compression adds color?

  • Thread starter Thread starter rightbrainnow
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good suggestions. it's interesting how each track can contribute to the whole mix but on their own sound sub par. that's something you can only get a feel for by doing it awhile.... it's counterintuitive at first i think. i've noticed it with drums in particular. the snare sounds great on its own, then in the mix, it's like hitting paper with a pencil. haha.
 
pitchfork said:
good suggestions. it's interesting how each track can contribute to the whole mix but on their own sound sub par. that's something you can only get a feel for by doing it awhile.... it's counterintuitive at first i think. i've noticed it with drums in particular. the snare sounds great on its own, then in the mix, it's like hitting paper with a pencil. haha.
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Yup... I notice it more on guitar tracks... soloed they sound thin with not enough low end... start boosting here on this track... and you're going to collide with your bass and kick track in the mix...

I've always found it easier to discern what sounds really shitty than to try to determine how much nice is enough... :p

it just seems as the problem frequency is much more apparent when you boost... easier to dial in... this window seems bigger when you cut... more subtle.

Thanks Pitchfork... this has been fun...
 
yeah - good conversation...

vocals too - same issue. you get that nice deep vocal tone and it conflicts with the bass and guitar - elliott smith knew this well - i bet his vocal solo tracks are all quite thin on their own (don't know if you're a fan).

i'm gonna try the boosting method...makes sense.
 
Elliot Smith , excellent music by the way.

Yea , I read your post and it made me pay closer attention to his mix. His vocals sound very light on the lows. I like his mixes , sound good to me. Just thought id step in on the conversation haha.see ya.
 
yeah, even the early four track stuff sounded really good. low budget, but masterfully done imo.
 
xstatic said:
More often than not if you can't hear the compressor, than you just can't hear it, not so much that the compressor is invisible. In general, I would say that if you can't hear the compressor, that is when something is wrong. Adjust your levels if you just want a couple of db of attenuation, or compress.... Either way, it is making an audible change. If not, why use it at all? :D
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One use of compression is to reign in the wide swings in volume that a singer may go through in going from a high part to a low part. Ideally, he'd sing all notes at the same volume, but in practice he may get more support under notes in the upper half of his range, and either the low parts will fall out of the mix or the high parts will blast through. Compression done well can make him sound as if he sang at the same volume throughout, but be transparent otherwise. Compression done badly can make him sound squashed when he sings loud.

An example of "bad" compression (where you can hear the compressor working) is the Steve Miller Band's "Jet Airliner", where you can hear each intake of breath almost as loud as the singing and the singing sounds squashed. I use "bad" in quotes, because it was obviously an effect they were going for.
 
I think this was covered, but here's my thoughts on this:

When compression is added to a signal, there is a corresponding change in timber because the harmonic content of most instruments changes over time as the note goes from attack to peak to sustain to decay. Compression effectively changes the envelope, and therefor changes the precieved timber of the instrument. Generally, the change is a percieved deepening of tone, as the brightest parts of the envelope are usually at the peak.

Within a mix, adding compression to an individual track generally changes the amount of energy over time that is in that particular band, defined by the instrument or voice on the track. So, adding compression to the bass or kick, even if the make up gain is adjusted to the same peak level as before compression, will change the amount of low frequency energy in the mix.

These changes in the color of the track or the mix are not imparted by the particular compressor, they are the result of compression. Apart from that,
most hardware has a certain "sound" to it, even with all controls set flat. Some vintage compressors and EQ's add a bit of magic to a track just by having the signal pass through it.
 
Robert D said:
the precieved timber of the instrument. Generally, the change is a percieved deepening of tone, as the brightest parts of the envelope are usually at the peak.
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Excellent points Robert... percieved being key here
 
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