Compression

[chasmcg]

If any part of my song is greater than -5 db how do I compress just the parts greater than -5 db down to -5 db? I guess I need a 'if vol is greater than -5db vol = -5db.' Is this possible? Thanks.

Edited January 12, 2023 by chasmcg
better explanation

[Max Arwood]

It would be better to just turn down the volume.  Three is one on each track. It would be easy to adjust the volume in the console view. You can see all the volumes there. You night have to use volume envelopes if you just want to do parts of the tracks. If you really need compression there are videos and tutorials on these subjects  

Simply search the forum for compression

Edited January 13, 2023 by Max Arwood

[rsinger]

18 hours ago, chasmcg said:

If any part of my song is greater than -5 db how do I compress just the parts greater than -5 db down to -5 db? I guess I need a 'if vol is greater than -5db vol = -5db.' Is this possible? Thanks.

Use a compressor with a threshold control and set the threshold to -5 db. 

[SirWillyDS12]

You could use a brick wall limiter and set the output to -5db... Any input signal that rises  above -5bd would be smashed...

[chasmcg]

Thanks for the replies. Will see what I can do.

[bitflipper]

On 1/12/2023 at 1:52 PM, chasmcg said:

If any part of my song is greater than -5 db how do I compress just the parts greater than -5 db down to -5 db? I guess I need a 'if vol is greater than -5db vol = -5db.' Is this possible? Thanks.

You are describing what a limiter does. A limiter is a type of compressor, but with a sharp knee and high compression ratio. In other words, it takes no action until the signal level reaches a specified threshold and then clamps it down pretty aggressively.

It's what you use in the situation you're describing. Cakewalk does include a limiter, but I suspect a poll would reveal that most users prefer third-party plugins such as this one. If that's too pricey for you, here's a free one that's pretty good, albeit harder to use.

Depending on your musical genre, you may find a clipper useful. It's a type of limiter that's extremely aggressive, to the point of distortion. Most limiters try to not alter the sound by their actions. With clippers, sound alteration is the point. I rarely use them myself because they're too heavy-handed for my taste. A so-called "soft" clipper lies between a hard clipper and a conventional limiter. Here's a good one that's 30 bucks but you can try it out for free.

[Starship Krupa]

Bitflipper is right about using a limiter. The free Kilohearts Essentials collection includes a very easy to use limiter.

Also, any compressor that allows for setting a hard knee and infinite ratio basically acts as a limiter. This includes the Sonitus compressor that comes with Cakewalk, and especially the PC76 ProChannel module.