love. But if I knew how to use this plugin it would probably save me a bunch of time.

I'm sorry if this sounds really simple - it may be - but I've not been able to find a tutorial that really explains how it works and shows the effects that can be had.

Thanks for your help -- oh BTW - I saw that Sony was saying that there were lots of new sound options in Vegas 13 - I'm curious as to what they are too.

thanks again!
Milt

[Seth Bloombaum]

There are many of the same controls in the track compressor as you find in SawStudio levelizer.

Any good compressor has these:
Threshold
Ratio (sometimes called "amount" in sony-speak)
Attack
Release
Gain reduction meter
(output) Gain
(You can use Sony's "Auto Gain Compensation" instead of touching output gain)

For Dialog:
If you set a ratio of somewhere between 2.5:1 and 3.5:1, an attack of 30ms, a release of 500ms, and bring down the threshold until the gain reduction meter is showing say, -6db on the volume peaks, you're in a ballpark to start tweaking to ear. Be aware of any harshness introduced by aggressive settings of ratio or threshold.

These settings take a little dynamic range off the top - that is, above the threshold, output volume increases not at 1:1 with input volume, but at the ratio you set. So, for example, an input peak at -3db, with a ratio of 3:1, and a threshold of -6db, that peak is going to reduced to -5db, allowing the overall volume to be increased via the gain control, bringing up the quieter parts by several db.

This is how a compressor benefits: Narrowing the dynamic range so gain can be increased without overmodulating. Which means the quieter parts can be heard against background, or against music, or against environmental noise in the listening environment.

[Milt Lee]

Thanks for the very clear explanation - I see that you are a college instructor - it shows!

As for how the Sawstudio levelizer works - it seems to me that it's more visual so I don't really have to think about what I'm doing - I can look at the waveforms - adjust to what level I want and Bob's your uncle. It also does something that I'm not sure that other programs does - it rewrites the wave form so that you almost never get that pumping sound you can get from other compressors I've used.

Anyway - thanks very much!!
Milt

[Roger Gunkel]

A compressor is one of those tools that most people use for keeping volume under control, but very often without really understanding how it works or what it is doing to the signal. There are many ways to use compassion and it can be a very subtle tool when used properly. It can also be overused and can result very easily in the pumping sound that you mentioned.

The problem with using too much compression is that with complex sounds full of lots of different frequencies, they are all at different levels. If the bass frequencies for example are offering the loudest peaks, when you start applying lots of compression, the mid and high frequencies start to become more noticeable as the loudest sound, the bass, gets compressed more. The result is not just a levelling of the volume but also a changing of the tone. So a heavily compressed male voice may start to sound quite nasally as the bass frequencies become squashed.

The pumping that you refer to is often caused by high compression ratio and a fairly fast release rate, so again with bass, it gets compressed down quickly if there is a high attack rate, but as soon as the overall volume level changes, the fast release rate allows the bass frequencies to assume the higher point and you get the pumping effect as this is constantly repeated.

If you are trying to control sounds individually, such as in different tracks of a musical performance, the less frequencies in the sound, the more compression you can use without changing the sound. So a blass guitar for instance or a bass drum can be compressed very heavily to control the volume without a big change in the sound, whereas the same compression on a vocalist could dramatically affect the sound of the voice.

Once you understand compression well it is a great tool to use creatively.

Roger

[Adam Stanislav]

Originally Posted by Roger Gunkel

There are many ways to use compassion

I think the Dalai Lama would agree. ;-)

[Roger Gunkel]

LOL wretched iPad, it decides what it wants to interpret your input to, I missed that one , cheered me up this morning though :-0

Roger

[Seth Bloombaum]

Originally Posted by Roger Gunkel

A compressor is one of those tools that most people use for keeping volume under control... It can also be overused and can result very easily in the pumping sound that you mentioned.

The problem with using too much compression is that with complex sounds full of lots of different frequencies, they are all at different levels. If the bass frequencies for example are offering the loudest peaks, when you start applying lots of compression, the mid and high frequencies start to become more noticeable as the loudest sound, the bass, gets compressed more. The result is not just a levelling of the volume but also a changing of the tone. So a heavily compressed male voice may start to sound quite nasally as the bass frequencies become squashed.

The pumping that you refer to is often caused by high compression ratio and a fairly fast release rate...
Once you understand compression well it is a great tool to use creatively.

Roger

Thanks for those clarifications, Roger.

R points out the role of fast release times in pumping. Please note the 500ms release I recommended as a starting point - that's half a second. I never go below 300ms. For some reason, every compressor I've ever seen comes with like a 30 or 50ms release as its default setting - not very useable at the defaults!

Using a modest ratio, then lowering the threshold while viewing the gain reduction meter to achieve apx. -6db of gain reduction on the peaks is also helpful to stop pumping before it starts.

R makes an interesting point about a lower male voice sometimes getting nasally when over-compressed; I'm going to have to play with that one.

All the above relates to dialog.

Music is different, and the goals are typically different. A primary tool is a multiband compressor, that allows you to compress different (typically 4) frequency ranges differently (or some not at all). Sony has a filter called "Multi-Band Dynamics" native in Vegas. It requires you to set freq bands numerically, it's not as easy to use as some mb compressors that provide a graphic display of frequency bands.

Compression is like a lot of filters; easy to overuse. Noise reduction comes to mind as well. Proper recording techniques allow you to use these filters for small changes that really enhance your track. Using them to rescue bad recordings is sometimes necessary, but it's waaay too easy to generate un-natural artifacts when set aggressively.

[Brian Berg]

Basics of a compressor:

Compression 101: How to Use a Compressor - YouTube

Sublime Lighting LLC

[Seth Bloombaum]

That's a pretty good video - well done. All true.

Most valuable here for theory, because the examples are all drawn from mixing music, not voice. I could wish he spent some time on dialog...

But he does review the primary controls of all fully-featured compressors, and introduces the concept of volume envelope very well.

[Duane Adam]

FWIW I've never found the Vegas track compressor to sound very good no matter what the settings. I have tons of plugins but currently like these for track compression.

Komplete : Effects : Vintage Compressors | Products