266xl

J

Jamal

New member
How should some basic setting for this compressor be? i know everyone has different settings but what can be one for me to work with using vocals?
 
use around a 10;1 ratio, -20db threshhold, fastest attack, about 500ms release, and set the gain accordingly, probably around +15 or so.
 
Should the mic gain on my mixer be at a certain point? And how do i know what the ms is on my release?
 
Put your pre at the same place it would normally be. The gain on the comp. is to get the level back to normal after the level of gain has been reduced so drastically.

MS stands for miliseconds. And s stands for, you guessed it, seconds. The number is how long it takes for release=how long it waits to take the gain reduction off, and attack=how long it takes to apply the gain reduction. Just play around with it, and you'll get the hang of it.
 
thanks. The release is giving me trouble the fact that it has little notches and not numbers makes me mad.lol
 
tyler657recpro said:
use around a 10;1 ratio, -20db threshhold, fastest attack, about 500ms release, and set the gain accordingly, probably around +15 or so.
Click to expand...
Er... yikes!

That's quite a heap of compression.... WAY too much, for most applications......

You should try a more modest attack (say 60 to 100 mS), so you don't completely squash your transients (which are needed to give your track punch!) and start with the release around 250mS.....

Set Ratio to around 4:1 and start with your threshold at 0 dB........ reduce the threshold until you see about 2-4 dB of reduction (meaning the compessor is working!)

Now vary your attack to tame the transients as needed (obviously, this is completely dependent on the nature of the track!) - faster attack means less transients, and vary the release to taste........

Too much attack, too long a release, too much ratio, and too low a threshold (basically the settings Tyler mentioned!) will mean you get a poor, muddy, overcompressed sound with no energy to it....

Good luck!
 
The Alesis 3630 does enough damage to the sound just putting it into the signal chain (even bypassed!)....

You can abuse any compressor and make it squash the sound badly if you exaggerate the settings.........

The biggest trick of all is knowing whether or not you even NEED compression on a track....... and it's "needed" far less often than most rookies and novices think it is......!
 
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But Bear, if I wanna sound like all the lifeless overcompressed shit winning the loudness wars shouldn't I use Tyler's settings?
-kent

PS-Learn when I need it? Pfft! That's what I come here for! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
 
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