Compression Madness

[rsmith]

I have been recording on my PC for a while and although I have been happy with the results, I notice that some of my recordings can "get lost" when played on some stereo and car systems. I assume that this is why compression is applied.

When is the best time to compress? When recording the raw track, during final mixdown or somewhere in between?

I kinda know how to compress a recorded wave using Cubase and CoolEdit Pro - but can these programs compress on the way in (during recording) or do I need an external compressor?

I'd like to think that everyone who listens to my music would be using studio monitors - but........

Thanx...

 

[nero]

if you can already get some stuff that sounds good over studio monitors, you don't want to limit yourself to compression...this is the stage of mastering, eq, final mixing, and also compression.....this is how you make something sound good on a boom box...at least i think so.....

 

[S8-N]

Compression isn't always the answer, my friend... AS a rule of thumb... dont use it unless you know exactly why you are using it... It is good to compensate for a crappy vocal mic, but shouldn't be a crutch to rely upon for smoothing out your entire mix...
Recordings sound different on every set of speakers... I have learned this the hard way in high dollar studios... I think the key is tuning YOUR ears to YOUR monitors...
It is cool to have several different sets of speakers to reference things on...
1. Good studio monitors.
2. a jambox.
3. 6x9's with a subwoofer.
4. take it over to a friends house and listen to it on his cheeseball stereo...
When you get a mix that sounds good on all of these combinations...( can you hear everything that is going on ?) Then you have a good mix... How you arrive at this mix is everyones secret... their ears in relation to their monitors.
I think that is the key... my 2 cents... listen on every crappy car stereo, walkman, and home system... studio monitors always sound good... but if your final mix isn't perfect... dont compress... you're actually limiting the sound... don't limit... just remix...
In my opinion... compression and reverb are way overused... just try to get a dry mix that sounds good on several sets of speakers and add effects only where it is painfully obvious that they are needed. Listen to the chilli peppers' "Blood sugar sex magik"... it is the ultimate in minimalism... but then again they had a house full of the best vintage gear and mic's money can buy... But so dry... Fuck reverb and screw compression... all of that happens naturally when you crank up your stereo.
Shpadoinkle'
S8-N

 

[nero]

and so how would steve albini record trent reznor?