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Jamal
New member
is the compressor for mic use only or do people also use it in there music? Also are tools such as exciter's a good use for recording?
Blue Bear Sound
New member
A compressor can be used on any signal that needs some control placed on its dynamic range.
Shailat has an excellent article, see here ---> http://www.Geocities.com/Shailat2000/Compression.html
Some people like to use exciters for recording, others don't. It's a tool, it exists, it can be used - often, it is misused... I personally feel that your should get a track sounding right as its being recorded, therefore reducing the need for "exciting" the track, but YMMV...
Bruce
Shailat has an excellent article, see here ---> http://www.Geocities.com/Shailat2000/Compression.html
Some people like to use exciters for recording, others don't. It's a tool, it exists, it can be used - often, it is misused... I personally feel that your should get a track sounding right as its being recorded, therefore reducing the need for "exciting" the track, but YMMV...
Bruce
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little z
New member
Exciting!!!!!!!
Funny you should ask about the use of a compressor and an exciter..... As they are both quite often misused (abused, over-done) Bruce said it all when he said that a track should be recorded the way you want it to sound, although your equipment and experience in tracking may allow you some room to "excite" your mixes or tracks. Both a compressor and exciter should be used just like salt and pepper........ Very Carefully!!!!! Food's only good when you taste ITS' flavor, not what you season it with, even as some people "misuse" a compressor just for the effects, an exciter, in my experience will introduce extra high end and noise when it's both not necessary nor needed, where a compressor can squeeze the life out of your track (mix).... So, experiment Heavily, but use Lightly.............. Mmmkaay
Happy Recording!!!!!!!!! Steve
Funny you should ask about the use of a compressor and an exciter..... As they are both quite often misused (abused, over-done) Bruce said it all when he said that a track should be recorded the way you want it to sound, although your equipment and experience in tracking may allow you some room to "excite" your mixes or tracks. Both a compressor and exciter should be used just like salt and pepper........ Very Carefully!!!!! Food's only good when you taste ITS' flavor, not what you season it with, even as some people "misuse" a compressor just for the effects, an exciter, in my experience will introduce extra high end and noise when it's both not necessary nor needed, where a compressor can squeeze the life out of your track (mix).... So, experiment Heavily, but use Lightly.............. Mmmkaay
Happy Recording!!!!!!!!! Steve
Chriss
Jitens Half Brother
mmmmm... compression.... droool...
A
ahpook
New member
i often compress bass drums from my drum machine - it might not sound ideal on it's on, but it cuts through the mix after a stereo bounce (i using either a joe meek vc3q or an alesis nanocomp)
compress anything you fancy...see how it sounds.
compress anything you fancy...see how it sounds.
J
j. long
New member
while i agree with points made about the dangers of over compressing something, i'd like to offer another point of view.
to answer your question, yes compression is used often in music. compression is, to me, the "sound of rock." what you think of when you think of a great kick sound or snare or bass, etc, is a compressed kick or snare sound. compression has become part of what we think of as the sound of that instrument. just like you expect a pro recording to have reverb or ambience.
also, ever notice that a snare never "pops" like the one on "interstate love song" when your in the room with it? part of what you would say is the crack or pop of the snare sound is the compressor kicking in. the point when the signal hits the threshold and starts to be reduced. if you listen closely you can hear compressors kicking in on pro recordings. use that to judge your own compression settings. one of the most pleasing sounds in the world to me is beautifully applied compression on a vocal.
while almost any technique can work, i'd almost say you need compression in tracking. i have gone back and forth on compressing some things, but kick, snare and bass almost always need it, unless the song or the player is delicate and nuanced.
anyway, my apologies on running on so long. get a comp and play with it. you'll be glad you did. much luck.
to answer your question, yes compression is used often in music. compression is, to me, the "sound of rock." what you think of when you think of a great kick sound or snare or bass, etc, is a compressed kick or snare sound. compression has become part of what we think of as the sound of that instrument. just like you expect a pro recording to have reverb or ambience.
also, ever notice that a snare never "pops" like the one on "interstate love song" when your in the room with it? part of what you would say is the crack or pop of the snare sound is the compressor kicking in. the point when the signal hits the threshold and starts to be reduced. if you listen closely you can hear compressors kicking in on pro recordings. use that to judge your own compression settings. one of the most pleasing sounds in the world to me is beautifully applied compression on a vocal.
while almost any technique can work, i'd almost say you need compression in tracking. i have gone back and forth on compressing some things, but kick, snare and bass almost always need it, unless the song or the player is delicate and nuanced.
anyway, my apologies on running on so long. get a comp and play with it. you'll be glad you did. much luck.
sonusman
Banned
Actually, most pop songs just have a great drummer, with a brilliant engineer, to analog tape, with the proper mic, and a great preamp to get "that" sound.
Compression is overrated, and a crutch for a tracking engineer that didn't know what he was doing. Used a lot on "demos".
Flame away! I am right!!!
Ed
Compression is overrated, and a crutch for a tracking engineer that didn't know what he was doing. Used a lot on "demos".
Flame away! I am right!!!
Ed
badgas
New member
I guess it all boils down to the specific sound your looking for. I do a lot of blues and personally perfer the uncompressed sounds. I've been experimenting with it now for a few days. I can see where it would fit right in with a couple of my songs that I can't put into any catagory except 'experimental', depending on the settings, but for the most part I think I'll not compress.
Sonusman. The term 'crutch' is relevent.
Sonusman. The term 'crutch' is relevent.
toad_uk
Member
I remember reading that Robert Palmer rarely had compression applied to his vocals and did it all with mic technique. I've seen good jazz singers do this just moving the mic away on the loud bits and bringing it in close for the quiet bits.
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Gargamel
New member
I'm starting to believe sonusman.....more and more with each passing day.
Sonusman, may i call you ed? The article you wrote on compression is awesome.
Sonusman, may i call you ed? The article you wrote on compression is awesome.
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raddo
New member
On Compression
I finally bought a compressor...Alesis NanoCompressor. It has a bypass switch and the difference in sound is almost like night and day. I'm going to redo everything I've recorded so far. What a difference they make. Get a comp if you don't have one!
I finally bought a compressor...Alesis NanoCompressor. It has a bypass switch and the difference in sound is almost like night and day. I'm going to redo everything I've recorded so far. What a difference they make. Get a comp if you don't have one!
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warlock
New member
IT DEPENDS ON THE MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!sonusman said:
I'll buy you a beer if you can mix (growling) vocals with heavy dist guitars and like 20 other instruments without HEAVY compression.
And how do you track a vocalist that goes from quiet talking to loud screaming? Compressor on the way in.
I agree that over compressing some stuff sucks, but yours was a big generalisation.
Keijo
R
RWhite
Well-known member
Hmmmm.... well I am definitely a "newbe" to compressor technique, I've only been seriously experimenting with it for a few weeks. Prior to that I'd been recording on analog tape for years and getting along quite nicely without it. But in order to get the input levels I need with my newer digital hardware, I concluded that compression was something I was going to have to make friends with.
I would agree that compression is a useful tool to achieve that overly "loud"sound that is all over radio these days. But it's just one tool, it's not the "one true path to the promised land". And Ed is 100% right, its just common sense that your initial track needs to be as well balanced as possible WITHOUT resorting to effects of any kind.
Toad is also right, good mic skills make a lot of difference in recording vocals. I expect I'll be getting more use out of my compressor plug-in by just using it as a peak limiter, in order to restrain the vocal excesses of my band's singer. I used it in our last session without telling him, and it made a big difference - no more digital gnashing. And easier than yelling at him every five minutes.
I would agree that compression is a useful tool to achieve that overly "loud"sound that is all over radio these days. But it's just one tool, it's not the "one true path to the promised land". And Ed is 100% right, its just common sense that your initial track needs to be as well balanced as possible WITHOUT resorting to effects of any kind.
Toad is also right, good mic skills make a lot of difference in recording vocals. I expect I'll be getting more use out of my compressor plug-in by just using it as a peak limiter, in order to restrain the vocal excesses of my band's singer. I used it in our last session without telling him, and it made a big difference - no more digital gnashing. And easier than yelling at him every five minutes.
Gidge
Lapdance Test Dummy
warlock,
if you have a song with vocals, distorted guitars , and 20 other instruments, then shame on you...you deserve a crappy mix....maybe thats a pre-production problem that needs to be resolved....every track in a song cant be killer and up front......
tracking a vocalist that goes from talking to screaming?....well first, teach him proper mic technique...I know how crazy that sounds as vocalists are usually dumb as my left nut, but its a must.....also, theres a little known technique called riding the faders.....also, you can take the vocal track, duplicate it, and use one for the loud parts and one for the quiet parts, editing each one of the other.....
if you have a song with vocals, distorted guitars , and 20 other instruments, then shame on you...you deserve a crappy mix....maybe thats a pre-production problem that needs to be resolved....every track in a song cant be killer and up front......
tracking a vocalist that goes from talking to screaming?....well first, teach him proper mic technique...I know how crazy that sounds as vocalists are usually dumb as my left nut, but its a must.....also, theres a little known technique called riding the faders.....also, you can take the vocal track, duplicate it, and use one for the loud parts and one for the quiet parts, editing each one of the other.....
C
chessparov
New member
Re: vocals, distorted guitars, and 20 other instruments
Gee Gidge, isn't warlock really just describing "Stairway to Heaven"?!
Gee Gidge, isn't warlock really just describing "Stairway to Heaven"?!
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warlock
New member
Gidge,
It wasn't my song
.
I may have added a little wait..... umm... Let me see
2x Dist guit (heavy giuitars like death metal)
I don't remember if there was a lead guitar.
bass
sequenced drums (not trying to mimic real drums so there were a lot of camples)
3 or 4 synth sounds (lead and bg)
male vocals
female vocals
And I had to mix that. I heavily compressed the bass and mildly compressed the vocals so they would stand out in the mix.
And the band was a bit anal about it too. They wanted everything to be heard clearly, and then the sounds had to be heavy and couldn't be thin, etc.
Keijo
It wasn't my song
.I may have added a little wait..... umm... Let me see
2x Dist guit (heavy giuitars like death metal)
I don't remember if there was a lead guitar.
bass
sequenced drums (not trying to mimic real drums so there were a lot of camples)
3 or 4 synth sounds (lead and bg)
male vocals
female vocals
And I had to mix that. I heavily compressed the bass and mildly compressed the vocals so they would stand out in the mix.
And the band was a bit anal about it too. They wanted everything to be heard clearly, and then the sounds had to be heavy and couldn't be thin, etc.
Keijo
Track Rat
Just Your Average Sized Member
I agree Warlock. Compression, like anything can be abused or can be your best friend.
I try not to use it when tracking or use it sparingly. There's nothing worse than playing back a great performance and then realizing that the snare has way too much compression on it and there's no fixing it in the mix, it just has to be re-recorded. Plus, you have to keep in mind what you're doing in the context of the song (pop music is one thing, a string quartet is quite another). YMMV.
I try not to use it when tracking or use it sparingly. There's nothing worse than playing back a great performance and then realizing that the snare has way too much compression on it and there's no fixing it in the mix, it just has to be re-recorded. Plus, you have to keep in mind what you're doing in the context of the song (pop music is one thing, a string quartet is quite another). YMMV.
Gidge
Lapdance Test Dummy
Keijo,
that doesnt sound too bad....in that situation thats where you wish they had a producer who can explain to them that you have topick which instruments are gonna drive the song and which tracks are just filler, and a dense mix needs thinner tracks......
i guess in the end, if the band is happy, you did your job.....
that doesnt sound too bad....in that situation thats where you wish they had a producer who can explain to them that you have topick which instruments are gonna drive the song and which tracks are just filler, and a dense mix needs thinner tracks......
i guess in the end, if the band is happy, you did your job.....
R
RWhite
Well-known member
Gidge - in my experiance training a vocalist is like trying to housebreak a chimp. It can be done, but you're never really safe so you better be using diapers, in this case a limiter.
And riding the fader is something I used to do, but now I'm frequently playing a guitar track at the same time he's singing, so I would need a third hand. That's because a lot of our recording is of the "live in the studio" variety, especially when we are working out arrangements. When we are truely serious about getting a track right we will overdub the vocal in later. In that case I could ride the fader, but its more fun to just hit him with a mic stand if he starts eating the mic.
Also, I have been indeed experimenting with copying the vocal track, then editing the parts where he backs off too much and kicking up the volumne. DAMN I love hard disk recording!
And riding the fader is something I used to do, but now I'm frequently playing a guitar track at the same time he's singing, so I would need a third hand. That's because a lot of our recording is of the "live in the studio" variety, especially when we are working out arrangements. When we are truely serious about getting a track right we will overdub the vocal in later. In that case I could ride the fader, but its more fun to just hit him with a mic stand if he starts eating the mic.
Also, I have been indeed experimenting with copying the vocal track, then editing the parts where he backs off too much and kicking up the volumne. DAMN I love hard disk recording!
B
bizarre
New member
I use a lot of compression. Bd, snare, toms, bass, vocal .... ok .. I admit it.....also on the guitar sometimes, I think it's much up to the genre, as someone posted here, he did blues gigs and didn't use compressors, I'll second that. My last job was a metal band ... I needed LOTS of compressors
bizz
bizz