tascam 2488 problems with compressor and post gain

[jotschi9999]

hi everyone,
i mastered a lot of tracks with the compressor and it was great. But with one song I have big problems with the compressor. It does not work. I dont know what to do.
when I put on the compressor (with treshold,...) and switch it to On there is nothing working or anything is louder. i dont know why. i also tried the postgain up to 15 but no result. with the other tracks it's no problem.
Have I done something wrong?
Please help me

 

[Zaphod B]

It would be helpful if you would provide the 2488 model you are using (original, MK II, Neo?), and some more detail about what you are doing that isn't working.

 

[jotschi9999]

more details

i use the original one.
the problem is that normally with the compressor all sounds louder, clearer and so on. but with this song it seems that the compressor does not react. it's the same sound when i switch it ON or OFF. I don't know why. normally i can make the sound much more louder with threshold or post gain, but in this case it does not react. I hope this can help you to help meee! thanks

 

[Zaphod B]

I don't normally use the compressor on the stereo bus for final mixes.

That said, make sure that you are using the correct procedure:
-- Press SHIFT+STEREO to get the stereo bus compressor parameters to display on the screen
-- Adjust the parameters as necessary, or press ENTER to call up the dynamics library

You are doing the above and it isn't working?

 

[jotschi9999]

yes, I#m doing the above and it isnt working. when you say that you dont use the compressor, what else do you use to get a good master sound?

 

[Zaphod B]

yes, I#m doing the above and it isnt working. when you say that you dont use the compressor, what else do you use to get a good master sound?

I just rehearse the mastering process several times to try to get a grip on where the big peaks will occur, and ride the faders to keep the the master from clipping. Sometimes it's a challenge when there are many tracks but so far I've been able to do it all with two hands.

Check out the link in my signature - all the music was recorded on a 2488 original like yours, with no outboard signal processing (except for a guitar pedalboard on a couple of lead parts).

 

[Zaphod B]

By the way, I also do not use any EQ anywhere unless absolutely necessary, and it's usually not. The old hands around here who have been recording forever will tell you that if you get your original tracks right, there is a lot less work to do.