compression
The process of reducing a signal's dynamic range, making the quietest parts louder and the loudest parts quieter.
In audio, compression acts like an automatic volume rider, narrowing the gap between the softest whisper and the loudest scream to make a performance sound consistent and powerful.
Word relationships
- dynamic squeezing: An informal term describing the physical sensation of reducing dynamic range.
- expansion: Expansion increases the dynamic range, making quiet sounds quieter and loud sounds louder.
Commonly confused with
- limiting: Limiting is an extreme form of compression with a very high ratio, acting as a hard ceiling that sound cannot cross.
Word family
- compress (verb): To reduce the dynamic range of an audio signal.
- compressor (noun): The hardware unit or software plugin that performs compression.
Collocations
- dynamic range compression
- parallel compression
- compression threshold
- heavy compression
Example sentences
- "Applying subtle compression to the acoustic guitar helped glue the transient spikes of the pick strikes to the body of the chords." A tutorial on mastering acoustic guitars.
- "Excessive compression in the 'loudness wars' stripped the orchestra's performance of its natural emotional dynamics." A critique of modern music production trends.
Memory hook
Imagine a giant hand gently 'pressing' down on the loudest peaks of a sound wave so they don't stick out too much. Compression presses the loud parts down to make everything sit together.
When not to use
Do not confuse audio compression (dynamic range reduction) with data compression (like converting a WAV file to a smaller MP3 file).
Fun facts
- The legendary Teletronix LA-2A compressor uses a light bulb and a photoelectric cell to determine how much to compress the audio, giving it a famously smooth, slow response.
Related words
Also appears in
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