Track 1 the vocals sound like they aren't balanced in the mix. 
Track 2 is a much better balanced mix despite sounding louder.
 

I bought the Mixbus video bundle for 5$ last week. It was a very well done and insightful video series. While I am aware of the producers rep in that video series, I would like to think that maybe he was being a little over the top with the compression so it was easier for you to hear the difference and how the compressor works. Personally, I said before in another thread in here that I would never slam tracks that hard unless there was a real problem with the gain staging when the track was cut. If I have to slam a track that hard with a compressor I will usually use volume automation to write in some dynamics and tame the track so I don't have to hit the compressor so hard. BTW, the ProChannel Expander can be used sometimes to accomplish the same ends.
Unfortunately, We are still in the midst of the loudness war train of mind. I would rather hear a track at a lower level with some dynamics any day over a track that is competing to be the LOUDEST SONG OF ALL TIME! Of course, I started classical piano lessons at age 8. I still try to carry over the lessons in dynamics that I learned then into everything I've done in the rock, pop, country, etc. world. Heck, I've even done rap sessions where we could incorporate some dynamics in to it. Dynamics is the very soul of the song to me.
One last thought. Do this experiment to understand better what I am saying. When you engage in conversations today pay special attention to how a persons voice constantly changes volume and pitch as they speak. It is those very patterns of speech that makes the persons voice so expressive. If you removed that expressiveness we would all be walking around sounding like the robot in the Lost In Space TV series.
How boring would that be? 

I agree Sidroe. Although this song doesn't vary on dynamics that much I try to maintain good dynamics. I have to admit though it was easier playing classical guitar and use dynamics effectively.
 
Maybe we should start a thread on using dynamics effectively and different techniques on how to achieve this using midi. Most people should know how to do this while playing.

Guitarpima
Why is it that most people say, "don't use to much" when, in most videos I ever saw, they use it quite a bit?
 
I recently watched a video on mixing in Mixbus where the guy mixed a country song and he used up to -6db, sometimes more, of gain reduction and I thought it was making a better difference. Of course, I have old ears so that has to be taken into consideration. 

Recently, I imported a project into Mixbus and was a little more judicious with gain reduction and went to -3db or -4db of gain reduction and I think I got better results as well. Then you get those that say, "it's over processed". (wow! I just noticed that our typing is being saved as we type. lol!) I don't get those that say that things are over processed. I've noticed that you can isolate things better this way and make the mix more clear.
 
Here is an example of what I did different. Track 1 is mixed in Sonar X2. Track 2 is the same only I exported the stems into Mixbus.
 
Track 1
Track 2
 
The only think I haven't fixed in track 2 is there bass seems to be doing something weird when it pumps out the pedal tone.
 
I would love to hear any thoughts from you pro guys about compression and it's uses.

Have u done any EQ ? in Track 2 it got way more definition its more clearer.

Track 1 seems to push the vocal (or the middle frequencies ) more back
seems there it is a strange stereo image ( or overall sound picture more dull )

Cool music, hmm reminds me of:

God save the queen.  and Loui Loui 

Compressor talk in general :

1. Don't like compression: cause attack (transient) of the material get less, and and it start to sound flat and plastic like.
2. Love compression: cause with right setting it will bring back sound forward and give more room impression

There's more to it, compression has it Pro and cons ...

Why compress some track, and then use a transient plugin at the same track...., just don't compress it then.
pop in a limiter so track is not peaking instead, and keep the clarity and dynamics.

Cactus - your posts above were quite good, in my opinion.
 
A lot of times, folks don't realize how many low-end frequencies are too 'thick', and are competing all over each other, and when things then sound 'lost in the mix', they try all kinds of things end still end up with mush.
 
Take a look at the frequency overlaps between things like bass and drums, as well as any low-octave piano and bass.  These are the most common low-end instruments that fight to be heard, because their frequencies are all overlapping.
 
I have a wonderful laminated chart that I keep posted immediately in front of me, to the right of my 2 monitors, that lays out the frequency ranges of various instruments.  I simply searched the web and found it.  They let you look at it online for free, and for something like $10-$20 they will send it too you.  It's pretty good size, and I use it everyday.
 
The idea with all of what I am getting at is that many times, if you analyze the notes being played in the low end, you will find the ones that are overlapping, and then you can decide how to deal with it.  Some folks try to boost above it, but I suggest looking at instead 'THINNING' some of the frequencies, notching out some of the frequencies, so that you still have a substantial portion of the original sound present, but just a bit 'lighter' for those particular overlapping frequencies.  Another way of dealing it is to take a look at the low notes some instruments are playing.
 
For example, if you listen to Steely Dan music, you won't notice it immediately, but most of the time the keyboards are NOT including the typical doubled octave apart root notes of the chords, and in fact many times the keyboard player is only playing 3-4 note chords in the right hand, with only an occasionally needed single lower note.  Another example is Genesis.  They write their songs so that each instrument is given its own space, and it makes EVERYTHING stand out, with a GIANT sound.  So, let the bass player play the low notes, let the keyboards play their own notes/chords, and leave the guitar player to their own devices.  Without even dealing with EQ or compression yet, cleaning up notes that aren't needed will by itself make everything sound cleaner, crisper, and it all stands out better.
 
THEN you can look at compression and that whole end of things.
 
There are SOOO many ways of doing things, and folks are right, it is incredibly subjective, but regardless of the method chosen to 'fix it', mushy music is a lonely and soulless place to be.  :)
 
Bob Bone
 

I agree whole-heartedly with Bone. I get frequent calls from a bassist friend of mine to do a spot gig every so often. When we first played together I spent most of my time calling across the stage to him, "GET OFF OF MY NECK!". When we took a break he ran over and asked me what I meant, what was wrong. I explained he was playing so high up his bass neck that it was in the register of my bass strings on my guitar. The bottom end of the group sounded mushy because of this. And I never understood why anyone would spend the money for a 5 string bass when they never used the bottom string. After a few weeks of playing together he had worked on staying in the bass register away from the guitar and keys. He was astounded when average people who didn't know the first thing about music complimented us on how much cleaner and tighter the band was sounding.
One more note. Sometimes it helps to tell the keyboard player to keep his left hand in his pocket if he's playing bass with it. There is a true art to comping behind a soloist and these are two things that help tremendously.

Thanks for the support of what I was trying to get across to the OP Bob. I'm not sure he understood what I was saying ,however. 
I can't "hear" what is wrong with headphones as I'm away from home. So I thought I'd plunk it into Wave Lab I have on my laptop. One advantage to cheap on board sound cards is they have "what you hear" so I was able to capture the songs. There was very little difference other than a 2 Db gain in average RMS level.  
Right away I saw the wave form was very peaked in time to the kick. This has the effect of driving your meters to the red , So you think the song is still quiet and you slap a compressor on the master bus or the bass or kick track. The solution is really to see why the kick or bass is peaking.  You need to trouble shoot at the tracks first. 
EQ is critical on bass tracks. 
As well as the peaks the song contained almost nothing beyond 300 Hz. 
Your ears should tell you this, but looking at a spectrum analysis helps you "see" the issue too. 
HP filtering the offending tracks might be a much better solution than a compressor.  

Very good stuff everyone.
 
My main problem was getting the kick heard while the toms were banging. I put a HP at around 180hz and it seems to help. In MB, the middle frequency range only goes as low as 200hz and I dropped the level there. I could not drop it to low because MB Q curves gets more narrow as the volume gets lower.
 
I'm still trying to get the workflow down so I can use Sonar and MB and all this info is a big help. The thing I notice about MB is it's harder to do more precision EQ work. Sonar is better there. I understand about the frequencies and realize that they overlap since the lower frequencies are closer together as the higher are further apart. I guess the drawback to this tune is it's heavy in the lower frequencies at 41hz according to the Carnegie chart. I guess the trade offs have to be weighed more carefully.
 
I'm using a HP filter on the bass around 80hz. IIRC, I tried a bit higher but it seems to lose it's bottom end to much. It would seem that for this tune, MB's EQ isn't up to the task. I think the bass is better in track 1 but still needs a bit more tweaking. I think that CM is right though, near the end of the chain, I'll need a multiband compressor to tame the low end.
 
Thanks for the replies. They are most useful!

Just to chime in on compressors in general.
I was once told by a friend of mine (Phil York - Red Headed Stranger producer/engineer/Grammy Winner) when I first started doing this that it might take me a year to actually "hear" what the compressor is doing (unlike a delay that's obvious)...I said to myself...to myself mind you...lol "That's crazy...what does he know"...lmao...Well as it turned out, he was right...and I'm not quite sure I can hear it yet...and it's been 10 years.
 
With that said...The old boards, like the ones the Beatles recorded on in the 60's, had a compressor on every channel. Someone must have thought that they were important enough to add that along with the eq section, and a volume control. I'm sure they used the compressors as limiters a lot (a very useful setting using a comp as a limiter...all it does is keep freq's from hitting the ceiling..which when recording is invaluable) 
 
I think if you use a comp on a track after you record the track, (unless you're using it as a limiter) really helps limit the amount of compression you need when you master, and that's where I see the most glaring misuse of the comp. I hate when I see a track come through here that's smashed against the ceiling leaving no room to do anything. That's crazy. Mastering is actually a rather subtle thing, in it's original use...Since we started doing this 
at home, I think it's lost some of the subtlety that the professional mastering engineers use. eg a touch of eq...a little compression...a little leveling and that's it. The work is suppose to be done in the mix...not in the mastering phase. I have Ozone, and I can totally change the direction of a mix, with one preset...but I don't think that was, or is, the intention of the mastering phase. That would really piss off the high-end engineers who spent weeks mixing a track to only have some idiot with Ozone change the whole thing with one press of a button...don't get me wrong, I love my Ozone plug-in...but...
 
I do like compression a lot for tightening up a group of background voices routed to an aux channel. You can really make them sound nice that way...and on singers...some need more than others...so you have to figure that out. As far as compressing instruments..bass and drum probably requite the moist attention, although distorted guitars sound good smashed a little bit...hell that's part of the sound anyway.
 
So use a compressor more like a tool than an effect (unless that's what you're going for) and start learning how to hear it in the mix...the reason they kept asking for "more cowbell"...was someone had the threshold at -60, and they couldn't get it any louder...just sayin'...
I'm done for now
Jason
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Well, I'm not quite there for hearing it unless you go more than -5db of gain reduction. I usually only go no more than -3db.
 
As for compression on the master bus. I saw numerous videos on Groove 3 and elsewhere that use them and some that don't. I guess it's another subjective. For mixing, I've been using the White 2A from IK and the Black 76 on the master bus. The White only goes -0.5 of gain reduction and the Black, less than that but only occasionally. I disable them from time to time and check the mix. Disabling them for exports.