Quote:
Originally Posted by Lokasenna
What do you think a compressor is doing that your volume automation isn't? ... because a compressor is just an automatic fader-rider. Compressors don't kill transients unless you set them that way.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Retro Audio Enthusiast
It's flattening the waveform.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Judders
So is level automation. The only difference is the speed at which it is working.
|
Not to be pedantic (lol), but Retro Audio Enthusiast is generally correct here. Calling a compressor an "automatic fader rider" is a little dangerous, and saying that a fader is doing the same thing isn't quite accurate, most of the time. The reason being that a fader will adjust the entire period of a waveform as a unit, symmetrically altering its overall gain. The "problem" with a compressor is that it can ignore
part of the waveform (the pre-threshold ascent) and only act on the portion that exceeds said threshold, resulting in distortion (the "flattening" to which Retro Audio Enthusiast is referring). You can turn a sine into a pseudo-square much more easily than you think, even with relatively gentle settings. In fact, the speed (pitch) of the waveform is often the main liability - low "E" on a bass guitar is 41Hz, or a period of 24ms - the average attack time on the LA2A is
10ms (!), ensuring that the first several frets will always incur collateral damage. (The waveform on an electric bass is more complex than a sine, so you aren't likely to notice it, but this post is about theory).
The
maximum attack time on the 1176 is 800
MICROseconds - it's probably going to induce distortion no matter how "gentle" you are with the ratio.
Again, not bringing this up to be a jerk (lol), I just feel it's important to realize that compressors and "macro" automation aren't the same thing spectrally, and it's generally impossible to distort / flatten a single-cycle waveform with a channel fader - unless you start working with ultra-speed sample-level automation curves.
"Hey well thanks for listening" lol.
[slinks back under the woodpile]