Geonik's Compressor

by George Nicolaidis

Description

As the name implies, compression reduces the dynamic range of a signal. It is used extensively in audio recording, production work, noise reduction, and live performance applications, but it does need to be used with care.

What's new

Release 1 | Initial release
Release 2 | Faster, True RMS level detection, Small attack times bug corrected
Release 3 | Some bugs corrected, a bit faster

Usage

> P a r a m e t e r s

Threshold | The input level after which the signal is compressed
Compression Ratio | A ratio, such as 2:1 means that the input level would have to increase by two decibels to create a one decibel increase in the output. With a 6:1 setting, the input level would have to double for 1 dB of volume increase in the output, and so on. Limiting is simply an extreme form of compression where the input/output relationship become very flat (10:1 or higher). This places a hard limit on the signal level
Attack Time | The amount of time the compressor takes to respond when the input level rises above the threshold
Release Time | When the input level is above the threshold and then drops below it, the compressor will take some time to increase the gain. This is the release time, which is generally larger than the attack time
Output Gain | Gain in dB to aply on the output of the compressor in order to compensate the loss of overall volume

> A t t r i b u t e s

Level Sensing Buffer (obsolete) | This attribute is ignored
Hard Limiter | A hard limiter adjusts its gain according to the peak level of the input

Notes

I tried to make the compressor ar close to the real thing as possible. Since I have had no experience with real compressors, I don't know if it works as expected. If you feel that something is not done as it should, drop a mail.

Contact Information

Author | George Nicolaidis
Email | geonik@egnatia.ee.auth.gr
HomePage | http://egnatia.ee.auth.gr/~geonik/home