# Match the Compressor

> Compression ear training: set a compressor’s threshold, ratio and attack by ear until it squashes like the reference. Five levels, the first two free.

Page: https://mixchops.com/compression/match

The exercise runs at [https://mixchops.com/compression/match](https://mixchops.com/compression/match) in any modern browser, with headphones or decent speakers.

## Set it by ear, *not by the numbers.*

A compressor is working on one part of a song. Match it: set your threshold and ratio, then the attack too, until yours squashes the same as the reference. Both play at the same loudness, so the only thing left to hear is the compression itself.

### How it works

1. Play the reference, then switch to Yours (keys 1 and 2, or B to flip).
2. Turn the controls, compare again, and check when they squash the same. The meter and the curve show your compressor; the reference’s only appears once you check.
3. After a check, open Help me hear it: your attempt, the difference doubled, and the correction.

### What to listen for

How far the hits come down against everything around them, and how far the quiet notes and tails come up to meet them. Threshold decides how much of the part the compressor works on; ratio decides how hard it pushes back on what gets over. A low threshold with a low ratio leans on everything gently; a high threshold with a high ratio only catches the loudest hits.

### How it’s scored

Your first check scores out of 100. Level 1 scores the threshold in dB, level 2 the ratio in steps of its pot. From level 3, where the two controls trade off (bring the threshold down and the ratio down, and it can sound much like a higher threshold at a higher ratio), it scores how close yours sounds: the measured difference from the reference, so settings that sound the same score the same. An average of 80 over five songs passes.

### Levels

Level 1 sets the threshold, within 7 dB, with the ratio given. Level 2 sets the ratio, within one step of its pot, with the threshold given. Level 3 sets both, level 4 both again for a closer match, and level 5 adds the attack; they pass when the difference from the reference sits 20, 22 and 23 dB under it. Until level 5 the attack is 10 ms. Release follows the part, 120 ms on drums. It’s part of [Mix Chops Pro](https://mixchops.com/pro), every level.

Use headphones or good speakers. Every setting plays at the same loudness, so louder is never the difference.

[Compressed or Dry](https://mixchops.com/compression/dry) · [How Much](https://mixchops.com/compression/amount) · [Attack](https://mixchops.com/compression/attack) · [Ratio](https://mixchops.com/compression/ratio) · [Match the Compressor](https://mixchops.com/compression/match) · [Shape the Hit](https://mixchops.com/compression/shape) · [Parallel Blend](https://mixchops.com/compression/parallel) · [All compression exercises](https://mixchops.com/compression) · [Learn: What does a compressor do?](https://mixchops.com/learn/what-does-a-compressor-do)