User Guide

RECORDING
127
COMPRESSION
Compressing a sound lowers the dynamic range. When you compress a sound,
you lower the volume of loud sections and then raise the overall volume to
compensate.This is done to keep the volume level from fluctuating too much
over time.
Compression and Normalization can be used together to increase
the apparent loudness of a file. This is currently a popular mastering
technique.
To apply Compression:
1. Open the file TUTMUSIC.WAV. Make a copy of it by selecting the whole
region and dragging it to an open space in the Sound Forge XP workspace.
2. With the new file active, select Dynamics from the Effects menu.The Dynamics
dialog will appear.
3. Drag the Threshold level fader until you see the value -18 dB. Drag the Ratio
trackbar until the compression ratio is 2:1. Select OK to see the results of
compression in the sound. If you can see both files at once and are zoomed
out, you’ll be able to notice how the levels of the new file are more constant
than the original. Listening should reveal the same thing.
NOTE