Thank for the feedback, PARU. I'm going to start doing another track~
Finally, I'm not entirely sure what a lot of the stuff I've been changing around in the compressor window is. I think I know what attack does, and limiter seems to prevent it from going above a certain volume, but how does the release work? What's the ratio--3.5 what to 1 what? What is "knee"? From the little graph it shows me, it looks like gain affects the rate at which instruments continue to increase in volume as they get louder (the second second derivative of the volume, I guess), but how (and is that even what it's doing)? Is the compressor threshold what it sounds like--just the volume at which all these settings come into play--or does it serve some other function?
I've looked a lot of this stuff up online in the past, but I don't usually come away feeling any more informed than when I went in. I don't expect you to give me a full start-to-finish technical explanation of everything, but maybe if you could sort of explain a little bit about what they do and why then I could have a better chance of understanding the next time I go looking around for detailed information on them?
Thank you!
On compressors, here' the basic stuff.
Most compressors have the following:
Pre-Amp Gain (or Gain)
The amount of signal amplification to be used on the track Input signal before feeding it to the compressor. Increasing will amplify the volume. Too much will "squash" the track towards the Threshold, making it sound fat and saturated.
If that happens, you may need to think about getting your track a healthier diet.Threshold
The signal strength required for the compressor to make it stop being lazy and do its job. For example, setting it at -15db will trigger the compressor when the signal goes past -15db and changes the signal strength according to the Ratio you have specified.
Making it too high will prevent the signal from ever reaching the threshold. You need to balance the Threshold amount with the least amount of additive Gain (to increase the Gain; subtractive Gain is to use the Pre-Amp gain to soften the sound)
Knee
Is the change of signal strength once the compression starts. Hard Knees make the compression sudden (good for percussive and instruments with fast attacks), while soft knees do the opposite (good for strings or sustained signals).
Ratio
Is the proportional change of the signal output from the input. For example, setting it to 3:1 will mean that the Input needs 3db to raise the Output signal by 1db. Changing it to higher values will make the compressor a brickwall--meaning that you'd need a ridiculously high amount of Input to raise the Output. This is useful if you want a Limiter(which is an entirely different tool from Compressor).
Note that on some compressors (like Maximus and FL Limiter), you can actually BOOST the signal with a compressor. For example a 1:3 signal will mean that for every 1db of Input, you're gonna get 3db of Output. However, not all compressors can do this.
Attack
Is the amount of delay AFTER the signal has passed the Threshold that the Compressor will WAIT before acting. Making it too short will destroy brightness since it takes away the "punch" of the signal's attack. Making it too long pretty much reduces the Compressor's use, unless the signal has a long sustaining signal.
Release
Is the amount of time the Compressor uses to stop it's compression and return the signal to its original strength. Making it too short triggers the Compressor immediately after Release time, making the signal distorted. Making it too long introduces a noticeable "breathing" or the pumping sound of the audio signal as it slowly returns back to normal. (Like Daft Punk's One More Time--that's a sidechain compressor thingie that does the weird wah-wah sound in the background)
Post-Amp Gain (not all compressors have this)
Is the amount of audio amplification that will be applied to the Output AFTER it has been compressed. Note that the compressor cannot touch the signal after Post-amps.
Note that the above is based on what I have researched on the Internet and from my stock knowledge, so feel free to correct me if I said anything wrong.