Missed the start of the series? Catch up here.

Compressors, limiters, single band, multi band, soft knee, hard knee, ratios, attack, release… on and on and on.

These terms sound more like medical tools/procedures used in gastrointestinal bypass surgeries!

Despite some of their more gruesome sounding names, these are all terms related to, and describing dynamics – and dynamics control in audio. Let’s define a few items of interest.

Core Definitions in Dynamics

“Dynamics” in its simplest and most functional definition means this:

Dynamics: An audio signal’s lowest and highest points (with regards to volume), and the subsequent and continuous raising and lowering of those points, with consideration to everything else in between.

or:

Dynamics: The proportion/relationship between the loudest and softest parts of that audio signal.

A simpler definition is this:
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Welcome back to the ongoing series that began with Frequency Fundamentals. I trust and hope it has been as helpful for you as it was fun for me to write.

Moving along, this is the start of a new series that will dovetail with the frequency series. Consider it the second suite of a broader work. These new articles will continue our discussion and build on top of the foundation we laid down previously. This time we will focus on audio effects.

“Relevance?”, you ask.

Find me a musician, audio professional, or recording/mixing/mastering engineer that doesn’t use audio effects – and I will be the one to question if they have red blood coursing through their veins!

A more pertinent question would be this: “Effects… OK. But why now?”

If you are familiar with the previous frequency series, you should know the answer by now:
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Missed the previous posts in the series? Catch up with Part One and Part Two.

So you’re planning on buying some new toys, or shifting your set up around, but how will you know if you have actually made things better?

First things first, you need some test material. Several hi-fi manufacturers make CDs of test tracks, but I suggest finding a small selection of material you know really well and covers the range of music that you enjoy. My personal selection includes: The Cinematic Orchestra, Björk, Led Zeppelin and Steve Reich.

Burn these tracks on a CD and take it with you when you go shopping (any decent hi-fi or pro audio shop should have a listening room to try out equipment).

Wherever possible shut your eyes and ask a friend or shop assistant to switch (or rearrange) equipment so you can be sure you are listening with your ears and not your eyes or bank balance.

Guidelines

You don’t need to be an expert to listen for the changes you have made, just trust your ears and listen out for the following:
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