These 5 Compression Mistakes Will RUIN Your Mix

In this video, Austin talks about 5 common mistakes that people make with compression that ruins their mixes.

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Timestamps
Intro 0:00
Don't Add Compression Just To Add It 1:30
Not Leveling A Source Before Compression 5:00
Stop Making One Compressor Work Too Hard 9:20
Not Understanding The Exact Compressor You're Using 12:45
One Setting Doesn't Always Work 16:47
Outro 20:32

[transformationgeneration]

You have become top notch in your explanations. Not clouded or over-said. Your confidence is showing but it's not arrogant, it's impressive.

[YoYo-lkus]

The manual compression is a must for vocals, And The vocal is the only instrument I'm concerned with compression 😅

[gyro]

I love how easy Cubase makes it to level out a track before compressing it

[CaptainVelveeta]

Leveling out the vocal is the #1 way to get the best results out of a compressor but, oddly enough, I rarely ever do it. And it never fails, I regret not doing it EVERY single time.

[bostin]

Would love to see a compressor comparison deep dive video explaining where each different compressor is typically used based on a specific application or sound/genre, with also your personal go-to’s and recommendations!

[TheRealSandman]

Thank you for helping elevate my production to the next level. I'm an independent artist & I self produce all my own work. I'm releasing an album this month & your channel really helped me level up my production from my last album :)

[andrewpowell]

Another great video mate! Super clear and great video quality really makes the viewing experience really easy to watch!

[tomcatomas]

Thank you. I feel a bit uncertain about compression. Sometimes I can make it do what I want, other times not really. So it's good for me to listen to your advice.

[calvinsquire]

Austin really outing my compression chain with that thumbnail 😂

[bhaveshtochabbra]

A video on vocal chops of creative vocal effects please!!!🙏

[tommorton]

Something that gave me trouble early on was the interaction between volume automation and compression. There are cases where you want the volume automation before the compression. You mentioned clip automation for vocals which I think of as getting the compressor tone to be more uniformly applied to the vocal. In most other cases, I apply volume automation after compression since a couple of db of glue compression often does most of the work to get an instrument to sit well in the mix across sections of a song.

[Harrysound]

Really good tips mate. I’ll, certainly take some notes and give it a try.

[NoeAnton]

This is fantastic :) I already knew most of these concepts but it's a great quick explanation, I wish I had your video a few years ago, LOL.

[LambertDriveStudios]

Awesome video Austin! great reminders and guide lines to follow, even for a experience engineer producer like myself

[lzrbmz]

skipped new ‘challenge vid’ uploads by some other big yt producers when i saw this pop up 😊 best practical advice, tips etc… of any YT producer channel imho, thx for all ur hard work! 👊🎶🎹✨

[aleksamrkela]

6. Compressing your main elements with a fast attack. I don't know a faster recipe for an unintelligible, buried lead vocal than this. Using a slower attack REALLY goes a long way for opening up sources and sending them up front, where they need to be. I prefer a faster attack for background vocals, myself. :D

[onivarsae]

Austin inspired my music Forsure thanks brother

[transformationgeneration]

A tool that I would like explained is called a "Vocal Exciter". Short or long, if you are versed in the application of that tool, I'd like to understand it's purpose and usage better. Thanks

[alexjacxsens]

Just recently found your channel. Great videos! What about compression on an acoustic guitar played with a harsh pick? How to smooth the attack? Compression? EQ? Both?

[cholkymilkmirage]

Compressors to me are just another for of transient designing. They do so much to a sound with just the limited knobs given. You really have to mix mix mix and mix and mix different types of music and different styles of recorded music to learn the nitty gritty of what they do, and also train train train and train your ear to hear what a compressor is doing. But as far as leveling goes, I dont think compression are the best for leveling vocals. Like a 2:1 ratio on a distressor or fet kinda helps leading into a main compressor and and opto i too but if your vocal is super dynaic with peaks just clip gaining, splitting it up into different tracks or using a limiter works best for quality's sake. I opto are great tho on non-transient/low-transient things like pads, synths, and bass