Hello everyone, this is Jooyoung Kim, an audio engineer and music producer.
Today, I’d like to talk about some friends that, like the compressor, help us control dynamics: the Decompressor, Expander, and Gate.
Decompressor
A decompressor works in the opposite way to a compressor, making sounds above a set threshold louder.
You might wonder, “Why would anyone use this?” Occasionally, it can be used to force a groove or to emphasize transient parts.
Expander and Gate
An expander decreases the volume of sounds below a certain threshold. When the ratio is increased, it starts to function as a gate.
Think of the relationship between an expander and a gate as similar to that between a compressor and a limiter. The parameters for these tools are similar to those of a compressor. If you understand how a compressor works, you can easily use these tools as well.
These effects can be particularly fun when used with sidechain.
For example, you can apply a gate to a track with white noise and use sidechain so that the white noise only plays when the hi-hats come in. Or, you can apply a decompressor to a track and use sidechain to make the instruments louder only when the snare hits.
There are countless creative ways to use these effects if you let your imagination run wild.
If you’re a songwriter, try applying these effects not only to your mixes but also to your instruments. They can be very effective.
That’s all for today. In the next post, we will look at other effects that have compressor-like functions. Stay tuned!
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