Compression on 2 Bus

[gusegruv]

Yes, No.
If so what do you like? Hardware or software?

[jonnypowell]

Yipp... I use a EL Fatso Jr on the bus comp setting.

[JGILL]

ssl G bus.

[Ricey]

C2 or 5043

[Greg_KPX]

No... but should I be?

I compress tracks individually or group them if needed... rest is done at mastering...

[6dyslexicelephnt]

I'm pretty new to compression and like greg_kpx I compress things that need it like snare, vocals, some guitar, bongos, glockenspiel or whatever sounds cool. I compress going into Logic so I have to be reserved.

I heard what I thought must have been a bad use of 2 bus compression. I was listening to a decent sounding bluegrass CD and when the vocals came in the rest of the track jumped back into the background but after a very short delay like a slow attack or release setting. Sounded dumb to me. Maybe just a bad fade.

I think I'd rather have a mastering engineer add some Fairchild or something that's great sounding and lightly applied than try to use something from my own very small compressor collection.

I like dynamics. Even in pop music. Sounds real

[Heavyweight]

yes,

with just a little gain reduction careful 2buss compression can add the glue a track needs. This does not hinder the final mastering process at all. I use one of dance musics legends when it comes to mastering vinyl, Shan @ Heathmans, London, and he always says that a little 2buss comping really does help a track if not over done, but still leaves plenty of headroom for him to work his magic. What mastering engineers don't like are the use of maximizers like the waves stuff. This just adds distortion to your sound (all though many of the big names in drum and bass i know aim for that sound and love the L3!) and leaves very little room for the mastering engineer to do his stuff!


I've used various comps on the2buss over the years, but i've settled on a GSSL. Just has the right amount of "grab" on tracks without having to spend ages tweaking settings.

[edit machine]

i love the PSP Vintage Warmer at it's default setting on the 2 bus, adds just a touch of drive and compression, and warms up a pro tools mix like magic...

[sourcekode]

+1 on fatso with bus comp settings. only knocking off 1-2 db though... any more and it gets really flat.

[Daddy No]

Yes, Drawmer 1968 Mercenary edition, it generally just sounds better with it in. It's only a few db so its probably mainly the tubes. That & the 'big' switch.

[Strobian]

Great thread, I am currently trying to decide on what to get. I used a Amek 9098 compressor on my last release, and I thought that compressor really was great. sounded great, with a bit of vintage coloration, didn't kill the sound but added a record type feel. My other main interests at this point beyond the amek were the API2500, & joe meek SC2.

[hisboyelroy@his]

This is probably heretical to some people, but I use a light touch of Logic's multipressor on the mix buss - on the right setting it usually helps to tighten the low end a touch and gives it a "together" feeling while still being pretty transparent...

I have used the UAD Fairchild on the mix bus before but it's way too colored for my taste in that application.

Tim

[joshelevator]

i sometimes do, sometimes don't...never much. not a fan of the uber-compressed dance-music sound. i like the song to breath a bit, be "open". i do send my tracks to good cutters for mastering and they'll push it a bit for sure but not too much... they're always happy to get tracks that aren't slammed...they'll get it loud, but retain most of the feel of the track....i find that most music i hear nowadays sounds very, very, compressed.

[csl]

I'm currently experimenting with the UAD-1 Neve 33609 on the bus when mixing, to shave off a couple of dBs when the kicks hit. So far I'm pleased with what it does to the sound - you get quite a nice mix cohesiveness, and if you want it to pump a little more when the kick, well kicks, when you simply boost the level of the kick channel. I haven't really used it with any deep sub bass channels though. I suspect that'll be the real test.

[Greg_KPX]

Originally Posted by Strobian

My other main interests at this point beyond the amek were the API2500, & joe meek SC2.

I have the Joe Meek SC2.2 here and there is absolutely no way I'd use it on the master bus. It does something funny with the stereo field, narrows it down or something :(

Maybe the original SC2 doesn't do this, anybody have access to one right now?

[Jesse Skeens]

Sonalksis for some edge and a little color. Sonnox Dynamics for clean and controlled with warmth for density. Alesis 3630 for smooth pumping which I can drive pretty hard. Most of my compression is done through busses and tracks though so the 2 buss is not even always necessary.

[jonnypowell]

Originally Posted by sourcekode

+1 on fatso with bus comp settings. only knocking off 1-2 db though... any more and it gets really flat.

I pump mine to 3 or 4 with good results.. I have the warmth hitting between 3 & 5 as well.

[emgbiotch]

Originally Posted by csl

I'm currently experimenting with the UAD-1 Neve 33609 on the bus when mixing, to shave off a couple of dBs when the kicks hit. So far I'm pleased with what it does to the sound - you get quite a nice mix cohesiveness, and if you want it to pump a little more when the kick, well kicks, when you simply boost the level of the kick channel. I haven't really used it with any deep sub bass channels though. I suspect that'll be the real test.

i liked the sound of the UA 33609 so much that i re-ran all of my latest stuff through it... it is very mushy gushy... whatever that means... serious glue...in a good way...that is only at low settings getting maybe 2db gain reduction at the most...

[Reptil]

API 2500 or Kultube
mostly on a groupbus (percussion & bass) sometimes on the mixbus

[sourcekode]

I pump mine to 3 or 4 with good results

i had mine set that way too and it sounded good in the studio... but when i played the tracks in the club they sounded distinctly flatter than what i was mixing into/out of. i pulled it back a little on the next session and some kind of magic happend. it should be said though that i produce and play deep house with lots of dynamics so it's likely just a preference thing.

[cynic one]

fatso, fatso, fatso! .....i'm subscribed to the "less is more" theory on that as well.

sometimes i'll put a psp vintage warmer (lightly) on the way into the fatso too. good results.

[Reptil]

Originally Posted by sourcekode

i had mine set that way too and it sounded good in the studio... but when i played the tracks in the club they sounded distinctly flatter than what i was mixing into/out of. i pulled it back a little on the next session and some kind of magic happend. it should be said though that i produce and play deep house with lots of dynamics so it's likely just a preference thing.

translation from nearfields can be an issue.

[Huntley Miller]

Originally Posted by Ricey

C2 or 5043

These are my two finalists, but I wonder if the 5043 will be too mushy and the C2 may be to sterile. I need punch and color.

[patrox247]

Originally Posted by cepia

These are my two finalists, but I wonder if the 5043 will be too mushy and the C2 may be to sterile. I need punch and color.

The 5043 isn't in the least bit "mushy", and the C2 is not "sterile".

[auxpot]

Originally Posted by sourcekode

i had mine set that way too and it sounded good in the studio... but when i played the tracks in the club they sounded distinctly flatter than what i was mixing into/out of. i pulled it back a little on the next session and some kind of magic happend. it should be said though that i produce and play deep house with lots of dynamics so it's likely just a preference thing.

a lot of people are used to the sound of a record heard in clubs and they want that sound in their productions in the studio. but in the club you get the "natural" compression of the pa system plus the compression of the ears because of high volumes.
don´t try to make a track sound like a record in the club, you are overdoing it definitily...
ever realized that a lot of records that sound good in the club are kinda shitty sounding in the studio?
so many parameters add to the actual sound of a production when played in clubs (especially when played from vinyl)....

i tended to use 2mix compression a lot in the past but got back to a "clean" master buss...
make your drum buss glued and hitting, but leave space for the sounds on top...
the final glue then will come from the mastering, vinyl cutting, and pa system....

[jonnypowell]

Originally Posted by auxpot

a lot of people are used to the sound of a record heard in clubs and they want that sound in their productions in the studio. but in the club you get the "natural" compression of the pa system plus the compression of the ears because of high volumes.
don´t try to make a track sound like a record in the club, you are overdoing it definitily...
ever realized that a lot of records that sound good in the club are kinda shitty sounding in the studio?
so many parameters add to the actual sound of a production when played in clubs (especially when played from vinyl)....

i tended to use 2mix compression a lot in the past but got back to a "clean" master buss...
make your drum buss glued and hitting, but leave space for the sounds on top...

the final glue then will come from the mastering, vinyl cutting, and pa system....

I play in Clubs a few times a week and what sounds good in my studio tends to sound better in clubs. I've found a lot of the big guns in House mix through a 2-bus comp, and most of the time they are cheap units like Alesis 3630 etc.. Once again it depends on what sound you like.. I like it slamming, but in saying that I hate brick-wall shit!

[Strobian]

Originally Posted by auxpot

i tended to use 2mix compression a lot in the past but got back to a "clean" master buss...
make your drum buss glued and hitting, but leave space for the sounds on top...
the final glue then will come from the mastering, vinyl cutting, and pa system....

I know what you are saying but most mastering engineers are using compression to master, its rare you even hear music anymore that hasn't been through a stereo compressor, hardware or software. I guess it depends on the application, but as long as you aren't squashing the final it can sound pretty good and polished on the master buss, again light ratio.

[auxpot]

Originally Posted by Strobian

I know what you are saying but most mastering engineers are using compression to master, its rare you even hear music anymore that hasn't been through a stereo compressor, hardware or software. I guess it depends on the application, but as long as you aren't squashing the final it can sound pretty good and polished on the master buss, again light ratio.

yes i agree, as i said glue comes also from mastering, i was reffering to compression in mastering for sure...
and yes a light 2buss compression can help, but mostly it helps if the something is not 100% in the mix...a well balaced mix mostly don´t need additional compression, maybe for loudness, which is a question of taste....or for colour, but i think adding colour should be done somewhere else than the mix buss....just my two cents....

[Heavyweight]

Originally Posted by cepia

These are my two finalists, but I wonder if the 5043 will be too mushy and the C2 may be to sterile. I need punch and color.

I've used the 5043, hot unit. Was thinking about getting one. You might want to look at GSSL clones, there are few good ones being made. I've heard nothing that can compare to a SSL comp on the 2buss, it just works! Just depends what your looking for.

the Alan Smart stuff is good, know lots of rock guys using them and they are very useful for dance.

the Drawmer is a killer 2buss comp as well.

Buzz Audio, API, Shadow Hills all make good comps that are great on the 2buss, you just need to find one that suits the way you work...

[Heavyweight]

Originally Posted by auxpot

yes i agree, as i said glue comes also from mastering, i was reffering to compression in mastering for sure...
and yes a light 2buss compression can help, but mostly it helps if the something is not 100% in the mix...a well balaced mix mostly don´t need additional compression, maybe for loudness, which is a question of taste....or for colour, but i think adding colour should be done somewhere else than the mix buss....just my two cents....

All valid points. I don't add 2buss comp for loudness, its just for the glue, they way the GSSL comp grabs the bottom end and the way i then hear the tune when i'm mixing it. If you do use 2buss comping, start very early on, mine is just hardwired in from the start, because it does change the way your mix will sound to your ears and if u add it at the end you might find levels all over the place.

I agree that colour should be added at other stages. I think adding colour to individual parts is the best way to get a killer mix. Running synths through nice pre's or EQ's etc, etc can add a whole new dimension to your tracks.