Compression 3.x

Cross-reference mastering.com video.

If you're doing jazz or simpler genres, you may not need it. With busier electronic tracks, the multitude of instruments need controlling.

Peak and Valley Technique: to control the extreme dynamics and the relative balance between soft and loud parts.

Compression Parameters

• Threshold
• Ratio: higher means more aggresive
• Attack: after Threshold reached, how long before full compression achieved.
• Release: time to recover from application of compression.
• Knee: Threshold becomes a range, applying more compression through that range.
• Make-up Gain: if compression reduces volume, you can add it back.

Compression Process

1. What are we doing?
1. To balance
2. To enhance
3. To glue
4. To fix
2. What style are we after?
1. To balance: Consistent, Depth (closer), Depth (farther)
2. To enhance: Punchy, Thick, Groove
3. To glue: Consistent, Depth (farther), Groove
4. To fix: create headroom, turn down room sound
3. Style Settings

Threshold	Attack	Release	Style
High	Fast	Slow	Consistent
High	Fast	Fast	Thick*, Create Headroom, Depth (farther)
High	Slow	Slow	⚠ Does nothing
High	Slow	Fast	⚠ Does nothing
Low	Fast	Slow	⚠ Splat. Everything squished.
Low	Fast	Fast	⚠ Brickwall
Low	Slow	Slow	Punchy, Turn down room sound*, Depth (closer)
Low	Slow	Fast	Groove*

^* Use a Peak Meter to set makeup gain.

4. Peaks and Valleys

Are you targetting Ps or Vs?

5. Setup the Compressor

Set Threshold (0), Ratio (1:1), Attack (0ms), Release (0ms) i.e. "off"

Gain make-up: do you want the Ps or the Vs back to their pre-compressed level?

Mix Compression

1. Pre-mix

Routing: common things to a Bus, routed to the Stereo Bus

Automation

Volume Balance

1. Reduce gain of peaking channels
2. Loop the loudest section
3. Turn the faders all the way down
4. Listen to Reference tracks
5. Set most impotrant channel to -5dB
6. Bring in next channel, balanced to first channel
7. Continue bringing up other channels
8. Spend 10 minutes refining
9. Take a break and listen again
10. Play whole song with automation for each instrument

2. Mix Bus Compression

Glue Goal: one of 3 above

3. Balance

What's overstated and what's lost?

What needs consistency?

4. Glue

Each bus, or combination of busses, e.g. vocals.

5. Enhance

Make it larger: 3 styles from above table.

Parallel compression works well here.

6. Fix

May occur during other stages: turn down room sound, or improve headroom.

Cubase Compression options 3.x.1

Multiband Compression 3.x.2

Crossover Frequencies

vs Dynamic EQ

EQ is linear. MBC controls broader range of frequencies; EQ surgical, tighter. Both corrective.

Vocal Chain

Multi-Band Comp (MBC) => Dynamic EQ => Compression => Compression => De-esser => De-esser => MBC

Chris Lord-Alge: EQ => Comp => Rvb => Delay

Compressor Choice

1176 vs LA-2A