need audio compressor

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bongo Fiend
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Bongo Fiend

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Hi

Please can someone recommend a good software compression tool. I don't want to buy CoolEdit or anything - I just want a simple tool for applying compression to a WAV file.

I write progressive house music. When I've finished a tune on Cubase, I mix it down to a big WAV file (typically around 100Mb). Obviously some compression is desirable before I put it onto a CD. My individual samples are quite well compressed, but there are still lots of peaks in the mixdown, e.g. where the kick drum coincides with a clap and a bass synth.

At the moment I use the shareware program Goldwave to do a bit of post-processing on the mixdown - but its compression facilities are a bit disappointing. It doesn't appear to 'look-ahead', so the compression isn't all that effective. In general, the parameters are not all that intuitive to fiddle around with.

When normalised, my mixdowns are typically around the 60% volume mark for most of the tune. There are usually about 10-20 peaks where (just for a few samples) the level goes up to 100%. After manually compressing these, the track still needs a bit more compression so that the whole track is mostly near the 100% mark.

Can someone recommend a tool which will do what I want? Preferably with a more intuitive interface (e.g. with a preview function), or at least some clear instructions for exactly what the parameters mean.

A shareware/freeware app would obviously be ideal :)
 
did you try using Sound Forge? It has some good built in dynamizer, compressor, etc..

good luck
 
Does SoundForge compress sounds 'strictly'?

What I mean is this: with Goldwave, you can specify a compression ratio of say 70%, but the output still has some samples that are nearly 100%. I think this is because the compressor effectly takes a short time to 'kick in'.

I want to specify a level that it will *NEVER* go above. I also want to specify how smoothly it will lower the volume before an 'offending' loud bit, and how long it will take to return the volume to the original level.

The only other issue is, how fast is it? It's a 100Mb WAV so I want it to be super-duper-quick!!

Thanks :)
 
Limiting, not compression ...

Hi.

The function you're describing is actually that of a limiter, not a compressor. Similar, but slightly different. You want look-ahead limiting that will dynamically (and musically) chop off the peaks that show up. Even with the "Attack" control on a compressor set to 0ms, you'll still usually get a blip peak (at least with the Sonic Foundry plugins) that negates the usefulness entirely.

I use the Waves L1 Ultramaximizer. It's a fantastic look-ahead limiter that does exactly what you need, with no audible artifacts. Unfortunately ... it ain't cheap.

Do yourself a favour though and check it out. The bundle of plugins that it comes in is fantastic, and really well worth the money. I dare say it's the only set of mastering plugins you'll ever need.

http://www.waves.com/

Regards,

-=(stu.macQ)=-
 
... as an after-thought ...

Hi again ...

You might also try Steinberg's "Loudness Maximizer" to crank up the volume levels. It has a dead-easy interface and it's nearly impossible to clip the audio with it.

It's also only about $139 US street ... a little easier to swallow. I use it quite a bit.

Regards,

-=(stu.macQ)=-
 
ouch!

Thanks for the help. But boy do they try to grab your cash!!

I only want to do some simple WAV processing. If it costs that much, then I'll write a limiting tool myself (I'm a C++ programmer). It really isn't that complicated in principle.
 
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