I like the space that the percussion's given in this version, but I think I prefer the fat lead sound on the original over the more minimal square wave you've got going here. Big ups on this bass too, the tone is really coming through as opposed to just the whoom on the low end.
More on compressors, because I know this was one of the toughest things I've had to wrap my mind around so far:
Compressors have at least a few basic settings, plus some more options depending on what model/plugin you're using. The key settings for a compressor are: Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Release, and Makeup. Attack and Release are pretty self-explanatory - the time it takes for the compression effect to kick in or let go when the audio signal passes the Threshold level.
The Threshold level is the dB level at which compression takes effect. Once the audio signal gets louder than the Threshold, the compressor begins to reduce the amplitude according to the Ratio control. The Ratio control can usually be set from 1 to 10 and will be marked at least by a label that says "1:n" or "Ratio: 1:n". This is the factor by which volume is reduced, the ratio between output and input: 1:1 is no reduction, so no change is made to the signal. 1:10 is the most extreme volume reduction, meaning for every 10 dB the input goes past the Threshold level, the output only becomes 1 dB louder. The key here is to not overuse the Ratio control, because settings like 1:10 tend to distort your audio, which is a Bad Thing (unless you really want that compressor distortion sound - it can be appropriate in some electronic music).
The Makeup or Gain knob is for amplifying the signal after compression has taken place. This is how compression can help normalize your audio levels. Let's say you have a signal which varies between -30 and -5 dB - that's quite a big difference, two and a half doublings in apparent magnitude. You can reduce this gap with a compressor. Set the Threshold knob to -30 and the Ratio to 2 (1:2). Now, for every 2 dB the input goes above -30, the output only raises 1 dB. A little math will show you that means when your input signal is at -5, your output signal is at -17.5 - we've gone 25 dB past the Threshold, resulting in a gain of only 12.5 dB: -30 + 12.5 = -17.5. Now you can set your Makeup Gain knob to +15 and your signal is at -2.5. Your signal now only varies from -15 dB to -2.5 dB. With more compression (a higher ratio and more gain) we could tighten it up further.
Sidechain compression is a topic for another day - essentially you can use an audio signal to trigger compression, but that audio isn't part of the output. Other differences your individual models of compressor might have are Root-Mean-Square (RMS) tracking vs. Peak tracking (you can read about that on Wikipedia), "hard" knee vs. "soft" knee or knee radius, or key filtering. These are less integral to the compressor's function but are all useful.
Thank you :) I am primarily a composer and I've only been dabbling in recording/mixing my own music for the last few months. I know the kick needs work and the stereo width is off, but I'm kind of clueless on how to improve it.
This track and all my others are written and mixed in Linux Multimedia Studio, I'll see about exporting a MIDI file during some downtime tonight.
I like the space that the percussion's given in this version, but I think I prefer the fat lead sound on the original over the more minimal square wave you've got going here. Big ups on this bass too, the tone is really coming through as opposed to just the whoom on the low end.
Heh, that's pretty crazy. Good example of how some generic things can seem to show up everywhere, I suppose.
More on compressors, because I know this was one of the toughest things I've had to wrap my mind around so far:
Compressors have at least a few basic settings, plus some more options depending on what model/plugin you're using. The key settings for a compressor are: Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Release, and Makeup. Attack and Release are pretty self-explanatory - the time it takes for the compression effect to kick in or let go when the audio signal passes the Threshold level.
The Threshold level is the dB level at which compression takes effect. Once the audio signal gets louder than the Threshold, the compressor begins to reduce the amplitude according to the Ratio control. The Ratio control can usually be set from 1 to 10 and will be marked at least by a label that says "1:n" or "Ratio: 1:n". This is the factor by which volume is reduced, the ratio between output and input: 1:1 is no reduction, so no change is made to the signal. 1:10 is the most extreme volume reduction, meaning for every 10 dB the input goes past the Threshold level, the output only becomes 1 dB louder. The key here is to not overuse the Ratio control, because settings like 1:10 tend to distort your audio, which is a Bad Thing (unless you really want that compressor distortion sound - it can be appropriate in some electronic music).
The Makeup or Gain knob is for amplifying the signal after compression has taken place. This is how compression can help normalize your audio levels. Let's say you have a signal which varies between -30 and -5 dB - that's quite a big difference, two and a half doublings in apparent magnitude. You can reduce this gap with a compressor. Set the Threshold knob to -30 and the Ratio to 2 (1:2). Now, for every 2 dB the input goes above -30, the output only raises 1 dB. A little math will show you that means when your input signal is at -5, your output signal is at -17.5 - we've gone 25 dB past the Threshold, resulting in a gain of only 12.5 dB: -30 + 12.5 = -17.5. Now you can set your Makeup Gain knob to +15 and your signal is at -2.5. Your signal now only varies from -15 dB to -2.5 dB. With more compression (a higher ratio and more gain) we could tighten it up further.
Sidechain compression is a topic for another day - essentially you can use an audio signal to trigger compression, but that audio isn't part of the output. Other differences your individual models of compressor might have are Root-Mean-Square (RMS) tracking vs. Peak tracking (you can read about that on Wikipedia), "hard" knee vs. "soft" knee or knee radius, or key filtering. These are less integral to the compressor's function but are all useful.
Thank you :) I am primarily a composer and I've only been dabbling in recording/mixing my own music for the last few months. I know the kick needs work and the stereo width is off, but I'm kind of clueless on how to improve it.
This track and all my others are written and mixed in Linux Multimedia Studio, I'll see about exporting a MIDI file during some downtime tonight.