Mixing question: Compressing Pop/Rock Guitars

[Rockman]

Hi guys,

Question for you... when it comes to mixing Pop / Rock songs... do you guys ever compress electric guitars? (during the mixing process).

Here's the thing... most of us know that heavily distorted guitars are already compressed, and therefore, don't need anymore compression. But I often blend heavy distorted guitars, with semi-dirty, Gretsch-type guitars (played through a Vox AC-30), with a little bit of break-up distortion. I blend those with the super distorted Marshall-type guitars, to achieve an overall "wall of sound" for guitars... (specifically for choruses and hooks).

I find at times, that my guitars are not really "in your face" that much... they're there in the mix, but they're not jumping out of the speakers as much as I would like.

How would you apply compression in these cases?

[lowfreq33]

Lightly, with a slow attack and fast release. You want it to pump a little bit.

[chris carter]

Originally Posted by lowfreq33

Lightly, with a slow attack and fast release. You want it to pump a little bit.

Same here. Slow attack and fast release. Sometimes light, sometimes hard - puts the attack back in the guitars.

[The Gooch]

You're right; the idea of slamming the dynamics on a super distorted guitar signal, in-theory, seems like overkill. If you think about using compression as a means of affecting the envelope of that dirty guitar signal, the game changes. Adding a bit of a knee to things can do wonders. Low ratios, medium-ish attacks and fast releases usually work great for me.

I like an 1176 (or an MC77) with a 4:1 ratio, attack around 5, release at 7. Once I'm knocking off around 5 or 6 db with those settings, distorted guitars start getting that cracking "ear against the speaker," "in your face" awesomeness. Good luck!

[Rockman]

Thanks for the input guys. Ummm.. could I get away with using plug-ins for this? I'm kind of limited on hardware gear. I use primarily the Waves Renaissance compressor.

And also... would you recommend I use the compression ONLY on the Gretsch type (half dirty) guitars? Or on the entire guitar submix?

Thanks again