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Understanding compressor parameters

Understanding compressor parameters - Pro Tools Tutorial

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Understanding compressor parameters

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A compressor is nothing more than an automated level control that uses the input signal to determine the output level. In this video, I am going to show you all the parameters of a compressor and discuss how they each change the sound. All compressors have roughly the same parameter controls and are operated the same way, but they can sound different from one another because there are different ways of designing a compression circuit. Let's look at the controls. The first one is the Ratio control. Ratio controls how much of the output level the compressor will increase compared to level that's being fed through the input. Usually this is calibrated in a ratio that goes anywhere from 1:1 to 100:1. And what that means is if it says 4:1, every 4 dB that's coming into the compressor, only 1 dB will go out through the output. The next control is the Threshold, and Threshold determines the signal level where the compression actually begins. Below the threshold point, no compression occurs…

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