Here's my favorite one-size-fits-all compression setting. It works wonderfully on vocals if the vocals seem too loud and then too faint.
It brings the louds and softs closer together. Good for things like drums and vocals. Look at the wave form. If it's consistent you probably don't need compression. But if it has lots of thicks and thins and might have long spikes, then compression is your friend. Think of a photo that uses a telephoto feature that shrinks the highway lines on the road and brings that mountain way in the distance up close so it looks like its towering. You can see the details of the landscape better. That's what compression does with sound.
These numbers don't have to be exact because what you hear is more accurate. ratio: 4 to 1 (3 to 1 is just fine, too) attack: 5ms release: 25ms Then: adjust the Threshold (always seems to go from -15 to -25...whatever...on the dial) so the decibels peak from -5 to -10 in the output meter.
After that: Go to the Makeup dial...get the loudness back.
Thanks John! While I haven’t had too many issues with using compression, I might give your settings a spin next time ‘round to hear how they sound. Andrew
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
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