Is compression always necessary?

[southcoaststeve]

As my journey through the process of making music has progressed, I've become aware that I am completely ignoring the use of compression.

I don't record live music - my guitar and bass go through an audio interface into the DAW (either DI or using a mic for acoustic) and my keyboards via MIDI. The drum tracks are always high quality samples that I purchase. I exclusively make instrumental music so vocal tracks are not required.

I spend a lot of time balancing the tracks using the faders until what I hear sounds cohesive to my ear and the separate output levels are good.
If the overall output level needs adjusting I'll use the master fader.

I will then use an EQ across the whole track to adjust the lows, mids and highs to my taste.

Under these circumstances would the use of compression add anything to the final product?

I'd be very interested to hear your opinions. 

Thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

[Conteloto]

I think compression is used too much nowadays, in fact I think it ruins songs on many occasions, the guide I think should always be, apart from other things, to use your ears and get the sound you want.

[Mr No Name]

Using compressors properly could be described as an art form, but obviously you can just use them to flatten out your performances on your instruments, depends how good you are on your instruments, generally a bass should have a compressor on it, less so a guitar, post recording it can be used to accentuate the plucks or other parts of the performances, and generally enhance the sound of the guitar. depends what you are going for. there's couple of very good you tube videos by the guy from Kush audio, he designs and builds them, as well as eq's, the Kush Claraphonic for example. very interesting. best ones i've seen on the topic of compressors.

 

 

 

[JnTuneTech]

As with many things, mixing style & tools use in general really depends on the application and end-use goals. -For instance, the majority of my mixes are done with very little track and mains compression (though as pointed out, using samples & other aspects of instrumentation inherently uses compression at many levels before some of the actual tracking), but that is by design for what I want it to come out like. 

1 hour ago, southcoaststeve said:

I spend a lot of time balancing the tracks using the faders until what I hear sounds cohesive to my ear and the separate output levels are good.
If the overall output level needs adjusting I'll use the master fader.

I will then use an EQ across the whole track to adjust the lows, mids and highs to my taste.

Under these circumstances would the use of compression add anything to the final product?

I do the same, but primarily when the material I have laid down already has most of what it needs. And, in my case anyway, I generally mix to use as backing for live jamming and performance. In most cases, I have found adding mix compression before live amplification tends to make it harder for a good live sound output. -That also inherently assumes that the mains and the environment are going to affect the mix (and often a lot). -But again, that is a planned choice, and I make sure the initial tracking sounds like what I want first in the process.

On the other hand, when I want to send mixes to be listened to via other means, compression can often be necessary on the final product. So, it's good to also learn how that will work, when you need it. If the environment your music is going to be played back in has other material that yours will be compared with, for instance, putting a "dry" mix up against heavily compressed ones, will often cause issues. So again, it depends a lot on your end goals. And often, without a mastering engineer or the appropriate qualifications, in some cases you can't submit material for publication and such.

Basically, if you are happy with the sounds you get, technically. it shouldn't matter, unless there are literal (such as bandwidth and spectrum) requirements you have to meet. If you are just playing for yourself, -just be creative and use, -or don't use, anything you like! Compression can certainly be another tool to get the sound that you want, it does have value as a musical instrument itself, -if you want to use it.   That's how I approach it anyway.

[Starship Krupa]

Craig Anderton addressed this question a week ago:

https://blog.presonus.com/2023/12/15/why-i-dont-use-compressors-anymore/

I don't quite agree with everything he says, but he does at least mention that compression on buses, including the master bus, can really help "glue" a mix together.

Try messing with something like bx_masterdesk Classic that you can get for free at PluginAlliance. Put it on your master bus and try a few presets.

[John Vere]

Ni 

Edited December 30, 2023 by John Vere

[Shayne White]

It depends on your genre and desired sound. I mostly produce electro-pop music. First, take a look at the waveforms on your tracks to determine whether you should use compression. Generally, there should be compression on anything with spiky peaks - percussion/beats, bass, plucky instruments. Vocals need a lot of compression so you can hear all the words and your voices rise above the rest of the mix. On the other hands, anything with smooth or constant levels, like filler pads, need little to no compression.

Use short attack and release times whenever possible - it'll help eliminate the "pumping" sound.

BTW, I use the Sonitus Compressor that comes bundled with Cakewalk -- it almost always sounds great.

Edited December 23, 2023 by Shayne White

[Helios.G]

Compressors have 2 basic functions. The 1st is to control/lessen dynamic range.  So if you have a sound that has parts that are too loud, and parts that are too soft, you'd use a compressor to even out the level to a more manageable dynamic range (volume).  The second basic function is to glue things together and make them more cohesive.  Think bg vocal bus, drum bus or the master bus for example, where you'd use light compression to make everything gel a little.  There's also a third, but this is a bit more subjective.  Some compressors (think vintage, analogue type, and those modelled after them) have a certain tone/character that they give a sound when you run audio through them.  In these cases you'd use these types of compressors for dynamic control AND the tone they'd give you.  If you're a beginner, I'd focus on the 1st two basic functions, and worry about tone after you feel comfortable with that first. Good luck.

[hsmusic]

Learn about compression but don't rely on it. The way you're mixing now is a great way to handle it. Of course it depends on genre/commercialism too. But a good mix is just that whether you're using comps, eq. ddls or any other trendy fx of the day.

I would suggest trying different mixes  using each approach then listen.. find out what you like or dislike about each.

Keep in mind some of the greatest engineers/ producers don't always use or like using compression at all.

[Alan Tubbs]

Compression is only a tool that when used properly can help even out the volume of tracks, busses and complete songs.  It can also provide tone, like the 1176 or la2a style comps.  It isn’t always necessary but helps, especially in popular music to balance out many tracks.

when recording acoustical signals I almost always use a little compression going in.Not much but enough to thicken up the sound, by which I mean lowering the peaks and spikes in relation to the quieter sections (having a transformer in line also helps with this).  That signal often gets a second dose of digital compression after vol automation.  And most busses get a little more compression that helps, as referenced above, with glue.  A little compresssion,  applied serially at each step, can provide a strong, solid signal that holds its own among other tracks without extraneous or distracting bouncing of instruments.  Even if you don’t have an analog compressor on the front you can still use digital for track and busses.  Cakewalk comes with three very usable comps.  The 1176 style comp I find good for rock and roll compression, almost like a light switch going on and off.  The Opto style comes in useful  for lead stuff like vocals and guitars, holding and swelling the instrument out front but in a subtle way.  Finally the “buss” comp is my favorite and works well for glue.

Ps

Another reason that samples and loops sound good in our own productions is that the samples are already comped and eq to fit songs. 

[southcoaststeve]

Thanks everyone for the informative feedback and resources, there's certainly a lot to think about.

As hsmusic suggested, a sensible course of action would be to employ it within some mixes that I'm currently happy with and see if it makes me any happier!

Seasons greetings to you all.

 

[Terry Kelley]

On 12/22/2023 at 3:37 PM, Starship Krupa said:

Craig Anderton addressed this question a week ago:

https://blog.presonus.com/2023/12/15/why-i-dont-use-compressors-anymore/

I don't quite agree with everything he says, but he does at least mention that compression on buses, including the master bus, can really help "glue" a mix together.

Try messing with something like bx_masterdesk Classic that you can get for free at PluginAlliance. Put it on your master bus and try a few presets.

Something I've been doing more and more is to mix the song with whatever effects I want at whatever level I like. Sounds good!

Then I turn off all the effects and reset all of the levels. Then start mixing again without the effects (unless it's one recorded on the track itself.) I find that I don't tend to add in the same amounts of compression/limiting and reverb. EQ tends to return to the same levels though.

As I am building up the track I just add too many effects at high levels and while I like that mix, shutting them all off and remixing always gives me an improved mix.

Edited December 25, 2023 by Terry Kelley

[Starship Krupa]

On 12/23/2023 at 6:25 AM, Helios.G said:

Compressors have 2 basic functions. The 1st is to control/lessen dynamic range.  So if you have a sound that has parts that are too loud, and parts that are too soft, you'd use a compressor to even out the level to a more manageable dynamic range (volume).  The second basic function is to glue things together and make them more cohesive.

To go into more detail here, controlling the dynamic range with compression allows the mix engineer to boost elements of a mix that might otherwise overwhelm the rest of it. When I was starting out, I had a pro studio owner friend look over my shoulder while I tried to get a vocal to stand out in a mix. My reference was Elliot Smith's XO album, where his voice is very up front. He taught me how to sweep for honks with the EQ, to highpass, and to compress (using MCompressor, gateway to many for understanding compression) by about 3-4 dB with a 4:1 ratio. This seemed counterintuitive, as I originally thought of it as taking things away from an element that I wanted to stand out, but the effect of all this was to allow me to bring the vocal up in the mix without it overwhelming everything else. It had its own space and didn't poke the ears. Mind: blown.

There's another function, which to me is also "basic," and that's to use it psychoacoustically. Compression can make sounds seem louder without the sound actually being at a higher level than the rest of the mix.

This is because our sense of hearing has built-in compression, it actually closes down when presented with loud, sharp sounds. This is probably an evolutionary thing, so that our brains won't get overloaded when presented with loud sounds and mess with our ability to escape threats.

Another thing that it does on buses (including master) is help individual sounds in the mix stand out. By controlling the peaks and raising the floor, less prominent elements can be brought closer to the front. This is especially true for me on complex instruments like the drum kit.

Yet another trick that's a favorite of mine is to use mid-side compression (and limiting) to enhance the stereo field. Even just switching to mid-side mode can do this, but if you get into changing the attack, release, and ratio settings independently, you can really create some headphone candy.

In the case of ultra-fast compressors like the 1176 and its clones, you can actually induce distortion as a special effect. Tame Impala's drum sound uses this. It's the "all buttons in" setting that was not originally an intended thing. But some studio person wondered what would happen if you pushed in all the buttons, and another use was discovered.

I think that these uses of compression (and limiting) were what they call in the game industry "emergent," in that compression was not originally designed for them. Mix engineers discovered them along the way.

[Mr No Name]

good compressor advice here, good channel for mixing tips.