Fairly interesting article on Compressors

[KevWind]

https://www.production-expert.com/pr...20-%2013368483

[AcousticDreams]

Excellent article KevWind. Thank you so much for sharing.

Especially Mistake 1(Forgetting the faders). Something that Bob Womack has talked a lot about many times. I have yet to learn. Something that could really come in handy for my style of music.

Mistake number 3(Getting caught up in the details) This will be an especially hard lesson for me to learn. As I am a extremely detail oriented.

In truth...all of these lessons I need to re introduce my self to.

[Bowie]

Seemed like just a beginner's guide to compression.

I think the two biggest pieces of advice I can give on compression are to;
1) Don't look at the meter until after you've decided the sound is correct. Making musical decisions based on metering will not only limit your mixes, but will limit your ear from developing.

2) Go too far. It's sometimes hard to decide if your attack, release, threshold, etc are correct if you are creeping up on them. If you start by going to the extremes; too open, too heavy, etc, you can more easily find the sweet spot as you are dialing it back in. This doesn't apply to everything but it can be a huge help when you feel like you can't hear the subtleties and need a sort of magnifying lens.

[b1j]

This compressor article is so very timely for me! And yes, it is only slightly above beginner level, but that's where I live, so it was quite useful to reinforce the basics.

After a marathon in the studio this past week, I have maybe 90% of the tracking done on my current project, save for eight measures at the end, a long but easy bass part, and eight little punch-ins here and there.

Anyway, I have a lot of acoustic guitar audio laid down. I have set out to follow Joe Gilder's advice to balance the volumes before touching a single plug-in. With 66 individual events (and counting!) in four acoustic tracks and one electric bass track, there's been a lot of "opportunity" to work with volumes.

Fortunately, I was careful to match mic distance with all the acoustic tracking, so almost everything came in close to within the same dynamic window. But the fun began when I turned my attention to the musical dynamics I want in the finished piece. There are pp, p, mƒ and ƒp sections, crescendos, decrescendos, etc. I played many of these while tracking, but not with the steady hand of a maestro, so they're just approximations. I spent time today using gain envelopes to tweak notes and phrases that needed raising or lowering. What a useful tool! And still I haven't touched even a fader in the mix screen, let alone used any plug-ins. Every fader is at zero (do they call that Unity?).

All this time, so far, I've had compression in the back of my mind, thinking about where I'll want to apply it to tracks or the entire mix. It may well turn out that all the volume balancing I've been doing on a micro level will make the compressor unnecessary as a strictly volume controller. I am, however, very curious to find out what the various compressors can do for the sound quality of the instruments. Do I want to hear the transients from when I picked each note, or do I want the blooming richness of the notes themselves to be featured?

Anyway, the point is that I have succeeded in refraining from touching a plug-in while working on the volume balance within and between tracks. I'll step away from it tonight and "see" what I have tomorrow. My next big decision is when will the volume balancing be done? It feels like it's close.

And, of course, there's the last 10% of that tracking! All that first, and then I'll see about EQ to tidy up what the compressor will have to work with.

If I did this for a living, I'd starve.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by AcousticDreams

Especially Mistake 1(Forgetting the faders). Something that Bob Womack has talked a lot about many times. I have yet to learn. Something that could really come in handy for my style of music.

Yes I agree --- or to put it a different way simply slapping a compressor on a track without first manually adjusting the levels for different sections/segments of the same track,,, can be a mistake..

But as far as "don't forget the faders" -- it depends on what exactly you are doing with the faders ..
My first mixing move (before any effects) is listen to the entire mix and see/hear if any specific track needs the overall level adjusted either up or down which I do with the track fader for an overall preliminary balance.

And there is also what is called "riding the faders" which applies to level adjustments within individual tracks (done manually in the good ole' days) BUT with modern DAW's that is now easily accomplished with track volume automation.

Mistake number 3(Getting caught up in the details) This will be an especially hard lesson for me to learn. As I am a extremely detail oriented.

YES took me a number of years (and even now I have to remind myself) --Don't forget the big picture especially IF/when you have a track soloed and are making fine adjustments make sure to un solo and listen to the entire mix with virtually ever adjustment.

Originally Posted by Bowie

Seemed like just a beginner's guide to compression.

. Yes and appropriate = Given we have a very wide swath of experience on this forum... From absolute beginner to multi decade pros, and everything in between.

you can more easily find the sweet spot as you are dialing it back in. This doesn't apply to everything but it can be a huge help when you feel like you can't hear the subtleties and need a sort of magnifying lens.

Yes ramp it up and then dial it back is certainly a viable method with the Caveat sometimes if can you only hear the absence of the effect when bypassed,, it may be just right, I find this true on reverb as well if I only want some slight additional depth and ambience but no real discernible reverb

Originally Posted by b1j

This compressor article is so very timely for me! And yes, it is only slightly above beginner level, but that's where I live, so it was quite useful to reinforce the basics.
I spent time today using gain envelopes to tweak notes and phrases that needed raising or lowering. What a useful tool! And still I haven't touched even a fader in the mix screen, let alone used any plug-ins. Every fader is at zero (do they call that Unity?).

Correct when the fader is at 0 db it is called "Unity Gain". --As far as the track faders ,, Myself the first thing I do is a preliminary balance of all the tracks. Where I just listen to the all the raw tracks (pre any mixing) playing together to see IF there are any single tracks that stand out as mismatched level wise AND I will tend to do this three or four times (usually with my eyes close on the last two ) before doing anything. Only then will raise or lower the track fader. Then after the preliminary tracks balance do I then go in and use the DAW automation to raise or lower individual segments in a single track

All this time, so far, I've had compression in the back of my mind, thinking about where I'll want to apply it to tracks or the entire mix. It may well turn out that all the volume balancing I've been doing on a micro level will make the compressor unnecessary as a strictly volume controller.

Anyway, the point is that I have succeeded in refraining from touching a plug-in while working on the volume balance within and between tracks. I'll step away from it tonight and "see" what I have tomorrow. My next big decision is when will the volume balancing be done? It feels like it's close.

This is what I do also get the volume balance first before an effects

[Joseph Hanna]

I rarely, rarely use compression these days. I do however use the Sonimus AChannel on all tracks. It’s a console emulation that imparts a rather "round" sound. (in a good way). I do think it imparts a bit of compression-ish sonics without the actual pushing back. But beyond its wonderful sound, it has a very effective input sensitivity circuit. I set all inputs (using the AChannel) to roughly be the same input. It starts my mixes out, not only with the AChannel sound but a very even playing field. It also has a VERY effective and simple hi-cut and low-cut filtering component that makes pre-eq things wonderfully quick. I just can't say enough about the Sonimus stuff.

Where I do use compressors (not so much compression) is for a boost in grain/gain. Nothing (at least for me) does that better than the distressor. I might, on occasion, introduce a tiny bit of push back but certainly not an essential component of using the distressor. The other comp I use for tone is the Universal Audio LA-2A. Spongy, rubbery but interesting sound none the less.

I do have a hardware Charter Oak compressor and it's eerily transparent and really good for "aggressive but not sonically invasive" but all things considered a bit of a pain working it into the work flow.

In the end (unless it's time sensitive stuff for work) I've kinda weened myself from compression!

[Brent Hahn]

Originally Posted by KevWind

... IF/when you have a track soloed and are making fine adjustments make sure to un solo and listen to the entire mix with virtually ever adjustment...

When, in the finished product, will a given track be heard in solo? So why solo for fine adjustments,* when "in situ" is all that matters? We're better off making the most of what little time we have with our pre-fatigued ears.

* vs soloing to hunt down a buzz, click, etc. Soloing is good for that. And it's something you can do after you've gotten to that point in the session when your ears are shot.

[AcousticDreams]

The one thing the article barely touches on..is how you might want to add a compressor type, just for the Character it adds. Different types of compressors add a different Characters. The compressor becomes more like an effect.

This is different than adding Tone or peak reducing. Different model compressors can create a character within itself, because of How it compresses.

In the article "Compressors For Sound
"Possibly as a result of art mimicking science, the compressed sound has become a mix flavor of its own. "

Recently I bought the Arturia 76 plug in. Some sources claimed that this is one of the best reproductions of the Urei 1176. And Indeed, I am happy to report it does sound like the Urei 1176 I remember. I use to own a Urei in the 70's. It has a sound different from other compressors. I find the 1176 tonal character unmistakable. As where an LA-2A is more gentle in its character effect? And to top it off, I am not yet sure which of these is better suited to which applications. It will take me a lot of time to figure out that one.

Using a compressor for its Character, is also a very important factor. Hmmm, the big question is which of the compressor characters will I actually like and use in the end. With Reverbs...I had to buy a high end Plate reverb, because that is what I used in the 70's. Come to find out that I like the newer Reverb sound much better and will rarely use the accurate plate reproduction plug ins. We shall see if the 1176 finds it way into the same manner.

However the big difference now is that we have Mix buttons(parallel) within these units. So now I can have character and retain the wide open dynamics at the same time. In my initial tests...that is where I am liking it best right now with the 76.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

When, in the finished product, will a given track be heard in solo? So why solo for fine adjustments,* when "in situ" is all that matters? We're better off making the most of what little time we have with our pre-fatigued ears.

* vs soloing to hunt down a buzz, click, etc. Soloing is good for that. And it's something you can do after you've gotten to that point in the session when your ears are shot.

Good point and exactly so. I do tend solo when trying to (do what I call fine adjustments for things like) vocal plosives, ess-es etc
Or on acoustic guitar tracks as you say for sting buzz etc. But I almost a immediately check full mix after each move .
Also not being a pro I no have time constraints, and do have the luxury of simply stopping if my ears are getting tired, an picking up again the next day or day after that.

[b1j]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Good point and exactly so. I do tend solo when trying to (do what I call fine adjustments for things like) vocal plosives, ess-es etc
Or on acoustic guitar tracks as you say for sting buzz etc. But I almost a immediately check full mix after each move .
Also not being a pro I no have time constraints, and do have the luxury of simply stopping if my ears are getting tired, an picking up again the next day or day after that.

This describes my approach as well.

[Brent Hahn]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Also not being a pro I no have time constraints, and do have the luxury of simply stopping if my ears are getting tired, an picking up again the next day or day after that.

You also have the luxury of not being in a control room full of people. On an advertising or scoring session you're often surrounded by folks who are probably very good at something, but it's neither recording nor music. You can grab their attention instantly by hitting Solo.

[DupleMeter]

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

When, in the finished product, will a given track be heard in solo? So why solo for fine adjustments,* when "in situ" is all that matters? We're better off making the most of what little time we have with our pre-fatigued ears.

* vs soloing to hunt down a buzz, click, etc. Soloing is good for that. And it's something you can do after you've gotten to that point in the session when your ears are shot.

Yeah - NEVER solo to make adjustments. Only solo if you need to isolate to find a problem. If you don't know how those adjustments are working in the context of the mix, you're just guessing.

I may have told this story, but when i was learning at Berklee I had a teacher who would just randomly mess with my faders if he felt I was in solo too long. I remember one time being like "what the hell dude!" and he smirked & said "obviously they aren't as important as that one track you were making out with" (yeah, it was the '80s you could say stuff like that).

Needless to say, I learned to avoid soloing anything for anything more than a spot check when I needed to track down an errant sound.

[Bowie]

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

When, in the finished product, will a given track be heard in solo? So why solo for fine adjustments,* when "in situ" is all that matters? We're better off making the most of what little time we have with our pre-fatigued ears.

Maybe that's your personal rule, and that's ok, but it's also fine for engineers to solo a track and make adjustments. A common example is if there's masking going on in the upper-bass and low-mids. That's a congested area and it can be hard to identify the contribution each track is making. Soloing in a situation like that is very important. You, of course, flip back and reference the mix frequently. It's ESPECIALLY important for fatigued ears. It would be wonderful if we could hear small adjustments clearly in a dense mix but let's not kid ourselves.

What I would not advise is soloing each track every time one needs to make adjustments. You want to do the majority of your work with the mix active. But, I wouldn't recommend forcing one's self to follow a rule based on theory. Plenty of accomplished pros I know solo tracks to apply compression, EQ, etc, if it helps them better hear what changes are being made.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

You also have the luxury of not being in a control room full of people. On an advertising or scoring session you're often surrounded by folks who are probably very good at something, but it's neither recording nor music. You can grab their attention instantly by hitting Solo.

Occasionally my dog is in room when I am mixing does that count ?

[b1j]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Occasionally my dog is in room when I am mixing does that count ?

I’ll bet that rascal has a good ear.