Looking for an Re which makes compression visible

[Michaellos]

Hello everyone

I am not so much skilled in compression, so I am lloking for an Re which could help me at this point and make it visible. Possibly, this is the one I am looking for ? https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack ... -analyzer/
I know there are some free vst plugins doing this, but I would prefer Re format

Thanks

[Baylo]

I may be misunderstanding what you are looking for, but the RE you linked to is a frequency spectrum analyzer and won’t show you directly what’s happening with compression.

Rather, if you use the compressors already built into Reason - either the MClass compressor or the channel compressor - you’ll see the little LED strip that shows you how much gain reduction is being applied when the compressor kicks in. I think that is the visual feedback you’re looking for.

[deeplink]

Can external audio be routed through umpf club drums? If so that has an animated/visual compressor...

[antic604]

Hello everyone

I am not so much skilled in compression, so I am lloking for an Re which could help me at this point and make it visible. Possibly, this is the one I am looking for ? https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack ... -analyzer/
I know there are some free vst plugins doing this, but I would prefer Re format

Thanks

You're looking for an oscilloscope:
https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack ... ion/skope/

Unfortunately it doesn't accept more than 1 source, so you'll have to use 2 of them and put them one on top of the other to compare.

Another option would be to just bounce the track with & without compression and then compare.

[Michaellos]

I may be misunderstanding what you are looking for, but the RE you linked to is a frequency spectrum analyzer and won’t show you directly what’s happening with compression.

You're right, after watching a couple of videos, I understood that it is completely other device

[Michaellos]

Hello everyone

I am not so much skilled in compression, so I am lloking for an Re which could help me at this point and make it visible. Possibly, this is the one I am looking for ? https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack ... -analyzer/
I know there are some free vst plugins doing this, but I would prefer Re format

Thanks

You're looking for an oscilloscope:
https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack ... ion/skope/

Unfortunately it doesn't accept more than 1 source, so you'll have to use 2 of them and put them one on top of the other to compare.

Another option would be to just bounce the track with & without compression and then compare.

Thank you antic604 ! That is what I was looking for

[PhillipOrdonez]

Making it visible will not help. I think you just got to learn to hear compression. It is difficult but it is the best way ‍♂️

[guitfnky]

I think it does help to be able to visualize it as you’re making changes, but only if you’re LISTENING with a critical ear at the same time. seeing a visual representation can help guide your ears as to what to listen for—for example, the attack and decay knobs on a lot of compressors aren’t very helpful, because “fast” for one compressor might be “slow” for another. ones that list attack times in milliseconds are a little better, but still don’t really help you know exactly which part of the sound to listen to. if you can see a gain reduction needle moving, it can be easier to figure out which parts of the sound you need to focus on.

that said, even that can take a bit of practice to get used to. plugins with really fast/responsive gain reduction metering tend to be most useful (not to be confused with fast compressor attack or release).

ultimately, take your time with it and don’t expect an a-ha moment overnight. I don’t know anyone who’s ever “gotten” compression and what it sounds like that quickly.

[EdwardKiy]

This has the visualization you're looking for.

https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack ... -dynamics/

last day of sale, too.

But it's true you don't NEED to have compression visualized, especially when learning.

[iamthor4]

i think when people say about learning eq and compression just use your ears is hands down the worst advice ive ever listened to , gonna take much longer that way , when you buy a synth you dont have to learn how to make all the presets do u ? some people like me just get the presets and tweak , and u can do the same with eq and compression theres loads of good presets out there to start abd learn from tweak i feel this is the best way to learn for me anyway

[Michaellos]

Making it visible will not help. I think you just got to learn to hear compression. It is difficult but it is the best way ‍♂️

I think it does help to be able to visualize it as you’re making changes, but only if you’re LISTENING with a critical ear at the same time. seeing a visual representation can help guide your ears as to what to listen for—for example, the attack and decay knobs on a lot of compressors aren’t very helpful, because “fast” for one compressor might be “slow” for another. ones that list attack times in milliseconds are a little better, but still don’t really help you know exactly which part of the sound to listen to. if you can see a gain reduction needle moving, it can be easier to figure out which parts of the sound you need to focus on.

that said, even that can take a bit of practice to get used to. plugins with really fast/responsive gain reduction metering tend to be most useful (not to be confused with fast compressor attack or release).

ultimately, take your time with it and don’t expect an a-ha moment overnight. I don’t know anyone who’s ever “gotten” compression and what it sounds like that quickly.

I agree with you both, however, I would say that such utilities like Scope can be good tools in learning how to hear compression. I suppose that compression is something where it's very important to do completely right things, and while I can't hear it well for now it could be a good practice. Something like learning by doing, without being afraid of doing something wrong.

This has the visualization you're looking for.

https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack ... -dynamics/

Not so sure, I was searching for something simple, just showing what's happening with the signal in real time. However, I'll take a look at this, until sales are not over

[Rackman]

The best visualisation you'll see is in Fab Filter's compressor. You can grab it for a month's trial, but as far as veratility goes, it's better than anything you can get as an RE (it's a VST). Use it for a month and go back to REs and you will pay for it. Same is true of their EQ which is incredible.

Honestly. Just grab the trial and use it for a month.

[deeplink]

Closest thing I can think of is Forgotten Limiter RE

[Loque]

Here is a patch which may help. Please, note that there is also Skope added for the sample display, which seem still be free atm, so be quick.

I also added CVA-7 for compression and additional (lo-res) sample display.

visualcomp.zip

(2.22 KiB) Downloaded 48 times

visualcomp.jpg (143.41 KiB) Viewed 2066 times

[MattLeschuck]

Mace from Lab One is a good option. It has tempo sync for the attack and release which is really handy.

[client6]

Here is a patch which may help.

Thanks for sharing the great patch, Loque!

[Loque]

Here is a patch which may help.

Thanks for sharing the great patch, Loque!

Your welcome

[Michaellos]

Thanks for sharing, Loque ! Thank you all for the feedback !

[PhillipOrdonez]

To learn to hear compression, I suggest you go crazy with it, exaggerate what it does, then you know what it sounds like, and then back off try to hear it when used subtly.

Another option to see it is the izotope ones, which often give the elements version for free. On the compressor you can see well how it affects the sound, if that's what you're after ‍♂️

[iamthor4]

im running out of time for skope would i use it ?

[DJMaytag]

I think it does help to be able to visualize it as you’re making changes, but only if you’re LISTENING with a critical ear at the same time. seeing a visual representation can help guide your ears as to what to listen for—for example, the attack and decay knobs on a lot of compressors aren’t very helpful, because “fast” for one compressor might be “slow” for another. ones that list attack times in milliseconds are a little better, but still don’t really help you know exactly which part of the sound to listen to. if you can see a gain reduction needle moving, it can be easier to figure out which parts of the sound you need to focus on.

that said, even that can take a bit of practice to get used to. plugins with really fast/responsive gain reduction metering tend to be most useful (not to be confused with fast compressor attack or release).

ultimately, take your time with it and don’t expect an a-ha moment overnight. I don’t know anyone who’s ever “gotten” compression and what it sounds like that quickly.

Definitely agree with a LOT of this. I had absolutely no idea what the hell I was doing when I got my first compressor nearly 25 years ago, an Alesis 3630, without ANY resources out there to hear much less visualize what was happening. No YouTube, no video tutorials of any sort, and no audio examples... just listening to records & CD's like what I wanted to make, with little to no clue how to get things to sound the way they did.

So 25 years later, I think I'm getting a better feel for compression, and how/when/why to use it. Knowing your compressors inside and out is KEY. I've been taking notes and reading manuals, so that it becomes second nature to know what type/kind of compression is needed and (most importantly) what compressors just aren't going to work for the application.

That said, using the visualizer/timeline in FabFilter's Pro-L2 and Pro-C2 VST's are arguably the best way to take a good look at what's happening to the waveform, over time, to see what the various parameters are doing. Since compression is VERY time-dependent, looking at the waveform over time is going to be FAR more useful than what you'll see on a peak level based meter or an oscilloscope.

[selig]

It can be helpful to have visual aids, especially if you listen first and try to "hear" it before peeking at the visuals. I still do this with tuning and timing, try to guess if the part is ahead/behind or sharp/flat and by how much, then look and see how close I am. Gets work done AND trains my ear.

But one thing to add about compression - there isn't as clear cut an indication of what it's doing vs how it sounds, especially compared to tuning and/or timing. Imagine how different compressors react/sound differently, even with similar settings and the same amount of gain reduction. So with compression and visuals, take what you see with a grain of salt.
And while we're at it, most compressors already have a great visual indication of what their doing, providing they have a gain reduction meter. I mean, it's not like you're flying blind with most compressors…

[DJMaytag]

But one thing to add about compression - there isn't as clear cut an indication of what it's doing vs how it sounds, especially compared to tuning and/or timing. Imagine how different compressors react/sound differently, even with similar settings and the same amount of gain reduction. So with compression and visuals, take what you see with a grain of salt.
And while we're at it, most compressors already have a great visual indication of what their doing, providing they have a gain reduction meter. I mean, it's not like you're flying blind with most compressors…

The hardest thing for me was understanding how much gain reduction was actually necessary... or even useful. I mean, sure, I can see that it’s reducing by 3 db. The question was always if that was enough, or too much? If 3 dB reduction is good, is 4 or 5 dB better? Are the settings I’m even using to compress that much even what I want?

It was just in the past few years that I realized that the attack/release settings could actually INCREASE the attack of an instrument, making things punchier (the peak at the attack gets louder while the sustain/tail gets pushed down). I’d always been trying to crush the peak to squash the overall dynamic range to make it all louder while not peaking over 0 dB (I used to record to DAT machines before DAW’s).

In a nutshell, there’s a window of good settings for an instrument, and if you’re outside that window too far you get (using a kick drum as an example):

- super punchy with a loss of low end energy
- lots of low energy but it sounds mushy

I’ve been attempting to produce music and mix it well for 25 years, and I’m still nowhere near an expert at compression, but using FF Pro-L2 to visualize what my compression settings are doing to an instrument have been hugely helpful. Just as helpful is having a test session with just one compressor and throwing all kinds of instruments at it, noting how it reacts and what it does well and what it doesn’t seem very good for. That information is HUGELY useful to not waste your time trying to achieve the impossible, when choosing a different compressor would be the better choice.

[selig]

The hardest thing for me was understanding how much gain reduction was actually necessary... or even useful. I mean, sure, I can see that it’s reducing by 3 db. The question was always if that was enough, or too much? If 3 dB reduction is good, is 4 or 5 dB better? Are the settings I’m even using to compress that much even what I want?

Isn't that always the question - how much reverb is actually necessary, how much EQ, how much automation, and certainly how much gain reduction! There isn't a right or wrong answer because it depends on what is your motivation for adding the processing - and I'm not sure a visual display will show you when you've achieved "that sound" in your head…

It was just in the past few years that I realized that the attack/release settings could actually INCREASE the attack of an instrument, making things punchier (the peak at the attack gets louder while the sustain/tail gets pushed down). I’d always been trying to crush the peak to squash the overall dynamic range to make it all louder while not peaking over 0 dB (I used to record to DAT machines before DAW’s).

interestingly that was the first thing I learned about compressors back when the SSL was first on the scene - the default channel comp setting with high ratio and fastest release is STILL my go to "add attack" plugin. Same for the SSL bus compressor - I literally use the same exact settings I learned 40 years ago: slowest attack/fastest release, 2:1 ratio, 2-4 dB gain reduction.

In a nutshell, there’s a window of good settings for an instrument, and if you’re outside that window too far you get (using a kick drum as an example):

- super punchy with a loss of low end energy
- lots of low energy but it sounds mushy

I’ve been attempting to produce music and mix it well for 25 years, and I’m still nowhere near an expert at compression, but using FF Pro-L2 to visualize what my compression settings are doing to an instrument have been hugely helpful. Just as helpful is having a test session with just one compressor and throwing all kinds of instruments at it, noting how it reacts and what it does well and what it doesn’t seem very good for. That information is HUGELY useful to not waste your time trying to achieve the impossible, when choosing a different compressor would be the better choice.

Not sure what you mean exactly - how is a display going to reveal this window of "good" settings since "good" is defined different by each person for each project. I find the best way to find that window is to use a device that gives you enough range to go below and above the sound you're looking for. For example, if 2 dB gain reduction isn't enough and 6 dB is too much, we have now greatly narrowed down the range of settings that give the desired results. That's why I always gravitate towards devices that give me a wide range of settings. I first experienced this with the classic Tube Tech compressor because it had enough range on all parameters to go BEYOND what I needed, thus showing me exactly where the "sweet spot" was for any knob/setting. Make sense? Still use that technique today on most every device I use!

But specifically, do you mean you want to see the results as a waveform to know what the compression is actually doing? I've been doing that since Pro Tools v1.0 - just record through the compressor to another channel and you can zoom in and even save the results (something I'm not sure any compressor allows you to do). Or something different? As for adding attack I see that with peak meters very precisely, fast release can be visualized there too.

All to say, if a visual is what you want you can currently accomplish that with EVERY compressor ever made, software or hardware - and I find using one common visual display for all devices allows you to compare the effects visually far better and is more useful IMO. And as always, I'm listening first and trying to describe in my head what I'm hearing, THEN I look at the visuals to see how close I came (and because of this, I'm getting closer every day).

[Boombastix]

A visual that flickers by (as in Fab filter or a scope) is not very useful imo. If you want to understand what happens at 1ms vs 10ms vs 100ms attack or release your have to look at a very zoomed in static waveform. Best is to bounce out stuff and then look at it in the sample editor window, zoomed in. Though it will not show anything about overtones created due to very fast operation, for that you would need a spectrum analyser or perhaps better, your ears.