Hey guys. (I'm x-posting this from r/WeAreTheMusicMakers for additional feedback)
I've been producing for about 6+ years on and off. I was originally an FL user, but recently transitioned to Ableton. During my time with FL, I neglected to learn about important tools such as Compression, so recently I decided to research extensively and learn everything I can.
So at this point, it's been a few days since I started learning, and now I have a moderate grasp on all the functions of a Compressor, and how they interact with one another. The only problem is, I have no idea how to practically apply a Compressor within my tracks. I have no idea where to even begin. I understand that the purpose of Compression is to alter the dynamic range of a signal, and to create headroom by reducing peaks or transients and bringing the signal down to an average level.
But I don't really know what that means in theory.. I've been experimenting with the Compressor so far, but I don't really know where to even use it. I've tried applying to my individual drums like Snares to reduce the transients a bit and it helps make it a little evened out but I don't really know if it's really helping. One application I see people using is that they apply a "Glue Compressor" to their drum bus or other groups of instruments, and somehow the Glue Compressor "glues" the bus together? What does that even mean? I mean is a Glue Compressor somehow inherently different from a standard Compressor?
I mean the parameters are the same as far as I can tell (threshold, ratio, attack, release, make-up gain) so I don't know why I see people using this glue compressor more than the standard one. I also see people using a Compressor on their master channel, and I tried doing the same thing, but I didn't know exactly how to configure it. It feels really discouraging because I spent a lot of time recently learning about Compression, and now I just feel like I'm back at square one not even knowing how to apply it in a real-life situation. It sucks. Any help would be appreciated cause I feel like an idiot going one step forward and two steps back here..
Submitted November 07, 2016 at 04:00PM by Eternal_Horizon https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/comments/5bo1lb/i_just_recently_learned_how_to_use_a_compressor/?utm_source=ifttt