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Creative Technology, Brown Arts Institute
  • Creative Technology
  • Page
  • Wayfinding
    • Ableton Push
    • Animation station
    • Electronics workstation
    • Flatbed scanner
    • MIDI keyboards
    • Projectors
    • Recording Studio microphones
    • Recording Studio patch bay
    • Recording Studio preamps
    • Tablet displays
    • Title
  • Cheatsheets
    • πŸ–¨οΈPrinting to the Epson Stylus P9000
  • Check-Out Equipment
    • Mobile Recording Kit
    • Camera Kit
      • Basic Operations
      • Video Setup for Recording Humans
        • Audio Set Up
        • Custom Mode 1 Settings: A Reference
    • Lens Choices for Lumix Camera
    • Shoulder Mount for Camera
    • Manfrotto Befree Tripod
    • Neewer 3 Point Light Kit
    • Mini LED 3 Point Light Kits
    • Audio Kit
      • Set up and Recording Operation
      • Transferring Files + Audio Interface Setup
    • Shotgun Mic Kit
      • Booming with a Shotgun Mic
    • Basic Recorder Kit
    • Field Recorder
    • 4 Channel Surround Sound Field Recorder
    • GoPro Kit
    • Multi-Cam GoPro Kit
    • Podcasting Kit
  • Guides
    • Virtual reality
      • Unity 3D: Overview
        • Setting up Unity
        • Building 3D objects
        • Using Unity
      • Virtual Reality with Unity: Getting Started
        • Setting up your project
        • Enable Controller Movement + Teleportation
        • Basic Interactable Objects
        • Prototyping VR via Oculus Link
    • πŸŽ™οΈPodcasting
      • 🎀Beginner Podcasting: Granoff Studio
        • πŸ–₯️STEP 1: Setting up Ableton for Recording
        • πŸŽ™οΈSTEP 2: Microphone Set Up
        • 🎧STEP 3: Headphones Set Up
        • 🎚️STEP 4: Setting Level and Recording
        • πŸŽ›οΈ3 Person Podcasting / Using the Tracking Room
        • πŸ“•Glossary
      • πŸ“±iPhone/Smartphone Podcasting Cheat Sheet
        • πŸ—£οΈBasic tips for interviewing
        • 🀳Using Your Phone to Record
    • 3D design and modeling
      • Finding 3D models and materials
  • βœ–οΈLogic Pro X Basics
    • πŸ”ŠCreating and using sampler instruments from audio
    • πŸ“ŠEQ Basics
    • πŸ“‚Filter Basics
    • πŸ“ˆCompressor Basics
    • πŸ₯Drum programming with Ultrabeat
    • πŸ’ͺUsing Flex Time
  • Camera Kit Set Up for Video Recording Humans
    • The Camera + Basic Operations
      • Initial Setup for Recording Monologues
      • Custom Mode 1 Settings: A Reference
      • Audio Set Up
      • Manfrotto Befree Tripod
      • Neewer Light Kit
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  1. Logic Pro X Basics

Compressor Basics

Last updated 1 year ago

Compression is a useful tool to β€˜glue’ together multiple instruments, and to create a more even volume level on individual tracks. There are many compression algorithms that alter the sound in different ways, but the basic theory is that any sound louder than a set threshold is lowered at a set ratio (essentially how steeply the sound is lowered), creating fewer peaks of sound and lowering the overall dynamic range of audio.

To add compression to a track in Logic, open the Inspector by pressing β€œ I β€œ, then click Audio FX > Dynamics > Compressor. You will see knobs for threshold, ratio, make-up gain, and a few others, as well as a meter that shows how much the sound is being compressed. To understand how compression works, try turning the threshold down and the ratio up. You should see the meter dip more and more into the negative numbers, and you will hear the dynamic range of the audio clip get smaller, giving it a kind of squashed sound. If you click the β€œGraph” button on the meter, it will show you what’s actually happening to the audio, with a window for how steeply the sound is being reduced, or attenuated, and a graph showing the the audio level after compression overlaid on the original audio waveform.

A.

Here, with a high ratio and low threshold, you can see that the loudest parts of the audio, also known as peaks, are lowered in volume dramatically. It is important to note that unless you are going for a specific sound, these settings are likely much more extreme than the type of compression used in most studio and production settings; however, like most aspects of music production, compression needs to be tailored to your specific application of it, and you will just need to work with until you develop an ear for it.

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