[PD] tanh() or a compressor?

[Mario Mey]

I read 
http://designingsound.org/2013/06/tutorial-a-compressor-in-pure-data/ 
about compressor working and I tried 3 different (or similar) 
compressors: the one from the page, the one from DIY2 by Hardoff and the 
one from rjdj by Jwif. I thought that compressors works different...

I use visual arrays to see the difference from the original sound (that 
is very loud) and the compressed one. With the first compressor, there 
was NO DIFFERENCE. No at all... I don't know if I was using wrong, but 
it was the same graphic. With DIY2/st-compressor.pd, there's difference 
and it seems to be good... untill I make a kick. Again, the waves goes 
to the sky (well, not so much). The third compressor can compress a lot 
(low threshold), but all the rest of the sound does too.

I though that only the sounds that are higher the threshold are 
compressed and the rest stay the same. Am I wrong? Am I confused? I 
thought that a compressor is like tanh(), but with editable controls.

Can someone explain this to me?

El 30/09/13 17:23, Charles Z Henry escribió:
> Then, you haven't picked the right computer for your composition :)
If I could, I would buy another notebook... and throw away this 
with-non-working-in-Linux-hybrid-graphic-cards fucking HP notebook. But, 
our economy is fatal. One dollar is ten argentine pesos. I bought this 
computer 3-4 years ago, at ARS $6.000. Think spending U$S 6.000 in a 
computer. Now, a good computer, is above $10.000.


El 30/09/13 17:43, mr sgg escribió:
> ask 4 persons and you probably will get 4 different answers. first 
> thing i would notice the setup seems dirty. for example use an 
> external preamp instead of digital amplification (e.g. *~4) if you 
> want proper sound quality. secondly i think you should try out and 
> trust your ears. it really depends on what you want it to sound. tanh 
> most probably will lead to more distortion while compression will eat 
> more cpu.
I will use a wireless system with this mic, so, it has gain. I'll check 
that, because I think that it is important a preamp there.
> to avoid your kicks being louder than vocals you should refer to 
> beatboxers. maybe you do something wrong there. or you should use 2 
> mics. i admit i am not familiar with mixing rappers who beatbox at the 
> same time
The mic is very good and it sound very good. I want to clarify my 
doubts, because I "see" waves beyond 1 in visual arrays... and I want to 
understand that.




El 30/09/13 17:23, Charles Z Henry escribió:
>
>
>
> On Mon, Sep 30, 2013 at 2:35 PM, Mario Mey <mariomey at gmail.com 
> <mailto:mariomey at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     Now, I am checking volumes of my looper patch. I had to raise [*~
>     4] the volume of the mic, to get a razonable volume, compared to a
>     song file, for example. But, using this looper patch, I make
>     beatbox. So, kicks and snares from my mouth get in the mic. And,
>     using a visual array to test it, I realize that the kicks and
>     snares are so much higher volume than the vocals.
>
>     The patch has FXs with feedbacks, so, they can make signal > 1.
>     So, at the end of the patch, there's [expr tanh($v1)] to to avoid
>     that...  tanh() is simpler than a a compressor, but it loose some
>     sounds (I think). Or I should trust in tanh()?
>
>     Multiple choice:
>     1- Use tanh() in the input, after adc~ and before dac~.
>
>
> This will cause distortion and change the shapes of your waveforms, 
> and introduce extra harmonics.  It may be an interesting effect, but 
> it will change the sound of your beatboxing.
>
>     2- Use a compressor patch in the input, after adc~ (and tanh()
>     before dac~)
>
>
> This would be the preferred method.
>
>     3- Use a compressor at the end of the patch, before dac~
>
>
> If you have multiple instruments or voices in the output, you'll be 
> decreasing the volume globally and throwing off your mix.
>
>     4- Stay as it is now...
>
>     Also, I can't spend more CPU process...
>
>
> Then, you haven't picked the right computer for your composition :)
>
> Really, I don't think compression should be a cpu-expensive process.  
> Plus, you have only one mic, right?
>
>
>     What do you recommend me to use?
>
>     Thanks.
>

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