Compression: How do i know when its enough.

ShanPeyton

ShanPeyton

Member
I know the obvious answer is -when it sounds right and sits nicely in the mix- or something of that nature? Right? Haha!

I just recently started getting the idea of compression, why to use it, and some basic starting points on how to use it. What I'd like to now, is, how do I know if I have compressed something too much, maybe not enough? What are tell tale signs of misuse? Or overuse of a compressor?
 
-when it sounds right and sits nicely in the mix-
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That's 90% of it there... It's absolutely dependent on what you have and where you want to take it.

The only rule of thumb I could throw in is generally NOT to use it like you would for a live mix... In a live scenario, you're often employing compressors for volume control of a signal. In recording/mixing, you're more often using it to control the dynamic range of a signal.

The problem is that many people think that's the same thing...

Long story short -- Use fader automation for everything you possibly can to control the relative volume of signals and then add compression to signals that have a dynamic range that's too wide to fit that volume-controlled mix. I'm personally a fan of "as little as possible" but there are certainly creative exceptions everywhere... Chris Cornell has very good volume control -- But his voice wouldn't sound the same as you're used to hearing it without it being dug in probably 6dB into (probably a LA2A from what it sounds like).
 
One sign of badly implemented compression is obvious and unnatural pumping. It's most obvious when there's a steady sound combined with impulsive sounds (e.g. vowels and consonants). The impulsive sounds trigger gain reduction which lasts longer than the impulses and you hear the steady sound drop and rise.
 
As opposed to many of the people here, I mix with a lot of compression. I love a nicely compressed sounding recording. As stated before, pumping is a clear sign that you are using too much. Make sure you've set the attack and release appropriately to the song as well. I sometimes use compressors twice or more on tracks, depending on what that track calls for.

How much dynamic range do you want in that track? Are you using it for coloration? Limiting?
All subjective things that only you can decide if you like or not.

When it starts to sound bad to you, then you either have too much or too little. Figure out why it sounds bad. It might be sibilance, it might be pumping. Whatever it is, knowing your knobs will do you some good... or even the off button may suffice. You might want to try automating the volume if you want the most tediously natural sound you can get. :thumbs up:
 
wtfuhz said:
As opposed to many of the people here, I mix with a lot of compression.
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Haha, me too. CLAs mixes sound freakin' amazing to me, and by golly, if you ever look at how much compression he uses on stuff, it'd knock the socks off half the people I know on here. xD

Everyone else has basically said it. It just depends on the style usually. When I mix stuff for the metal guys here, I could be rocking -7dB of compression on an 1176 emulator and then another few on an LA2A emulator just for vocals. Kick and snare are similar; I'll take off around 7dB from both to get that real punchy sound that all these guys are looking for.

Now, when I mix stuff like indie rock and more acoustic stuff? Those guys don't usually want slammed, punchy drums. If I do use compression on those, it'll be some light stuff on the drums, and if the vocalist is good, I may not even need compression. If I do, maybe a few dB off, but that's it.

Just listen to a lot of music that's similar to what you're mixing genre wise (the mix must be good!), and try and listen hard to what they're doing in that mix.
 
I don't think anyone is saying don't use compression. The OP just asked how do you know when it's enough, and for that there are few absolute answers. Style of music is one key to how much, but then, are you just trying sound like something else or are you mixing for your song for what it needs....or.....etc....?

Just like there are mixes that sound good with gobs of extreme compression....there are mixes that sound good without any....and all kinds of stuff in the middle.

I do think that if you go down the path of using lots of extreme compression to get your mixes, you're kinda stuck into having to do that on all the tracks to make it gell right....sorta' like pushing up one fader, then another, then another.
 
CLA is definitely a huge influence to me too. Just for reference sake, I'm usually using around 10-15db reduction on vocals. Not "too much" for my tastes. Play with those attack and release knobs. It's not always about that ratio.

I don't think anyone is saying don't use compression. The OP just asked how do you know when it's enough
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I know, just adding a different perspective on the answers to his question.

He also wanted to know when it's not enough/overused.
All I can say is that if you (OP) think it needs to be squashed a little more, don't be shy to adding another compressor to the chain.
 
There's some tracks I heavily compress, there's others I don't. I love slamming vocals and bass guitar. I do medium compression on stuff like drums and clean guitar. Distorted guitars? Nothing.
 
Interesting. I have yet to come bar cross the pulsing pumping sound. So I would gather that is a good sign! This is all good food for thought

I haven't ventured to far into the attack and release science yet. I really have only been throwing a compressor on my vocal and bass tracks and this is where I am hearing the biggest audible changes. Oh, and some on the master bus when I am done. So far this is where I hear the biggest examples of compression behaving badly. On the master. Sometimes it seems like it is deadening the mix. Like sacking life out of it. But that may just be the presets hi and lo pass settings maybe?

Thanks gang.
 
Master bus compression is a tricky beast in itself. It'll mess with your balance that you already have. Make sure your attack is slow enough to maintain a more natural sound. Soft knee too. If you're kinda new to compression, try to tread lightly on any master compression. It can give a great polish on your song, but can very easily mess up the whole thing
 
I never use a "compressor" on the master buss. That being said, I do use effects that do include compression in its algorithm (such as tape saturators). But I don't like using master compression or limiters to get the affect of overall compression, because generally the sound is already compressed by my track-by-track compression that I use. The fidelity tends to be great, and still be "loud."
 
Haha ^ +1 for tape saturators. Only difference with me is that I usually use a normal compressor, limiter, AND tape saturator on the master bus. This is all of course after my other tracks are compressed and such individually as needed.
 
Awhile back, I never used a comp on the master bus...every comp I tried, I didn't like what it did to the stereo mix.
Then I found that a lot of it was about using the right kind of compressor on the stereo bus. Some are not suited for that work.

Mind you, I'm talking about analog compressors used with a mixing console....and not so much the digital plugs.
When I found the Overstayer Stereo VCA unit, I fell in love, and now it's always on my console stereo bus with one setting or another.
In the DAW, I hardly ever (maybe never) bother with plug-in compression, as I prefer to simply make manual volume/dynamics changes by editing the sound wave where it needs it.
Then when mixing through the console, I'll usually have a stereo FET comp on the OH drum tracks, sometimes a comp on the bass guitar, and sometimes on some rhythm guitars (acoustic or electric)....but the rest of the drums, leads, vocals, etc, I do all of that in the DAW when editing by making manual dynamic adjustments of the sound waves rather than using plug-in compression on the whole track.

I also like to use very light compression on some stuff during tracking...and again, I'm referring to analog boxes and that's on tracks going to a tape deck, which also gives me some tape compression/saturation....so not much need to use plug-in compression or lots of individual analog channel compression during mixdown.
 
As a newbie--compression really confused me. It seemed like an easy concept to grasp, but difficult concept to apply. This is what I did.
I took several styles of individual tracks, vocals, acoustic guitar, and drums, and used two different compressors on them. Then I tweaked away at all extremes and listened. Then I put the compressed track back into the mix and listened to the mix in it's entirety,
and again listened to see how the different compression settings not only affected the individual track, but the entire song
as a whole. Listening to the differences in sound from the different settings with different types/styles of songs was the only way
I could get an idea of how a compressor changed the sound and how it might enhance it.
 
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