Compressor Attack and Release Times

[Primal Yell]

For Rock tunes, what are some recommended attack and release times for Bass guitar, punchy snare drum, rythym and lead guitars??

 

Regards and best in your studio,

Greg

[nerol1st]

These are only suggestions. Use your ear to fine tune them (they will vary greatly depending on the sound of the source).

 

Snare: A: 4.5 ms R: 4 ms , A: 16 ms R: 45 ms

Bass guitar: A: 7 ms R: 600 ms

Lead guitar: A: 1.2 ms R: 175 ms

Rhythm guitar: Yeah I don't compress that, it's already compressed. But if you want to get a suggestion for that check this video:

[UstadKhanAli]

Depends on how the person plays and the tempo and style of the song. For the snare, you'd just get the initial transient poking through and then have the compressor kick in, but even with this, it really depends on so much.

 

I also wanted to point out that even if you have a really distorted - and therefore compressed - rhythm guitar track, you can still compress it and have some benefit to it. I like think of a compressor as not just something that is for squishing audio, but something that shapes it. And one benefit is creating more attack. Therefore, with distorted rhythm tracks, I'll sometimes put in a compressor with a relatively slow attack, which allows the initial strum (transient) to poke through before the compressor kicks in. You can also create more sustain.

 

And if it's a rhythm guitar that is not distorted, you can use the compressor to even out the playing a little bit plus all of the above.

[nerol1st]

I wasn't saying compressing the rhythm guitar is "wrong" just that "I don't do it"

 

Just to clarify.

[Zooey]

I tend to think of attack and release in very black and white terms: either it's slow, or it's fast (relative to the sound you are compressing).

 

A fast attack swallows more of the initial transient.

A slow attack emphasizes more of the initial transient.

A fast release can bring out the body but also cause pumping.

A slow release can increase perception of sustain and minimize artifacts.

 

It's not perfect, because release also can emphasize or de-emphasize the initial transient depending on the character of the input signal. But I think it's a good place to start.

[kurfu]

I've heard that for a punchy bass, one should use a slower attack (30ms or so) to allow the initial attack of the note to ring through, but then to deaden the sustain a bit.

[Weasel9992]

It depends entirely on the context of the mix. Bass for example can be compressed to bring out the stringyness and character or it can be compressed to make it fat and level it into a mix...or anything in between.

 

I'm with the above poster who said that compression is a tool for shaping a sound. That's definitely how I tend to use it.

 

Frank

[UstadKhanAli]

I wasn't saying compressing the rhythm guitar is "wrong" just that "I don't do it" Just to clarify.

 

Cool! Sometimes, it's just not necessary.

[Primal Yell]

 

 

 

I was quite surprised to see this as being so quick an attack time--this is to tame down things quickly to prevent clipping??

[Primal Yell]

 

Therefore, with distorted rhythm tracks, I'll sometimes put in a compressor with a relatively slow attack, which allows the initial strum (transient) to poke through before the compressor kicks in. .

 

 

 

using a slower attack in this manner, does this sort of suggest a limiter is included in the signal path? If there is a concern for transients, do you limit it first and then compress---or do you want to compress it first?

 

I am grateful for the help.

[CheapAdviceGuy]

You might start with the settings recommended here, then gently tweak them while listening to the actual song. I am not big on setting things "by the book" and then just going with that. The "book" gives you a sensible starting point but no more. You may be surprised where you end up!

 

The sound is all.

 

-CAG