COMPRESSION | Simple explanation of audio compression in 12 minutes

What is compression? How do you use dynamic range compression? Why should you compress your tracks when recording and mixing?
⏰ Time Stamps:
00:00 What is dynamic range compression?
02:03 Threshold and ratio explained
04:17 Attack and release explained
05:59 "Knee" explained
06:26 Effects of compression on a master
08:10 Demo of vocal compression in GarageBand iOS
🎼 Wikipedia article:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic...
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🎞️ Other related videos:
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How to use the COMPRESSOR in GarageBand iOS - • How to use the compres...
How to compress vocals in GarageBand iOS - • How to compress vocals...
Compression explained (how an audio compressor works) - • Compression Explained ...
GarageBand Essentials Playlist - • How to RECORD MUSIC on...
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[@PeteJohnsMusic]

🎞️ Check out this playlist with videos showing how to use audio compressors in music: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3zPeWSOmtd6Z8U

[@izaakkoenig7152]

This guy would be a great teacher

[@PeteJohnsMusic]

Thanks! That’s pretty much what I do here on KZbin I guess?

[@izaakkoenig7152]

Yep, I love watching your vids

[@earthhouse]

I have been using Garageband to release 2 albums - 54 tracks on Spotify. 280 on SoundCloud (mAncient is my artist name). Pete isn't a "great teacher". He is in a class of his own 🙂

[@darrenmitchell1744]

Best explanation yet, eq on guitar vocals, bass, drums, keyboards and Mastering would be a great topic of the week

[@PeteJohnsMusic]

Nice one! Will definitely be covering some of these soon.

[@LincolnsNewsreel]

that was incredibly useful. thank you. i especially like the hands on bit of watching you make adjustments and listening to what happens when you play it out. anyway, thanks. i needed that for sure.

[@PeteJohnsMusic]

Awesome! So glad to hear. I hope you get value from the other videos on the channel and consider subscribing if you haven’t already. 👍

[@grecoandijo]

thanks for always making an educational video about producing a song

[@PeteJohnsMusic]

Very welcome my friend.

[@Jesus4UWH]

Thank you Pete. Someone was finally able to explain compression to me in a way I could understand!

[@PeteJohnsMusic]

Very welcome my friend. Glad to hear it. It’s one of those ridiculously complex topics that eventually one day clicks and you go “ohhhhh…..”. At least that’s what happened to me. 😎

[@lasearce]

Thank you so much for this video. I had a completely wrong idea what compression was. I am literally learning as I go and this video just explained it perfectly. You sir are awesome !!!

[@PeteJohnsMusic]

Thanks my friend. I was totally lost when I started getting back in to recording, which was only 5 years ago. This video is everything I’ve learned that I wish I knew starting out crammed in to 12 minutes. 😎

[@Tom-fh9fj]

Excellent explanation. Super helpful.

[@PeteJohnsMusic]

You’re very welcome my friend. I hope you get value from the other videos here on the channel and consider subscribing. 👍

[@guzzoofoz]

Good simple explanation. Thanks.

[@PeteJohnsMusic]

Cheers my friend. 👍

[@colbyharris7123]

This was VERY helpful!

[@PeteJohnsMusic]

Glad to hear it. I hope you get value from the other videos on the channel and consider subscribing if you haven’t already. 👍

[@jimmy_image]

Thanks, Pete

[@PeteJohnsMusic]

Welcome my friend. 👍

[@MrRadsVarietyChannel]

Compressors always confused me before, before this video! Thank you, Pete!! 👍👍

[@PeteJohnsMusic]

Awesome! Very glad to hear it helped.

[@mobilemetal4554]

This was explained really well. Compression can definitely get confusing. I really like the fac maxima plugin. It has really changed my mixes for the better

[@PeteJohnsMusic]

Maxima is great and pretty much eve try thing that Fred Corvest does is top notch.

[@outrunthis]

so helpful. thank you 🙏🏽

[@PeteJohnsMusic]

You’re very welcome my friend. I hope you get value from the other videos here on the channel and consider subscribing. 👍

[@justinorr8133]

Hey Pete, just wanted to say thank you. You’ve shown and inspired me I have all the tools to make music right in front me with my phone. Good wishes from Atlanta.

[@PeteJohnsMusic]

Thanks my friend. Really appreciate your support and kind words.

[@Rednef]

Thanks, Pete. That was very useful to me. Admittedly, I haven't done my due diligence in researching compression, but you've cleared up a lot of confusion for me nonetheless. My naïve experimentations with compression were not yielding any worthwhile results. Now I feel empowered.

[@PeteJohnsMusic]

Love it! Glad to hear my friend. Thanks for taking the time to let me know.

[@MartinHammar69]

Understanding compression is one thing. But too dial in a compressor right by ear is a completly diffrent thing. Wish to get there one day.

[@PeteJohnsMusic]

Yeah, me too!

[@heusker]

Pete, do you know what the peaks and valleys are in a Garageband audio track where the range is from -100 to 0 to 100 in the track (in edit mode), basically the visual audio wave as you record? I suppose these are volume levels, but I wonder why I get audio levels which are not completely identical on the top vs. the bottom of this track, not a mirror image. What is the negative number and why isn't it an exact mirror image of the positive waveform? Occasionally you will get a large peak going down, for instance. It's almost like there are two sides to the track, but I can't find any info about what the top and bottom peaks mean, and why they aren't perfect mirror images of each other. It's almost like they are stereo waveforms, but they are together in one track. Also, I don't know if my Garageband is glitchy, but sometimes it will show a value from -100 to 100 on the bottom half of the track, and also -100 to 100 on the top half of the track, but if I click the edit button a couple times, the range varies from -100 to 0 on the bottom half, and then from 0 to 100 on the top half. Hope this question made sense and wasn't too repetitive.

[@PeteJohnsMusic]

Hey there. I think this article from Sound on Sound magazine explains this better than I ever could! www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/q-why-do-waveforms-sometimes-look-lop-sided

[@heusker]

@@PeteJohnsMusic That article was helpful, but I still don't completely comprehend what's going on. I found this article, which is a tiny bit more clear. Basically, this asymmetry could be a problem (seemingly causing distortion), but in almost all modern applications, should not be. It says the human voice, especially the male human voice, tends to be asymmetric, so this should be normal in recording to a modern DAW, or it could be caused by adding DC voltage to the entire track, shifting the average amplitude up into the positive waveform area, which is rare these days. Also I think it says there could be other causes for the asymmetry, but it really shouldn't be a worry as long as the track sounds good without distortion. www.producenewmedia.com/asymmetric-waveforms-should-you-be-concerned/

[@mebeasensei]

I get the clipping the highs bit, and the ratio but I don’t understandthe bit about pushing up the rest...is that the gain.

[@davidasher22]

TommyTwobats When you compress audio it brings the louder parts down closer to the quieter parts. When you add the make up gain you bring up the overall volume therefore you are making the quieter parts closer to the volume of the louder parts.

[@PeteJohnsMusic]

Yup, as David mentioned, it’s the make up gain that then brings the overall volume back up. A lot of compressors (like the GarageBand one) use auto make up gain.

[@LadyRodalineStrate]

Hi Pete, I have a focusrite 2i2. Is there a way to turn on the automatic recording levels? As always thanks for the info regarding compression

[@PeteJohnsMusic]

Hey there. I don’t believe the 2i2 has automatic levels sorry? You’ll need to dial in using the input gain knob on the front of the interface. Thanks for your support. 👍

[@LadyRodalineStrate]

Hi Pete, sorry I should have explained a bit better. I was referring to the recording level in GarageBand. I’m assuming that it’s grey’d out because I’m using the 2i2?