Ch 14. Dynamic Signal Processing - Posted on 2014-02-22 by Amanda Payne

Chapter 14 was filled with useful information. There were so many plug-ins that are necessary for the mixing process and that doesn’t even count the third party plug-ins all over the web.

Dynamics are crucial in music. It is more than just the notes, instruments, and lyrics (if available) that give music such an emotional feeling. The dynamics make or break the impact or the subtly of a musical piece. With the use of compressors, limiters, expanders, and gates, we can control these dynamics to create an overall balance in the mix.

It is crazy how far and how fast technology and the digital world have come. Some many ideas have come, gone, and been improved over and over. I have found that a lot of people in the audio world, such as Bill Putnam, have created an idea and over time that idea has expanded and is still very well known in the industry. Mr. Putnam is considered one of the fathers of modern recording for his LA-2A Leveling Amplifier and his starting of the companies Universal Audio, Studio Electronics, and UREI/National Intertel/Teletronix.

When we speak of compressors, their two main functions are to find peaks or transients and then have the means to attenuate them. The two types of compression are downward, meaning bring high levels down, and upward, meaning bringing the low levels up. Limiting is simply a severe form of compression or when the ratio is 10:1 or above. This is typically applied any time a user desires a more constant volume over time.

On the contrary, expanders increase the dynamic range while gates open and close depending on the user defined threshold. Threshold is one of the many parameters of dynamic processors. It also includes ratio, attack, release, makeup gain, input and output gain, stereo linking, and both hard and soft knees. The first four are also parameters for the other processors as well. Using these on the mix assignment will really help get the hang of proper professional technique.