How to Install a Home Recording Audio Compressor

A home recording audio compressor improves the quality of your audio by weeding out the fluctuations in the audio signal. It minimizes tones that are too soft or too loud, giving you a cleaner sound so you can pump up the volume. If you want your recordings to sound as good as they can, add a home recording audio compressor to your studio.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• 1/4-inch or XLR cable

1. Connect all of your home recording equipment into your mixer. The mixer is the board that allows you to control the volume of each particular instrument or microphone. Use this to determine how much of a particular sound you want on the final recording.
2. Run the appropriate cable from the mixer to your home recording audio compressor. Typically, a 1/4-inch cable is appropriate; however, some systems require the use of an XLR cable. When you run your mixer into your home recording audio compressor, you allow all of the sounds to compress as necessary.
3. Connect your compressor to your recording device. The same type of cable you used to connect your compressor to your mixer will also connect your compressor to your recording device. Record from your mixer to your recording device, and the compressor will work in the middle.

Tips & Warnings

• Software that acts as a home recording audio compressor is available if you primarily record using your computer.
• Make sure you mix the music as you want it before you send it to the compressor. The compressor will not fix a bad mix job.