Compression Dos & Don’ts

To wrap things up regarding compressors, I will offer 3 Dos and Don’ts as my final word for now. These are things to always keep in mind when working with compressors. Some may have been previously stated in an earlier blog post.

DO          Avoid using extreme settings to begin with, if you are just trying to control the dynamics.

DON’T   Add compression to every channel by default. Start off with minimal compression, and carefully choose where to add compressors.

DO         Experiment with different types of compressors – hardware and software. There can be differences in how they sound. Compressors can and do sometimes sound different from one another.

DON’T  Forget to bypass the compressor occasionally while setting to check the results.

DO         Remember to balance the output gain so the level doesn’t change when engaged and bypassed. This way you can accurately compare before and after. Also, typically compression is added AFTER the mix has been balanced. So you don’t want to alter levels with either compression or EQ.

DON’T  Be afraid to experiment. Some of the greatest sounds in the history of recorded music came from misused and abused compressors.

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Compressors – What is the Knee and What does it do?

As you get better with compressors, you will start playing with other knobs and features. One of these is the knee. The knee refers to when and how the ratio starts to change when the compressor starts to take effect. A ‘hard knee’ means the compression becomes immediately active as soon as the input signal hits the threshold. A ‘soft knee’ means the compression becomes audible more gradually. A ‘soft knee’ also means that gentle compression starts happening further below the threshold. Another way to say this is it starts acting before the signal actuall reaches the threshold setting.

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.

Lastly, if you have a compressor, like the Dyn3 Compressor/limiter which comes free with Pro Tools, look at the picture of the knee. It actually looks like a human knee!

As always – I hope this helps!

And…. HEY! Make it a great day!

Tim

Compressors 102 (More of the Basics)

After learning the basics about compressors (see Compressors 101 earlier blog entry), then you can use this general guide of the type of overall effect you are going for.

If you want a Natural sound (the compressor is not noticeable):

Use a slower attack (longer than 75 ms) and gentle ratios (less than 2:1). Always allow the compressor to “relax” back to zero several times a measure.
For a Punchy Response:

For a harder, punchier sound, use higher ratios and thresholds, but keep an ear out for any distortion.

If you want a Thick and Dense sound:

For a thicker, denser sound use faster attacks, medium ratios, and lower thresholds. There will be much more gain reduction though.

If you want a Pumping Effect (for EDM, for instance):

For an overstated pumping effect use fast attacks, high ratios, and a longer release time.

DO – Avoid using extreme settings to begin with. This is especially true if you are just trying to control the dynamics.

DON’T – Add compressors to every channel just because you think you’re supposed to! Start with minimal compression and carefully choose where, when and why to add a compressor.

DO – Experiment with different kinds of compressors. There can be some big differences!

DON’T – Don’t forget to bypass the compressor occasionally to check that you’re getting good results.

DO – Remember to balance the output gain so the level doesn’t change when you engage the bypass. In other words the before and after volume level should be the same. We hardly ever use compression without changing the output makeup gain. If you add 3 dB of gain reduction (GR), then you should be able to add 3 dB or so of make up gain for the output.

DON’T – Don’t be afraid to experiment. Some of the greatest sounds in the history of recorded music came from misused and abused compressors!

The next blog about compressors I will talk about the “Knee” of a compressor! I really do hope this helps. It helped me!

As always – Make it a GREAT day!

Tim