Bus compression poll for EMIEMP Slutz

[greenears]

Mix buss comp is essential for me. I make house/techno with Tempest and Live. I'm building all new tracks to be played live from this setup. I don't write "finished" tracks anymore. This means I try to get everything right at the source since mixing is pretty much limited to lpf/hpf. I write everything thru the mix buss comp and gain stage around it.

Only use the glue currently.

[justjoo]

Originally Posted by Synthpark

I thought the software does quite a good modelling job. Are you sure you hit the input at the same level like the hardware? Would be interesting to compare the results.

Yes. The levels were the same.

[digital 1010]

Ive never been one for drum buss compression but since purchasing Kush Audio UBK1 i have a drum buss with that on it as it just adds some amazing groove to the beats, then i use Izotope Alloy and do a touch of multi band transient work.

On the main buss was using the Glue quite heavily 3-4 db GR but lately pulled it right back with long release and slow attack and tickling the meter like 1-2 tops of GR. I also dislike the pulled in feel of too much GR on main buss although like the gel feel it gives.

Love UBK on drum buss though well worth a try. I use it with saturation turned off and then glue setting on the compressor smashed and then pull the dry wet right back to 100% dry and blend back in, just gives the most amazing feel and groove to the beats so much so if you bypass to the original beats they sound static as hell.

Ben

[SWAN808]

Originally Posted by digital 1010

Ive never been one for drum buss compression but since purchasing Kush Audio UBK1 i have a drum buss with that on it as it just adds some amazing groove to the beats, then i use Izotope Alloy and do a touch of multi band transient work.

On the main buss was using the Glue quite heavily 3-4 db GR but lately pulled it right back with long release and slow attack and tickling the meter like 1-2 tops of GR. I also dislike the pulled in feel of too much GR on main buss although like the gel feel it gives.

Love UBK on drum buss though well worth a try. I use it with saturation turned off and then glue setting on the compressor smashed and then pull the dry wet right back to 100% dry and blend back in, just gives the most amazing feel and groove to the beats so much so if you bypass to the original beats they sound static as hell.

Ben

cheers for your input ben - like your stuff

Ill have to try UBK again...I kind of felt it killed the punch...but if you are light with it I can see it working-the curves are nice...do you do individual drum processing with Alloy pre-drum buss?

[nil hartman]

it also really depends on the compressor you pick. Splat is perfect for drums IMO, adds punch and groove. Don't fear turning up the Density as well : even if it's the less usual knob, that's where is much of the UBK-1's magic.

[AudioRadar]

Originally Posted by nil hartman

it also really depends on the compressor you pick. Splat is perfect for drums IMO, adds punch and groove. Don't fear turning up the Density as well : even if it's the less usual knob, that's where is much of the UBK-1's magic.

Splat can't be perfect for drums because the API2500 already is.

[mike vee]

yea, bottom line API 2500 KILLS drums - if you aren't getting those results you aren't using it correctly.

[nil hartman]

If I remember correctly, Splat is inspired by the API2500.

[SWAN808]

Originally Posted by mike vee

yea, bottom line API 2500 KILLS drums - if you aren't getting those results you aren't using it correctly.

did you find a clip anywhere? Im curious about those short attack settings...

[AudioRadar]

what clip u mean swan?

[digital 1010]

Originally Posted by SWAN808

cheers for your input ben - like your stuff

Cheers mate, i feel all the stuff i have out there suffers terribly from collapsing due to over compression exactly as being discussed. Lately i have really pulled back on compression and everything seems more open and after some quality tutorials and advice i seem to have a new working method that is getting me nearer the sound I'm after.

RE UBK - you are right it does soften the transients a touch, which is probably why i started using the ALLOY 2 plugin afterwards using the transient section sparingly to bring the punch back. Ive really learnt that a touch of this and that rather than a lot of one thing works better for my work flow than before.

I really like Icicle's stuff and its one of his computer music type vids where he shows and talks about Alloy that got me into it

On main buss this video is a great insight in where hitting 1 element too hard rather than lots of subtle hits on various plugins or hardware helps and I've built my own chain using this technqiue and latest stuff ive been doing sounds much better.

HOW TO MASTER A SONG - 7 Steps to Loud!, FAT, & In Your Face - YouTube

Ben

[golden beers]

i do different things on different tracks. sometimes hardware sometimes software. sometimes i compress the drum buss sometimes not.

[mike vee]

Originally Posted by SWAN808

did you find a clip anywhere? Im curious about those short attack settings...

yep when i get home i will actually create a new drum track with and without

gotta remember, thrust let's the low freqs through so it doesn't get the transients.

[SWAN808]

Originally Posted by digital 1010

Cheers mate, i feel all the stuff i have out there suffers terribly from collapsing due to over compression exactly as being discussed. Lately i have really pulled back on compression and everything seems more open and after some quality tutorials and advice i seem to have a new working method that is getting me nearer the sound I'm after.

RE UBK - you are right it does soften the transients a touch, which is probably why i started using the ALLOY 2 plugin afterwards using the transient section sparingly to bring the punch back. Ive really learnt that a touch of this and that rather than a lot of one thing works better for my work flow than before.

I really like Icicle's stuff and its one of his computer music type vids where he shows and talks about Alloy that got me into it

On main buss this video is a great insight in where hitting 1 element too hard rather than lots of subtle hits on various plugins or hardware helps and I've built my own chain using this technqiue and latest stuff ive been doing sounds much better.

HOW TO MASTER A SONG - 7 Steps to Loud!, FAT, & In Your Face - YouTube

Ben

cool Ill check those out...

tbh I find some of the good modern producers with tight mix skills can get a great sound ITB (many of the DnB producers like Sub Focus etc) but its quite specific to that style of music - ie very clean (almost sharp) punchy sound...with judicious use of EQ, saturation, paralell compression and transient designers-can be a good result...however my stuff has more of a retro sound to it - and I found that using ITB compression and transient designers can sound too modern...Nebula helps tho...

[mike vee]

ok i made this real quick with the API settings in the previous post

tropical.mp3 - DivShare

the deep kick is left out in this example which would not be compressed along with the bus, and would be used for side chaining.

[SWAN808]

Originally Posted by mike vee

ok i made this real quick with the API settings in the previous post

tropical.mp3 - DivShare

the deep kick is left out in this example which would not be compressed along with the bus, and would be used for side chaining.

cool do you have the unprocessed version to compare?

[tonepanic]

one technique that can be extremely helpful is to A/B test with and without compression, with makeup gain adjusted such that the mix is at the same loudness (by ear) either way. this can be a lot more revealing about what the compressor is really doing to your sound.

also, something I think most people know, but maybe don't think about much, is how differently a compressor can change the sound based on program material. this is why it is generally really tough to give one set of "good" compressor settings.

I personally will only use bus compression when it adds something positive, subtle, but non-transparent, to the sound. to me, the transparency is the key difference between what you might do in a mix vs. mastering.

[mike4c]

so which Clip is which?
I prefer Clip A..

[Entrainer]

I do software on my drum-buss, hardware on the master-buss.

why? because my drums are fairly close to where I want them, I can get
by with about 2dB reduction, parallel IF I use any at all. I may just use
AHD envelopes/gates/occasional ITB sidechain.

Second, I still do my mix ITB after capturing OTB HW, want to save the
passthrough D/A/D generation on the drum-buss.

The master, little to no plugins. Either pro-ME for alternate ears or
fast HW comp, EQ, AD clip 1ms.

[SWAN808]

clipA had the drum bus (Overstayer FET) + master compression (1968)

ClipB had just drum bus compression

[mike4c]

How much gain reduction was the 68 doing? seems quite abit ...

[SWAN808]

Originally Posted by mike4c

How much gain reduction was the 68 doing? seems quite abit ...

not much at all - 2-3db max...slow attack fast auto release...

I think my mistake was setting the drum bus compression seperately from the master - so with master added on top - there was too much transient shaping...

[Reptil]

option 7: all of the above

[StringBean]

I compress drums going to tape, then compress the recorded signal again, then compress the drum buss, then double-compress my 2 buss. Only 3-4 GR on each compressor of course. My stuff sounds baller.