Understanding how a compressor works doesn’t really reveal the breadth of outcomes it can achieve, and when you factor in the individual attack and release characteristics of different compressor designs it’s easy to see why people develop favourites for certain tasks. Here I’m focusing on one specific effect that requires a fast and flexible compressor.
This technique, sometimes called snap compression, is a technique that fine-tunes the attack and release stages of your compressor to add punch or snap to a sound. It works best for back-beat sounds such as snares and rims, although it isn’t necessarily limited to these. What’s more, it’s an unapologetically audible compression effect where the sound of the compressor is what we’re utilising.
