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leads melodies and compressors, is it necessary?
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orbit
IsraTrance Full Member
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108
Posted : Jan 14, 2006 03:06
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ahoy all,
just wondering if someone could enlighten me about compressors on such things as melodies and leads.
what are the advantages and disadvantages in your opinion using compressors on synthlines? i tend to use alot of chorus and unison, would i be losing alot?
how often is a compressor applied to synths in your work,and do you find them necessaryfor cleanliness?
ive never read anything about this on the
forum indicating compressors for this use,only percussion and basslines etc. so i thought id query it.
many thankyou's.
  .:TO INFINITY AND BEYOND:. |
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EYB
Noized
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Posted : Jan 14, 2006 05:38
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Sometimes it is useful if u use for example a slow moving LFO on a filter, e.g. LP, on ur lead it gets lower in volume and again louder, which repeats with the lfo. So u can use a compressor to get the same loudness all the time.
Signature |
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Freeflow
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : Jan 14, 2006 05:42
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Great advice EYB 
wow i learn so much today...real nice!
i almost forgot that i could use a compressor for that...
i been inactive for too long..
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Meta
Meta/Boomslang
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1045
Posted : Jan 14, 2006 05:52
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Yeah, if you're using a lot of modulation effects like Chorus it tends to wash out the sound and make it 'quieter' or not be as present once it's in the mix with other sounds.
That's one of my main problems though, I love chorus/phaser/modulated sounds, so I wind up throwing compressors on all my leads and eating up a lot of CPU power. Sometimes I suddenly look back on a track and have separate compressors running on every instrument, then I take them all off and it sounds not as squished and I've saved myself 30% CPU useage.
http://soundcloud.com/aeon604
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orange
Fat Data
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3918
Posted : Jan 14, 2006 12:33
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usualy i use compressor on synths i want to realy stand out of the mix specialy when they have lots of fx on them they tend to get drawn in the mix so a compressor helps them to stand out and get that crunchy punchy sound!
but using comp on most of the synth tend to oversquash the mix and the resolt is a overcompressed and metallic sound with not much life on them so a carefull use is essential
orange
http://www.landmark-recordings.com/
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NikC
BeatNik
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601
Posted : Jan 14, 2006 13:35
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I also tend to compress very flanged sounds (particularly ones done for effect with MetaFlanger), as again it helps in obtaining more even dynamics.
Also compressors can be used for their individual effects on the sound. They can also help in adding more punch or affecting the decay of a sound.
Compressing is one of the main production tools in my opinion - but use it sparingly, because it can really fuck things up if you're not careful/don't know what you want to achieve by using it.
Pre-meditated compressor usage is the way forward
www.myspace.com/beat_nik |
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orbit
IsraTrance Full Member
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71
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Posted : Jan 17, 2006 02:56
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ahhh thanks for the replies guys, very much appreciated. its good to get clarity on this.
adios. |
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ichabod
Started Topics :
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28
Posted : Jan 17, 2006 13:16
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I find that a lot of psytrance lead sounds can take huge amounts of compression without messing up the sound quality. Most psy leads already have a lot of distortion so compressing the hell out of them doesn't hurt.
In fact, I often use compression as a creative effect... for example try taking a squelchy filtered type of lead sound and compress it with a ratio of 20:1, fast attack and threshold set so low that it is constantly being compressed. Doing this can really bring out the squelchyness in the tails of the notes and make the whole sound really up front. |
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e-motion
IsraTrance Full Member
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Posted : Jan 17, 2006 13:59
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PS: just don't overdue it or you'll loose the dynamics |
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lalala
Started Topics :
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89
Posted : Jan 17, 2006 14:11
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Quote:
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On 2006-01-17 13:16, ichabod wrote:
I find that a lot of psytrance lead sounds can take huge amounts of compression without messing up the sound quality. Most psy leads already have a lot of distortion so compressing the hell out of them doesn't hurt.
In fact, I often use compression as a creative effect... for example try taking a squelchy filtered type of lead sound and compress it with a ratio of 20:1, fast attack and threshold set so low that it is constantly being compressed. Doing this can really bring out the squelchyness in the tails of the notes and make the whole sound really up front.
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That would certainly equalise the peaks but wouldnt that just make it twenty times quieter at the given threshold ? |
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14-year old e-tard
IsraTrance Junior Member
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Posted : Jan 17, 2006 15:28
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No, it means that at that threshold, 20dB would be required for the output to go up 1dB. And dB is logarithmic not linear.
Anyway, I compress my leads always and then might also put them all through a buss compressor. If I want a bit of punch, I back the attack off a bit so the transient can come through. If the transient is going through the roof, I set the fastest attack to "catch it". You can get away with lots of compression and still play with the filter to retain some sort of dynamic elements in the patch.
Me>You |
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DJ Kontakt
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153
Posted : Jan 20, 2006 03:05
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i dont compress my synthy lines, just drums and basslines
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Freeflow
IsraTrance Full Member
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3709
Posted : Jan 20, 2006 03:33
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DJ Kontakt - nice input, cause i have a idea that i want to keep some elements more lively, and sometimes compression takes away the straggling sound that some synths have.... be it a baseline, lead, Sfx, Pad, drumloop or whatever..
i think its a matter of balance, somethings sound very good with compression, while some other things sound better without it...
but in the examples above i find compression to be a real good tool, cause i have had thoes heavy modulated sounds which dosent really get heard like they should...
very nice thread guys, some real good tips! im going to try to keep them in the back of my head |
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DJ Kontakt
Started Topics :
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153
Posted : Jan 20, 2006 05:36
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thanks you are the first to appriciate me here
*hugs*
G+ - Army Collective - Kontakt Recordings
Sie verbringen die Jahre, die zur Schule gehen, einen Job zu
erhalten, und dann verwirklichen Sie, das Sie nie ein irgendwie erhalten!
www.myspace.com/k0nt4kt
Music is my Playground |
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ichabod
Started Topics :
0
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28
Posted : Jan 20, 2006 12:45
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Quote:
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On 2006-01-17 13:59, e-motion wrote:
PS: just don't overdue it or you'll loose the dynamics
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Heh - obviously with such severe compression the aim IS to loose the dynamics! |
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