Creating a sound with the attack and release of a comp

Hello, this time we’re going to talk about attack and release in compressors.
I’m sure you’re familiar with the explanation of each parameter in various books.
It’s easy to understand that ratio is compression strength, threshold is depth, etc., but when it comes to attack and release, don’t you use reference values without knowing exactly what they are?
It’s very easy to understand, so let’s get to it!

Attack and release are used to add character to a compressor when compressing the volume. Think of them as parameters that determine not only how loud sounds are reduced, but also how they are reduced.

First of all, attack is a parameter that determines how

The time it takes to finish compressing the volume.

The attack is the time it takes to finish compressing the volume. Simply put, the longer it takes, the longer the volume will remain at its original level.
In other words, the shorter the attack, the quicker the compression.
So how does a long attack help?

While it is not compressed, the volume remains high, so you can create a loud sound at the beginning.
To be more precise, the sound becomes smaller after it is compressed, but if you gain the whole sound in that state, it will sound louder at the beginning.

Next, if you shorten the attack, the compression will start from the beginning of the loudest sound, so you can create a flat overall volume.
This will help to stabilize the uneven sound.
Also, if you raise the compressed volume, the overall sound pressure will increase.

Here’s the basics: When you want to increase the final sound pressure or make something louder with a compressor, you use gain.
You make something louder by turning it down and then turning it up to the overall volume.

Now let’s talk about release.
Release is

The time it takes for the volume to return to its original level after it has been reduced.

The longer it is, the more the volume is reduced. The longer it is, the longer the volume will remain reduced.
When the volume is reduced above the threshold, it is called compression.
Any other reduction in volume is called gain reduction.

A long release will slowly return to the original volume after the volume has been reduced.
Therefore, it is used when you want to reduce only the loudest sounds while maintaining a small change in sound.
It is mainly used for recording and overall automatic volume control.

On the other hand, a short release will return the volume in a short period of time, causing the sound to shake.
Excessively short releases can also cause distortion.
It is used to turn down the volume above the threshold, but not to turn it down without keeping it under control.
In other words, you want to increase the sound pressure while maintaining a stable volume.
In this case, it is used in combination with a short attack.
The longer the attack, the stronger the beginning of the sound, and the more aggressive the sound.

Finally, the basic idea of sound creation with a compressor is to make something smaller to create a difference in sound, so if the time for the difference is too long, you won’t be able to hear the change.
If you want a more aggressive tone change, set a shorter time.
For example, up to 30ms for attack and 200ms for release will make a big difference in sound.
Of course, there are many cases where more than that is best, so listen carefully to the sound and make your decision after you understand the role.

Thank you for reading!