Ok to understand release once and for all......


first i'll say what attack does, and maybe u can tell me the same thing for release so i that i finally understand it

For example
Snare:
Fast attack: Catches the transient of the snare so its becoming softer
Slow attack: Lets transient through so the snare hits hard

Can you tell me the same thing but for Fast and Slow release. in this case..what would happen? or any such example
Fast release: ?
Slow release: ?

 

Divide the transient in 2 halfs. Release affects the latter one

 

An introduction to audio compression.

 

It's going to depend on what you're compressing, but generalizing a bit, on a full mix..
Fast release: possibility to distort things a bit too much and cause "pumping" (which may sometimes be desirable)
Slow release: less chance of the above.

You know some people probably trash on it because it's an EDM based lesson/tutorial, but you should look around for the Ghosthack Ultimate Mixing and Mastering course. There's a lot of good information in there (including what the various knobs of a compressor do). The guy explains a lot about why he does the things that he does. It used to be on AZ (I think that's where I got it), but it's gone now.. it's probably still available on Audionews though.

I mean, I get this weird feeling like you're just going to ask questions non stop (which is perfectly fine/harmless) and never make music (which probably isn't fine for you). This is textbook analysis paralysis. I hope you actually make some music in between all these questions!

 

Last edited: Aug 17, 2022

One more thing... there's a Kenny Gioia / Reaper tutorial for everything imaginable. He does a great job of explaining just about everything. Here's his video on Compression. I haven't watched it in quite a while, but I remember it being pretty good:

 

A compressor is not a literal thing. Release and attack go hand in hand. It all depends on the audio you have, if it's fast, if it's slow, how you want that sound to be. If I were you, I would use my ears, and believe it or not, somehow you get to memorize the sound of a compressor, of course, metaphorically speaking, but as you experiment and listen. You can imagine how the sound would sound if you use one compressor or another and how to play with the parameters. However, I personally believe that you never stop learning from a compressor. It is not the same as an equalizer, or a limiter, I see it as something more artistic and that can disobey all rules.

 

I highly recommend to find this out by trying it on an untreated snare (with a quite short compressor attack time).

 

yea i just did,

to my ears

fast release...it goes back to the original sound quick

slow release..compressed sound is held longer (more sustained etc)

its like the ADSR on synth i guess.....and release just tells it how much to hold the compressed sound..(which is more of a sustained sound), it helps a lot watching the reacomp meter in reaper how much the signal is compressed (in red) and watching it how fast or slow that goes when u change the release, its follows the shape of the sound u're hearing

 

And now do this on other sources, bass drum, cymbals, for fun on a closed HH, bass, guitar, vocals, subgroups/folders and main out. And then you know how it sounds and what it's good for.

 

the way I learned to quickly listen for it is to set the release parameter according to how much time it takes for the compressor to reset itself before the next incoming sound. so the compressor gets a chance to "evaluate" or process, and react to each new sound just like it did the first. if possible. on single channels this will give you an idea what to actually listen for. horse before the cart.

 

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https://codepen.io/animalsnacks/full/VRweeb