Using pre processed samples and the benefits of a mastering engineer compressing becomes trivial. I think I have an idea of how to improve my masters now though thanks to the tips in this thread! Many thanks

 

This is really an arrogant statement.

 

This is not true, it depends solely on the compressor's calibration.

 

Last edited: Mar 3, 2019

This depends on the source and the goal (required sound).

 

It's arrant. But if you look how much content there is for this topic and how technical on an low level the content is and how many people claim to have a problem with this.

I really can not believe this sometimes. But as someone stated this already, I guess it's more of an "I can not really hear it besides the signal is getting quieter" thing and then they think they do not understand something.

 

This is a really interesting SOS article about Bruce Swedien and his mixing techniques. That's the guy who mixed Michael Jackson's "Thriller", for those who don't know who he is. I highly regard his opinions, as well as Andrew Schoeps', Bobby Owsinski's, and Bob Katz's. I think it's very interesting what he says about compression.

https://www.soundonsound.com/people/bruce-swedien-recording-michael-jackson

 

Makes the soft bits louder and the loud bits softer. That's the threshold and make up. Then there's some other knobs which makes things tricky. But they mean that settings that work brilliantly on your drums are going to make your vocalist sound like he's choking on a chicken bone.

 

Yes, true, mostly only old hw compressors [and other plugin] emulations are calibrated for -18dBFS input. However, that's almost all VST compressors that I [we?] use. That's why it is good to read the manual before using any plugin. Also, it is a good practice to stick to -18dBFS throughout the mix because the result sound better, it's easier to master, and the plugins that are not calibrated for -18dBFS input usually won't mind. Unless they have some sort of saturation, of course. Then you might want to give them some more "juice".

 

This is the best advice in this thread.

The other stuff is also correct.

 

Let's be fair, every day someone is facing these problems for the first time and we all have been there. For a long time I had no idea how to use a compressor properly, not to mention what kind of compressor to use for which purpose/source.
The best advice I can give is insert a compressor on a single drum kit piece and play around with the different parameters to hear how it works. Then use it on the other drum kit pieces, on bass vocals and synths and listen to the different sonic effects. After this try different compressor types and do the same. At least this is how I found out how to use which compressor. And I'm still trying today (for years).

And of course, rtfm!

 

Another very useful article about compression that I stumbled upon a couple of years ago.

http://quantum-music.ca/wordpress/i...to-vari-mu-fet-compressors-when-to-use-which/

 

I believe what's complicated is the difference b/w people's learning ability; majority of people are visual learners, and they need visual-aid to help fully comprehend a subject.

This tool helps with that! All you visual learners.

 

Some of us are naturally confused.. slowly realizing I had no idea how to use compression until this thread.... Grateful for this tip!

 

eq with graf eq : no problem....eq with hardware gui : i need more brain energy for that..last times i delete them and use graphic eq..also easier do get mixing done when have graphic bands before inner eye

 

I'd just like someone to patiently explain (MMJ style ideally) opto compression to me. I do "understand" what it is, it's just so absolutely bonkers and nonsensical and meaningless that I usually get the giggles at how bizarre an idea it is, about halfway thru any description. A diagram would also make it much more hilarious! (I'm not sure anyone is qualified to explain why, tho...)

 

Well, this is for sure not MMJ style, but I'll give it a shot.

Simplyfied, in an optical compressor the input signal triggers a small light (no joke). The higher the input, the brighter the light. The light is received by an optical transistor (detector) which controls a resistor which is used to lower the amplitude of the output signal and this results in a compression.

So much for the boring part.
The more interesting thing is that this compression is a) slower than a FET or VCA and b) isn't linear at all. Therefore it's pretty difficult to emulate it with other tools.
And because the hardware determines the compression, there are no parameters for attack, release, threshold and ratio (in the real world and accordingly designed software). Just an input and output control, which makes it pretty easy to use, imho.

Opto compression is mostly used for vocals but also applicable to bass, undistorted guitars, strings, brass...

 

Last edited: Mar 4, 2019

Of our available arsenal available to us to alter the audio signal in our mixes or capture of sound, compression in my opinion is the hardest for most people to get their heads around and! might take a good while to grok. I remember my first time using a compressor, a Bellari tube unit and the needle just slamming and slamming as it topped out from WAY too much input. and me dumbfounded and not having the foggiest idea of what the heck was going on. Tempo, tempo, it all comes together given some time.

 

For more technical knowledge, you basically use Opto compressor on signals without much dynamic range that needs ironing out the volume and the intent is not to deliver punch, or in other words, sustained signals that don't have strong attacks; i.e. vocals, bass, strings, etc. This is due to design of Opto compressors being light-driven, they respond nicer to the micro-transients in an incoming signal.

Sometimes you learn things by understanding what you should not do; to make it more relevant to your question, you won't use Opto compressors on Plucks or Snares or Kick drum with the goal of enhancing the the transient (think punch), but if your goal is to, again, iron out the signal for more consistency in volume and taking care of the micro-transients, you'd use Opto compressors on those transient-heavy signals. Opto compressors are more musical than VCA, VU, FET compressors.

 

Last edited: Mar 4, 2019

It takes time to hear dynamics. I remember very well the day i first heard, that an album i loved over years was overcompressed. When we grow old and experienced, we tend to forget our struggle when we were young.