Over Compress Fix

Fredv wrote on 8/29/2009, 5:15 PM

I'm working on some content which has been over compressed. In the analog world I would take the tape output and put it through a DBX 119 and set the Expansion to about 2:1, which would take the edge off the compression.

Sony has the compressor tool. Is there an Expansion tool, or does someone have a third party that will take audio tracks and give them a tad bit more depth?

Comments

JMacSTL wrote on 8/31/2009, 9:51 AM

if you still have the Comp/Expander, why not just send it out through that and sample it back in. Nothing beats using old gear to justify having it!.

jmm in stl

Fredv wrote on 9/1/2009, 5:32 PM

Yeah, I'm afraid I'm going to have to do that.

I'm surprised that with as many compression programs as there are out there, that there is not something that someone markets that performs expands.

Teetow wrote on 9/6/2009, 5:55 AM

There is an insane amount of expanders out there, so I'd recommend you do some research. http://www.kvraudio.com is a decent repository of effects, instruments, hosts and what have you.

Depending on how badly squished your input audio is, you might have some luck with a transient designer once you're done expanding. It's basically like tossing a sharpen filter on a blurry image; you'll get artifacts, but the end result might be worth it anyway.

LarryP wrote on 9/6/2009, 3:06 PM

The Sony Graphical Dynamics will function as an un-compressor. Slopes to the right compress while slopes to the left expand. You will need to create points to move to the left.

Can't say I've tried to reverse compression but from what I've read in Bob Katz's book on mastering what you want to do is not easy and will be time consuming. You need to not only reverse the compression curve but also the attack and release times.

Best of luck.

Larry