Compression on Acoustic Fingerstyle

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by DupleMeter

The idea is this: if the loudest part is 20dB higher than the softest part and you compress it so that the loudest part is now only 10dB louder than the soft part (i.e. 10dB of compression), you could technically raise the overall level 10dB. This has the effect of making the soft part louder, giving the illusion of an overall loudness boost...The side-effect is that all the low-level noise you recorded is now also 10dB louder because of the gain added.

Once you add make up gain it is louder overall. That is not an illusion. Of course without the make up gain it is quieter on average than before the compression.

[Pokiehat]

The key point is makeup gain since thats just another gain stage. You don't have to add more gain just because you reduce peak volume. There are too many situations where using automatic gain reduction only to make everything louder defeats the purpose of automatic gain reduction in the first place.

As for expanders. Well, I use Sonnox Dynamics and the expander in that works like a gate but with variable ratio. Maybe I've been wrong this whole time...

[Joseph Hanna]

Originally Posted by Fran Guidry

I might add that in the context of the original post, fingerstyle guitar, we're pretty darned likely to raise the level of the track after the compressor has knocked down the peaks for us. In fact make up gain is a very common feature of compressors I've seen. Not part of compression as such, but very much a part of the way they're used.

That's true Fran but I'm not so sure your original post about NOT using a compressor was that far off base. I'll say again.

The mechanism (usually a small amplifier) that is controlled by the release parameter of a compressor(although it surely can be pre-determined/pre-set by some manufactures) is an amplifier that's job is to ramp up a signal that's been knocked back. If the signal has been knocked back substantially and the release control is set to a very fast "rise" you're gonna notice (the key word being notice) the noise floor appearing to rise. It is true in MOST cases the signal that is being boosted by the op-amp usually can't rise above the pre-set threshold level before the comp slaps it back down. Engineers and sound guys have labeled the artifacts of these see-saw events as "pumping and breathing" and they can absolutely make a noisy track appear to be noisier. It's the LAST device I'd consider for controlling and runaway/high noise floor problems.

All of the above not withstanding the issues that have come up concerning make-up gain. That'll fall under the heading of Mr. Obvious.

Then on to address acoustic guitars and compression. It is my experience that players who would benefit most from a compressor, that is to say a guitar player that has never worked on his right hand attack and plays with little consistency and massively varied peaks and valleys, theoretically stands to gain the most by compressors. As the sole job of the comp is to mitigate those differences. That said when a guitarist dynamics are off by those kind of margins it's simply impossible for the compressor to coral those peaks without producing some very ugly sonic artifacts. The reality there is even a very light (2:1) compressor with a high threshold and slow release a) won't fix the track and b) leaves some noticeable junk in it's wake. Which is why I scratch my head when guys and gals use compression without having a clue as to what it does.

The really trained and talented studio guitarist usually provide a silky consistent track and while adding compression can help from a tonal perspective it's of little use in an attempt to create even dynamics as the dynamics are already....even.

YMMV

[rick-slo]

A silky consistent track may be what a studio guitarist is called upon to deliver in certain situations (you can be there but we really don't want to know your name) . Other times his role may be to be more percussive and dynamic.
The solo guitarist, more likely the OP situation, may appropriately play fairly dynamically flat for such music styles as new age or Celtic like music or may play over a wide dynamic range with sudden volume changes in such styles as blues, flamenco or tap style playing. In the latter case it is not a good use of compression to try and reign that in as it is part of the intent, life and impact of the music.
Unfortunately however in many listening situations such as when driving in your car the ambient noise of the environment can make listening to music with a large dynamic range difficult. An end use compression knob would be nice in such situations (little chancethat will ever happen though).