How does one use the compressor, the gate and the parametric EQ?

[sebas11tian]

Hi everyone, these are the three effects I just can't figure out. I've
been using audiotool for about about 4 months non stop working and
practising, but the fact that I can´t figure out what these do,
disappoints me, I would like a little help.

It does not matter whether the description is vague, a guide in the
right direction will do just fine. So according to this, tell me how
you use them, a little description and a tip to focus on certain parts
of the sound, so I can figure it out myself.

Thanks in advance.

[r4c7]

Well I might not be entirely sure of this myself, but to me it seems
the gate mutes any sound that is softer than the threshold level, like
if the sound is at 50% volume and the threshold is 60%, it will get
muted. If the volume is 80% and the threshold is 60%, than the sound
will go through.

The P.EQ seems like it can lower or higher the volume of sounds at
different frequencies. Like if you have a recording with static, you
could mute the static with the P.EQ.

Thats all I can tell you, and like I said at the beggining, it may not
be entirely right.

[Joel Caffey]

If u play the guitar u may use a guitar..it simple terms, it simply makes all sounds the same volume based on the threshold u set it on..good for drum, or if ur not a fan of huge dynamics

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[Infyuthsion]

It's kind of difficult to grasp, but basically compression is the act
of reducing the "dynamic range" of a sound. With digital recordings
the digital sound limit is 0 db, so you have finite space within which
to contain your sounds. Some sounds have sharp "transients" which are
louder than normal spikes in sound which occur at the beginning of
note hits. These transients can take up a lot of sonic space. To
remedy this, you can use compression to level audio and make it an
even volume.

This is where a compressor comes in. It basically acts as a triggered
volume reducer that kicks in whenever db goes past a certain level. By
reducing the immediate spike in sound, you either make room for other
instruments in the song, or can bring up the volume of the compressed
sound up since you made room by cutting out the spikes. This is also
true for parts with fluctuating volumes in different states, such as
filter movements, or vocals.

As for eq, the idea is to shape your sound by modifying the volumes of
certain frequencies. You want to use it for one of two things. First,
to shave off the bits in a sound that are not essential. For example,
on a hat pattern, you may want to cut out the low end frequencies
since they are a high frequency instrument. Secondly, you can use it
to give a little boost or reduction in a certain area. For example,
you could make a small increase at 60hz for bass boost, or put an eq
over your whole mix with a wide increase at the highest frequency to
give the mix a little more air.

Lastly there is the gate, which is basically like a reverse
compressor. Instead of reducing sounds past a certain threshold, it
cuts out the sound completely once the volume goes under a certain
threshold. This is useful to use with things like reverb to make gated
snares, etc.