Compresser necessary?

R

RobManYou

New member
Should I def. get a compresser for my vocals or no? If so... what does a compresser do exactly? Does force everything to stay at the same decibal level?
 
Hey Rob - a compressor is a pretty necessary piece of equipment (whether its hardware or digital plugin) for audio production. That's not to say you should always use it, or always need it, but most likely you will at some point. Basically what it does is, once a signal gets hotter than a pre-specified level (threshold) the compressor attenuates the signal by a pre-specified amount (ratio). If set up properly, this can help reduce the dynamic range of something so that there aren't such high peaks in audio, and therefore you can raise the overall level. There's a lot more features you can use to create interesting audio effects, multiband, etc but this is the basic idea.
So I would say you should definitely have access to compression, but use it only when necessary - and don't over do it or you can get some nasty sounding stuff (unless you want it as an effect of course ;) )
 
hmmm.... ok... so basically (let me know if this is right or not) a compresser would work on vocals if i were to single normally it wouldn't really do anything but if i were to start sing louder it would stop my voice from getting too loud on the recording? do i understand or am i way off? I really appreciate it Biscuit. Thanks
 
Well, again it depends on how you set it, but the compressor is more than a simple peak cut-off; what it can do is reduce the dynamic range of what's being recorded giving you a much more even sounding track. For example, let's say you record a vocal track, and it doesn't clip or anything so technically it's fine. But let's say during the track you sang some parts louder than others, and not for dynamic effect. You have peaks at some point, and low dips at others. This can make your voice hard to hear at some points, and burst through the mix at others, giving that 'unprofessional' sound of random un-artistic dynamics. What a compressor can do is take everything above a certain point (what point this is depends on the track itself) and reduce it so that it more closely matches the rest of the track. Now you can boost the whole thing without clipping, and the vocals will appear to be much more evenly sung.
Now, obviously if your tracks require crazy amounts of compression, there's probably something wrong with the track itself - poor mic technique, poor vocal control by the performer, etc. and your tracks won't sound that good - too much compression on a track is very noticeable and sounds fake - often you can actually hear the compressor making its adjustments, called 'pumping and breathing'. Some people use this as an effect, but if you don't want it, it's awful!
So, the compressor is a pretty valuable and versatile tool - but be careful with it! :)
 
ok thanks man... would a compresser that's built into the mixer work? I do have a behringer 244 pro so i don't know.... what do you think?
 
I'm not familiar with that unit but from the looks of it, it only offeres a 'preset' compressor with no variable parameters... which means it's probably not very good and certainly not very versatile. Also, because it's built into the mixer, you will need to either a) record with compression (which you can do, but then you can't undo) or b) route your signal through the behringer during mixing and/or mixdown (as an aux send etc).
Give it a try, you may like the sound of it... but I'd recommend looking into a plug-in compressor (most any audio software comes with one) if for nothing else than to play around with the settings and learn what one can do for your sound...
Good luck!
 
If you are recording to a computer and you are not familiar with compression, you would be best off not compressing while recording. Using a compressor plugin during mixdown allows you to experiment without taking the chance of screwing up a good performance.

If you record with your levels low enough and practice proper mic technique, you won't have to worry about peaking and clipping the convertors.
 
Farview said:
If you are recording to a computer and you are not familiar with compression, you would be best off not compressing while recording. Using a compressor plugin during mixdown allows you to experiment without taking the chance of screwing up a good performance.

If you record with your levels low enough and practice proper mic technique, you won't have to worry about peaking and clipping the convertors.
Click to expand...


I have always used a compressor on the signal going into the computer to level out the peaks on vocals. How do vocals benefit from a plug in type compressor if the peaks are already there. Since the ad/da conversion already took place before the compressor plug, is it still beneficial? I have tried finding a way to use my recording software compressor plug ins for this purpose, but unless they can be set up as an insert somewhere along the chain, then I am stuck using outboard comps. At least that is how I have come to understand it.
 
The point is, you shouldn't be using a compressor to keep from clipping the converters. If you are clipping , you are recording too hot or you have no mic control. Just turn down the input. Then you can use the compressor to make things sit in the mix better or just for the coloring.
 
Farview said:
The point is, you shouldn't be using a compressor to keep from clipping the converters. If you are clipping , you are recording too hot or you have no mic control. Just turn down the input. Then you can use the compressor to make things sit in the mix better or just for the coloring.
Click to expand...


I understand what you are saying, but wouldn't that be using the compressor for a comletley different reason? Can you still smooth out the signal peaks after thay have been recorded in the same way as if the comp were used on the line in sig.?
 
The compressor doesn't know if you're singing live or sending a recorded signal to it. It will do the same thing either way.

The reason people tell you to use one before the converters is to avoid clipping the converters. There are better and less destructive ways of not clipping, so there is no need for it.
 
Farview said:
The compressor doesn't know if you're singing live or sending a recorded signal to it. It will do the same thing either way.

The reason people tell you to use one before the converters is to avoid clipping the converters. There are better and less destructive ways of not clipping, so there is no need for it.
Click to expand...

Cool....now I know. :D
 
You can. I would still set it very conservatively. While tracking, the only time I use a compressor is to get that compressed sound, not to keep from peaking the converters.
 
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