limiter vs. compressor

[shinobi]

this may be a noob question but hey i'm not a pro... anyway i've been confused over what a limiter and a compressor is.

of course i know what a compressor is. but i've been checking out the description of a limiter, and i find it very similar to that of a compressor

the problem is that i have been looking at guyatone pedals, and they have the st-2 compressor and the bl-2 bottom limiter. the st-2 has 'full frequency response' while the bl-2 is designed specifically for bass

someone help me out

 

[shinobi]

ok paiseh i have found the answer to my own question
http://www.recordingproject.com/articles/article-printable.php?article=6
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_level_compression#Limiting
(pretty damn good and through explanations)

BUT

i am left with more questions, specifically for the guyatone pedals i just mentioned.

if limiting is a kind of compression, what's the diff between the 2

 

[soft]

You are right when you said "Limiter is some kind of Compressor".

The major difference is in the Ratio. For Limiter, the ratio is set at a very high value. This is for preventing busting of speakers.


[copied from http://www.ethanwiner.com/compressors.html ]

Compression ratio - This dictates how much the volume is reduced versus how far above the threshold the signal is. A ratio of 1:1 does nothing. 2:1 means if the input rises to 2 dB above the threshold, the compressor will reduce the level by only 1 dB so the output will now be 1 dB louder. 10:1 means the signal must be 10 dB above the threshold for the output to increase by 1 dB. When a compressor is used with a high ratio - say, 5:1 or greater - it is considered a limiter. In fact, the compression ratio is the only distinction between a compressor and a limiter.

 

[shinobi]

that's much easier to understand than by looking at sine waves lol...

vs

now that we have sorted that out, we can compare these 2

i'm guessing 'sustain' and 'threshold' are the same thing. the only other difference would be the middle switch, one is 'normal/effect' while the other is attack. 'attack' is pretty straightforward.

[FONT=geneva,arial,sans-serif]In addition, the ST-2 features a direct on/off switch. When engaged, the direct switch blends in a dry input signal at equal volume with the compressed signal, eliminating the attack-altering characteristics common to other compressors.[/FONT]

so the st2 has a switch that ELIMINATES attack-altering... more and more questions springing up with every answer

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

the switch on the st 2 sound like a parallel blend of the dry signal with the effected signal. But the problem is how much of the dry is being blend with the compressed signal... Its definitely a nice add on on the pedal thou. If only its a mix pot that leave the amount of mixing to the user, it be really useful(something like the mix function on barber electronic tone pump compressor)

Most/majority compressor pedals process the whole signal, leaving the choice of amount of compression to user. Imho, with bass, it be really useful to have something of those blend function when using pedals, mixing of the dry bottom bass signal with the effected signal to get a fuller texture in sound.

 

[anghoonking]

to be honest i am confused also in it. is there a way more to simplify it as i do not really understand it well.

 

[soft]

Try to understand the concept of compression first. What Threshold, Ratio, Gain, Attack, Release ... is about.

The gadget above are boxes with some features of compression. Some of the setting are fixed for common use of the guitar instrument.

 

[unsane]

here's an excellent explaination of compression.

Compression
Picture the scene. Sicily, 1947. A monkey. With a volume pedal. He has tinnitus, so he doesn't like loud noises, but needs things to be a certain volume level in order to hear them, poor little mite. He is wearing headphones. When you play, if it's too loud, he turns the volume down a little. If it's too quiet, he turns it up. He can do this quite quickly if he wants, but there's a big dial in front of him, telling him how fast he's allowed to turn the volume control. There's another control that determines how loud his headphones are compared to your guitar.
Pop the little chap in a box and paint it (traditionally) blue and off you go. Oh, it might be a good idea to replace him with some sort of electronics gubbins, to save his poor hearing.

Some compressors allow you to have a little effect loop in between your guitar and his headphones, so that you could (for instance) have him only listen to the bass part of your guitar sound, but work the volume control according to that.

http://www.monkeyfx.co.uk/fxguide.html

more here. after reading that even my girlfriend managed to understand different effects

 

[atiao]

here's an excellent explaination of compression.



http://www.monkeyfx.co.uk/fxguide.html

more here. after reading that even my girlfriend managed to understand different effects

haha really neat! i understand now!

 

[Krist]

shinobi, can u play shinobi vs ninja by lost prophets?