compression: gain reduction

fn86 · 8th September 2006

how much gain reduction do you aim for at maximum on indivual tracks, busses and stereo buss?

auxpot · 8th September 2006

much much depends on the material...

how much salt do you need for your food? hmmm...if its salty enough maybe i leave the addition away, if it taste like nothing then maybe i will get quite a bunch of salt additionally...

for the 2buss it´s more easy, if you need more than 2-4 db of reduction, then i think there´s something wrong in your mix....

individual tracks, subgroups and paralell busses usually get treatments between no and 20db reduction here......depending on the mood i am into.....

NesNeedsGear · 8th September 2006

if there were absolute formulas as to how to apply compression in a mix, we'd all be millionaires.

my rule for processing audio is to STOP when the record is no longer musically pleasing to the artist, producer, AND engineer.

IOW, sorry I couldn't give you an answer...there's just an infinite amount of them.

e-are · 9th September 2006

with vocals i try to hit no more than 4db pr. if i need more than insert another comp. to me it seems like lots of plugs are really good until you hit them hard. so i plug to death.

fn86 · 10th September 2006

any1 else?

max cooper · 14th September 2006

As you pull down the threshold, keep hitting bypass. When it sounds worse with the compressor in, you went too far.

This is one of those "mix with your ears, not your eyes" things.

Besides I don't believe most meters on plugin compressors. I can hear a couple dB coming off before the thing registers anything.

defjamm · 14th September 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by max cooper

As you pull down the threshold, keep hitting bypass. When it sounds worse with the compressor in, you went too far.

+ try to match the loudness with the uncompressed one. with autogain on it could be that you compare a louder signal to a quieter and think it's better. it could be that your signal doesn't need compression at all and actually sounds worse with compression.

8th September 2006	#1
fn86 Gear addict Joined: Jul 2006 Posts: 300 Thread Starter	compression: gain reduction how much gain reduction do you aim for at maximum on indivual tracks, busses and stereo buss?

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8th September 2006	#2
auxpot Gear maniac Joined: Feb 2006 Posts: 193	much much depends on the material... how much salt do you need for your food? hmmm...if its salty enough maybe i leave the addition away, if it taste like nothing then maybe i will get quite a bunch of salt additionally... for the 2buss it´s more easy, if you need more than 2-4 db of reduction, then i think there´s something wrong in your mix.... individual tracks, subgroups and paralell busses usually get treatments between no and 20db reduction here......depending on the mood i am into.....

8th September 2006	#3
NesNeedsGear Lives for gear Joined: Feb 2006 Location: NYC Posts: 833	if there were absolute formulas as to how to apply compression in a mix, we'd all be millionaires. my rule for processing audio is to STOP when the record is no longer musically pleasing to the artist, producer, AND engineer. IOW, sorry I couldn't give you an answer...there's just an infinite amount of them.

9th September 2006	#4
e-are Lives for gear Joined: Mar 2006 Posts: 959	with vocals i try to hit no more than 4db pr. if i need more than insert another comp. to me it seems like lots of plugs are really good until you hit them hard. so i plug to death.

10th September 2006	#5
fn86 Gear addict Joined: Jul 2006 Posts: 300 Thread Starter	any1 else?

14th September 2006	#6
max cooper Lives for gear Joined: Aug 2004 Location: tx Posts: 8,802	As you pull down the threshold, keep hitting bypass. When it sounds worse with the compressor in, you went too far. This is one of those "mix with your ears, not your eyes" things. Besides I don't believe most meters on plugin compressors. I can hear a couple dB coming off before the thing registers anything.