From the course: Audio Foundations: Compression and Dynamic Processing

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Get in the Mix: Using compression to add punch and sustain to drums

Get in the Mix: Using compression to add punch and sustain to drums

From the course: Audio Foundations: Compression and Dynamic Processing

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Get in the Mix: Using compression to add punch and sustain to drums

Let's take a look at how to apply compression to a single note, using it to draw out the attack or sustain of a signal and letting that note punch through dense musical sections of the mix. This type of compression is often referred to as envelope shaping or transient shaping. A shape of a note's waveform is called its envelope. The envelope describes how a note evolves over time. Think of envelope as the trip a signal's wave form takes from initial development through final decay. Let's take a look at a snare drum note's envelope. We start with a sharp transient, this is referred to as the attack. This sharp transient is followed by a brief sustained and final release period as the sound dies out. Because a compressor reacts to a signal's amplitude as it changes over time, we can use compression to play with the shape of a signal's envelope. Listen to the snare drum without any compression, pay attention to the sound of the attack and release. Now listen to the same same snare with…

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