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Multiband compression


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Its actually been around for a long long time.

As Rasasiv said EQ and a single compressor will handel one band of frequencies.

Take a single source, split the signal, Use several comps and EQ's in parallel

Then mix them back together to a single signal with a mixer and you have a multiband comp.

It could have been done back in early radio days if there was a need. I'm not sure who made it

popular. I know Motown producers coined the term Exciting Compressor back in the 60's which

ran signals in parallel but one was dry and one compressed. Some bright engineer likely cooked it

up in some studio connecting multiple coms and EQ's.

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All a multiband compressor is is a single mono or stereo signal crossed over at 2 or more points with a compressor on the end of each band and some sort of summing.

 

You can make a simple two band compressor by duplicating a track in a DAW, using a steep HPF on one and a steep LPF on the other (at the same center frequency, of course), and inserting a compressor on each of the tracks.

 

Voila. Multiband compression.

 

Cheers :)

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I know that there has been some discussion regarding compression as part of a remastering scheme. But do any of you routinely compress the dynamic range of your DJ tunes almost irrespective of the recording??

 

I find that compressing - to the point of nearly flattening - the dynamic range of many undanceable songs can really enhance the rhythm section, can make bass solos loud enough to dance to, and can fix those blasting brass hits that are so common in 50s and later big band stuff. Ya Ruben - I know - just dont play that crp. I happen to love bebop and find that with compression the rhythm section can be made to stand out to the point that many of the tunes really drive along Kyle - stuff the comments. Anyone else?? I am using the compressor that comes with audacity and find that it works pretty well.

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The cool thing about multiband compression is that you don't HAVE to compress individual bands, you can just alter their levels and apply compression only when needed.

 

That's exactly how I see it. It allows you to focus in only on the band(s) that need it. It's also nice that you can prevent certain bands from triggering the compressor... like when you're compressing a drum submix on a bus and you don't want the kick to trigger it for whatever reason... you can just focus in on the fundamental frequency of the snare and get it to pop out, or tame it, depending of course on how you set your attack and release times, etc. With multiband, you can do something different on the bottom without affecting the top (or vice versa) and there are times when that can be a very useful capability.

 

That doesn't mean it's needed all the time though, nor that multiband compression is something I recommend for neophytes. IMHO, it's better to try to wrap your head around single band / full bandwidth compression first, than it is to try to muck about in a multiband without understanding the fundamentals. And there's the whole "EQ adjustment" capabilities of a multiband compressor. They can be (mis)used as a tonal shaper too. :)

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All a multiband compressor is is a single mono or stereo signal crossed over at 2 or more points with a compressor on the end of each band and some sort of summing.


You can make a simple two band compressor by duplicating a track in a DAW, using a steep HPF on one and a steep LPF on the other (at the same center frequency, of course), and inserting a compressor on each of the tracks.


Voila. Multiband compression.


Cheers
:)

 

I recently did an article on doing basically that exact same thing, but I went into how you can use DIY crossovers in your DAW software to allow you to do not only multiband compression (with different compressor types on each band if you want), but also creative effects processing, such as adding fuzz to the mids and highs of a bass while leaving the fundamental frequencies alone so you don't end up with a thinned-out and gutless bass, or for adding different types of effects to different frequency bands of any sound.

 

Here's a link if anyone would like to check it out. :)

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I know that there has been some discussion regarding compression as part of a remastering scheme. But do any of you routinely compress the dynamic range of your DJ tunes almost irrespective of the recording??


I find that compressing - to the point of nearly flattening - the dynamic range of many undanceable songs can really enhance the rhythm section, can make bass solos loud enough to dance to, and can fix those blasting brass hits that are so common in 50s and later big band stuff. Ya Ruben - I know - just dont play that crp. I happen to love bebop and find that with compression the rhythm section can be made to stand out to the point that many of the tunes really drive along Kyle - stuff the comments. Anyone else?? I am using the compressor that comes with audacity and find that it works pretty well.

 

Are you spinning Bebop as a DJ? If so, you're my new hero! :cool::D

 

Craig is far more in tune with the DJ world than I am, but I could see where a compressor and / or limiter might be a useful part of a DJ's rig. :idk: I tend to like dynamics and lots of dynamic range when listening, but I think you'd want to keep things bumpin' and thumpin' for the dance floor in a DJ situation as much as possible.

 

BTW, welcome to the forum. :wave:

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Mulltiband compression is basic to Sony Acid (Music)--but not the freeware--and Sony Vegas (Film). The latter is surprising since to read forums like this, the concept is so new, advanced, and even scary, lol.

 

Let's get realistic: Woodstock, Hendrix, and Eddie Kramer changed the density listeners expect from a small-group mix, and parallel compression at least, has been essential to about everything heard regularly by Gen X to present.

 

I find it most useful to tame the bass while leaving the mids and highs alone--not so scary after all, no? Boo!

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i really like multiband compression on bass.i compress hardly the 50-140 hz region which is a very ''dangerous '' area especially when the music is played on larger systems..

then i use different compression for 140-about 280 hz and then my next band is 300-800 (the split point depends also from the music style)..i use to compress less the higher bands..

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