Sound Compression
October 29, 2009 4:31 AM Subscribe
Is there an audio plugin that will emulate the mono sound compression used by AM radio stations?
I remember looking for this once but the best thing I came up with was a compression plugin with a fast attack, slow release and a high ratio (at least 10:1). Also an eq with a lot of the highs rolled off, maybe all the way down to 3k.
Also I added noise to the signal before it went to the compressor. There is a free Bombfactory plugin for ProTools called Funk Logic Mastererizer. I thought it was the most useless plugin until I needed it for this. It just makes noise. It can do a background static pretty well.
If you can find something similar for the software you use, give it a try. Try changing the signal flow around (eq-->comp or comp-->eq) and see what you get.
posted by chillmost at 7:54 AM on October 29, 2009
Also I added noise to the signal before it went to the compressor. There is a free Bombfactory plugin for ProTools called Funk Logic Mastererizer. I thought it was the most useless plugin until I needed it for this. It just makes noise. It can do a background static pretty well.
If you can find something similar for the software you use, give it a try. Try changing the signal flow around (eq-->comp or comp-->eq) and see what you get.
posted by chillmost at 7:54 AM on October 29, 2009
Hmm, did I misunderstand your question? Do you want to make something sound like it has that old dirty AM radio sound? More info please.
posted by chillmost at 8:08 AM on October 29, 2009
posted by chillmost at 8:08 AM on October 29, 2009
I am not sure if you are referring to a specific, stereo-to-mono compressor-used-by-broadcasters, or just in general want your stereo tracks to sound like they are being pumped through a mono radio.. in any case, you can probably not go wrong with Speakerphone.
You can (but do not HAVE to) run the signal through various radios, there is a compressor, and there is a AM/FM/etc signal degradation modulator. All process can be swapped between mono/stereo operation and modulated.
posted by gmm at 8:23 AM on October 29, 2009
You can (but do not HAVE to) run the signal through various radios, there is a compressor, and there is a AM/FM/etc signal degradation modulator. All process can be swapped between mono/stereo operation and modulated.
posted by gmm at 8:23 AM on October 29, 2009
He wants something that sucks all the life out of the sound until it sounds like it is coming from a cheap 1970's clock radio. It's a fabulous effect when used properly. (see Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here").
posted by Goofyy at 8:48 AM on October 29, 2009
posted by Goofyy at 8:48 AM on October 29, 2009
No, it's not the cheap speaker sound he wants, or at least I don't think so. It's the dynamic range compression that levels out the loud and soft sounds to make them audible at the same volume setting. I have it on my radio/CD player and it really makes old blues CDs sound a lot better.
posted by Pistol at 9:19 AM on October 29, 2009
posted by Pistol at 9:19 AM on October 29, 2009
Mix to mono in Audacity and use the compressor. If you want to get artistic about hiss, clicks and pops this thread may help.
posted by jet_silver at 11:36 AM on October 29, 2009
posted by jet_silver at 11:36 AM on October 29, 2009
Response by poster: I'm thinking of the sort of compression that big-city AM radio stations use to create a "hot" mono sound.
Here's the sort of compression I want (skip the intro). This is from 1979:
I've been trying to duplicate that sound for years. In the old days they used a lot of expensive broadcast engineering equipment.
posted by Yakuman at 5:45 PM on October 29, 2009
Here's the sort of compression I want (skip the intro). This is from 1979:
I've been trying to duplicate that sound for years. In the old days they used a lot of expensive broadcast engineering equipment.
posted by Yakuman at 5:45 PM on October 29, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by gjc at 7:44 AM on October 29, 2009