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-- What do you Use? Compressors and Settings

What do you Use? Compressors and Settings

I am realizing now that compression is very important. I am using Logic 5.5 for PC. What type of Compression would i use for the Main Output and the Settings for it. I have been experimenting and love using compression on a lot of sounds to make them tight. I just wanted to really know if there are any particular compressors with sidechaining that one can recommend.

To be specific a little. As far as Kick-Clap-Hats. What are good settings and types of compressors and setttings to use for each sound. And then the Master Channel Compressor.

Sorry if i couldnt explain myself very well. My girlfriends rushing me out of the room.(lol) and my mind gets all scrambled mates.

wait what are you asking exactly?

Once again, don't put a compressor or limiter on the master output of your mix unless you have a very specific reason for doing so (e.g. mastering, which should ideally be done out of the sequencer anyway).

quote:

Originally posted by Zombie0729 wait what are you asking exactly?

Like as far as taking the Kick and Clap. And Sidechaining them to get a tighter sound. The settings as far as Threashold. Attack. Ratio. Release.

In FL i saw one of the templates for club had compressor on main out put with settings.

Threashold -0.0
Release - 200
Ratio - 1:0:1
Attack - 15

I really want to make that kick thump and have it sounding tight with the percussion, hats and such... Feel like there is a lot extra dead air space that can be eliminated in my tracks.

Something that i can work with before i go head an go crazy with sounds and melodies.. I feel it would ideas flow easier to know that its set right.

yeah, don't put a compressor on your main output, that's only for when you're mastering and you'd probably want a multiband compressor for that job. instead, route similar sounding instruments to group channels and compress those (only if needed!). i wouldn't sidechain the kick and snare, sidechaining is more for subtle dynamic control...at least that's how it should be used... you can get the snare sounding good with proper level setting, panning, and eq.
anyway, for percussion, set up a compressor with a relatively high ratio, and set the threshold so the kick causes a gain reduction of about -3db. use a fast attack but not too fast or you'll lose all the transients and cause the percs to sound dull...maybe around 4-6 ms. release is up to you. lower to make it pump more, higher for a smoother sound. to tighten up the percussion further, follow this with a gate...set it to open/close just below the level of the kick, use a fast attack and experiment with release and hold to taste.
there really is no one magic setting. probably the most difficult part of production to learn is controlling dynamics (compression) and eq...i think mastering these two areas is the key to getting a professional sounding track.

I knew it would seem like i want a magical setting. I am not look for a setting to magically make my tracks sound good. Just wondering if its important to keep those sounds tight. I know its all preference and it can change from sound to sound. Just felt like they could sound tighter and tighter. Some of these tracks that i create sound dull and full with empty space. From my experience using compression it actually magically made it sound better. So from users with experience using Logic can understand what i am saynig about the sound being a lil muffled when its bounced to Wav

The best way is just to jump in and start using it, and see if you can get it to do what you want. If not, maybe come back after you've actually read some tutorials (search) on compression and finding out what each of the controls do, as, juding by your post above, you have no idea yet, which isn't going to help much - both a threshold of 0.0 dB and a ratio of 1.0:1 means no compression is taking place whatsoever.

Some places to start:

http://gonzoft.tripod.com/articles/a4/a4.htm
http://theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm
http://www.harmony-central.com/Effe...les/Compression
http://www.looperman.com/tutorials.php
http://www.soundonsound.com/articles (search for "compress")

quote:

Originally posted by Atlantis-AR The best way is just to jump in and start using it, and see if you can get it to do what you want. If not, maybe come back after you've actually read some tutorials (search) on compression and finding out what each of the controls do, as, juding by your post above, you have no idea yet, which isn't going to help much - both a threshold of 0.0 dB and a ratio of 1.0:1 means no compression is taking place whatsoever. Some places to start: http://gonzoft.tripod.com/articles/a4/a4.htm http://theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm http://www.harmony-central.com/Effe...les/Compression http://www.looperman.com/tutorials.php http://www.soundonsound.com/articles (search for "compress")

No bro its not like that at all. I just gave you something i saw. I do read tutorials, but when i ask a question it is because i want to know from experience. i just gave an example of what i saw. I didnt want to come off like i dont use the "Search" Button at all. because i use it. Sometimes its easier to here it in a simple form from someone that is making the same music and know what i am reffering to. Those Tutorials in the Links are DEF. a great help. I am going to read them. and see what it can teach me. your help is much appreciated. I usually do trial and error before i read up and then read to fix my mistakes. This is my way of doing things. Not everyone has the patience to read read read. I want to get to the point which might not be the right way, but a way that ive always done. Sorry if i bothered you with my post.

A good comp would have a visualisation of the incoming signal that you can watch. The settings of the comp are very dependant of the incoming signal and their aren't any fixed settings for the comp.

What is aften done is that the kick causes the most compressor responce. If you want to do it the easy way make sure your kick is a lot loader that the rest of the incoming signal and adjust your threshhold to react on just the kick. You should see an indicator jumping up and down on time with the kick, adjust the threshhold to just under that mark. The rest for me at least is just going by ear, whatever sounds good.

kind regards,

Charlie Darwin

This is a ridiculous thread. You need to search for the information yourself if you wanna get anywhere. There are NO typical settings for compressors (as Darwin said), you should base all the compression settings and everything else on your ears. READ READ READ. These questions that are asked over and over are getting very monotonous. Not tryin to be rude, but finding the information for yourself is the best advice I can give.

WHY Does it have to be a pointless or ridiculous thread. I wanted opinions and to see what people are using.... I understand it might have been asked, but not all questions have the same goal. Its not like i am saying hey , What is a compressor and i hear its good. Tell me what to do. I am using compression on certain sounds as it is just using my ear for everything i do. I already say i will read, but wanted OPINIONS.. NOT CORRECT EXACT KNOWLEDGE. I am aware of there not being any rules to music, but there are some guidelines to sometimes stick to that are PROVEN to work very well.

Compression is used to limit the dynamic range of an instrument.
You can use it emphasise the 'snap' (the initial punch before compression starts) of a kick or snare, but you can also use it to reduce these snaps (which is more common) or other (sudden) volume spikes.

I personally prefer using the ultrafunk sonitus fx compressor for my compression for all of the above mentioned possibilities.

All this "dead" and "empty" space that you're talking about in your mix is most likely not even a compression issue. If the sounds you're using arn't any good and don't fill up enough frequencies, all compression will do is make shit sounds sound shitter.

quote:

Originally posted by Biatchzxz No bro its not like that at all. I just gave you something i saw. I do read tutorials, but when i ask a question it is because i want to know from experience. i just gave an example of what i saw. I didnt want to come off like i dont use the "Search" Button at all. because i use it. Sometimes its easier to here it in a simple form from someone that is making the same music and know what i am reffering to. Those Tutorials in the Links are DEF. a great help. I am going to read them. and see what it can teach me. your help is much appreciated. I usually do trial and error before i read up and then read to fix my mistakes. This is my way of doing things. Not everyone has the patience to read read read. I want to get to the point which might not be the right way, but a way that ive always done. Sorry if i bothered you with my post.

Aight, sorry I misunderstood. With "search" I didn't mean the actual search button here, but I was referring to Google. It just seemed you weren't sure what the actual controls do, which of course isn't going to help much if you're asking for settings. Anyway, I agree with not everyone having the patience to read. I tend to fall into that category quite often too, and I think a lot of my early years were spent doing as you described.

About the topic though, just remember that the treshold is probably the most material-specific, so don't rely too much on settings when setting it. You just have to learn to recognise "overcompressed", and set it to suit the material you're working with. As for ratio, the higher the more severe the volume reduction will be; and attack and release fall into the category Storyteller described.

Not really sure what else you're wanting to know. As far as mastering goes, you definitely want to use a multiband compressor, as psyklolink said too, but you have to watch out not to squash the life out of the sound, as limiting at the end of the chain will reduce the dynamic range further. Just be sure to A/B the sound often and try to find a good balance.

threshold - depends on what kcik sample your are using. play around.

attack - 45-50ms

release 20ms

ratio - 2.5;1;1

make up gain - as with threshold.


set the attack relese and ratio to these and play with the other two. until u get the sound u want. thats what i do anyway.

comping during mastering is similar but i change the ratio to 2.0 and the attack to 50-52ms. set threshold higher aswell. then play with make up gain.

this is what i do anyways...

multi band comps i dont think are necesary... if the mixdown is balanced enough then why use one? i dont understand this myself...

See. This is what i am talking about.. POSITIVE SHIT! I am sure there are tons of people just Afraid to ask about certain things because of the negative response.

Yeah i totally understand about not squashing the sound to hell. Overcompression def kills a track. I am looking more into the sense as far as like Sidechaining the Sounds. I am obviously familiar with sidechaining the kick and the bass together to make them sound tight and linking them together. Yes i know what sidechaining is. . Are there any specific sounds one can "RECOMMEND" linking together. I actually read those Tutorials Atlantis you linked me to: SICK HELP and opened my eyes up to really EQing my sounds a bit more to really bring out sounds and brighten up the track a little. I know there are all different types of little things that matter to make a good track. Ive been producing for a couple years and really just fell into my place. I am usually not the type to know book smart, but can figure almost ANYTHING out byself by just trial and error. hell i have no clue how to play piano, but manage to learn all by myself. I am just always pondering about a way to just learn quicker from other users that i am sure have experienced what ive experienced.



Ultrafunk BTW is awesome.

how do you side chain with ultrafunk compressor?

it doesn't come with that feature to my knowledge.

Back to my question. What compressor would one recomend that would have a built in Sidechain and good overall quality as a VST. It doesnt have to be a freeware one. I am willing to spend the money on something.. Just give me an idea of what to look into.

my kick bible:

http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...threadid=276466

jup

quote:

Originally posted by Biatchzxz Back to my question. What compressor would one recomend that would have a built in Sidechain and good overall quality as a VST. It doesnt have to be a freeware one. I am willing to spend the money on something.. Just give me an idea of what to look into.

waves c1 sc

quote:

Originally posted by Biatchzxz Like as far as taking the Kick and Clap. And Sidechaining them to get a tighter sound. The settings as far as Threashold. Attack. Ratio. Release. In FL i saw one of the templates for club had compressor on main out put with settings. Threashold -0.0 Release - 200 Ratio - 1:0:1 Attack - 15 I really want to make that kick thump and have it sounding tight with the percussion, hats and such... Feel like there is a lot extra dead air space that can be eliminated in my tracks. Something that i can work with before i go head an go crazy with sounds and melodies.. I feel it would ideas flow easier to know that its set right.

first of all, sidechaining isn't a magic way to make your mixes sound tight and perfect. It's a method to get a certain sound, shure but it's not that universal "makes everything sound good" thing (seems like you'd want that).

that compressor setting you posted from FL is quite funny tbh. it has a threshold of 0 wich basicly means that unless the signal reaches 0 it won't even kick in. Evne more funny is that if it would kick in it wouldn't compress the signal a bit since the ratio is 1:1.

Just get out of your head right away that there is no settings you can copy from someone else to get a good sound (well unless you have the exact same samples and sounds, settings etc.)

Just learn theese basic rules with a compressor and you can go play for yourself with it instead.

Threshold: This value tells the compressor when it should start compression of the sound. Usually a value in decibel. It's when the sound peaks over this value that the compressor starts compression.

Ratio: how much compression the compressor will apply on the sound. for example, a 2:1 ratio will compress the signal to 1/2 of it's original level. (saying it like this isn't 100% true but it's true enough to be able to understand how it works).

Attack and release: theese values simply tells the compressor how fast it will start and end it's work. for example an attackvalue of 30 means that it will take 30 milliseconds before it starts it's work.
Why you might want to mixture with theese values is to be able to let early parts of a sound through without being compressed. for example the snappy part of a kick.


read this, read more on the net and learn how a compressor works to it's fullest. then and only then will you have any real use of it without having to use random values and hoping it will sound good.

Vizay. I understand that party by now. I did some reading and whatnot and am past that part already. I am not trying to copy any setting. what i was asking later on were what objects are mostly used together compressing and sidechain. Not for a setting just opinions.

and I'm going to say it again, go find out by yourself.
There are no rights and wrongs, if it sounds good it is good

There will be aboslutley no better way to learn it then by doing it yourself and just playing around. There are no shortcuts.

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