what are the parameters of compressing a vocal track?

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semsem612

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what are the parameters of compressing a vocal track? I mean what are the settings of each of Threshold, attack, ratio, knee and release so that I can have a good vocal track.
 
The settings are whatever works for your voice. Avoid fast attack on vocal, do not over-compress (above about 6:1, some would say less). First record yourself some vocals. Sit down and listen to them dry. Set the compressor to about 4:1, turn the attack up half way and the release down half way. Now enable and disable the compressor while you listen back. Hear the difference? Is it more toward what you want, or more away from what you want. Try this with several types of compressors...tube, optical, FET, VCA and see which fits your voice best. Experiment with the soft knee switch and hear the difference. Some have threshold knobs to help you set how loud a noise has to be to hit the compressor, some have a curve to bring dynamics from the bottom up without touching the noise floor.

Maybe you should do some quick reads and find out what compressors are about. Shoot for this One-Pager for the basics and take note of the tips at the bottom. Fairly solid, but nothing is set in stone in audio...

Come back with more focused questions, and we'll get you more focused answers.
 
I can give you the exact settings I used on ONE specific song on my SSL9000 channel and master bus compressors, plus the settings on the Selig Limiter (also a compressor) and the final Selig (yes I used it twice, once for the vocal specifically very wet and to the point, and once at the master bus stage almost dry and very subtle) and finally the mastering limiter settings. You'll have 6 sets of data for 4 different types of compressor on three plugs and the channel and master on the board. And I'm not that good at it...

Thing is, it takes a while to practice and move the sound "toward" what you want over stages. If you just slap one huge compression setting on a voice, almost everybody can hear that's what you did. I'm not trying to be rude. I'm trying to help you. It's a matter of understanding what things do, learning to hear the differences, applying what you've learned to real situations. I'm still learning myself!
 
I fear you will get the same answer any time you ask how to set a compressor in any situation. The settings are always a reaction to the audio you are compressing. Not all vocals are the same, not all recordings of vocals are the same, so the settings to compress them won't be the same.
 
I run my vocals through a limiter!! I have no clue what the parameters are. I tweak until it sounds good.

And also, this thread belongs in the Mixing section, not the Mastering section, so I will move it there.
 
I think every newbie needs to only have access to a la2a type comp for their first year of mixing. Its only one knob. Adjust until it sounds good.
 
BroKen_H said:
...Avoid fast attack on vocal...
Click to expand...

Why would you say that?

Some syllables have transient peaks that can rise up in only 1 or 2 milliseconds. Quite often, those peaks are what needs reducing. A slower attack may miss them altogether.
 
Exactly, there are no hard and fast rules. My voice, my recordings, I avoid fast attack...to others, that sounds stupid.
 
Seafroggys said:
I think every newbie needs to only have access to a la2a type comp for their first year of mixing. Its only one knob. Adjust until it sounds good.
Click to expand...

Does it exists? I would be glad if you could point me such plugin!

:)
 
Re...'Avoid fast attack on vocal' ?
homerecor said:
Why would you say that?

Some syllables have transient peaks that can rise up in only 1 or 2 milliseconds. Quite often, those peaks are what needs reducing. A slower attack may miss them altogether.
Click to expand...
1176 20 microseconds to 800 microseconds - i.e .8 MS
LA 2a "frequency dependent attack, with an average attack time of 10 milliseconds."
I tend to like to in general try to allow as much transient to be preserved, and at least explore the 'slower end of things in compression as well but it is so case dependent.
 
Last edited:
mixsit said:
...Avoid fast attack on vocal.

1176 20 microseconds to 800 microseconds - i.e .8 MS
LA 2a "frequency dependent attack, with an average attack time of 10 milliseconds."
Click to expand...
Yeah, "Avoid fast attack on vocal" isn't advice I'd give a newbie. It's too absolute a thing to say about something that depends on so many variables (song, singer, personal preference, etc....).

Here are the parameters you need to compress a vocal track:

Attack
Release
Ratio
Threshold
Knee


/thread

:D
 
Use your ears, really. You can't mix with your eyes or your brain, only your ears.
 
I know it is not the answer you are looking for but try to even out the vocals using volume automation. Compression makes things smaller and that is not what you want with a vocal. Afterwards you can still slap on a compressor but on vocals I rarely go above 4:1, normally with 2:1 (with the volume automation). Try to regulate the things that you feed to a compressor, there will be always peaks (unless you are recording Marvin Gaye..) that will make the compressor work harder then is preferred with the consequence that you loose impact.
Another way is backwards compression, it is great to even out vocals but they can become too smooth.
Attack not too short, put your compression on 10:1 just to hear what the compression does and which frequencies it affects. If you know that put it back on 4:1 (or 2:1) and start with the attack on the slowest setting possible and start to increase the attack until you hear the changes you heard on 10:1. Then back off a little bit.
Release is somewhat trickier, the longer your release, the more you compress. And it is nice to have to vocal come up for air (no compression) in a while.
As you have noticed I am not a huge compressor sound guy but I use it mainly for level control, thats why it was designed for..
If you like the compressor sound you will have to ask someone else, there are enough people that like compressors and know how to use them.
And decide why you want compression?
And use your ears, thats what it all comes down to, you know the gap between theory and practice? Mixing is full with it, don't do something because you are ´supposed to´.
Good luck.
 
homerecor said:
Why would you say that?

Some syllables have transient peaks that can rise up in only 1 or 2 milliseconds. Quite often, those peaks are what needs reducing. A slower attack may miss them altogether.
Click to expand...

That's why it mighyt good to use an L1 limiter style before the comp :)
 
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