ANATOMY OF A COMPRESSOR

THRESHOLD
GAIN REDUCTION METER
Determines the volume level where the compressor turns on.
How much volume level is being
reduced by the compressor. When the audio is louder than the threshold level, the compressor turns on.
The more volume is reduced, the The lower the threshold, the more the audio is compressed.
harder the compressor is working.

RATIO
Determines by how much the volume is reduced.
-10 The higher the ratio, the more aggressive the compression.

-20
-5
To read a ratio, flip the numbers around. For example, a ratio of 4:1 means
that for every 1dB that goes above the threshold, 1/4th of a dB comes out.
-30

-50 0
ATTACK TIME
The amount of time it takes the compressor to apply the full dose of
compression after the audio gets louder than the threshold.

THRESHOLD RATIO MAKEUP GAIN RELEASE TIME

-30 -20 5 8 5 10
15
The amount of time it takes the compressor to fully recover from
0
gain reduction.
3 12
-5 20
-40 -10
30
2
20 -10
KNEE
-15 40
-50 0
1 30 Turns the threshold from a single number to a range of numbers.
dB :1 dB
A “hard knee” (0.0) keeps the threshold a single number.
The compressor is more accurate, but more obvious.
KNEE ATTACK RELEASE
A “soft knee” (1.0) turns the threshold Into a large range.
0.4 0.6
20 50 100 200
The compressor is less accurate, but more subtle.
15 80 50 500

10 120 20 1K
0.2 0.8
160 2K
MAKEUP GAIN
5 10

0 200 5 5K
Increases the output level to compensate for the loss in volume
1.0
0
ms ms due to compression.
Use makeup gain to keep your instrument from getting quieter in the mix.