Compressers Anonymous

wedge · Post by **wedge** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 8:15 pm

MikeCzech wrote:bring dead tracks to life, or smother living tracks to death.

Understanding this distinction on a technique level is the key then to successful compression, I would surmise... Given that, let's define compression techniques that bring life to tracks, and mistakes that smother tracks... I'll go first, limited though my experience is: Parallel compression is a great way to add life to tracks without killing their dynamics, imho...

drumsound · Post by **drumsound** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 10:23 pm

mjau wrote:
drumsound wrote:A day without compression is like a day without sunlight...
You don't have any windows in your control room, so what might this mean...???

Just because I don't like a whole lotta sunlight doesn't mean I don't understand its importance.

Professor · Post by **Professor** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 1:29 am

I don't think you're missing the forest for the trees since you are standing in this little clearing here asking about the forest.
Yes, I will typically drop some kind of compression on nearly every track. But there are a few caveats here. First, for many of those tracks, the ratio never goes above 2:1, and indeed rarely even hits 2:1, since I more often work with the 1.3:1, 1.5:1 or 1.7:1 setting on my board compressors - and the threshold is usually at least down at -18dB if not down in the -24, -30, -36 range. Overall, that makes for very light compression with maybe 4-6-8dB of total gain, and a compressor that's almost constantly on during a song, so it is more like pushing up the fader but with a safety net on top. Second, I use different compressors (in the for of plug-ins) to illicit different tones out of instruments. I really like those Bomb Factory LA2A & 1176 plugs in ProTools and I use the LA2A on bass, kick and sources that need warmer, fuller sounds, and the 1176 on stuff that needs more top end. I'll also use the Focusrite plug from time to time, and I'm just starting to experiment with the McDSP, Fairchild, and a few other compressor plugs that came with the recent Massive Pack purchase.
On mix down, I'll use a multi-band compressor or a side-chained compressor to even up the overall mix - though still with very gentle low-thresh, low-ratio settings.

-Jeremy

drumsound · Post by **drumsound** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 11:36 am

What console do you have with compressors on board?

aeijtzsche · Post by **aeijtzsche** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 3:20 pm

Drew, that whole "Green album/Tom Lord-Alge" thing didn't turn you off to compression, huh?

Professor · Post by **Professor** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 4:06 pm

drumsound wrote:What console do you have with compressors on board?

Yamaha DM-2000. Compressor, gate, delay, and 4-band EQ on every one of the 96 channels and the busses and the main outputs. Truly a beautiful thing.

-Jeremy

surf's up · Post by **surf's up** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 4:11 pm

aeijtzsche wrote:Drew, that whole "Green album/Tom Lord-Alge" thing didn't turn you off to compression, huh?

That whole Green Album/Tom-Lord Alge things turned me off to weezer.
Strangely, this compression obsession has been undeterred by any preconception or bias against the practice I might have had.

aeijtzsche · Post by **aeijtzsche** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 4:21 pm

Strangely, this compression obsession has been undeterred by any preconception or bias against the practice I might have had.

Yeah, I know what you mean, and identify actually. If I owned a compressor, I'm dead sure I'd be tempted to use it a whole lot.

surf's up · Post by **surf's up** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 4:41 pm

aeijtzsche wrote:
Strangely, this compression obsession has been undeterred by any preconception or bias against the practice I might have had.
Yeah, I know what you mean, and identify actually. If I owned a compressor, I'm dead sure I'd be tempted to use it a whole lot.

haha its just so hard when its right there, taunting you, begging you to use it.
is this part of your increased creativity through resource/technique constraints? im very curious to hear what youve been recording these days btw. i check your site every few months and theres never any new mp3s

joel hamilton · Post by **joel hamilton** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 5:05 pm

Saying that you are "addicted to compression" is like saying "I cant stop using microphones!" in my opinion.

It is HOW you use it that is really the key. I have heard so many recordings screwed up by unflattering, crappy phase relationships... that has nothing to do with compression.... lots of people hate compressors just because of the name. If the boxes I use all the time were called "percived dynamic range enhancers with tonal coloration-boxes" then people would be like, "wow! Use that thing on everything! It really makes things exciting!"

as with any device in the studio: it is how you use it. Period. We all have cyclical love affairs with certain aspects of this process....

Eric Rottmayer · Post by **Eric Rottmayer** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 6:39 pm

i guess i sorta belong in this thread....i used a cassette 4-track for 1/2 of my recording existance and listening back there is tape compression on every
track...and so i think i was addicted at birth. but yea, i'm also addicted to mics
and pre's and tubes and cables...wow, i'm addiced to cables like crazy. i need
to figure that one out. and guitars. and drums/drum machines. and keyboard
modules that are totally outdated and low in bit. i'm a total lush.

bentonevolution · Post by **bentonevolution** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 7:12 pm

That focusrite red compressor needs to be taken away from him and not given back until he learns how to not hurt my ears with it.

drewkon wrote:
aeijtzsche wrote:Drew, that whole "Green album/Tom Lord-Alge" thing didn't turn you off to compression, huh?
That whole Green Album/Tom-Lord Alge things turned me off to weezer.
Strangely, this compression obsession has been undeterred by any preconception or bias against the practice I might have had.

aeijtzsche · Post by **aeijtzsche** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 7:38 pm

s this part of your increased creativity through resource/technique constraints? im very curious to hear what youve been recording these days btw. i check your site every few months and theres never any new mp3s

My restraints now include not being able to use a recording device, at the moment. This is not self-imposed though, rather failed computer. Keep checking, I expect there will be some activity this spring.

surf's up · Post by **surf's up** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 8:23 pm

aeijtzsche wrote:
s this part of your increased creativity through resource/technique constraints? im very curious to hear what youve been recording these days btw. i check your site every few months and theres never any new mp3s
My restraints now include not being able to use a recording device, at the moment. This is not self-imposed though, rather failed computer. Keep checking, I expect there will be some activity this spring.

Sorry to hear that. Im looking forward to it though. Especially since from what I gather youve been exploring tehcniques and practices from the 60s LA studios, which is a particular area of interest to me.

pulse_divider · Post by **pulse_divider** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 9:57 pm

drewkon wrote: here, here!

i dont think there has been an instance when i havent nuked a drum room track since i acquired my distressor. Then the volume fader on that channel becomes like a 'master dirtiness' knob. so handy.

Not to hijack the thread or anything, but just curious as to how you get this to sit in a mix? I've tried this before and had a hard time placing it in the stereo field, as it clobbered the individual L/R channels if heavily panned and totally collapsed the stereo image when placed in the center.

As for compression, I find that the more skilled the musician is the less I need it. There's no shame in using it and it's definitely fun to crush the hell out of a room mic but I always end up happier with my recordings when I go light on compression during tracking.

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