This can be useful in applications where you can hear the louder parts of a recording just fine, but can’t pick out the softer sections as well.įor example, a live recording of a band might have sections where the energy dies down a little too much, but most of the time the volume is just fine. Upwards compression raises the amplitude of everything in the audio signal below the set threshold, while keeping everything above that the same or relatively unaffected (according to the knee). If you’re totally new to compression, check out our beginner’s guide to understanding compression, which includes all the settings you need to know. Using the same settings, if a signal went 8 dB over the threshold, it would be reduced by 6 dB. This means for the output sound to be 1 dB over the threshold, it needs to be x dB over the threshold going into the compressor.įor example, if we use a 4:1 compression ratio and our signal crosses the threshold by 4 dB, we will hear a 3 dB decrease in volume. With downward compression, the ratio sets how much to compress once the signal passes the threshold. 90% of plugins and hardware units that are labeled as compressors or limiters are using downward compression. Downward Compressionĭownward compression works by “clamping down” on anything past the threshold, evening out the overall level of a signal by making the louder parts closer in volume to the softer parts.ĭownward compression is the “de facto” form of compression. However, these two effects ultimately sound different and have different uses, benefits, and drawbacks. So with upwards compression, instead of the loud parts becoming softer, the soft parts become louder, and the dynamic range is reduced similarly to downwards compression. The fundamental difference between upwards compression and downwards compression lies in how the signal is treated when it is either below or above the threshold.ĭownwards compression only affects the signal once its level exceeds the threshold, while upwards compression treats the signal only while it is below the threshold – by boosting it! To people who are only familiar with downwards compression, upwards compression may seem like a radically different approach, but it’s equally valid in terms of actually compressing the signal. With compression, we know that the threshold is a very important setting that determines the overall character of the effect. Instead of squashing things down when they go above the threshold, we can instead boost the signal below the threshold.Įnter upwards compression! Upwards Vs Downwards Compression, What’s The Difference? However, this is not the only approach to compression. We know that compressors can make things seem louder or softer, though they generally reduce the volume of the input signal when it crosses the threshold. Compression can be a rather dense and abstract topic to get your head around.
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