J
joedirt
New member
Any tips for using multiband compressors? It seems that most people that know how to really use them swear by 'em. I've read the manual but still a little confused on how to get the most out of it.
C
chessrock
Banned
Multi-bands rock.
As a mixing tool, you can use it as a de-esser or a de-rumbler.
As a mastering tool, it can be used to give your mix better balance . . . or you can use it to bring out a given instrument or tone it down.
I'm sure you already know the basics. So this explanation is more for the newbs.
Don't say I don't help you guys out.
:
When you EQ something, you're completely "altering" the frequency makeup of a given sound. When you use a multiband compressor, you're merely "shaping" it.
Here's an example: I was just mixing something earlier that had a lot of accoustic guitars mixed in with a lot of other stuff. Naturally, I don't need all the acoustic's low end muddying things up and burying it in the mix. . . . but I still want it to sound "full," as it isn't in the mix just for texture . . . it has a definite purpose in a dark-sounding song.
Just like a normal compressor can be set to put limitations on how loud something gets, the multiband compressor sets boundaries on how "boomy" my accoustic guitars are allowed to get while they play.
Guitars have a dynamic element to them. Their frequency content will change throughout the song. There will be parts where it will get "too" full (and bury itself in the mix) -- like when a powerful chord is played or the "E" string is hit aggressively. And there will also be parts where the playing is more delicate (as in more finger picking on the higher strings).
Normal dynamic compression is like having someone with super-fast ears and hands turning the volume knob up and down when something gets too loud or too soft. The multiband compressor is the same thing, but only you have someone working the eq knobs instead of the volume . . . and he's very flexible.
Now picture this dude working a low-shelf eq on my accoustic guitars starting at about 300 hz. His job is to turn the low eq down a bit every time the lower power chords are played. This will help the guitar to sit better in the mix . . . it will also allow the bass and snare to be heard better without interference, and it will prevent mud. Now, during the more delicate parts where there's less boom, he turns it back up. This helps prevent the accoustic from getting all thin and twangy-sounding - a danger you run in to when simply cutting the lows and boosting the highs with eq.
You can also have him work the high treble control, waiting to turn it down every time there's a really grating crash cymbal hit or "sssssss" coming out of the singer's mouth . . . then turning it back up after it's done. Your only other alternative would be to cut the high EQ, which would certainly tame the errant esses and cymbal crashes, but it would also effect the rest of the track, making it sound duller and less definined when the "ssss" aren't going on.
This is my over-simplified explanation, and again, it is more for the newbs.
To the more advanced, my suggestion would be to experiment. Use it instead of eq to cut or shelve frequencies from time to time, and see if you like the results better. Use it to tame anything there's too much of that is recurring in your mix. Like if your snare is too loud, compress around 200hz or wherever the bulk of the snare's action lies. Compress around 4 khz or so if you've got a crazy, out-of-control crash cymbal. Ditto for the kick at around 64-80 hz.
You can also use it to BRING OUT things much more effectively than with EQ. Particularly, I have rescued lost bass guitars before with them. Anyone familiar with Waves' maxx bass plugin -- that's basically a glorified multiband comp specifically taylored to be bring out more bass. Again, it's more of a thing you just have to experiment with and learn.
As a mixing tool, you can use it as a de-esser or a de-rumbler.
As a mastering tool, it can be used to give your mix better balance . . . or you can use it to bring out a given instrument or tone it down.
I'm sure you already know the basics. So this explanation is more for the newbs.
Don't say I don't help you guys out.
:When you EQ something, you're completely "altering" the frequency makeup of a given sound. When you use a multiband compressor, you're merely "shaping" it.
Here's an example: I was just mixing something earlier that had a lot of accoustic guitars mixed in with a lot of other stuff. Naturally, I don't need all the acoustic's low end muddying things up and burying it in the mix. . . . but I still want it to sound "full," as it isn't in the mix just for texture . . . it has a definite purpose in a dark-sounding song.
Just like a normal compressor can be set to put limitations on how loud something gets, the multiband compressor sets boundaries on how "boomy" my accoustic guitars are allowed to get while they play.
Guitars have a dynamic element to them. Their frequency content will change throughout the song. There will be parts where it will get "too" full (and bury itself in the mix) -- like when a powerful chord is played or the "E" string is hit aggressively. And there will also be parts where the playing is more delicate (as in more finger picking on the higher strings).
Normal dynamic compression is like having someone with super-fast ears and hands turning the volume knob up and down when something gets too loud or too soft. The multiband compressor is the same thing, but only you have someone working the eq knobs instead of the volume . . . and he's very flexible.
Now picture this dude working a low-shelf eq on my accoustic guitars starting at about 300 hz. His job is to turn the low eq down a bit every time the lower power chords are played. This will help the guitar to sit better in the mix . . . it will also allow the bass and snare to be heard better without interference, and it will prevent mud. Now, during the more delicate parts where there's less boom, he turns it back up. This helps prevent the accoustic from getting all thin and twangy-sounding - a danger you run in to when simply cutting the lows and boosting the highs with eq.
You can also have him work the high treble control, waiting to turn it down every time there's a really grating crash cymbal hit or "sssssss" coming out of the singer's mouth . . . then turning it back up after it's done. Your only other alternative would be to cut the high EQ, which would certainly tame the errant esses and cymbal crashes, but it would also effect the rest of the track, making it sound duller and less definined when the "ssss" aren't going on.
This is my over-simplified explanation, and again, it is more for the newbs.
To the more advanced, my suggestion would be to experiment. Use it instead of eq to cut or shelve frequencies from time to time, and see if you like the results better. Use it to tame anything there's too much of that is recurring in your mix. Like if your snare is too loud, compress around 200hz or wherever the bulk of the snare's action lies. Compress around 4 khz or so if you've got a crazy, out-of-control crash cymbal. Ditto for the kick at around 64-80 hz.
You can also use it to BRING OUT things much more effectively than with EQ. Particularly, I have rescued lost bass guitars before with them. Anyone familiar with Waves' maxx bass plugin -- that's basically a glorified multiband comp specifically taylored to be bring out more bass. Again, it's more of a thing you just have to experiment with and learn.
B
Boo Boo Foo
New member
G'day Joe - for your reference, I make a point of using a multi-band compressor in alliance with mastering software in my final mastering projects.
The mulit-band compressor I use is made by Sonic Foundry and it has a wonderful function which calibrates it's own optimal thresholds. So I simply split the bands into 160, 640, 2400, and 10000hz respectively, apply 5:1 ratios across the board and I leave the gain settings on each band at 0db. Final gain I also leave at 0db. I then play the song from beginning to end and let the software calibrate it's own thresholds. Now what this does is lowers the overall volume of the song by a smidgin granted but that's no problem.
You see, the M.B.C. basically tames the peaks across the entire spectrum smooths them into lovely rolling english hills. I then feed THAT output into my mastering software which lifts the final 6db of headroom with it's overall compression and limiting.
By performing these two steps it really does lift my songs into that "million dollar" studio sound.
Of course, I still try to mix my tunes absolutely as perfectly as I can prior to final mastering - after all, you can't rescue a bad recording. This initial stage often includes subtle volume slides on guitar, keyboard and vocal tracks during the course of the song. My drums and bass stay very static in volume because they are the engine room of any song.
In closing, with the combination of a multi-band compressor and mastering software you can take a terrific mix and make it sound like a Grammy winner for sure - no doubt about it.
The mulit-band compressor I use is made by Sonic Foundry and it has a wonderful function which calibrates it's own optimal thresholds. So I simply split the bands into 160, 640, 2400, and 10000hz respectively, apply 5:1 ratios across the board and I leave the gain settings on each band at 0db. Final gain I also leave at 0db. I then play the song from beginning to end and let the software calibrate it's own thresholds. Now what this does is lowers the overall volume of the song by a smidgin granted but that's no problem.
You see, the M.B.C. basically tames the peaks across the entire spectrum smooths them into lovely rolling english hills. I then feed THAT output into my mastering software which lifts the final 6db of headroom with it's overall compression and limiting.
By performing these two steps it really does lift my songs into that "million dollar" studio sound.
Of course, I still try to mix my tunes absolutely as perfectly as I can prior to final mastering - after all, you can't rescue a bad recording. This initial stage often includes subtle volume slides on guitar, keyboard and vocal tracks during the course of the song. My drums and bass stay very static in volume because they are the engine room of any song.
In closing, with the combination of a multi-band compressor and mastering software you can take a terrific mix and make it sound like a Grammy winner for sure - no doubt about it.
JR#97
New member
Just a note in addition to the other fine posts in this thread....
Don't over do the multi-band compression. When I was a mastering engineer, we rarely used multi-band specifically for 1 track, but for a project as a whole to provide some sonic continuity. On the flip side, sometimes we used our multi-band in the same way you would use a desser or side-chaining a compressor. Again, note the difference between sound altering and sound shaping like a previous post mentioned. To nail those sounds, take a parametric eq, boost a band and then sweep it.
Don't over do the multi-band compression. When I was a mastering engineer, we rarely used multi-band specifically for 1 track, but for a project as a whole to provide some sonic continuity. On the flip side, sometimes we used our multi-band in the same way you would use a desser or side-chaining a compressor. Again, note the difference between sound altering and sound shaping like a previous post mentioned. To nail those sounds, take a parametric eq, boost a band and then sweep it.
crosstudio
New member
i've also used multi-band compression when i'm brought stereo tracks from a drum machine. my drum machine has 8 outputs so i can record the individual drum parts from midi to audio.
on the last track wherein this was necessary, i split the bands as follows:
120hz, 4khz, and 8khz
i used a fairly wide Q on this, but probably didn't have to.
this way i can compress the meat of the kick drum, snare, and hats/cymbals in their own sections, with all of the toms in the same band as the snare except the bass tom.
incidently, i really like the waves C4 multi-band compressor for mastering, because you can set the threshold relatively low, set the range to 2db, and the gain to 2db, and the mix won't get squashed because it will only compress the sound up to 2db.
on the last track wherein this was necessary, i split the bands as follows:
120hz, 4khz, and 8khz
i used a fairly wide Q on this, but probably didn't have to.
this way i can compress the meat of the kick drum, snare, and hats/cymbals in their own sections, with all of the toms in the same band as the snare except the bass tom.
incidently, i really like the waves C4 multi-band compressor for mastering, because you can set the threshold relatively low, set the range to 2db, and the gain to 2db, and the mix won't get squashed because it will only compress the sound up to 2db.
Downside Studio
New member
I also use the C4. It rocks bottom.
J
JuSumPilgrim
New member
The C4 is the way to go. Before I had that I used steinbergs "compressor", the 5 band multi that comes with the mastering plugs package. I still use it and I think its an underrated plug. I got really good results with it. Its a good intro to multicomping bec the attack and release are set for you, you can only adjust the gain, threshold and bandwidth. I used it alot to compress the bottom on old mixes to separate the bass from the bass drum by compressing 25-110 and 180-320. I also used it to pull out the vocals in places with a wide band of 450-3.9k. Its very responsive. The C4 though is in a dif class in terms of degree of control. You can set the attack and release and range as well as bandwidth so you have complete control over everything. Its almost like going back to the mix and adjusting individual tracks.
Multicomping is not the same as EQing and they do dif things. The renEQ does EQ better than the C4. I dont find multibands to be good for in depth EQ and generally the renEQ is more musical sounding in ways teh C4 is not. That said though, if you find yourself doing giant EQ boosts (you should probably retrack it and change the mic and/or placement) or pull out a multicomp as it will be smoother than EQ.
Multicomping is not the same as EQing and they do dif things. The renEQ does EQ better than the C4. I dont find multibands to be good for in depth EQ and generally the renEQ is more musical sounding in ways teh C4 is not. That said though, if you find yourself doing giant EQ boosts (you should probably retrack it and change the mic and/or placement) or pull out a multicomp as it will be smoother than EQ.
C
chessrock
Banned
If you have your choice between rolling off the bass or compressing it, which do you do? I'm finding a preference to compressing it or some combination of the two. Opinions?
crosstudio
New member
if we are talking about individual tracks, then i'll roll off any tracks except the kick and bass.
if we are talking about mastering, i'll compress because r&b, hip-hop and reggae/dancehall need a bottom as big as the girls who love to dance to it.
if we are talking about mastering, i'll compress because r&b, hip-hop and reggae/dancehall need a bottom as big as the girls who love to dance to it.
E
eljay
New member
TO BOO BOO FOO
BOO BOO you say 160, 640, 2400, and 10000hz
I only see 3 band selections, high, notch and low shelf. Can you email me the full settings you use. I too use SF and I could really use your set up.
BOO BOO you say 160, 640, 2400, and 10000hz
I only see 3 band selections, high, notch and low shelf. Can you email me the full settings you use. I too use SF and I could really use your set up.