PLease confirm if this statement is true or not "the compression still works and compresses even when the signal falls below the threshold"

if not...i don't see why release would be doing anything to the signal...

if yes please further explain so i can understand

thank you

 

Release is the time it takes to go to resting position (no attenuation) after going under threshold value.

 

so the signal is still getting compressed under the threshold? and why is that

 

Like an anal sphincter? Contracting bowels with abdomen muscles creates pressure. 1:1 threshold (2:1, 4:1.. sphincter engagement) - signal is outputted freely, as (pressure ratio dependant) is. Sphincter (fully open) does nothing. Bellow threshold (somewhere, when you are guest, and for some reason it's not suitable to go with 1:1 ratio) sphincter is (attack and release) reacting to contractions/pressure. How fast/slow will react to the uneven contractions feeding compression input, and/or how slow/fast will release compressed material, makes output more... bulky, even, compressed.

 

Last edited: Dec 3, 2019

Statement is true. I suggest you try different release times on a snare and a cym. Then you'll hear what it's useful for.

 

when I didn’t fully understand the sonic implications of different compression parameters the thing that helped me most was just testing it out on a master bus. Especially something you mixed yourself. Nothing will drive home the significance of attack and release times like having some unwanted pumping and breathing over the whole range channels that you spent so much time and effort mixing

 

Don't forget it's importance for shaping drum sounds.

 

Source:
https://www.uaudio.com/blog/audio-compression-basics/

 

It also helps to play around with extrem settings on simpel sounds to hear how the compressor reacts.
eg max negative threshhold attck 0 and then turn up teh attack time, that reveals how the attack time works etc ...

 

Because of the release time. Look at the excellent picture posted by Moonlight above.

 

Yes timing in compression can be confusing. Hard to gasp in practice, need to test on different materials to understand :
1 : what it does
2 : how in relation with all the other settings of compression (attack and release timing, threshold and ratio) different strategies are available : a short release time has a different result with a short attack time and a high threshold and a low ratio, a high ratio and a low threshold will greatly impact the way you have to set your timings.
The problem also is that different manufacturers have different conception of what timing of attack measures (british and american) and different time table according to what the tech they are using allow them to accomplish.
You also have different response curves (both attack and release) which will give different result even with similar timing in the behavior, even differences regarding to what level does the release releases to when the compressor starts to release (current level of the input signal, or back to 0).
You'll have access to all those settings in the advance panel of DMG Audio Compassion, testing in an advanced maner with all kind of materials and while playing with all those settings is the best way to understand. Compression is indeed a dark art.

 

Last edited: Dec 3, 2019

Nope. Release does not monitor the threshold parameter. Release occurs when the output exceeds the input.

 

I agree that to understand compression and it's parameters, including release, the best is to make it obvious, even if you will probably never use it that way.

 

Yes, release keeps the compression after the signal falls , but it's a way to somehow mask the fact that the signal was compressed, specially at high compression ratios, as the release time is about a slope, so compression decrease progressively.
If you don't do it that way, in many situations you would notice the different between compressed and uncompressed sound. At least this is the original function of release.
Beyond this, release can be used in creative ways, including to achieve exactly the opposite: make compression audible for sure, in an artistic way often related to the tempo.

 

Isn't that the same thing in laymen terms? Please clarify as I'm not an electric engineer, only a sound engineer (working with compressors for 25 years).

 

Noob.

 

I've been trying to completely understand compression for years now and I still can't grasp the concept. Good luck

 

The Attack parameter specifies how long it takes the compressor after exceeding the treshold to compress the signal with 2/3 of the specified ratio. The release parameter does exactly the opposite: it indicates how long it takes for the compressor to return to its resting state after falling below the threshold.