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Part of “Compression Week”
Quick Voiceover Tip: What is Threshold.
Welcome to day two of Compression Week here at the Radio Lounge. Today’s we dive into the compression settings, beginning with thrhesold.
Threshold is really your Compression Baseline.
Threshold is basically the volume level where gain reduction begins working. Cranking in a lower threshold level means that the compression is working deeper on your signal. A higher threshold means that the compression isn’t working as hard, possibly only on the higher peaks, and leaving the softer audio (audio below the threshold level) untouched.
Here’s a key point, you don’t want to use too much compression. Too much and your audio sounds squashed and overprocessed. A little goes a long way. In fact, we believe that the best setting is almost imperceptible.
Play With The Threshold Setting
Try this exercise on a piece of dry audio. Turn on a compressor and raise and lower the threshold. Notice the sound. It will become clear where the sweet spot is for your voice. Usually that sweet spot will be about 1-3db of gain reduction for voiceovers. Remember! Some clients/producers want to apply compression themselves, and will want uncompressed audio from you. When in doubt…ask!
Types of Compressors
We mentioned this yesterday, but will continue to tag this week’s posts with links to check out the different types of compressors. Compressors can be hardware and software based. Some great hardware units are the UniversalAudio 1176 and this Warm Audio 1176 clone. There are some mic pre-amp units that have built in compression, such as these from Avalon, Focusrite, Presonus, and ManleyLabs. Software options include plugins that are built in to most DAW programs, as well as great plugins from Waves, Sonnox, and others.
If you have any questions, reach out to us and we will be glad to help. Also check out more of our voiceover coaching and voice over demo services.
#votips #voiceover #voiceovertips #vo #compression #threshold
Quick Voiceover Tip: What Is Threshold? Part of Compression Week
M. Bruce Abbott is the Creative Director/Partner at Radio Lounge. Bruce has over 30 years experience as a voice actor, casting and production director, as well as extensive advertising, marketing, and podcasting experience.
