The Instances Where You DO NOT Use A Compressor

[jaynm26]

Name the places in mixing where most would use a comp, but you do not?

Me...I dont always use compressors on my mix bus...I KNOW!! lol I really just started doin this "sometimes" if I gain stage my mix perfect I have alot of dynamic range and IMHO I do now want to lessen or decrease my dynamic range or raise the noise floor of the mix. I also find that the peaks are more "free" I allow them to breath and show all their life which also helps with dynamic range IMHO. Real emotion in music is important to me. I also tend to think of the mastering stage when mixing I like to give the mastering engineer a track full a life not just a wall of sound with dynamic range of 2.

[miroslav]

I also find that the peaks are more "free" I allow them to breath and show all their life....

Where do you record...at a hippie commune...?

[jaynm26]

Where do you record...at a hippie commune...?

lol, yep lol. Austin is close enough

[Massive Master]

I use compressors when the dynamic range of an individual source is too wide for the dynamic range of the mix as a whole. So basically, I don't use compressors most of the time.

Too many (IMO/E) use compression as a "startup" and wind up with compressors on half their tracks (if not more on occasion) and then wonder why they *don't* "breathe" and have life in them.

[Bobbsy]

For me, it's more a case of "when do you use a compressor" rather than "when do you not use one". If things sound good uncompressed, great. If things are getting lost because your dynamic range is too wide, then it's compressor time.

The musical style you're working in can have a big influence on this decision. On anything classical, they're used to ultrawide dynamic ranges. On modern dance music, even a hint of dynamic range is considered a failure.

(OT aside: we had Queensland Youth Ballet in the local theatre a while back, performing to pre-recorded music. I did the playback and found that if I set levels for the quiet bits to be about right, the loud bits were well over 100dB SPL "A Weighted". Or, if I set the loud bits to a comfortable classical level, the quiet bits were at about -50dB SPL, i.e. a dynamic range of more than 50 dB. this might be fine on an audiophile hifi unit in a quiet house but was hopeless in a 2000 seat theatre with moving lights whirring, people coughing, sweet packets rattling, etc. Yeah, I committed the sin of putting a compressor on classical music.)

[Mo Facta]

I almost never compress distorted electric guitars. Occasionally I'll slap a compressor on the guitar bus and duck them with the snare or kick but that's it. I also hardly ever compress keys. They're almost always pre-cooked enough to sound good on their own. However, strings sometimes benefit from compression as they can be quite dynamic.

See, there's the question of what you're compressing FOR. Are you merely attempting to control the dynamic range? Do you want to tailor the transients? More sustain? Less sustain? Do you want it to be transparent or grabby?

Personally, there are very few instances where I can get away without compressing rock drums heavily. It just goes with the territory and has become part of the sound. I need them to pump and smack like I hear on all my favorite rock albums and this is nothing new. It's been done for decades. But, the caveat is that you can't use any compressor. Some comps suck on drums and some sound great. I definitely reach for specific comps for specific jobs because others don't tickle my ears the way they do and that's why I love compression. It is a tone, transient and dynamic shaping tool with so many more uses than merely controlling DR.

But overall, it is a balancing act where too much is too much and nothing sounds worse than over-compression without purpose. However, I'm not going stop myself from compressing if it makes the song better or because I believe in some silly philosophy like "always compress sparingly". I know my tools and I use them to the extreme if I have to. Room mics almost always benefit from a little smash and distortion. It helps bring out harmonics in the drums and room that aren't there without it.

Cheers

[Greg_L]

I never compress drum overheads or overdriven electric guitars.

[rayc]

Bobbsy,
They committed the sin of dancing to recorded music so had broken the 1st tablet.

[rayc]

I use compression and reverb less and less as time goes by. Mistakes had to be made and lessons learnt to get here though.

[jonny deep]

I use compression and reverb less and less as time goes by. Mistakes had to be made and lessons learnt to get here though.

I recently realised that a song I posted in the MP3 clinic (my most recent posting, which was clearly my best effort yet) didn't have any reverb on anything but vocals. This was because I simply forgot to load reverb fx onto my room reverb channel, so when I sent to it, it was just adding volume, which I was adjusting to taste!

I only compress vocals (which I squash completely), drums, bass (due to my poor playing) and sometimes on the master buss.