Using Compression
- Thread starter Seasharp
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Beat Kaufmann
Senior Member
You say that the compressors take away the atmosphere from your music. If you speak of real sound recordings, then the opposite happens with my recordings. Since I often have to limit the dynamic range at concerts, I compress on the one hand the loudest parts and the quietest I raise. This actually makes all "intimate" sounds better perceived, which usually increases the atmosphere initially. But yes, if this happens too much, it tilts quickly. Then it bothers.
Example 1: I tried to work out the air noise a bit with this singer. I raised her voice slightly with the (New York Compression).
Example 2: Thanks to compression you can hear the choir and the soloists wonderfully different.
The atmosphere does not seem to have been lost because of the compression.
Beat
Example 1: I tried to work out the air noise a bit with this singer. I raised her voice slightly with the (New York Compression).
Example 2: Thanks to compression you can hear the choir and the soloists wonderfully different.
The atmosphere does not seem to have been lost because of the compression.
Beat
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Seasharp
Member
shawnsingh
Senior Member
Can you give an example of something before and after your compressor, along with the settings you used?
I'm definitely no expert at compression, so please take my ramblings with a grain of salt. My first thought is that maybe your attack parameter is too slow.
A fast attack and fast release could muffle the "snap" or "impact", usually not what people want from a compressor. On the other extreme, a long attack would cause the compressor to reduce gain long after the core of a short hit, but the gain reduction would then end up muffling the room/atmosphere tail that happens after that. That would have the effect of actually reducing the atmosphere.
There's usually a middle ground that is unique to the sounds you are compressing, where a medium fast attack can take effect after the initial transient of the sound, but a medium release starts to bring back the gain shortly after that, while the room tail is just starting to decay. and if you can manage to find the right settings, the sound can be both impactful, yet the atmosphere at the end appears to be enhanced because of the way the gain is increasing back to normal counteracting the room decay.
This kind of trick is more obvious when done on individual instruments, but it can still have a nice subtle effect on a full mix bus. For a full mix bus, you could try using a gentler ratio, a lower threshold, softer knee. The gentle ratio and softer knee help reduce the aggressiveness of compression while the lower threshold makes the compression apply to more of the song. I also have had good results with a fast attack combined with lookahead, so that the initial attack is shifted a bit earlier. If the attack can reduce gain before the transient actually happens, the compression can be more transparent ok the attack - but the magic of the release lining up with the room decay can still be there.
Anyway, just want to emphasize, I'm not that experienced with compression. Would be great if others can chime in with more thoughts on bus mix compression, Beat included.
I'm definitely no expert at compression, so please take my ramblings with a grain of salt. My first thought is that maybe your attack parameter is too slow.
A fast attack and fast release could muffle the "snap" or "impact", usually not what people want from a compressor. On the other extreme, a long attack would cause the compressor to reduce gain long after the core of a short hit, but the gain reduction would then end up muffling the room/atmosphere tail that happens after that. That would have the effect of actually reducing the atmosphere.
There's usually a middle ground that is unique to the sounds you are compressing, where a medium fast attack can take effect after the initial transient of the sound, but a medium release starts to bring back the gain shortly after that, while the room tail is just starting to decay. and if you can manage to find the right settings, the sound can be both impactful, yet the atmosphere at the end appears to be enhanced because of the way the gain is increasing back to normal counteracting the room decay.
This kind of trick is more obvious when done on individual instruments, but it can still have a nice subtle effect on a full mix bus. For a full mix bus, you could try using a gentler ratio, a lower threshold, softer knee. The gentle ratio and softer knee help reduce the aggressiveness of compression while the lower threshold makes the compression apply to more of the song. I also have had good results with a fast attack combined with lookahead, so that the initial attack is shifted a bit earlier. If the attack can reduce gain before the transient actually happens, the compression can be more transparent ok the attack - but the magic of the release lining up with the room decay can still be there.
Anyway, just want to emphasize, I'm not that experienced with compression. Would be great if others can chime in with more thoughts on bus mix compression, Beat included.
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Seasharp
Member
Unfortunately I don’t have any examples as I’ve never used compression on the entire work.
vitocorleone123
Senior Member
Compressors make loud things quieter, so that the ambient becomes louder in comparison. Expanders make quieter things louder. Both change the overall dynamics. Take the time to read and also watch instructional videos on compression - it's a very powerful tool that can even destroy the music. Among others out there, I like Matthew Weiss instructional videos.
Whatever you do, don't compress anything just because you think you should or someone said to. Be conscientious and purposeful, especially if you're creating orchestral or cinematic music (among others).
Whatever you do, don't compress anything just because you think you should or someone said to. Be conscientious and purposeful, especially if you're creating orchestral or cinematic music (among others).
robgb
Genius. Idiot. You Decide.
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Seasharp
Member
Thanks for the information and suggestion. I’ll check it out.
