Answer 1: The faster the release time the quicker the full amount of make-up gain will be applied. Sort of. A slow release time will 'smooth' as you say, keeping a somewhat constant gain reduction in effect. A faster release time will continually being resetting back to 0 GR so all the bits in between loud transients are getting boosted, and overall it appears louder. With that said, the trade-off for quicker release times is that it becomes more prone to pumping, smearing, and distortion.

Answer 2: A regular stereo compressor doesn't care what frequencies it's working on, it's purely a dynamic processor so it will affect all frequencies all at once. In the same fashion as the limiter (a limiter is just a high-ratio compressor, in it's simplest form) it pushes peaks down, creating headroom so that the overall volume can be increased. It makes things sound 'loud' by reducing the gap between high peaks and low peaks. A multiband compressor does the same thing but it first splits the signal into multiple bands, and applies a compressor to each of those split bands, so each range can have it's own compression settings, unaffected by the other bands.

Answer 3: Partially answered above. As for is it 'better'... yes and no. Usually no, but that's my opinion coming from the mastering perspective, and many will argue the opposite. To me multiband is a surgical tool that should be used when everything else has failed, generally if I'm having to put a multiband comp on a master it means that something has gone horribly wrong in the mix. If you have access to each instrument, fix the problem there. Generally compression is something done to tie things together, so when you get into splitting them apart even further with a multiband things can get really messy.

Answer 3.5 (you have two question 3s!): While I said I don't like multibands on masters, they do occasionally have execellent uses in the mix. My main example would be on a distorted bassline (think neurofunk-style drum & bass) that's a bit all over the place. A multiband comp would let you tame the sub range to keep it at a constant level while still allowing the upper harmonics to have dynamics and movement.

Answer 4: "Glue" is just the term used when you're using compression to get that feel of cohesion between all of the elements, making the track feel like one thing instead of obvious layers that don't quite fit together. Often what it means at a technical level is slower RMS detection circuits instead of peak.

Answer 5: You're forgetting the element of TIME! When the kick hits, the compressor will act on everything (including the pad) pushing it all down. The kick will be finished quickly, but the pad is long so you'll hear it gradually rise back to volume as the compressor releases. So they'll never be at the same volume at the same time... they interact. But also think of the nature of a kick vs a pad, a loud transient vs a steady tone... you wouldn't WANT those to be at the same level, or the pad would sound insanely loud and the kick would be tiny. Balance does not mean everything is the same, balance means everything is comfortable relative to each other.

Answer 6: Simplest version - when you want to change the dynamic range, not the volume. Reach for the fader first, if you're finding that an instrument is standing out too much in some spots and then getting buried in others, that's when it's time to reach for the compressor.

Answer 1: The faster the release time the quicker the full amount of make-up gain will be applied. Sort of. A slow release time will 'smooth' as you say, keeping a somewhat constant gain reduction in effect. A faster release time will continually being resetting back to 0 GR so all the bits in between loud transients are getting boosted, and overall it appears louder. With that said, the trade-off for quicker release times is that it becomes more prone to pumping, smearing, and distortion.

Answer 2: A regular stereo compressor doesn't care what frequencies it's working on, it's purely a dynamic processor so it will affect all frequencies all at once. In the same fashion as the limiter (a limiter is just a high-ratio compressor, in it's simplest form) it pushes peaks down, creating headroom so that the overall volume can be increased. It makes things sound 'loud' by reducing the gap between high peaks and low peaks. A multiband compressor does the same thing but it first splits the signal into multiple bands, and applies a compressor to each of those split bands, so each range can have it's own compression settings, unaffected by the other bands.

Answer 3: Partially answered above. As for is it 'better'... yes and no. Usually no, but that's my opinion coming from the mastering perspective, and many will argue the opposite. To me multiband is a surgical tool that should be used when everything else has failed, generally if I'm having to put a multiband comp on a master it means that something has gone horribly wrong in the mix. If you have access to each instrument, fix the problem there. Generally compression is something done to tie things together, so when you get into splitting them apart even further with a multiband things can get really messy.

Answer 3.5 (you have two question 3s!): While I said I don't like multibands on masters, they do occasionally have execellent uses in the mix. My main example would be on a distorted bassline (think neurofunk-style drum & bass) that's a bit all over the place. A multiband comp would let you tame the sub range to keep it at a constant level while still allowing the upper harmonics to have dynamics and movement.

Answer 4: "Glue" is just the term used when you're using compression to get that feel of cohesion between all of the elements, making the track feel like one thing instead of obvious layers that don't quite fit together. Often what it means at a technical level is slower RMS detection circuits instead of peak.

Answer 5: You're forgetting the element of TIME! When the kick hits, the compressor will act on everything (including the pad) pushing it all down. The kick will be finished quickly, but the pad is long so you'll hear it gradually rise back to volume as the compressor releases. So they'll never be at the same volume at the same time... they interact. But also think of the nature of a kick vs a pad, a loud transient vs a steady tone... you wouldn't WANT those to be at the same level, or the pad would sound insanely loud and the kick would be tiny. Balance does not mean everything is the same, balance means everything is comfortable relative to each other.

Answer 6: Simplest version - when you want to change the dynamic range, not the volume. Reach for the fader first, if you're finding that an instrument is standing out too much in some spots and then getting buried in others, that's when it's time to reach for the compressor.

Let me get this straight... The gain reduction is more consistent when it comes to slow release times versus fast release times. Instead of going say from -3db and back to 0 all the time it will stay at -3db gain reduction more consistently. Resulting in a more consistent volume.

A faster release time on the other hand consistently goes back to 0db of gain reduction resulting in that pumping effect.

What Im not getting is shouldn't the slower release time have less dynamic range due to the consistent 3db of compression? And by that logic aren't instruments with less dynamic range louder?

I really want to reply to the rest of these right now but sadly im at school and don't type very well on my phone. Thanks for the really detailed reply. Im gonna try to get back to you when I get home. I only had time to reply to answer 1.

EDIT: Okay so I spent some more time thinking about this and suddenly something clicked.

"A faster release time will continually being resetting back to 0 GR so all the bits in between loud transients are getting boosted, and it appears louder."

Let me get this straight. A faster release time will compress ONLY the loud transients of the waveform. This brings the louder parts CLOSER to the quiet parts.  The reason why they sound louder is because now the volume is at a more consistent level.

A slower release time on the other hand compresses not only the loud transients but all the quiet stuff that comes after that. So if a compressor was at a consistent -3db of gain reduction it wouldn't just be making the loud transients quieter. It would be making the quiet parts even quieter as well. This results in little change to the dynamic range because while you are compressing the transients they AREN'T GETTING ANY CLOSER to the quiet parts.

So in order for there to be a decrease in the dynamic range that "pumping" effect is necessary correct? That variation between the gain reduction is needed otherwise it would essentially be the same as lowering the volume fader by 3db as and calling it a day.

Maybe I'm over thinking it but is this correct?

Thanks so much schematic. You've literally just gave me a huge epiphany in regards to being able to match what I'm hearing from a compressor on an intellectual level. I can't wait to get home and test all this stuff out.

In regards to question #4 you mentioned that on a technical level all "glue" does to a mix is it creates slower RMS detection circuits instead of peak. What exactly does that mean? I understand that you have Peaks and RMS and that RMS is the average volume level. I don't understand what you mean by detection circuits though.

Finally in question #5 I understand what you're saying. I originally thought that the compression would only push down the kick but since its acting on everything it would also reduce the volume of the pad as well. Things are finally making sense now. Thankyou.

Answer 1: The faster the release time the quicker the full amount of make-up gain will be applied. Sort of. A slow release time will 'smooth' as you say, keeping a somewhat constant gain reduction in effect. A faster release time will continually being resetting back to 0 GR so all the bits in between loud transients are getting boosted, and overall it appears louder. With that said, the trade-off for quicker release times is that it becomes more prone to pumping, smearing, and distortion.

Answer 2: A regular stereo compressor doesn't care what frequencies it's working on, it's purely a dynamic processor so it will affect all frequencies all at once. In the same fashion as the limiter (a limiter is just a high-ratio compressor, in it's simplest form) it pushes peaks down, creating headroom so that the overall volume can be increased. It makes things sound 'loud' by reducing the gap between high peaks and low peaks. A multiband compressor does the same thing but it first splits the signal into multiple bands, and applies a compressor to each of those split bands, so each range can have it's own compression settings, unaffected by the other bands.

Answer 3: Partially answered above. As for is it 'better'... yes and no. Usually no, but that's my opinion coming from the mastering perspective, and many will argue the opposite. To me multiband is a surgical tool that should be used when everything else has failed, generally if I'm having to put a multiband comp on a master it means that something has gone horribly wrong in the mix. If you have access to each instrument, fix the problem there. Generally compression is something done to tie things together, so when you get into splitting them apart even further with a multiband things can get really messy.

Answer 3.5 (you have two question 3s!): While I said I don't like multibands on masters, they do occasionally have execellent uses in the mix. My main example would be on a distorted bassline (think neurofunk-style drum & bass) that's a bit all over the place. A multiband comp would let you tame the sub range to keep it at a constant level while still allowing the upper harmonics to have dynamics and movement.

Answer 4: "Glue" is just the term used when you're using compression to get that feel of cohesion between all of the elements, making the track feel like one thing instead of obvious layers that don't quite fit together. Often what it means at a technical level is slower RMS detection circuits instead of peak.

Answer 5: You're forgetting the element of TIME! When the kick hits, the compressor will act on everything (including the pad) pushing it all down. The kick will be finished quickly, but the pad is long so you'll hear it gradually rise back to volume as the compressor releases. So they'll never be at the same volume at the same time... they interact. But also think of the nature of a kick vs a pad, a loud transient vs a steady tone... you wouldn't WANT those to be at the same level, or the pad would sound insanely loud and the kick would be tiny. Balance does not mean everything is the same, balance means everything is comfortable relative to each other.

Answer 6: Simplest version - when you want to change the dynamic range, not the volume. Reach for the fader first, if you're finding that an instrument is standing out too much in some spots and then getting buried in others, that's when it's time to reach for the compressor.

Ya boy knows his stuff. This was a great read thank you