PATRIOT2006
New member
When mastering a final mix is it better to place compression before EQ or after EQ?
mastering
- Thread starter PATRIOT2006
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mshilarious
Banned
PATRIOT2006 said:
Often the answer is yes. If a mix is unbalanced, it needs fixing before compression. If you are looking to add some spice, you don't want that boost triggering the compressor, so it needs to be after. Or maybe you are doing something sexy with a multiband, then all bets are off.
Ford Van
Banned
mshilarious said:
I agree.
Now that we all had a good laugh, I will explain sort of what mshilarious is alluding to.
The compression can actually change the level relationship of the lows to highs of the audio because our ears to not hear all frequencies the same.
So, whether to eq before or after the compressor can cause the compressor to react differently (you can possibly make the compressor react to a hyped up frequency, or make the comrpessor not react to a frequency that is turned down).
Sometimes, the compressor reacts the way you want, but changes the balance of lows to highs in undesirable ways. In this case, you might want to eq after the comrpession to make up for that.
With multi-band compressors, it is a whole new strange mess because the different "bands" of frequency ranges are effected differently, and you can also adjust the volume of each band! So, it is a unique thing altogether compared to broadband comrpession and selective frequency cut/boost, although, a multi-band compressor can be all the above too! LOL
Try both ways and see what works best to serve what you are attempting to do. There is no "right" answer here.