Tag: dynamic effects

Optical Compressors

Optical compressors, also known as opto-compressors, are a dynamic range attenuator that have a transducer. A light source in a photosensitive cell controls the gain reduction in an Opto-compressor, as it transforms energy from one form to another. These optical compressors serve to process and audio signal. In simple terms, they work by transforming the…
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Tube Compressors

Tube compressors are compressors that rely on tubes to tame the dynamic range of your audio signal. But before delving into an explanation, we must first understand the involvement of tubes themselves. The Tubes in Tube Compressors The main job of tubes in audio equipment is to amplify electricity. The first vacuum tubes were used…
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VCA Compressors

Voltage-controlled amplifiers, also known as VCA compressors, have the fastest response of the attack and release parameters. VCAs usually have less coloration than optical or tube compressors. In addition, they are fairly similar to digital tape in terms of recording. This type of compressors are cheaper than tube or optical compressors. Voltage-controlled amps provide the…
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FET Compressors

Field effect transistors, also known as FET, are a type of dynamic audio effect. FET compressors are devices from the family of dynamic audio effects. Their design maintains more transients, which adds an extra punch in contrast to the variable. These extra punches are known as mu and VCA compressors. Generally, the slowest attack time…
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Audio Limiter

A limiter is an audio effect that allows the signals below an established level or input power to remain untouched. It does so while weakening the peaks of the stronger audio signals. A Very Brief History To begin with, limiters date back to many decades ago, when the first audio processing tool appeared. This audio…
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Noise Gate

A noise gate is an audio effect. Some consider it an expander for its slope of -∞. This feature can mute the signal that falls below the selected threshold. This noise effect gates out the noise by setting the threshold just above the level of the background noise. As a result, the gate opens only…
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Transient Shaper

A transient shaper, also known as a transient designer or modulator, is a type of audio processor that is very similar to a compressor. In short, it is a level-independent dynamic processor. To understand this, one must learn about transients. A transient is a high amplitude and short-duration sound placed at the beginning of a…
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Multi-Band Compressor

A multi-band compressor is a group of several compressors. Each of these operates on one section of the full audio spectrum. Before delving into its specifics, you must know that compressors are the most important tools in the modern audio era. In short, a compressor is an audio tool that helps alter the dynamic range…
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Overdrive

Overdrive is a gain-based effect commonly mistaken with a distortion effect. It occurs when input gain surpasses the capacity of a device to handle the amount of gain it receives. When the device in question is a tube, the smooth waveform that goes into the device gets clipped. Therefore, we perceive this clipping as a…
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Wah Wah Effect

A Wah Wah effect occurs by continually bringing in and out of play treble frequencies while a note is sustained. It is a modification of the vowel quality of a tone; that is, a type of spectral glide. Its name is an onomatopoeia: it mimics the sound it produces. Wah Wah Effect: Its History The…
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