What kind of compressor is everyone using?

wtf.....

Binger goes and makes a huge deal calling ppl out on compression then quiets down once he realizes his lack of knowledge on the subject.......

mmmmm.........

I smell a new jack......

"I'm like a trial size sample with a sticker sayin try me. Man I'm so vein I need a muthafukin IV."
-JUICE

what are u talking about jerkoff? I didnt see ur lame reply. U gonna try and call me out for helping people? Ur boy scott there tried gettin at dude by grillin him so i did the same thing to him to show him thats not really to nice. i did more to explain about compression then anyone else did, and i am right on almost everything i said. I do my homework and if u want to think im a newbie so be it. I could care less. Kinda lame though when some ass feels he needs to be like TOLD YOU SO! to stroke his ego or whatever u got going on. now please stop trying to instigate me casue i dont play nice with nerds.

and please explain to me how puttin a shelf/threshold to tame a vocal singers performace is not an application of a compressor? The whole point of a compressor is to mess with the peaks and valleys of a recording. Please einstein tell me how i erred.

article on compression wrote:Another example is that many vocalists have poor microphone technique. When they sing quietly, they sing *far* too quietly. When they sing loudly, they are *way* too loud. A compressor can reduce the "dynamic range" of the vocalist to a more managable level, which is why a compressor is sometimes called a "Dynamics Processor".

Bing, that's a nice definition, def better than what i could've given, wanna help them out with limiting and expanding?

now u gotta school me on that ish. haha. Im just gettin into that **** now. Any insights would be appreciated.

Compression is a tool though. Use it when needed. Alot of times cats squash the dynmaics out of samples/songs/drums due to compression. U have to know when to use it. I honestly never use it.

Interesting that you want to advise on something that you never use. Furthermore, you mention your lack of knowledge on limiting and expanding, but both limiting and expanding are other forms of dynamic processing that operate on the same parameters. So, you have boxes that are labeled limiters that work better as compressors and compressors that really are more like limiters. So, for you to think that you can explain one dynamic processor yet need to be "schooled" on other shows your lack of knowledge on the subject.

and doing more than anyone else did is quite useless when you dont know what you're talking about.

The reason I took a shot at you is because when you give bad info it makes the board useless to those using it to learn "how to" on a variety of topics. Binger you need to learn how to be subtle when you dont fully understand a topic. I can't get too upset though because I guess I was the same when I was 15 years old.

Dynamic Processing parameters:
Input Gain
Threshold
Attack
Ratio
Release
Knee
Output Gain

If anyone is up for an educated discussion of how these work and pertain to compression, limiting, and expanding I'm all for it.

Another area some of you might want to investigate is multi-band compression. This is compression used mostly by mastering engineers and is quite a complicated animal.

Lampdog wrote:Waves
Ultrafunk
Virtos

YO Lamp Do U Like the R Comp in Waves as Well.........
I've Used it here n there????????

Waves Renaissance is one of the best software plug-ins compressors I've used... The only thing better is DSP cards... The UAD-1 is awesome, but unfortunately I have a laptop and would need the Magma PCI expander for that to work...

DBX 160X

Easy to use interface, good readout with easy to read LEDs, sounds good(not great but good)

This box is a workhorse if you can find one and they cost under $300.

Not to mention its ease of use makes it a great learning tool for those just understanding how compression works. A great tool for ear training on a compressor.

First learning on a 160x will make it easier to useand hear small differences on complex compressors with a large number of parameters.

just my $0.02

jaem wrote:

Bing, that's a nice definition, def better than what i could've given, wanna help them out with limiting and expanding?

now u gotta school me on that ish. haha. Im just gettin into that **** now. Any insights would be appreciated.

Compression is a tool though. Use it when needed. Alot of times cats squash the dynmaics out of samples/songs/drums due to compression. U have to know when to use it. I honestly never use it.

Interesting that you want to advise on something that you never use. Furthermore, you mention your lack of knowledge on limiting and expanding, but both limiting and expanding are other forms of dynamic processing that operate on the same parameters. So, you have boxes that are labeled limiters that work better as compressors and compressors that really are more like limiters. So, for you to think that you can explain one dynamic processor yet need to be "schooled" on other shows your lack of knowledge on the subject.

and doing more than anyone else did is quite useless when you dont know what you're talking about.

The reason I took a shot at you is because when you give bad info it makes the board useless to those using it to learn "how to" on a variety of topics. Binger you need to learn how to be subtle when you dont fully understand a topic. I can't get too upset though because I guess I was the same when I was 15 years old.

Dynamic Processing parameters:
Input Gain
Threshold
Attack
Ratio
Release
Knee
Output Gain

If anyone is up for an educated discussion of how these work and pertain to compression, limiting, and expanding I'm all for it.

Another area some of you might want to investigate is multi-band compression. This is compression used mostly by mastering engineers and is quite a complicated animal.

so little binger......

can you properly explain each of the 6 parameters of a compressor?????

man u really have a hard on for me. i dont **** dudes though, sorry.
What are u talkin about mr studio wizard?
attack, release, gain, threhold, ratio? I could but im not gonna casue ur a fag. PPPEACE NERD.

Another area some of you might want to investigate is multi-band compression. This is compression used mostly by mastering engineers and is quite a complicated animal.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

now jeam you have finally got my attention- lets talk about multiband!!

any tips?

ill throw one that worked for me recently- 4 band compressor-

band 1 0-103hz slow attack, slow release
band 2 103-1030hz medium attack, medium release
band 3 1030-10300hz fastish attack, fast release
band 4 10300-20000hz fast attack fast release.....

release i guess depends on how much gain red you are getting- lots of gain red longer release- were talking whole mixes here so you dont want pumping at a particular freq band- unless its house or techno of course....

now i didnt come up with this all by myself but notice how the frequency ranges go up by x10....this i understood to be the similar practice of bring out octaves in eq as they are all multiples of each other- this splits the song into four parts you can then focus on- band 1 is just bass, band two is your low rhythm, band 3 is probably the main bulk of your music and band four is the very top...the attack release are just rules i stuck to- obviously depends on your source material so no point in offering ratios or how much gain reduction you're getting on each band- use your ears- a/b each band in isolation to make sure you are not ruining the balance and sit back and hear your tunes start to sound sonically better......be carful its all to easyt to completely squish or unbalance your tune this way- a/b, a/b and then a/b some more..

greg

not release but attack will help grab the audio before it gets into clipping

Release is how quick the compressor stops compressing.

x10 on the freqency range is not going up an octave
x2 is going up an octave

multiband compression is really a complex animal, the goal is to make everything sound louder than everything else (ie the perfect mix)
This is definately an ideal that is rarely attained. However, multiband compression is one of the tools mastering engineers use to attempt to achieve this result.

Settings are completely dependent upon the source material and therefore there are no "suggested settings". In fact misuse of this dynamic processor can really screw up your mix, including the pumping you described.

It should be noted for all those reading that this type of compression should only be used on the 2 bus and not on individual tracks, because it is a mastering type processor.

Personally, I stay away from using it. I find good compression or limiting on the 2 bus suffieces for me, and I leave the multiband compression for the mastering pros with speakers and ears that are way beyond anything in my project studio.

yeah i know ten isnt going up an octave but it was the only way i could compare it to something and make the maths actually mean something otherwise there just numbers- of course no one could take these settings and expct them to magically fix the song but gives peeps an idea of how to split your frequency bands...there are many other ways to split them

the prob i have with my tunes (house etc) is i need a big fat thumping bass drum but big bass- when i put whole mixes through single band the huge drum ruins everything else- even with low end filtering....but do hear ya this is for peeps who understand compression just cant always get a single band over the mix working well- i presonally like to isolate my lows to get them a bit more pumping than the highs-

greg

a quick tip to clean up the low end......

high pass everything @ like 80-100Hz except the kick and bass