Build a Compressor in your Browser

Everybody loves compressors! They are key to modern music production, with applications ranging from adding punch and energy to drum tracks, presence and intimacy to vocals, and warmth and groove to bass lines. Now you can dive into compressor construction right in your browser.

The idea of a dynamic range compressor is to reduce any audio peaks that exceed a specified threshold by a ratio. For a threshold of 0dB and a ratio of 4:1, an audio peak of +8dB should be reduced to +2dB.

You can model many compressor tasks in Veneer, such as computing target gains from source levels, and modeling the lag circuits that turn compressors from mere distortion to tools that shape the envelopes of sounds.

I made a small workspace to demonstrate the fundamentals of digital compressor construction. Check out the interactive tutorial!