Mixing into a compressor.

I know what you mean and there are different schools of thought. Some say do a mix without any compression what so ever and do it all later in mastering. Some say you can use a little on your stereo mix buss when you are mixing down.

I used to be in the no compressors at all crowd but have changed my mind. If you want quite a loud master at the end of the day it is not a bad thing to do at all. I have likened this to three coats of light paint is much better than one thick coat at the end. The three light compression coats are firstly on your individual tracks, the second is on some gentle stereo compression and the third and last coat is the mastering compression. That way you can use less compression in all of these areas too which is always better. (Mostly)

The mix can change when compression is added and it is another reason for using a two buss compressor. Settings wise I use a low ratio eg 1.3: 1. Slow the attacks down a little to let transients though. Leave the mix transients intact. Release to taste but try and get into the groove of the music. Threshold set for about 2 or 3 db gain reduction. This type of setting will just add a small amount of glue over the whole mix. It is just noticable.

Remember ratios multiply so if you have got a 1.3:1 compressor on your mix buss alter your track compressors ratio by dividing 1.3 into the existing track ratios. If a track ratio was say 4:1 on a bass sound then change it to 3:1.

I am not a great fan of presets. Presets don't know much about the music they are acting on. They might be a good starting point. I tend to treat each piece of music separately in terms of fine tuning compressors.

Watch out putting your great mix through an average sounding compressor as well. It might give you the two buss compression you are seeking but then it might also impose a non ideal sound over your whole mix. Anything you put your final mix through needs to sound good! It needs to be a nice sounding compressor. I find (quality) digital compressors good here as they can be very transparent and not add in any colour to the mix. I use a Yamaha digital mixer and there is a great built in stereo compressor on the mix buss. (as well as every input and every output!) It sounds good and is very transparent.

Check out this thread here. It is about a way of removing the music in a null test state so you can clearly hear what you compressor is actually up to!!

http://forum.cakewalk.com/tm.aspx?m=2282782

I would not necessarily be putting Pro Channel over your whole mix either. It may not be the right type of buss compressor or it could be, not sure. Experiment..It might a different plugin you need there.

Also check out this link which is a thread I started and contains some very useful advice about how to set up compressor parameters generally.

http://forum.cakewalk.com/tm.aspx?m=2116921

Hi Steve I tend to adjust the stereo compressor with everything in the mix and just keep an eye on the gain reduction meter or indicator. I usually aim for about 3 db on loudest parts. All the rules apply for getting your mix happening in the first place.

Now saturation on a whole mix is probably something I would not do so much. I prefer this compressor to be cleaner and more transparent. Nothing to stop you from doing this if it is a slightly retro distorted analog sound you might be after on purpose over a whole mix.

But I am sure one would be using sub busses as well and there could be some busses that would benefit from saturation being applied. eg distorted guitar buss. Some keyboard synth pads benefit from being saturated a bit too.

Excellent link above from DJEspo This is the actual article that turned me around and got me into using it more and more.

You don't have to do it all the time either. As I said earlier if its a loud track you want at the end of the day then this is a good way to go.

Some studios even have a good quality stereo compressor that can be patched into the monitors while you mix. This is a great idea. It does not get printed of course but does let you hear what could happen in mastering further down the track. If you have got a spare rack stereo compressor lying around then press it into service doing this. You wont be disappointed.

Also batsbrew the Yamaha mixer I have has the lowest ratio set at 1.3 which is a bit of a drag. Like you I would not mind going a little under eg 1.2 as you say. Also the gain reduction meter on this compressor only shows -2db then the next segment is at -4db. This is also not ideal and I probably keep it at -2 db most of the time as you say. So I am probably not even going to -3db a lot of the time either. But even with such gentle settings I can hear it adding glue to the mix. It is subtle but definitely there. It makes for a louder master later on for sure.

Its when you start using very low ratios eg 1.2:1 but driving the compressor quite hard you can get some good results. Even though you might be driving it hard, it does not sound it because the ratio is so shallow. But stick to -2 db or -3 db GR and you won't go wrong with that.

Steve,

IMHO... With the final mix/master, with pro-channel, per others above, the presets are the best starting point; the same holds for other limiters.

My compressor is mostly the limiter/maximizer: cw Boost11, Ozone4's, or Waves LL multimaximizer series.  (Ozone4 is my fav)

None of these maximizer-compressors flaunt attack release settings (IIRC) ... they are brickwall to transparent ... using propietary alogorhyms, IIRC.

Depending on your mix techniques and genre ... your stem-busses or master may need less or more.

I always compress/maximize before doing car stereo listens ... the traffic competes and makes my mix sound tinny if too 'uncompressed'.

'Hope this helps.

I like what Mr. Massive Master has to say in post  14 of this thread.......


http://www.gearslutz.com/board/mastering-forum/173236-what-difference-between-rms-peak.html






Quote;What I meant by the above statement was that there are a lot of (usually "less seasoned" for lack of a better term) engineers out there who shoot themselves in the foot by tracking and/or mixing "for volume" -- Destroying the dynamics, using up all the available headroom at the first stage - along with pretty much every subsequent stage.

That's not the way to make recordings that can actually handle "loud" later.

Track with plenty of headroom. Mix with plenty of headroom. Don't throw limiters all over the place just to get the mix "loud" -- Do whatever it takes to make the mix sound *good* and don't be concerned so much with volume.

I'm not saying not to use limiters -- But as a "rule of thumb," if you find a mix actually sounds better - And I mean *BETTER* -- Not "better because it's louder" -- If it actually sounds better being rammed into a limiter, take the limiter off and find out why. Maybe one thing in that mix is truly "too dynamic" for the rest of the mix. Put the limiter on THAT and see how it sounds. Use a compressor when something has a dynamic range that's too wide for the mix -- Not because someone told you that everybody compresses everything so it can be louder.

"Punch" and "impact" comes from the difference between loud and quiet - Not the absence of quiet. And although I'm not a fan of the current "level insanity" going on, it's better to have decent sounding recordings that have the potential to be loud than loud sounding recordings that should be shut off. Almost invariably, it's those dynamic, wide-crest mixes that have that potential.

Mixing "hot" doesn't do anything to make your finished product louder. Tracking hot doesn't either (I don't even want to get into the nastiness that can happen from tracking too hot). Headroom is good room. Keep it, love it, cherish it - Your mastering guy (even if that's yourself, which I also won't get into) is almost undoubtedly going to use it all up... Give him some room to move
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P.S.

Dear CW ,
Your forum software BLOWS