Skip to main content

Fruity Compressor

Best video I find on Youtube.

If you want my TLDR on how to use it, typically there is only 4 knobs that matters in THAT ORDER:

  1. Threshold
  2. Ratio
  3. Gain
  4. Type

Usage:​

Raising the volume of a signal​

Just turn the Gain knob up down.

Balancing the volume of a signal​

Turn the Threshold knob down until everything is quiet.

Optional:

  1. Turn the Ratio knob up to after Threshold to increase the volume of the quiet parts.
  2. Change the Type between Soft, Medium, Hard, to make the compression more gentle. A hard compression will kill off peaking signals very quickly, which may make transients (aka the "punch" of the drums") weaker (aka not as sharp to the ears). A soft compression will make transients keep their "punchiness" but may result in signals that exceed limit, which could distort analog devices.
  3. Attack and Release are the time it takes for the compression to kick in and out of the signal. Usually you only touch this after the 4 knobs.

Finally, turn the Gain knob up until everything is as loud as before. This is how you raise quiet parts without also increasing the volume of loud parts.