[Dana Nielsen]

Jezze!

I love that you’re diving deep into compression after watching that Zoom! And you are totally on the right track finding the best settings to lengthen sustain so that held notes don’t die away so quickly.

I think the best strategy (as demonstrated in the Zoom) is to go nuts with the settings in order to hear what each control has to offer. That said, it is easier to hear attack and release settings when applied to brief sounds with sharp transients such as drum hits, which is why I tend to use drums for compression demonstration purposes. Compression settings are harder to “hear” when applied to sustained sounds, so I’m not surprised you’re finding it all a bit more confusing as you delve deeper into sustained notes!

I love your practical example of using compression to lengthen the sustain of a held guitar note so that it doesn’t drop in volume so quickly. This comes up all the time in both the production and mixing phases of a record.

I find it best to imagine it a bit like an algebra equation (barf … I know … bear with me). Or better yet, think of the game show, Jeopardy, where you know “the answer” to the question and just need to work backwards to solve “the question.”

Here’s the same approach described differently:

Rather than wondering “how can I make the back-half of my guitar notes louder?” Ask yourself “how can I make the front-half of my guitar notes quieter?”

Here’s a 5-step approach:

1. Find The Quiet: Ok so, park your playhead/cursor in the middle or end of a long sustained guitar note. Choose a position during the note where the level is sustaining nicely but it’s just too dang quiet to cut through the mix. (FUN FACT: you’ve just discovered your threshold! See step 2)
2. Set The Threshold: Continue to play that quiet sustained section of the note (or loop it) while you lower the compressor’s threshold. Watch the gain reduction meter as you adjust the threshold and stop lowering the threshold when you start to see the tiniest bit of reduction registering on the GR meter.
3. Make It Loud: Continue looping the quiet sustained “below threshold” portion of your note while you turn up the compressor’s make-up gain. Add make-up gain until it’s as loud as you like.
4. Enter Launch Codes: Adjust the compressor parameters to the max, just for fun (and to protect your ears now that we’ve added a bunch of makeup gain). Try a ratio of 10:1 or higher; fastest attack, fastest release.
5. Let ‘Er Rip: Now position your playhead just before the note and let ‘er rip! With these settings you should see and hear a TON of gain reduction during the initial Attack and Decay of the note. And due to the fast release setting, you should see no further gain reduction by the time the playhead reaches the Sustain and Release part of the note chosen in step 1.

From there, you can continue to adjust the parameters.

• Missing some of the plucky attack as the pick strikes the guitar string? Increase the compressor’s attack setting to let some of that through!
• Are you hearing “pumping” artifacts during the sustain of the note? Increase the compressor’s release setting to smooth things out!
• Want a super-sustained sound? Lower the threshold all the way down to just above the noise floor and turn up the make-up gain to 11!
• Love the way your compressor is controlling the dynamics but it’s starting to sound unnatural? Try a lower ratio! Or a “softer knee” if your compressor has it! Or if your compressor has a “mix” or “dry/wet” knob, blend back in some of the uncompressed signal!

Lemme know if these tips are helpful, homey! Thanks for the great question – keep em comin!