When we create music we want our mix or particular audio track in the mix to sound precise and accurate. Therefore it makes sense to talk about in which cases and for what purposes we gonna apply compression.

 

Applying compression in different situations

• Dynamics Control
• Coloring Using Hardware Emulation
• Creative Compression
• Multiband Compression
• Side Chain Compression
• Glueing Together Few Instruments or a Mix
• Parallel Compression
• Gate, Expand, Limiter, Maximizer

 

When i hear dynamics control, i immediately think of that perfect sounding mix without any instruments sticking out. Usually accurate results can be achieved with lower Attack speed (around 1-5ms) and longer Release (above 100ms) parameters. Ratio around 4:1 - 2:1

Example Compressor OFF

Example Compressor ON

 

Creative compression is when you use extreme compression settings to achieve a desired effect.

Creative Compression OFF

Creative Compression ON

 

Analog coloring or adding warmth using hardware emulation plugins.

"Analog warmth" — the quality we prize so much is really the result of the myriad imperfections of analog circuitry, but many people come to recognize that those imperfections add something of value — both depth and liveliness to our audio, that digital, with its numerical precision, just doesn’t do the job.

Tube overload, of course, adds a pleasant edge when pushed just a little, the very slight distortions enhancing the signal long before they’re noticeable as actual distortion. Transistors do this too, and well-designed transistorized analog circuitry can also add its own version of that warmth and presence.

Just to name a few analog-modelling plugins: Waves, PSP audioware, Nomad Factory, Universal Audio, URS, Slate Digital, Acustica Audio.

 

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Multiband Compression — the only difference from normal compressor is that multiband compressor devides the frequency spectrum into different ranges, bands.

Each band has it's own compression settings. For example this allows a longer attack time for the low band of that bass drum to punch through, while keeping a shorter attack time in a higher bands.

Most multiband compressors usually feature 4 different bands. Since the crossover frequencies define the range of frequencies contained in each band, getting them right can have a big impact on the effectiveness of the compression. Many multiband compressors have a solo function to focus on one band at a time — this can be very helpful when setting the crossover frequencies by revealing exactly what each band contains. Additionally, soloing individual bands can be helpful when setting attack and release times to make sure the transients in each band are shaped as desired.

 

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Side-Chain Compression — also called "Ducking effect". This effect came to us from radio stations. In ducking, the level of one audio signal is reduced by the presence of another signal. A typical use of this effect in a daily radio production routine is for creating a voice-over. Everybody remember when music playing and suddenly the host start to talk, the music becomes more quite and playing in a background, but when he's stop talking the volume comes up again.

This effect widely used in modern electronic music to create a Pumping effect. The difference between ducking and side-chain pumping is that in ducking the attenuation is by a specific range while side-chain compression creates variable attenuation.

You can choose to sidechain any effect on any tracks. But it’s often done with compression, so that’s what we will discuss here.

So in order to achieve Side-Chain effect you will first have to set your compressor up properly. I am working in Cubase and im gonna show you how it's done in Cubase. This is done differently in different DAW's.

So for the sake of the example we're gonna keep things simple

We got our kickdrum and some sort of sound.

Here is how it sounds

Now we gonna insert our compressor in the "Audio Insters" section on the left hand side, and we are gonna activate the Side-Chain function in our compressor.

Now when the Side-Chain function is activated, we have to send a trigger to our compressor's input, our trigger will be the Kickdrum. We want our Sound to Duck every time Kickdrum hits. You gonna click on your Kick channel, then go to "Audio Sends", in audio sends you select Destination where you wanna send our signal.

Now we gonna tweak a little our compressor to achieve nice that pumping effect. Here is how the settings look like.

And here is how it sounds

This effect also can be used on Fx Send Track to control Reverb Tail for example.

 

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When we listen to mainstream Hit's we notice that some instruments group or a whole mix sounds very good together, very Glued. These results also achieved with the help of compressors. Instead of using a compressor on one particular instrument, you can group few instruments together and apply a compression to it. It gives magical results.

 

Parallel Compression — also known as New York compression

This is a technique whereby you use the compressor as a send effect (you'd traditionally use it as an insert), so that the dry and compressed signals are running in parallel.

Here how you set it up in Cubase. Create a Group track.

Insert a compressor to your Group Track, now you have to send audio to that group. Go to your desired audio track, "Audio Sends" just like we did with the Side-Chain, but you will have to pick your group in the drop menu.

We're done, Send gain parameter is responsible for the strength of the paralleled signal, if you want to apply just a little bit of compressed signal to the original one, set the Send Gain parameter to lower values. If you want it extreme - High value. Of course you can leave some space for imagination and play with the setting to achieve the result you like, just don't overdo it, it's easy to mess up things. Be gentle. :)

 

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Expander — expander is the opposite of compressor, it works by the same principles but it doesn't narrow the Dynamic Range, it expands it. When the signal reaches Threshold level, it makes the signal louder.

Expanders usually used in audio tracks that has it's peaks dead. Dead peaks is a result of inefficient use of a compressor. It is also sometimes good to use expander when you want to highlight the low-end tail of the Kickdrum.

 

Gate— Also called "YOU SHALL NOT PASS" effect. :D

The Gate effect passes only signals whose level exceeds a user-specified threshold.

Gate is widely and mostly used to mask the noise (hum or hiss) between sounds, breath of the vocalist, and to eliminate reverberation tails. Gate can also be used in Side-Chain mode.

Gate OFF

Gate ON

 

Limiter and Maximizer

Limiter is a circuit that allows signals below a specified input power or level to pass unaffected while attenuating the peaks of stronger signals that exceed this threshold. Limiting is a type of dynamic range compression.

A typical compressor has a ratio of 20:1 or less whereas a limiter usually has a ratio of 10:1 to 100:1

Unlike compressors, which are best used for obtaining a more consistent level by reducing louder parts of the recording without squashing the peaks, limiters are best used for reducing peaks or spikes in the recording without affecting anything else.

Compression and limiter ratios are multiplicative which means that if you compress an audio track with a ratio of say 5:1 and then later compress or limit the same audio track with a ratio of 10:1, the end result will not be a compression ratio of 15:1. It will in fact be 50:1 (5:1 x 10:1 = a ratio of 50:1). This will effectively squash any dynamics right out of your recording leaving it sounding flat and lifeless. Over compressing audio signals is a common mistake. If you want your audio to sound as good as the professionals, be careful not to over compress. Over compressing will also raise the loudness of any noise content in the audio and will introduce distortion into the sound.

 

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