to compress or not to compress ?

[vivace]

Its not an effect.
Its a dynamic modifier.

How does this NOT make a compressor an effect?
If it alters, it's an effect.

A send is just as fragile if used without much care.

[manray]

Its not an effect.
Its a dynamic modifier.

How does this NOT make a compressor an effect?
If it alters, it's an effect.

A send is just as fragile if used without much care.

All pedantics. As long as people understand what a compressor does then it doesn't matter whether you call it an effect or not.

Personally i've used compressors as part of effects chains to sculpt a certain sound, with huge compression and sidechains etc.. Im sure most of us have.

[adamc]

I don't compress the master out, just stick a 24-bit Limiter on it and then do a final mix with that on.

Don't change what you do if you're taking your track to be mastered, if they're good at their job they'll not touch the track if there's nothing they can do. Otherwise half the time they just run the track through an L2.

[Sharmaji]

mixing a track w/ a compressor on the master right now, actually-- watching it hit -.5 throughout the tune and -1 when huge hits come together.

basically, there's a ton going on in this tune in terms of layers of energy at different frequencies and with different dynamic ranges, that all need to work by themselves and work together as well. i could really agressively compress at the channel level--which i'm doing on the snare, sure-- or i can build up different levels and types of compression through the track (medium), group (fast, so that things almost begin to duck each other out based on frequency content), and then on the master (fast and light).

i'm also limiting a ton at the track level, decided which elements get to keep transient info (kick, snare, and percussion), which can have some (percussion, in this case), and which don't get any (synths and leads).

the whole concept of "glue" is that elements push and pull with each other. especially with really heavily-limited things, which have a long, altered front, if you compress w/ those you get some really interesting outcomes... artifacts that can work in your favor, basically.


so basically, in something like this that i want to sound HUGE but don't want anything to sound choked, varying degrees of compression--including some on the master--- gets me a better result than just squashing everything by itself.

[two oh one]

mixing a track w/ a compressor on the master right now, actually-- watching it hit -.5 throughout the tune and -1 when huge hits come together.

basically, there's a ton going on in this tune in terms of layers of energy at different frequencies and with different dynamic ranges, that all need to work by themselves and work together as well. i could really agressively compress at the channel level--which i'm doing on the snare, sure-- or i can build up different levels and types of compression through the track (medium), group (fast, so that things almost begin to duck each other out based on frequency content), and then on the master (fast and light).

i'm also limiting a ton at the track level, decided which elements get to keep transient info (kick, snare, and percussion), which can have some (percussion, in this case), and which don't get any (synths and leads).

the whole concept of "glue" is that elements push and pull with each other. especially with really heavily-limited things, which have a long, altered front, if you compress w/ those you get some really interesting outcomes... artifacts that can work in your favor, basically.


so basically, in something like this that i want to sound HUGE but don't want anything to sound choked, varying degrees of compression--including some on the master--- gets me a better result than just squashing everything by itself.

Yes, yes!

And it has to be said that the track coming out of your DAW sounding like a record is phenomenally inspiring.

People shouldn't let the ME stop them from compressing your 2 bus lightly. It's YOUR record and YOU need to control how it sounds. They just need to get it louder and improve things, not alter your sound. Make it as good as you can in your box.

The trick is to do it lightly. If you can't hear the effect of just a couple of dB compression on your track at a low ratio, you've either got lead ears, or you're playing it too loud. You should be able to hear that subtle glue.

It's amazing what a small dab of compression can do to a track. Adding it later can alter the track and change your sound balance, possibly in a negative way. Although, I'm finding that if things are 'right', you can turn that 2dB compression on and off and the balance is more or less in tact, but just sounds less 'finished'.

[lojik]

A compressor can actually be used as quite a strong, audible effect with the correct settings. I especially like using them with extreme settings applied to bells or short claves or something to create a really clicky, tuneful percussion sort of sound.

Obviously they are more commonly used in subtle ways as described by the people before me

[adam_john]

I will occasionally mess with a compressor on the master when I'm just making MP3 mix downs to play out - just to get a certain sound.

However, when bouncing down the final mix to go to mastering, I don't put anything on the master channel - maybe just an EQ to roll off those high and low frequencies that are not needed, but I don't send out final mixes that have gone through a compressor on my master channel.

[tripaddict]

People shouldn't let the ME stop them from compressing your 2 bus lightly. It's YOUR record and YOU need to control how it sounds. They just need to get it louder and improve things, not alter your sound. Make it as good as you can in your box.

in the wrong hands tracks can sound awful over compressed bass drums make me stop listening ... esp when they get that horrible grainy cshhh noise urgh ! lol

[jedison]

I've never had many tunes mastered but the ones I do I put nothing on the master for the master bounce but I generally just through an EQ and maximizer on and that's just to get it louder and dirty. I don't want to add more compressioney sound to my mix, it should be sounding good with headroom while you're making it and mixing it down.

[FSTZ1]

over the years, this is the formula that works for me

good mixdown + limiting = ok to play out

good mixdown + light compression = give to the mastering engineer

[safeandsound]

When I was producing more I used to like a compressor
inserted on the master output on my analog board, interestingly though when I went mainly in the box for softsynths etc I did not put a plug in compressor on the mixbuss.

I felt when A/B ing it produced a slightly thicker and bigger sound, I used to compress not more than 3dB usually.

[deadly_habit]

amything on main = no