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Posted by trancenrg69 on Dec-15-2003 22:06:

Compression Settings Help.

I was wondering what compression settings you guys use for various sounds. For example kicks, pads, lead synths. I know every sound is different, but i'm sure there are guidlines to follow for specific sounds. I was tring to tweak a pad before and I wanted it too be really phat but it ended up having to much low end and it distorted alot. Can this be fixed with compression or eq?

Posted by DeZmA on Dec-15-2003 22:20:

distortion : your sound is too loud, decrease volume
too much low end : eq away some low end

i really cant see the point of using a compressor on a regular pad..
use unison and fine tuning and filters & efx and stuff to fatten it up

use it to make your percussion more snappier.
use it to decrease the peaks and increase the quiet moments in a line.
and as with about everything in producing training is the key, experience with settings there's no such a think like a predefined setting for a particular sound... cause 2 different kicks will prolly need 2 different settings
hope this helps

Posted by Chris Creator on Dec-16-2003 07:09:

Yeah dude there's no real point using a compressor on a pad, Your better off just eqing and or filtering it. As for kicks and percussion set the ratio to about 6:1 and have a short attack and release times so they snap. And as for synths its the same as pads no use for it.

But just experiment you will work it out.

Posted by TranceInMySoul on Dec-21-2003 20:29:

Well, I gotta disagree with these answers - compressing a pad can make a good difference! It all depends on the pad :-) If, for example, your pad starts very quiet with low low-pass filter cutoff, and opens up slowly to reveal a massive sound, the early part of the pad will probably be too quiet in the mix if you don't compress the whole sound.

And that's the point of compression - if the difference between the loudest part of a sound and the quietest part is too much you need to add compression to reduce the dynamic range. Don't follow the rules, follow your ears :-)