The Instances Where You DO NOT Use A Compressor

[Justsomeguy]

Here you can get an idea of who is who after been here for a little while and kinda know who is gonna post what. Who to listen to & most importantly who not to listen to lol. Little compradore is built i think could be wrong.

In terms of compression i'm in the RayC boat; the older i get, the less i use. Vocals and snares usually get some, maybe kick. I steer clear of it on electric guitars and acoustic guitars and would rather automate the volume if needed.

Saying that, i remember vividly using a comp on a crazy synth part with an arpegiator on it a while back to balance the the root notes with the extra notes. it sticks out in my memory because, as someone else mentioned earlier, alot of synth/key parts i come across are already fairly compressed so i normally steer clear of adding any more.

[grimtraveller]

I'm still something of an ignoramus in terms of the ins and outs of compression so I use it as a sound shaping tool like flanging or a Leslie. If I feel like it, I'll put a little on just to see what it does. If I like it and it fits in with everything else, I might keep it. But I'm not from the Mo Factor school of compression. Part of the reason is ignorance. Because I have to whack it on in large dollups to hear any difference to the signal, I tend to steer away from it.
That said, no instrument or voice is totally beyond it's scope.

[jonny deep]

I have to whack it on in large dollups to hear any difference to the signal

I hear that (or not, as the case may be).

[Armistice]

I find it extremely useful in ironing out DI-d bass.... that's my only "always" situation - and I use it in tracking and then in mixing, usually.

I'm starting to use it on snare samples to get them to sound better, but that's more as a tone shaping thing...

[moresound]

I find it extremely useful in ironing out DI-d bass.... that's my only "always" situation - and I use it in tracking and then in mixing, usually.

Same here! I like nothing better than to squash it down hard then push the output. Just love that sound.

[Mo Facta]

But I'm not from the Mo Factor school of compression. Part of the reason is ignorance. Because I have to whack it on in large dollups to hear any difference to the signal, I tend to steer away from it.

That's a common problem with plugin compressors. They tend to be very transparent and do very little to the sound when working very hard, especially the stock comps that come bundled with DAWs.

There's no way, though, that you can slap an 1176 - even the UAD version - onto a track and NOT hear it. It's aggressive. So is the 160VU.

Some compressors are really grabby and some are smooth. Pick your poison.

Cheers

[grimtraveller]

That's a common problem with plugin compressors. They tend to be very transparent and do very little to the sound when working very hard, especially the stock comps that come bundled with DAWs.

There's no way, though, that you can slap an 1176 - even the UAD version - onto a track and NOT hear it. It's aggressive. So is the 160VU.

I'm not sure I'd describe the effects on my standalone as plug ins but I get your point. I used to have a dbx 266XL and most of the time on my Tascam 488, you could hear it's effect !

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

I don't like it on overheads. I find it makes the cymbals seem really odd to my ears. I'm not a great one for it on the vocals either.

I find it extremely useful in ironing out DI-d bass....

Funny thing with bass, that's one of the only times I can really immediately hear the effect of the compressor. I quite like it sometimes when I use it, but I find it thickens the bass tone which I rarely want. It's also weird how different machines treat DI bass. When I used to try it with my Tascam 488, the DI bass was flabby and ppwwoffy with no oomph or slap. But in the Akai DPS12i, on the occasions I go DI, it's royal, rich and regal........

push the output.

Dare I admit such ignorance, but sometimes, I use the compressor just for the extra output !

[Justsomeguy]

I find it extremely useful in ironing out DI-d bass.... that's my only "always" situation - and I use it in tracking and then in mixing, usually.

Bass was the by far the hardest part of my "how to use compressors" learning curve years back. listening back to old mixes i often cringe at how soulless and flat the bass sounds on most of the tracks (which really does ruin the rest of the feel for the tracks). Even now it's one instrument i approach with apprehension when compressing. For a while i used subtle distortion instead of compression for bass DI's which i found worked really well at balancing out the tracks and adding some "depth", but it didn't work all the time and didn't have the same amount of control as a standard compressor so have just sucked it up and gone back to compressors (although running a parallel bus with distortion on for bass still makes me happy)

[jimmys69]

Bass was the by far the hardest part of my "how to use compressors" learning curve years back. listening back to old mixes i often cringe at how soulless and flat the bass sounds on most of the tracks (which really does ruin the rest of the feel for the tracks). Even now it's one instrument i approach with apprehension when compressing. For a while i used subtle distortion instead of compression for bass DI's which i found worked really well at balancing out the tracks and adding some "depth", but it didn't work all the time and didn't have the same amount of control as a standard compressor so have just sucked it up and gone back to compressors (although running a parallel bus with distortion on for bass still makes me happy)

I agree. My favorite tool to simplify bass guitar tone, is the PSP Vintage Warmer. It is basically a compressor with saturation. Even the bass guitar preset works well, though hot as hell.

[Farview]

I never use mix buss compression.

I do compressindividual instruments for the sound of compression, not to limit the dynamic range. Its mainly for transient shaping and sustain control.

Mostly drums, bass, vocals and acoustic guitar.