Differences between soft knee and hard knee in Dynamic Range Compression (DRC)?

1. What is the difference between soft knee and hard knee compression?
2. What does soft knee mean in compression?
3. What is hard knee compression?
4. When should you use a hard knee compressor?

What is the difference between soft knee and hard knee compression?

With hard knee compression, the gain reduction applied to the signal occurs as soon as the signal exceeds the level set by the threshold. With soft knee compression, the onset of gain reduction occurs gradually after the signal has exceeded the threshold, producing a more musical response (to some folks).

What does soft knee mean in compression?

Soft knee compression

A soft knee setting applies compression differently to a hard knee setting. A soft knee setting will apply the compression gradually until the full ratio amount is reached. This makes the transition from uncompressed to compressed smoother and more transparent.

What is hard knee compression?

Hard knee compression works the way that compression seems to work on paper: when signal crosses the threshold, gain reduction occurs at the predetermined ratio. Below that threshold, no reduction occurs.

When should you use a hard knee compressor?

Both hard- and soft-knee compression have their uses; two examples: if you want to squash a signal's transients quickly, you'll want hard knee compression. If you want to use a compressor to gently glue a mix together by tightening up transients, you'll want a soft-knee compressor.