Kind of a n00b question I guess 
But here’s the deal:
Imagine having a track that has a high peak (bass guitar for example) and I apply the compressor on it to get that peak down. Is there a way to watch the change the compressor does on the track itself?
Many thanks in advance
Tom
Not unless you use a compressor that shows the processed waveform.
Hmm… a shame, would’ve been a great feature (imo). Just to check if you’re not overdoing compression, EQ… somewhere. Thanks a lot!
Are you talking about showing the gain reduction of the compressor on the track channel? If that’s what you mean, no there’s no way to do that. That said, the RESULTING compressed signal IS shown on the channel meter, because the meter is monitoring the signal after the channel inserts (assuming the meter is set to a “post” configuration that is). If using the Cubase compressor, the plug-in itself shows you the gain reduction.
That having been said though, if you were looking for a compressor that shows EVERYthing from the input signal, to the output signal, to the gain reduction, the Fabfilter Pro-C is such a compressor. It has a visual interface that relates all three of those aspects together, and it’s very very clear what the compressor is doing at any given time–almost too clear, as it encourages you to watch it rather than listen. It’s a fabulous, well featured and powerful compressor. BUT it is on the pricy side–and again, you would still have to have the plug-in open to see the gain reduction metering resulting from the compression.
Yep, that’s what I meant. I was hoping there would be an option where you could see how the waveform is impacted.
Like that, when the compressor is activated, you would see the second waveform in this example instead of the first.
But the answer is clear: I’ll have to keep using my ears and watch the meter. Which is indeed, the best way I guess. Still it would be interesting to check if you’re not overdoing it. Again, probably better by ear
Ahh, I see. Yeah, even the Pro-C doesn’t show it like that. Guess I’ll just be quiet then. Good luck anyway.
The Cubase oscilloscope plugin shows the waveform in realtime
Look up a plugin called Waveshaper. It is…well a waveshaper, but it has a nifty realtime scope with pretty darn good options for tracking the waveform. Clunky, but you could load two of them into a channel before/after.
Oh here’s another … http://bram.smartelectronix.com/plugins.php?id=4
I believe they are free.
And the waveshaping on … Waveshaper is pretty decent actually. But when it’s off, the plug-in does not touch the audio.
Pretty sure you could load 2 on every channel of a mix and not have any issues.