lookin forward to this one so i can stack it up with my hardware clone ;)

 

Waves SSL G-Master bus compressor with Andy Wallace settings,fast attack,release Auto mode,-4db reduction.

 

The only reason you should put bus compression on after mixing is because you’re experimenting with bus compression to hear what it does, or do it because you’re mastering a track for somebody else.

Think about it like this, a track instead of the 2 bus. Youve got your vocal track. Do you eq and process/treat it until its perfect, and then put your comp on it? Hell no, didnt think so.......

 

Last edited: Sep 17, 2016

Amen to that. All I have on the master during my mix is a gentle limiter. All the mastering comes after.

 

Wow ! Thanks for the tip !

 

I forgot about my funny story until I backtracked to see the trajectory that this thread was tracking as it has recently been revived. I actually found one of these units next to the trash of an apartment building in my neighborhood. I quickly snatched it up and was eager to test it and hoping that it was in working order and that it would pass signal. I rushed my little dog home, plugged the power cable in, ran a cable from the 1987 Squire bass my neighbor has given to me on permanent loan into the Warm AudioTonebeast and then out to the Behringer and then into a little Roland Micro Cube that came with the Squire. Out came the absolute worst bass sound I could imagine, and no matter what I tried to do, fiddle with this and fiddle with that, it made no difference at all, none whatsoever. I unplugged everything and immediately put the unit outside, waited about an hour and took a peek. It was gone and I am quite sure the same was repeated time and again. So, if you are walking down the street and see one of these just lying there all alone, you now will know why. The question is though, will you be able to avoid the temptation of trying it out for yourself, or will you heed the advice of my experience. Only time and happenstance will tell.

 

@superliquidsunshine LoL, I have a power inverter and extension cord in the work van and have been known to plug in and test all kinds of electronics right in your rubbish pile

 

Out now, with 20 off discount and also a 1 bonus package - the FAB4 bundle (FAB 4 alone will cost 199 eur after the offer will expire), for a limited period of time. Time to jump on this "black friday" kind of a deal!

 

A

Acustica Audio Sand, NOTHING in a computer comes this close to hardware.
https://audiosex.pro/threads/acustica-audio-com-sand.27183/

Demo it for 30 days, let your ears tell you everything you need to know.

 

You absolutely can use a compressor on a mixbus during mixing,its very common and nothing special.For me its a must,not one but two or three,depends.
You just have to watch the levels and the meter and use your ears.
Words like cant,must not,not possible,avoid.....if you are tip toeing while learning you will get nowhere.
You have to abuse plugins, hardware and different techniques to be able to learn fast.
Because in pro world time is everything, weather its composing, producing or mixing.
You need to work fast and efficiently,if it works it works.

 

Here's the difference between "well-known producers and engineers" putting a master bus compressor on their mix and you doing it: the "well-known producers and engineers" are doing it because they know what they're doing and have placed an analog compressor there for a specific reason. You're doing it because you saw some YouTube videos of them doing it. You'd probably be better off not worrying about any bus compressor and maybe just using that $300 to pay for some professional mastering. It's pretty cheap these days, and those guys have a lot better gear (not to mention, ears) than you do. Any analog compressor you use, you're most likely going to overkill, anyway. And the thing about using too much is, once you do, you can't undo it. Even the pros are adding very little to their mixes. Most of the time, they're adding a bus compressor to a digital mix to emulate compression from hitting tape, and it's a slight enhancement, not a major one.

As for "compression changing the entire mix", that's absolutely not true. If you have a bus compressor on your mix and it sounds completely different, it means you recorded or mixed wrong, or whatever setting you're using on the bus compressor is wrong. A professional mastering engineer's job is to enhance what's already there. When he or she applies a compressor (or limiter or EQ) on your mix, they're certainly not out to "change your mix", they're just making the best out of your existing mix, or correcting whatever problems they can.

Also, the whole idea of "I want to use a bus compressor to make my mix sound like this commercial mix", is pretty ridiculous. No matter what gear you buy or how many YouTube videos you watch, your mix is not going to sound like that mix. If you had the exact chain, hardware and software used to make the commercial mix, it will still sound different. Maybe even worse.

All that said, putting a bus compressor plug on your mix after you've gotten it the way you want it, with a generalized setting approximate to what may get added during mastering or broadcast, isn't a terrible idea. It will give you a rough idea of what commercial mastering compression may or may not do to your sound. But you definitely shouldn't print it, unless you know exactly what you're doing. And you can add a generic bus compressor plug to get that effect; you don't need to buy a piece of hardware or even a fancy plug for that.

 

Last edited: Oct 7, 2016

As with anything production, mixing or mastering, you need a REASON to use a mix bus compressor. Why do you want to use it? Do you just want the sound of the hardware or its emulation (also if you can objectively tell the difference between hardware and software then you are a god and I will bow down in your presence)? In my view, mix bus compression, or any other type of mix bus processing is a shortcut. It's a way to get the sound you're going after quicker before going to mastering.

So for example if you want to just gently glue things together as you're mixing to level everything out so your mixing life becomes easier, then an SSL compressor will do the job well. Waves, Cytomic, even Ableton Live's "The Glue" will get the job done very nicely

If you're going after some pumping and style from the compression then the Kramer PIE from waves does a great job of that, or even any stock compressor with quick attack and release settings.

If you want aggressiveness and some distortion then the waves API 2500 is a beast at that or again any compressor with an aggressive ration, quick attack and release settings.

But again, you need a reason to use mix bus processing and in the end, no amount of hardware or expensive plugins will make your mix sound better I don't care how expensive the piece of hardware is or how many "pros" recommend it. You could get it done with stock plugins, which i do all the time and it sounds great.

 

Last time I paid someone to master a track he ruined it and kept my money.

 

Most legit mastering houses will do part of a track or, if you're mastering an album, possibly even an entire track for free up front ("mastering shootout") to demonstrate whether or not they can do the whole job the way you want it. They also usually offer up to three passes, sometimes even more, in case you have problems with their work on the first try. If you find legitimate facilities in the States to be too expensive -- these days, with the advent of home studios and the overall state of the music industry, they're actually pretty reasonable -- try researching mastering studios in Canada. Most Canadian recording artists and record companies tend to get their stuff mastered in the States, mainly because of the "prestige factor", and Canadian mastering studios, which are just as well-equipped and well-staffed as their U.S. counterparts, are forced to keep their prices extra-low to compete.

 

Last edited: Oct 8, 2016

Many "mastering engineers" are looking for easy pray on social media, music platforms, etc.Many have no idea what they are doing, so be careful and do a background check on them if possible.

 

I definitely agree. The key to getting a good mix is getting a good mix. The problem is, a lot of people starting out are comparing their mixes to finished commercial masters (and today's commercial masters are pretty much solid rectangles instead of dynamic waveforms), so they try anything to hit those levels in the mix stage and then don't understand why their tracks sound so bad when they get there.

In Digital Performer, I tried Waves' SSL G-Master, T-RackS' new SSL G compressor and DP's own SSL G compressor on a drum bus and liked T-RackS' version the best. I think it's something inherent to T-RackS' aggressive tone that works for drums (keeping the transients versus smoothing out the stereo field a bit).

 

http://soundsgreat.jimdo.com/
It was this guy, A local engineer/musician with a really nice studio and a lot of credits to back it up. He was recommended by a rapper I was recording at the time. He had some really great sounding mixes too. Just not mine.

 

I hope you didnt lose too much money.

 

1 track 100 bucks. It was the test before I handed him any more

 

Last edited: Oct 8, 2016

For a struggling producer its not a small amount.