Ideal Ratios For Lead Vocals

R

RobbieL

mr. president
The title speaks for itself lol. I was wondering what are the "ideal" (in quotes since theres room for variation) compression ratios are for lead vocals?
 
I'd say that, ideally, the rations are (1.1 to 1) to about (8 to 1).
 
If you want soft and round vocals try Pi (thats 3,14159265...) :) Shiny vocals in the other hand can be achieved with the famous golden ratio. For a very sad or agressive song, a negative ratio might work well. And if you want to do something surrealistic you could try using imaginary ratio like 3,2+2i. For a more conservative song, I would suggest a rational aproach such as ratio 17/8.
 
3X+4Y+8Z=8X+2Y+7Z:1 solve for Z in terms of X and Y.

I don't like to give away my secret ratios for free. You have to figure it out. Also, most people ask about ratios, but that is just part of the equation, you have to get the attack and release right or else compression is worthless. Ratio, threshold, attack, and release all play HUGE roles so getting the ratio is just a small part of it.
 
Hmmm. Why don't you try some different things and let your ears decide, rather than complete strangers without a dog in the hunt?
 
Caus... He might at this point not even have known whether to go with Ratio Dogs or the Attacks?

Come on. Look how much time we may have saved someone here.
 
RobbieL said:
The title speaks for itself lol. I was wondering what are the "ideal" (in quotes since theres room for variation) compression ratios are for lead vocals?
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The reason you are getting such a potpourri of vague answers is because the question is vague and without specific intent.

Compression during tracking, after the preamp...individually during mixdown...what are the vocals doing, smooth-n-steady or all over the place...what kind of music is it....what is your intent for the overall sound of the vocal and the produciton....etc...etc.

There's no real recipe...though a lot of people like to say things in magazines like " I set the comp with a -20 Threshold and compressed at 4:1 with a fast Attack and medium Release....blah, blah,"...and it's just gibberish. It means something to them for their production, but it's useless info to anyone else for their production.

All that said...you don't want to squash vocals too hard in most cases...unless you are going for some very specific sound.
Compressing very lightly in 2/3 stages is better than hard in one.
 
I was having some good fun with the UAD LA2A on our acoustic jam band tracks last night and this got me curious. 4:1 ('ish)
And a few things I haven't read in a while- A lot of times you'll see some 'hundreds ms release mentioned (re vocals or whatever) This one's quite fast release initially. (Partly interesting as I never thought of the LA2's tone as the 'forward of a fast release.
Also I didn't know attack was freq dependant. Wish they'd said more about that actually. :)

Universal Audio LA2A
 
Altyman said:
I think that compression is a notion that must be understood as a whole to be used properly (even though you'll still have to experiment before you get it to sound just right).
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You do a lot of A/B (in/out) with the comp as you change settings ...and then really listen for the effect.
Sometimes it's very subtle (but doing the right job), yet folks end up cranking things, and now it's going nuclear, not to mention, there's a lot of hype about *smashing* tracks with a comp to make them sound good. :rolleyes:
Yeah...in a certain context a nuked track might sound good, but often it doesn't. It's like the old saying - "too much of a good thing".
I often find a setting...and then I'll intentionally back it off a touch...just so I don't get too hooked on it. :D
 
Sorry we get a little snippy sometimes.

A good place to start (don't finish there) is 2:1, attack super fast (1ms?), and 40 ms release, and threshold where it's making a difference but not squashing it (this is straight from the Home Recording for Dummies Book). That is where I started and played to find the right sound.

But, of course you have to understand compression as a whole before it will do anygood. Read the article Altyman suggested, then play with a real basic compressor (one that has threshold, ratio, attack, release, and probably makeup gain). Also, not all vocal tracks need compression. Make sure it is necessary before using it.
 
aaronmcoleman said:
Sorry we get a little snippy sometimes.

A good place to start (don't finish there) is 2:1, attack super fast (1ms?), and 40 ms release, and threshold where it's making a difference but not squashing it (this is straight from the Home Recording for Dummies Book). That is where I started and played to find the right sound.

But, of course you have to understand compression as a whole before it will do anygood. ...
Click to expand...
Exactally, and with that attack.. again even at 2:1 that is a completely different animal than 20 or 40ms. Really need to consider the wave front's shape. There is (often) way more level differences happening on the front ends of things = more for the comp to see (react to.. and that's also where a huge part of the compression effect therefore style is going to come from. (..not to mention most of your livliness of the recordings living there
 
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