Dynamic range compression isn’t new, it’s been used by recording, mixing, and mastering engineers for many decades. A little bit of compression is fine, but over-compression can sound downright ugly.

“Ready to Start” from Arcade Fire’s 2010 album “The Suburbs”; as seen using the Audacity audio editor. The amount of audio (blue) touching the top and bottom of the window is a sign of excessive ...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. "In my experience there seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding the world of mastering, its ...