Stereo vs Mono Compression

bluedaffy

bluedaffy

New member
I have a keyboard (piano sound) track that was recorded in stereo using the L and R outputs on the keyboard. The keyboard player in my band is really creative and great, so I don't want to sound like I'm putting him down (even though he'll never read this:cool:) but he's very dynamic, but not in a great way. The recording lacks dynamic control on a note to note basis, it's not that bad, but I thought a bit of light compression could help with the mixing.

What would be the difference if any of using a mono vs stereo compressor on the keys bus? The tracks are panned stereo, but not to the full extent, I like where they sit at about 30%L & 30%R. I'm in the final stretches of mixing my first album and I've found that I really love this compressor called Major Tom, it doesn't have too many settings to confuse a novice like me and so far it's sounded great on everything I've used it on, but I don't think it's stereo.

Or does stereo compression only really matter on mix or master tracks? Thanks, I'm really lost on the difference and application of stereo vs mono.
 
I don't know about your Daw, but in Protools the plugins are categorised as mono, multi-mono, and stereo.
If I have a stereo track, protools won't let me see the mono plugins list.

You say the track is set about 30%l and 30%r.
If your DAW let you insert a mono plug, then I guess the pan would revert to one single control.

This isn't a rule, but most of the stereo plugs I use have a separate control for l+r output. By default they're tied together, but they're a giveaway. ;)
 
I would use a compressor in stereo mode, with the left and right channels linked. If you insert your compressor on the track and the output of the track is still stereo then I bet you're good to go.

If you use a stereo compressor with the channels unlinked then anything not hard panned can wobble left to right when one side compresses more than the other.
 
Okay, thanks so much. This is really helpful. And yeah, I put it on the stereo keyboard bus and the sound is still the same panning, and it works (as far as showing there is gain reduction) like a compressor should. And I know what you mean about a lot of them having separate read outs for each channel, but Major Tom does not, just one old school looking vu meter for input and output. Thanks a billion.
 
Hi Bluedaffy,

I don't know in your daw, but in Cubase, if i insert a mono plugin in a stereo channel it will only do it's job on the left channel leaving the right untouched. If i have a stereo track, i must use a stereo plugin!
 
bluedaffy said:
he's very dynamic, but not in a great way. The recording lacks dynamic control on a note to note basis, it's not that bad, but I thought a bit of light compression could help with the mixing.
Click to expand...

If he's really dynamic you might need more than "light" compression. Smash it if you need to! Don't be scared! It's a matter of choosing the right ratio and timing.

First you have to determine what his dynamic swing is. If he's jumping up 12dB you may need to use a higher ratio, like in between 4:1 to 10:1. Then you have to decide how much you want the transient to jump through. Piano transients aren't generally too sharp and abrupt but they can be in the louder bits, especially if he's up high. I would probably end up choosing a med/fast attack with a med/low release and chopping off a sizable amount of gain, like maybe 6dB or so.

Alternatively you could slap on a UAD LA-2A and set it to limit mode and be done with it! Gotta love two knobs...

(The Fairchild 670 is also good for this)

EDIT: The other way you could approach this is to use a lower ratio with the threshold pulled way down. Then you can adjust the amount of gain reduction by playing with the ratio. You can really dig in there if you need to. This is sometimes the more transparent way to go and causes the compressor to sort of "ride" the gain.

Cheers :)
 
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