Compression Tips

[Bellringer]

Compression has got to be one of the most misunderstood tools in recording. Some people use it because they have it. They compress while tracking and mixing and end up sucking the life out of their tracks.
Why don't we share some compression ideas. The basic rules, what kinds of sounds might be achieved from specific settings, personal preferences or tricks you have learned along the way. I'm sure everyone can learn a bit more about when to compress and when to leave a track alone.
Tips please!

[909one]

When tracking I use just a little bit a compression sometimes on bass and vocals. I like to get the most amount of signal when going digital so this helps to smooth out some of the extreme peaks you can get with an extremely dynamic singer or a bass that putting out some notes much louder than others.
In mixing things get a little more tricky with compression. Using it is such a touchy thing.. not only are you leveling the dymanics from one note to the next but within that one instance of the note being played you can change the frequency response by levelling certian frequencies. You can also think of compressor like an ASDR envelope generator on synth. But adjsting the attack and decay you can alter the dynamic properties of the signal. This is where it gets hazy for me in terms of use... because its not as obvious as the ASDR control on a synth, and you also affect frequency response too.
Compression is a very complex tool, I really don't have any tricks to list, but understanding it can be half the battle I guess.

[johnS]

I usually compress bass guitar to tape with a slow attack and the fastest release, setting the threshhold and slope for ~2-3 db of gain reduction. Not much at all. This lets the transients through while reducing the overall dynamics a bit so the track is easier to work with in the mix.

Another critical step in the tracking phase is to get it through the bass player's skull that HE is the most important stage in the compressor. If he wants a good track, HE HAS TO PLAY EVENLY.

[johnS]

One thing I learned by trial and error is that you can never have too much compression on handclaps. I tried tracking my band doing handclaps in the choruses of one song (yep one of THOSE songs), then spent like two solid days trying to mix them in so I could actually hear them. Whatever I did, they still sounded wimpy, buried by the wall of guitars, keyboards, vocals, etc. on those big choruses. After a couple of days of pulling out my hair, I finally got it. The solution was to double or triple up (or quadruple!?!) the claps, offsetting each by a few ms to fatten them up. I think I also mixed in claps from my crappy drum machine to add some extra cheese. Then I bussed all the clap tracks together, slapped a limiter across it, and SQUEEZED THE LIVING CRAP OUT OF THE CLAPS. Bingo! Worked like a charm. Zero dynamic range = big, fat, audible handclaps.

[dagosto]

One trick that not to many people use is ducking using a sidechain compressor. If you put all your tracks except for the kick drum through a fast acting transparent compresser and trigger the compresser with a copy of the kick track you can really make the kick stand out. This is a great way to keep from putting too much eq or compression on your kick and still have it be prominent.

[johnS]

So the kick track is triggering a compressor across the entire mix (besides the kick track)? Or just the rest of the drum kit tracks? I've never tried it, but it sounds like it would be pretty drastic for the whole mix.

In a similar vein, with a sidechain insert, you can also use the kick drum track to trigger a compressor on the bass guitar track. The idea is to dip the bass guitar level very quickly every time the kick drum goes thump. Like Dagosto says, very fast attack and release are critical. It's supposed to open up the bottom end of your mix. I think it worked the one time I experimented with it, but I can't remember which song I tried it on!

[Nubus]

those are good ideas, very musical.
I'm really into parallel compression, especially on drums. i think i may be addicted to compression.
Malcolm Chisolm always used to say only compress what you want to make a solo.

[dagosto]

In response to JohnS: In the situation where you are triggering off the kick you could duck any tracks that you decide. If the copressor is fast enough and trasparent enough (meaning very little distortion when it is turned on or in flux) you can duck an entire mix. Even a ratio of 1.5:1 can make a big difference.

In response to Nubus: I remember a time a few years ago when I was interning at a studio listening to a mix that had compression on most everything. One of the producers turned to me and said. "That's what I think a good recording should sound like, you can hear everything." It seems like the modern sound is that everything is a solo which sort of fits with your Chisolm quote.

I prefer very subltle use of compression and will reach for a fader or automation tool befor I reach for a compressor. But then again all my tracks get smashed in mastering anyway.

[DreamwaveMusic]

Dagosto has a good point, if you're going to have tracks mastered, i believe its good to leave room for compression in the mix and experiment with automation. I rely on sidechain compressors/eqs for tight yet dynamic drum sounds. In general, compression can help many dynamic issues, but there is nothing better than working with musicians that have a level of understading dynamics and are very dynamic performers.

[Nubus]

I was digging through my cassettes last night and noticed one that has "Super Dynamic" advertised on its label. Imagine a time long ago when dynamics were strived for.