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Compression is one of the most important effects in music and audio production. And the Fruity Compressor is a nice easy to use effect that can be used to help pre-master and give a boost to your tracks.

Now what a compressor does is reduces the dynamic range of an audio signal if its amplitude exceeds a threshold. The amount of gain reduction is determined by a ratio control. For example, with a ratio of 4:1, an increase of 4 dB will be needed to increase the output signal level by 1 dB over the threshold.

What this means is that when you use compression on a Fruity Loops track each channel of audio will become more leveled out with each other. It lets you set up your mix so that each audio channel will fall between and set range; it brings the low volume signals up while keep the higher level channels punchy boosting the overall gain of the track without exceeding the dynamic level and clipping.

In FL Studio the Fruity Compressor has six controls: threshold, attack, ratio, release, gain, and type.

Threshold - Sets the dB level at which the compressor kicks in (with a range from 0.0 to -60.0 dB). The threshold should be adjusted according to the relative input level and the type of audio material. Once the threshold level is reached, compression will start, reducing the gain of the input signal according to the current Ratio, Type, Attack and Release settings.

Ratio - Controls the amount of compression (gain reduction) that will be applied to the signal once the threshold level is reached (with a range from 0.4:1 to 30:1). Ratio denotes the difference in dB between input level and output level, i.e. how much the signal above threshold level will be compressed (or expanded, at ratios below 1:1). For example, a ratio of 4:1 means that when the input level increases by 4dB, the output level of the signal above threshold will only increase by 1dB.

Gain - Controls the amount of make-up gain to be added or subtracted from the compressed output signal (with a range from 30.0 to -30.0 dB). The gain should be adjusted to normalize the signal amplitude after compression, or to control the amount of limiting.

Attack - Controls the time it takes to reach full compression once the threshold level has been exceeded (with a range from 0.0 to 400.0 ms). A fast attack setting means that compression will be more or less instant. Using a slower attack setting results in the compression being gradually increased, allowing for more variations in the signal than the fast setting. Attack should be adjusted according to the nature of the audio material.

Release - The Release parameter sets the time the compressor takes to stop acting after the level has fallen below threshold (with a range from 1 to 4000 ms). Short release times will make the compression more flexible and able to adapt to the input signal, but can cause fast changes in gain that may sound displeasing. Longer release times produce a signal with a more even level and less distortion, but make it harder to maximize the overall compression because small variations in signal level will be ignored.

Type - This parameter controls the knee type and TCR. The possible values are: Hard, Medium, Vintage, Soft, Hard/R, Medium/R, Vintage/R, Soft/R. The knee determines the dB range above and below the threshold where the compression goes from 1:1 to the selected compression ratio. 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.

Here's a great page explaining the use of compression in greater detail: Compression-Limiting

Experiment with the compressor in your FL tracks and stayed tuned for Using Fruity Compressor part 2 for more info and tips on using it in your FL Studio projects.

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