How to Compress Acoustic Guitar (And How to Not Screw it Up)
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- čas přidán 23. 08. 2024
- For The Smart Compression 8 Page PDF Guide (Free download): creativesoundla...
No talking version here: • From the Video Vault: ...
Compressing acoustic guitar can be really difficult, and in fact, very easy to get wrong.
Acoustic guitar is very sensitive to the slightest change in microphone position, preamp, and how it is compressed.
In this episode, I show you want to listen for when compressing acoustic guitar so that you don't destroy the sound of a beautiful instrument, but bring the best out of it.
Such a calm and nice dude, like an African grandma full of recording wisdom.
More like an all-around recording badass, IMHO.
i can see it in his eyes if you know what i mean.
hahah alol
the attack setting depends on where you want your acoustic guitar in the 3D space of your mix, slow in front, fast back :-) nice video sowing the warm audio thanks, fast release sustain and reveal room mids, reverb if you use, slow release is even more sustain but works best in long notes no for struming fast scenario or picking, about EQ trebles are in the attack so slow attack reveal more trebles.
Ty for this
That was soooo good. I've watched so many freakin tutorials about compression, and there was something about your personality and the way you talked through your thought process that made some things click. Thank you so much :)
A cool thing to note about the characteristics of the release knob is that it will also affect the eq balance of the signal depending on where it is set. Notice that when the release is all the way fast, the guitar is brighter, and when it is slowed down, it gets darker. It's a great tool/trick to have because if you know you'll be compressing a source, you can change the eq curve before ever touching an eq!
Yes, but I wander if this is more based on the attack, as most high frequencies are in the transient. The release setting affects the attack time, which would as you said adjusting the release to make it sound brighter. Hadn't thought of it that way before.
You're absolutely right, there is much high end information in the attack of a source. But the release, especially on its fastest setting, will introduce distortion that will have the effect lifting the high end of a track. There is a great video made by Pro Studio Live where Daniel Ford explains the concept. He suggests an experiment with pink noise to better understand how this changes the frequency content of a source. Totally blew my mind.
Wow, great insight! The fast release really adds a unique depth to the sound. Keep up the great work and congrats on the baby!
Thanks man! I'm pleasantly surprised that people still remember the new baby! He's doing great and growing fast.
i liked your compression manual, though i never use a pick for acoustic guitars so it's sort of a different approach. For example i'll implement how i play using either my nail as a pick for plucking or the face of my index finger nail for strumming. So the attack of using my thumb to downstrum is always super bassy much different than a pick. So i guess i'm looking for advice on how to thicken the sound without making it sound too bassy.
This question is one I have as well. Fingerpicking with a bare thumb is very specific and has recording challenges. Not covered much by anyone. Good question!
This is a goldmine. Thanks for the PDF reference download too.
Thanks man!
thank you so much for the guide man, i've always had a very basic grasp of how compression works but of course i use garageband at the moment which is limited to say the least. in the future this will be a great tool once i actually start being able to be serious about production
I'm glad you found my PDF guide helpful! Garage band or any other program is totally capable of making great music.
I used GarageBand for a long time and eventually switched over to Logic. It was an easy switch from GB to logic really, although logic can certainly seem overwhelming at first with all the different things you can do with it. I might get some shit from this from the copyright Nazi’s out there but here’s a little tip: You can download logic for free very easily. While someone who isn’t me had bought logic 9, that person didn’t pay for 10. Try nmac.to (I think that’s the URL) if your interested. It’s incredibly easy to “steal” as there is pretty much zero protection against piracy. Personally I think that Apple can take the hit and any corporation that uses slave labor, tracks my whereabouts for the government and god knows what else, is totally fair game to steal from. I also think that intellectual property in general is a ridiculous concept that only stifles creativity and hurts a lot of people more than it helps. I’m sure this sounds crazy to a lot of people but you should look into Steven Kinsella among other people who argue against IP before you make up your mind.
Nice and simple. Thanks (and for the download too).
It's hard to hear the differences when you talk over ever knob movement :/ I would personally like it if you explained what to listen for and then moved it. Otherwise I loved the information :) Thank you for sharing and giving your time! Loved the PDF too! :)
That reminded me, I have a acoustic only version here w no talking: czcams.com/video/yN1mHFIYR24/video.html
Thank you :) great videos. I really appreciate it!
LMAOm
Awesome info buddy! I also have a WA76 and havnt tried those sertings , but it sounded awesome. Love your videos man, keep em coming! Cheers!
Nice!
Excellent vid, great approach and very informative.
Get that compressed sound like McCartney got on "Those Were the Days" on the Mary Hopkin recording. My fave compressed acoustic sound lol EMI Compressor Limiters. Great piano sounds too with Geoff Emerick.
Great videos. What do you do for a more fingerstyle approach?
Hi Ryan, one question is, I thought lower ms Attack setting meant faster attack response and vice versa with the Release setting. I thought usually slower or increased ms time on the Attack setting meant it took longer to respond and hence allow more signal to go through. Am I confused here? Is it the terms used? Hope you can explain. Thanks in Advance.
Yes, a slower attack time will allow more sound to pass through, usually the pick sound or sibilance of vocals. You can hear the pick sound go away with too fast of an attack time. On all 1176 type compressors and plug ins, turning to the right makes the attack and release faster or less ms. To the left is slower and more ms. The attack time on the 1176 type compressor is 20 microseconds when turned all the way right, and 800 (.8 ms) microseconds when turned all the way left.
Now it makes sense. Thanks as always.
Creative Sound Lab Hello Ryan, I've been trying to DL your Free pdf on your website and that's what I'm getting:
Not Acceptable!
An appropriate representation of the requested resource could not be found on this server. This error was generated by Mod_Security.
Have a great day
Love it!
All of the videos I'm seeing about compression on acoustic guitar seem to address only rhythm playing. None of them address going from rhythm to doing lead work. Is it that compression doesn't help with that?
Why in this piece of hardware a fast attack is indicated whit higher values? I feel that less millisecondss means faster. Am I wrong?
Is this just for recording purposes or live?
On the waves 1176 plugin, is the attack setting where yours is at not considered a fast attack? Or is it opposite with his?
what mic/mics did you use to record this acoustic?
Question ;is it ok to add compressor when recording the acost. gtr or only when mixing?
Thanks for the great video. Do you find it necessary to change the way you use compression if the guitar has nylon versus metallic strings?
Sure if the attack is different. Just listen and make adjustments as necessary.
Nice one Ryan. Wondered if you have any pointers on compression for live (thru a PA) solo acoustic guitar. I alternate between soft picking and hard as hell thrashing, often in the same song and the volume difference is frightening. A friend swears by the Cali76 Compact Deluxe as it does parallel compression. Any thoughts?
I've never worked with the Cali76, but it sounds like what you need is a very slow release compressor first to control over all volume, then a faster one set with the more consistent volume. Most of the time a slow attack (for a '76 type comp) and a fairly fast release to get the sustain up.
Hey Sam, maybe a good idea would be to use a volume pedal before your compressor to take down the loudest parts. It's what i do while mixing. (just not with a pedal) You just can't compress 2 very different ways of playing with the same setting and expect things to roll out fine! And it's also about context, if the dynamics of your playing fit the rest of the arrangement, things might not be that bad!
Thanks for the video.
On a side note, does anyone know why the attack/release knobs are backwards on the 1176 compressor? (I know they're backwards on the Warm Audio because it's a recreation of the original. I'm asking why they're backwards on the original in the first place.)
Really not sure, but perhaps someone can chime in on this one.
Nice vid ryan!
Thanks!
My problem with having a fast attack time is it almost eliminates the point of the compressor, which is to tame the dynamics (though compressors have many different purposes). I feel you get more dynamics control with a fast attack and set the release to dictate tightness or energy. Then slow the attack to tone taste. For example, fast release with a fast attack will give energy to the acoustic track because of the pumping gives the illusion of more intense playing while having the release slower, as to pump more in rhythm to the acoustic, provides a tighter compression (though even slowing the release too much ends up compressing everything, which is not good compression). When the release and attack are set too slow, you allow too much transient and even some body/tail to come through so no real leveling is happening in any beneficial way. This is especially true on a kick drum. The slower the attack the more you are allowing more than the initial transient to go through and end up allowing some of the tail to come through as well (which defeats the purpose of the compression). Will it still be tighter than the unprocessed track? Yes, but not optimally so. Same with release. On a snare if the release it too fast and your goal is to get it to pop then you want that release to be slow so that way the tail does not come back into the picture (at least until just before the next hit). If you are trying to make the snare fat then you want a fast release because you want that tail to come through and sustain after the transient has been compressed.
I'm really confused, did ryan make a mistake when mentioning attack / release times at 1:30 ? He says that the attack is 80 milliseconds (with the knob all the way to the left, on the slow setting) and the release is 50 milliseconds (with the knob all the way to the right on the fast setting). Am I missing something? Do these knobs have different scales?
Microseconds, not milliseconds.
When typing that comment I see my error but I am still confused by this. So you have .8 mil for a slow attack and 50 mil for a fast release. 0.8 mil seems pretty fast for a slow attack.
Yep, very fast, but I don't think it sounds that fast. I'm sure there are factors that make it musical even though it's that fast.
I went ahead and looked at the manual for your wa76, and realized I was actually confused on the time scale of the knobs being different, not even the sound of the compressor. I agree that it sounds very good.Thanks for the replies homie!
im going to give you small donation this 1176 knowledge is going to help me dramatically found a free plugin for it that sounds great but is a bit old
do you like the la2a/wa2a on the acoustic?
Yes very much so. Allow the attack through and adds sustain.
I was expecting you to use it on an acoustic, but I guess the 76 is more flexible/similar to other compressors.
@@joelrudnick dbx160!
What is a cue stick guitar?
See video
That guitar sounds really cheap.