I’m going to tell you a secret no one in the music business wants you to know.

Learning how to properly use compression is hard.

Everybody thinks they understand how to use a compressor way before they actually do. Sure, they know what all the knobs are for, but most of the time they’re either recalling presets, dialing in the same go-to settings for every song or just spinning knobs until something cool happens.

It’s hard to hear the subtle differences between different attack and release settings—especially without knowing what you’re listening for. That’s why we put together a guide on everything you need to know about attack and release times, complete with audio samples and examples of when to use different settings. 

• Read more about compression attack and release times, complete with audio examples, right here.