Too much compression?

  • Thread starter Thread starter AndyDenyer
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On a small set of loudspeakers (Panansonic Cassette Radio) attached to my Internet PC nothing sounds too untastefully smashed to my ear considering the genre. There is a lack of dynamic range though.
 
This should be in the MP3 Clinic.

I think that it is too compressed, and I don't honestly like the drum sound. If you could actually hear the kick, it would make the whole mix 'duck' every hit. As it is, it's inaudible which is odd.

You need to properly finish off the mix before you go onto mastering. The compression is interfering with what you hear, which it shouldn't. Fix the mix without any compression on it then put it in the MP3 clinic. THEN master it (but you'd be better off letting someone with experience do this for you, as it hasn't really worked out on this so far)

All the best dude
 
The kick would not get any louder without clipping, and when I tried putting the compression on the kick up it just sounded horrible. Some beats, which were hit harder, made a really cutting "click" sound and the weaker hits were more of a thud, so if I put the comp up on the kick the harder hits would still cut through more than the weaker ones. Even going insane with EQ couldn't fix it.
 
AndyDenyer said:
The kick would not get any louder without clipping,.
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Then everything is too loud. Turn everything else down if you want more kick. If individual tracks are too close to clipping for you turn them up, then you're mixing too hot.
 
yup classic mistake, as Rami said you are mixing too hot....mix way down, say around -14dbs or thereabouts, and then you've got loads of headroom..bring the songs loudness up in a separate project once youve got the mix right
 
kcearl said:
yup classic mistake, as Rami said you are mixing too hot....mix way down, say around -14dbs or thereabouts, and then you've got loads of headroom..bring the songs loudness up in a separate project once youve got the mix right
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Word to your mama.
 
I can't listen right now, But I have found that when I start with just the kick, bass, and vocal, it's way easier to get a balanced mix. Turn your track volumes down and your monitors up!!!
 
Once you do turn your mix down and get the mix that you need then you'll be able to turn up your master volume to where you want the entire project to be. Hopefully you'll get a lot less clipping and more of the kick drum sound. A good rule of thumb for when you first record a part is to make sure that part is in the orange when you check your levels, so that you have plenty of room for adjustment later on down the road.
 
m.g. eddie said:
Once you do turn your mix down and get the mix that you need then you'll be able to turn up your master volume to where you want the entire project to be. Hopefully you'll get a lot less clipping and more of the kick drum sound. A good rule of thumb for when you first record a part is to make sure that part is in the orange when you check your levels, so that you have plenty of room for adjustment later on down the road.
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sorry but I dont agree with this at all...mixing at lower levels just to turn it all back up in volume at the master fader will end up with the same problem you started with before..a mix that is too hot

Mix it at low levels, bounce it down to a stereo wave then open another project with it and just use a little compression and a limiter to bring it up...that's what the headroom's for

if the final mix sounds wrong dont try to correct it at this point but go back to the original mix and fix it there...orange colours have very little to do with it
 
RAMI said:
Then everything is too loud. Turn everything else down if you want more kick. If individual tracks are too close to clipping for you turn them up, then you're mixing too hot.
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Oooh that explains it!
 
kcearl said:
sorry but I dont agree with this at all...mixing at lower levels just to turn it all back up in volume at the master fader will end up with the same problem you started with before..a mix that is too hot

Mix it at low levels, bounce it down to a stereo wave then open another project with it and just use a little compression and a limiter to bring it up...that's what the headroom's for
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I don't disagree with what you're saying (keeping reasonable gain staging in the mix), but in another sense you and Eddie said very similar things; turn it down in one place and turn it up in another. ;)

if the final mix sounds wrong dont try to correct it at this point but go back to the original mix and fix it there...
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Yep. In essence, first there is a mix problem. And not to deride a whole stack of valid reasons to keep the mix and mastering as two functions, we can turn it up there in the project, or later.
 
mixsit said:
I don't disagree with what you're saying (keeping reasonable gain staging in the mix), but in another sense you and Eddie said very similar things; turn it down in one place and turn it up in another. ;)
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I didnt find that too similar...of course you could stick a compressor and limiter on the master, I dont stick anything on mine as habit...but surely mixing everything low then bringing it up via the master will essentially end up with a mix with no headroom yet again?
 
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that old e.q thing about cutting before you boost can apply to levels too.
but... metallica told me that there is no such thing as too much compression :confused:
 
There are some basic mix problems going on here. One of them kicked off this thread...

When you decide everything needs to be real small so it all fits at the top.. :D
Things have to change


And, when your mix (arrangement) is simply very dense..
Space for things to be heard is very limited..
AndyDenyer said:
The kick would not get any louder without clipping, and when I tried putting the compression on the kick up it just sounded horrible. Some beats, which were hit harder, made a really cutting "click" sound and the weaker hits were more of a thud, so if I put the comp up on the kick the harder hits would still cut through more than the weaker ones. Even going insane with EQ couldn't fix it.
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..and small differences get buried.
In a less dense setting the kick might have worked.
Global eq won't fix it (often) because the soft hits need a totally different curve or treatment etc. Might as well use it to trigger DrumADog.

kcearl said:
I didnt find that too similar...of course you could stick a compressor and limiter on the master,
-snip-
..but surely mixing everything low then bringing it up via the master will essentially end up with a mix with no headroom yet again?
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Yes. The difference I'm trying to point out is I (and perhaps Eddie) are inclined to the possibility that when someone says they're trying to get a mix hot.. it means finished.

'If it doesn't survive the smashing- Go back and fix it in the mix'.

For one, if you are going to play in high density, or very loud, we've more or less dumped on a lot of concern for the sound of high head room.
How you get there is one thing (like good appropriate mix and recording). And yes I advocate adequate headroom at the recording and mix stages (if nothing else learn the discipline of it.)
I propose that you may want to incorporate some those methods into your mix' tool box.
So yes, particularly if it's not going to someone else.. Fix the mix, work it up to where it needs to go.
Whether some or all of it stays in or on the mix or master bus (or maybe it gets used as a training method), I guess it would depend.
 
no offence but Im actually struggling to decipher what youre saying..

my toolbox is fine though..I'll include the master fader technique in my next mix :confused:
 
To fix the low or "bad" kick hits, you can copy and paste using the good ones. That would probably really help the kick sound.
 
kcearl said:
sorry but I dont agree with this at all...mixing at lower levels just to turn it all back up in volume at the master fader will end up with the same problem you started with before..a mix that is too hot

Mix it at low levels, bounce it down to a stereo wave then open another project with it and just use a little compression and a limiter to bring it up...that's what the headroom's for

if the final mix sounds wrong dont try to correct it at this point but go back to the original mix and fix it there...orange colours have very little to do with it
Click to expand...

Its only going to be mixed HOT he decides to turn it all up that much. I'm just offering a simple approach to this problem. To me it just sounds like he did a poor job mixing (no offense Andy) and needs to lower everything else so that he has room for whats too quiet. I do hope that you (Andy) can get a good mix out of this because I think that the music is really cool. Also use less compression on your voice.
 
m.g. eddie said:
Its only going to be mixed HOT he decides to turn it all up that much. I'm just offering a simple approach to this problem. To me it just sounds like he did a poor job mixing (no offense Andy) and needs to lower everything else so that he has room for whats too quiet. I do hope that you (Andy) can get a good mix out of this because I think that the music is really cool. Also use less compression on your voice.
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It's not my voice but thanks. I need to try this when I have time, then I'll reupload it.
 
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