When you buy products through links across our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. KNEE Switch – Hard Knee/Soft Knee. Soft knee and hard knee settings are tied to the threshold setting, adding another layer to the engagement of the compressor’s gain reduction effect. Hard knee and soft knee each refer to how the compressor behaves as the input signal passes the threshold. This is known as hard knee compression, which can cause abrupt and often unwanted transitions as the signal reaches the threshold. I have entered the world of compressors and am wondering what they mean by Hard knee compression and soft knee compression, I have tried reading about it , but its like greek to me. While it is not that difficult to build a hard knee compressor with a low CPU usage, it is quite difficult to do so for a soft knee, especially if you want to control the margin around the threshold precisely while maintaining a consistent curve. I am trying to implement soft knee controls but am having trouble figuring out the correct equation ... the Upward Compressor w/Soft Knee static characteristic gain equations are: ... % hard knee downward compression. Sign up to our email list here for deals, giveaways, reviews and more in your inbox! One other time-based parameter that is worth understanding is the difference between soft knee and hard knee compression. A soft knee means the decibel reduction begins as a curve of varying ratios of compression until the set ratio is reached. Then read this article till the end. Some compressors allow you to control the knee setting. A soft knee compressor starts acting on your signal earlier than a hard knee, so in a way that can be a more noticeable compression than a hard knee with a low ratio. Anyone know the name of a good easy to use soft knee compressor for mac? When the compressor kicks on, a Knee will tell how hard or how gentle to clamp down on the source. There are two types of knee setting, hard and soft. With hard knee compression, the gain reduction applied to the signal occurs as soon as the signal exceeds the level set by the threshold. Hard Knee – the compression ratio is constant, unchanging. xist: 23rd May 2007 12:37 PM +1 for Sonalkis, very easy to use too kfhkh Download a demo and try, it's always the best choice... George Necola: 25th May 2007 07:48 AM: As a general rule of thumb I use a hard knee on more transient instruments and a soft knee on more sustained instruments. Hard knee works well for drums, bass and percussive stuff. With soft knee compressor attacks on the audio signal softly and with hard knee it attacks hardly. Soft Knee Vs. Hard Knee Compression. Considering the fact that hard compression can often be heard and distracting, a soft knee can help to make the compressor a bit more transparent. The “knee” refers to how the compressor transitions between the non-compressed and compressed states of an audio signal running through it. ... Sonalksis does soft-hard knee. soft knee simply means the compression kicks in several dB BEFORE the threshold (instead of at the threshold), creating a less obvious change. Soft Knee provides a more gradual form of compression, producing a less drastic result; Hard knee provides an abrupt, sudden form of compression. Soft-knee compression kicks in gradually as the threshold is crossed. Soft knee is more transparent and better for vocals and some guitar parts. The process is called “soft knee” because of how the compression ratio looks when plotted on a graph. Sounds great. Continuous and consistent characteristic. Lightweight Soft Knee Compressor is a soft knee compressor optimized for low CPU usage. It’s a way to keep compressed guitar or instrument parts sounding lively and dynamic, without the “blanket” of compression found in many types of compressors. It sounds more natural, especially when you are dealing with higher compression ratios (like 4:1, etc.). A soft knee reduces the audible change from uncompressed to compressed, especially for higher ratios where the change over is more noticeable A second control on a compressor is hard/soft knee. See Knee Type below for more information on these values. Compressor Settings For Vocals. Then read this article till the end. Join Brian Lee White for an in-depth discussion in this video, Demystifying compression controls: soft knee vs. hard knee, part of Audio Foundations: Compression and Dynamic Processing. Figure 2 - Graph showing the differences between a hard and soft knee compression Threshold. On the other hand, if you want to participate in the "Loudness War", then you should rather use hard knee, as it … Oct 17, 2019 - Do you want to know the ideal compressor settings for vocals? I personally use hard knee on drums and percussion, and soft knee on the master. A hard knee setting mean it turns on immediately while a soft knee means the compression is more subtle in how it’s first applied. A hard knee setting means that compression will take place immediately after the threshold level is reached, whereas a soft knee setting indicates that compression is gradually applied over a range in the signal. In this section, we will go for all the setting of compressor plugin one by one to get the perfect vocal output. Knee. With a “softer” knee, this corner is rounded, and the compressor is now able to compress signal before it reaches the threshold. Fully adjustable soft knee in dB (as margin below the threshold). Hard Knee Compression follows a hard fast rule: If THRESHOLD is met, then Compress at this RATIO. More detailed descriptions are as follows: Hard knee applies the compression at an even rate, regardless of the level present over the threshold. Setting the hard/soft knee would depend on the material. Typically, compressors will offer one, or in some instances a switchable choice between both, a "soft knee" and a "hard knee” setting. A hard Knee will clamp down hard and may be more noticeable of an effect. A sudden 0dB kick will be reduced in volume immediately to whatever the transfer curve deems appropriate. A soft knee is generally considered to be a more "natural" sound, more like the response of a tube amp for example, but a hard knee is often necessary for corrective compression like peak limiting. Increasing the Knee parameter value increases the amount of compression as the signal approaches the threshold, creating a smoother transition. Report latency - Reports processing latency to FL Studio for PDC. Hard-knee compression kicks into its full compression amount as soon as the threshold is crossed. This controls whether the bend in the response curve is a sharp angle or has a rounded edge. Generally, compressor plugins have two option for Knee – Soft Knee and Hard Knee. Lightweight Soft Knee Limiter is a soft knee limiter optimized for low CPU usage based on Christian's Lightweight Soft Knee Compressor.. the setting is there for flexibility in using compression for any application you need. yhd = zeros(1, 1001) ; The reason so many pedals only have two knobs, "compress" and "level", is because this keeps the cost down for both manufacturers and consumers. Soft-knee is a smoother sound. if you want more transparent compressor action use soft-knee, more obvious then use hard-knee. You have hard knee, and soft knee. On a Hard Knee compressor, this full amount of compression (as set by the Ratio) is applied in full, as soon as the input level rises above the threshold.....This is a standard type of compressor. A soft knee will gently ease into the compression, hopefully causing a less audible compressing sound once it kicks on. The soft knee makes the compressor less noticeable. Features: Lightweight soft knee limiter. aussie_techie: 23rd May 2007 06:40 AM: sony oxford dynamics. With soft knee compression, the onset of gain reduction occurs gradually after the signal has exceeded the threshold, producing a more … Plug-in compressors often have this feature. a soft curve towards and through the threshold and include a screenshot with a hard knee setting to contrast with soft knee. You should also explain how both settings affect (change) the sound. The soft knee is going to leave a much more natural sonic profile for sustained instruments (or vocals). 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