What is a compressor?

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Ryan Irelan, Editor - listen@podcastfreeamerica.com

by Ryan Irelan

C is for COMPRESSOR

What the heck is a compressor? In audio recording, a compressor is a piece of hardware or software that makes a given audio signal more even, so that the loudest parts of the signal are lowered and quietest parts raised, giving a uniform and predicitable dynamic range. What this does is allow the person speaking into the microphone to not have to worry about controlling the different levels of their voice and allow full expression and speaking volume without altering the overal audio level (or cause distortion).

In podcasting you’ll want to use compression mainly on your vocal recording. You can either purchase an outboard compressor like this one from dbx or get a software plugin that works with your recording software. There are many available for free, like the Blockfish plugin. You can also spend some money on a professional software compressor like the iZotope Ozone.

OK, once you get your compressor set up, here are some ballpark compressor settings for the ideal voice over:

Threshold: The threshold will depend on the vocalist and the room you’re working in. There’s no set threshold. It’s something you’ll have to tinker with to get the best setting for your environment.

Ratio: Generally speaking (and you’ll read this almost everywhere), vocals should be compressed at a ratio of 2:1.

Attack: You want to set a fast attack time. Attack is the speed at which the compressor kicks in and does its work. Too slow of an attack time will cause the vocal to be mushy and lack punch. I know this from experience.

Release: This is how long until the compressor stops doing its work. I would set a medium-slow release time as a starting point. You’ll have to adjust it for your own voice and get the best setting. Use your ears as a guide.

Output: The output is the signal level that the compressor returns. If you need to add a little gain to your signal post compression, turn up the output a bit. Be careful that you do not distort your compressed signal by turning up the output too high.

Here are some sources that helped inspire this entry and will provide you more details:

How to Record Vocals
How to achieve a great v/o without a great studio setup
Recording the Voice-Over
Home Recording - Compression

This is part of the series ABC of Podcasting from Podcast Free America.

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