You're Thinking WRONG About Compression

Pro mixers are not using it how you think.

Featured Music by Jevani Sanders

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[Metalbass]

I have a friend that will immediately complain about something sounding "overprocessed" as soon as he sees me apply a plugin compressor, but will tell me it sounds great if i don't show him what I'm doing. I listen with my eyes closed as often as I can.

[graysonhoward]

This guy is a really solid mix teacher, especially on compression. Only watched 2 videos and I’m subscribing.

[joristimmermans]

I like how in your recent videos you're really hammering that nail of "learn to mix with your ears". It _helps_ to know what a compressor's attack and release physically do to a signal, but it doesn't really tell you what that sounds like. I must have read and watched dozens of tutorials on compression over the years, but somehow the really simple before and afters you do here (and also the fearless just whacking the knobs to their extremes) are actually super helpful.
Next time I go in to apply some compression, I'll have to get it clear in my head what I'm trying to achieve. More upfront? More in the back? Just smoother, or do I want the interaction of the transient and sustain to be closer or further apart? etc.

[numberphoto]

Not sure why, but this particular video of yours seems to have generated my “ah ha!” moment. I’ve been trying to EQ a song with acoustic guitars, solo vocals, and drums, and found myself in an endless circle of tweaks - none of which were generating the intimacy or excitement I wanted. I already had some compression on all the instruments and vocals, but after watching this video, I spent 5 minutes changing attack times and boosting the make-up gains a little and, holy cow, what a difference! Thank you for sharing this content! The instruments are all more distinct and easy to follow as a listener, and the overall experience is that much more involving and enjoyable.

[steamerk]

The best tip for learning compression is to level-match, then play/practice with extreme settings.

Make sure you use the make-up/output control to level-match or turn on auto-gain if you've got it. The overall volume should be about the same whether or not the compressor is bypassed. Judge using both input/output meters and your ears. Level-matching lets you focus on the responsiveness/dynamics of the effect instead of the relatively boring louder-is-better that faders are for.

Once you've got the hang of that, try extremely fast and slow attack settings. Try extremely fast and slow release settings. Try an extemely crushed threshold. Try pushing the ratio as high as it will go. Try mixing and matching the different extremes and remember to make sure you're staying pretty level-matched.

After a bit of practice, it should make a lot more sense and you can use more subtle/tasteful/ less-extreme settings for your actual mixes.

[theopinson]

Dude this was brilliant. I’ve gotten from tutorials/trial and error WHAT happens with certain compression settings, but this filled in the gaps on the WHY. Much appreciated!

[loome]

This is a really great video. Especially using the 1176 2a plugins. Fast to Slow being labelled 1 & 10 is super confusing and I think your video has finally etched the correct answer into my brain.

[jas_bataille]

A great trick is to get the same setting and switch between compressors... which is why I LOVE Logic compressors because you switch from one to the other with the same exact settings! This is the same thing as a beginner swearing that EQ is only for cutting frequencies. There is a fear of following the "rules" and getting it right. When I told my friend who I was teaching that I boost clarity by boosting a frequency or two most of the time in my work as FOH (yes, you read that right), he looked at me as if I was a demonic alien... 600 shows I've done many with legendary artists in my town (Montreal city is a pretty big musical place) and I've hard int. touring people say they loved my sound and knew how good I was at mixing.
He's doing an open mic there, same equipment, and it sounds so bad, I stopped teaching him because I KNOW he got better ears than that. He just refuses to be unafraid. I am not doing surgery. Why correcting when there is nothing to correct? How do I know what to correct? Yes it does change all the time, and yes you realize pretty quick in live sound than raising your fader when someone says "more of " (whatever) is really dumb... and doesn't quite work either in the studio (see Michael Brauer on why). And yes I cut. But I NEVER cut or boost anything before I listen - unless I've worked with the same artist with the same mic in the same room for a few times and I have some idea of what to do.
But that's only with that person in *that specific room* with *that specific board* because every system is different.

[LordKibblesTheHeroGothamNeeds]

Kush Audio also has a good video on how to think about compression for drums

[jimpemberton]

This is true on FOH as well. I had heard that compression can influence the tone of the sound. I was running an M7CL at the time and didn't notice much difference in the tone with the compression. I was once called in to help a friend of mine help him adjust his system with his Presonus. I had set EQ on a signal and was trying to set compression having neglected to turn the compressor for the channel on. When I realized it was turned off, I turned it on and experienced a dramatic change in tone. Some compressors affect tone more than others. I'm running an A&H dLive now and don't get as much tone change as the Presonus, but I've learned how it changes the tone of the signal and can use that to my advantage.

[lmrecorders]

As I became more comfortable with compression I've always thought presets names should include a target GR range. Threshold or equivalent is the first thing I go for if I'm trying a preset. It will best demonstrates how the preset works.

[alexhulme]

This is some thing I feel I am halfway there with. I feel like I am now able to pick compresses for flavour and character, but still struggle a little with dialling in the exact attack and release and gain reduction. Often feel like I have a little too much comp or not quite enough!!!

Another absolute banger of a video as always 🙌

[PUGLIA_JO]

Getting compression right takes hours with good near field monitors or headphones to train your ears to the tiny manipulation of frequencies. Being able to distinguish between light thresholds, ratios, attacks and releases will black tie a mix vs a frat party.

[JTFuller]

OUTSTANDING DEMO Bruh.. This was exactly on point.. Thank you for that explanation..

[rickmassimo]

Thanks for this; our music doesn't sound like yours, but I still learn a lot.

I think it was Justin Colletti who said that whenever you compress something, you're either going to accentuate the transient or de-accentuate it, and there's no one right answer of course, but you have to know you're going to do one or the other so you can make the decision that works best.

[toddcollins]

Dude this was the right video at the right time for me! I know things need to be compressed but this is a great explanation of how to better control and direct the sound! Thank you!

[BrianHuether]

I'm not sure I see compression as being able to add energy. It can decrease energy by virtue of lessening dynamic range. It can bring up breaths, etc, but remember, for every breath being raised by 5dB or whatever, some important word is being crushed by 5dB or something.

Hence parallel compression. It raises tamer parts but keeps dynamics of louder transients.

[ourmusicvideos]

So happy I found your channel, great content. I am a Singer Songwriter, Musician, Producer, Mixer for my own music. I've been learning mixing for 10 yrs now and love your info. Thank you for sharing your experience.👍😎🎶 P.S. Love the cheat sheet.

[zalione]

Compressors are for shaping. Limiters are for loudness. One of the first things my sound engineering teacher told me when I started my education 20 years ago. But depending on the settings a compressor can of course become a limiter. Think of a compressor as an envelope control for instruments where you can’t control the envelope on the instrument itself.

[dwaynearthur]

Ok, great details . I appreciate your method of explaining the nuances of the effect of the compression. It’s really hard sometimes to hear it’s effect on certain parts of an audio track.