compression

[kill kill kill]

I am a beginner at mixing. Compression is the one part of basic mixing that I do not understand very well. I have read a lot about it online and still dont really know how I should use it.

I get what it does but I suppose the thing I am wondering is how much I should use for each instrument?

I use the compression built into cool edit 2. It has a preset for vocal compression which seems to work well. But I need some good settings for guitars, bass, and stereo drum tracks to get me by.

My main concern is getting the two rhythm guitars and two stereo drum tracks the same exact volume while lightly leveling out the peaks without squashing their sound and dynamics and taking some life out of them.

Can anyone help?

 

[Ethan Winer]

> Compression ... I have read a lot about it online and still dont really know how I should use it. <

Maybe this will help:

www.ethanwiner.com/compressors.html

It explains the basics in as few words as possible.

--Ethan

 

[ryanlikestorock]

Basically, a compressor reduces the volume by a set ratio after a set point (threshold). If that's what you want, study the audio and set the compressor to do what you need done. BE CAREFUL! You can easily ruin a record by misusing a compressor. Trust me.

 

[Farview]

My main concern is getting the two rhythm guitars and two stereo drum tracks the same exact volume while lightly leveling out the peaks without squashing their sound and dynamics and taking some life out of them.

Can anyone help?

With those, you are best to send them to a buss (one for the drums and one for the guitar) and put a stereo compressor on the buss. If you compress 2 individual tracks separately, it will sound weird.

 

[mshilarious]

Maybe it's just me, but wouldn't someone called "kill kill kill" just need a hard limiter

 

[mixsit]

I'm gonna' play the PITA tasks-master on this one and not let him off the hook that easy. Taking the whole sha'bang in context, but breaking down..

My main concern is getting the two rhythm guitars and two stereo drum tracks the same exact volume while ..

Sounds like a mixing-first task, (except the 'exact' part - perhaps -). Otherwise it's a lot of job' to put on the compressor -particularly if you're also going to ask it to be..

lightly leveling out the peaks...

We're up to two compressors now...

without squashing their sound and dynamics and taking some life out of them.

Ok, ok. One can actually do it.


..Except for that pesky 'without' part.