5 compression mistakes to avoid

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In this video, Echo Sound Works discusses 5 mistakes to avoid when using compression in the mix.
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[@chriswellz5993]

I don't compress to make things louder, I compress to balance out the lowest point of volume in a signal with the loudest point of volume in the signal. Or at least get them close enough. Because if you're dealing with Hip-Hop/EDM/etc etc, you want things in your face, clear and balanced. There's not that much dynamic range going on in these sorts of genres. I mean, there is, but it's incredibly subtle. The loudness part is another story.

[@BodinhoDE]

0:22 Using presets 2:59 Forgetting to gain match 5:04 Using compression on everything 6:42 Compressing all at once 7:43 Only using 1176 / LA2A

[@stephenflores5215]

its only ten minutes dude

[@EnervatedSociety]

My favorite artist/producer basically uses one, the stock Ableton comp. He says the average listener does not give a s**t what comp you use, nor can they tell. It gets the job done. I laugh in agreement, even though I use a few myself.

[@Adsrsounds]

Right? I feel my mix is "better" if I have some fancy compressor on some track. But it probably isn't, especially to the listener

[@sandorkis8813]

ADSR Music Production Tutorials In fact, that matters what kind of music, and instrument. When I'm mixing rock music or just any kind of recorded real instruments, I do need a fancy Slate or Waves comp to reach the old school sound as possible with a comp plug. There are big differences between comp plugs. For example Slate's stuff is really good modelled after vintage sounding devices. Can not get that sound from a common "good" working plug. These nuances give the over all sound. Don't need all the plugs of the world, but I need the specific stuff to specific instruments. In this video, there's electronic music. That's another world, not a live drum or guitar recording. And the two is different most of the time, requires different spices.

[@WheelieMix]

Well when you got a studio you mustn't think as listener (too much). Otherwise why the hell would an artist pay you. If you think like a listener then why bothering a Neumann U87, just took Rode NT1A. Why bothering fancy plugin, just use stock plugin (let's go Ableton so). Why being careful with auto-tune, listener doesn't care. Why listening to the mix carefully, listener only wants the energy... That's a philosophy to mediocrity in a way and it goes deeper and deeper. I'm not saying free/low cost gear are bad. In fact, it's not the price tags that makes the quality. But when you are working in a studio, people asking you for your expertise, and if you keep on mixing all your life with the same stock plugin, you wont able to know if there is something better outhere. Just use the best tool for the right situation, not just working with stock plugins to laugh at the "gear snob" and feeling yourself superior ("I'm over all of that gear heads") or being gear snob and mixing only with high-end stuff without knowing what's the knee is about in a compressor. Just be curious. But if you are making music for yourself that's another story. Why bothering, just do the funniest things you can and take the things you can afford or want to deal with :).

[@kitekrazee]

Usually a novice assumes 3rd party plugins are better than the ones packaged in a DAW. I see a lot of great videos on youtube with the stock plugins.

[@reekrodriqguez6552]

WheelieMix Them artists also doesn’t care, it’s the engineers and producers that do 🤣

[@andrewrichardsuk]

Compress everything, every track, every mix bus, every sample on the master to 0dbfs then shave off everything below 50hz and compress again. Hey presto... you have a commercially ready product!

[@artao5]

LOL

[@Adsrsounds]

hahah

[@PushButtonPress]

90% of what I EQ gets cut under 60hz. Nothing good lives there, especially on a stereo track.

[@kn00tcn]

considering i like my subs at 30-45, this will ruin my entire track

[@Sebon-music-producer]

true!

[@andrewcompton3366]

This was helpful,Thanks.I never really could get a grip on compression.I've heard people say it is used to make loud sounds softer and soft sounds louder,I have even heard it used to add tone to a track,But i have never heard someone say it is used to make a track louder at the same volume as a uncompressed track and that makes a lot more practical sense to me.

[@D0olzBeatz]

It's like no matter how many vids I watch on compression, I could never truly grasp the true use of compression. I mean I get that it raises the lowest peaks closer to the higher peaks, but I just have trouble understanding the ins and outs of compression as a whole if that makes sense. I feel like I'm slow or something trying to figure out what is compression, how to use it, when to use it... guess I'm still at novice stage when it comes to mixing.

[@beefdlo]

I was (and still am, to an extent) the same. The only solution is to spend a few minutes every day listening to the results when you mess around with them on a suitably dynamic track.

[@djzeerus2571]

tl;dr- compression narrows the dynamic range of a signal, allowing you to turn the whole thing up without those high peaks clipping, and resulting in a more dynamically even sound. compression doesn't raise the low peaks. It lowers the high peaks. When you set the threshold, you're telling the compressor to compress everything above that dB level by a particular ratio but it won't touch anything below the threshold. So say your threshold is 0dB with a ratio of 3:1. A 3dB peak will get knocked down to 1dB, a 9dB peak will get knocked down to 3dB, etc. The attack is how fast the compressor starts working when those high peaks happen, the release is how long the compressor keeps compressing after it activates. A good example of where to use it say you have a recorded guitar, but the guitarist hit a few notes alot louder than most of the rest. You'd use the compressor to knock down those peaks and make everything more even. That being said you can get advanced and use compression to shape sounds such as making a kick more punchy; or get into sidechaining to deal with different signals conflicting in a mix. Another good thing to remember is that when you compress to squash those high peaks, you're actually altering the sound wave and will have changes in tonality. compression doesn't make things louder. It makes things quieter. That's why there's a make-up gain fader.

[@D0olzBeatz]

Dj Zeerus Okay, very helpful info. I'm getting everything you're saying until you got to ratio. I'm assuming there's math in this part, and if so, it's gotta be division. So tell me if I'm correct. If my threshold is set at -3dB with a ratio of 3:1 and I have a 3dB signal going in, that means the signal's 3dB peak will drop to -4dB?

[@djzeerus2571]

Frank Doolz it would drop to -1. The ratio is the amount over the threshold you are in vs out. So however much over your threshold you are (in your example its 6dB greater than the threshold), divide that difference by your ratio, and the resulting number is how much over your threshold you are now. So another example: Threshold set to -8dB, ratio is 4:1 and input signal is 8dB. So youre 16dB over youre threshold. 16 divide by 4 is 4. Your output signal is 4dB greater than your threshold which would be -4dB. (Input Decibels above threshold)/(ratio)=(output decibels above threshold)

[@fonzybrookestone727]

Between this video, and your info Dj, I think I actually "get it" now! Thanks a heap!

[@djdonovan]

You can start with a preset if the material you are compressing is similar. Best way to think of compression that worked for me, is to think of it as simply the control of transients. By controlling those transients you can get a louder signal, but it's not just about loudness which in my mind makes it less of a utilitarian concept. You can set a compressor on a kick, flatten it out, and raise the volume quite a bit. It will be louder, and maybe that's what you want in that instance. Or you can set a compressor on a kick, lengthen the attack and the release out, raise the volume a bit, and get a punchier sound because you are enhancing the transient and attack of the material. It might not be louder in terms of DB, but the punchiness of the kick could be perceived louder in the mix. I also suggest it's just as important to compress with all the other tracks playing as it is to EQ. You have to make sure that what you are doing to the sound compliments the rest of the mix. At the end of the day it needs to sound good, which is why I don't think it's such a bad thing to start with a preset as log as you understand your material and what you are trying to achieve.

[@jim2010mopar]

The solid bus compressor by NI in the Maschine Studio is really nice. I use it in Pro Tools often.

[@twostep919]

Great video, as usual. It's funny, I made a synth sound very similar to your sound here and even remember wondering if you would dig such a sound (I'm still a beginner with synthesis). Thank you for posting!

[@anthonym2771]

Great video! I was wondering what does "change the character of the sound" mean - ie it will bring up various frequencies differently between compressors?

[@fir1eem3is2si0on]

Vocal, kick, snare, main sound...those are mostly all in rock music. The main sound could be electric guitar, but you said: "Do not compress on the pad". The role of the pad in the mix is rhythm part as same as rhythm guitar in rock music. In case of mixing rock music, should I use the compressor on the guitar or not?

[@giveuthebone]

hey, could we get a tutorial on how to properly mix/master and sidechain a chord stack? mine always sounds really muddy...

[@Adsrsounds]

That's probably more of a layering/frequency problem than SC compression!

[@giveuthebone]

ADSR Music Production Tutorials thx for the reply. i dont think its so much the frequencies, because i'm cutting everything out that i need to (or at least i think i am). the stacks just dont seem to sound very bright and get lost in the mix...

[@CitizensParkRecords]

In EDM people will say to use a compressor to side chain basically every track to give the track a pumping feel and/or to make the kick stand out. What would you suggest to do otherwise instead of using so much compression to get a pumping feel in the pads when there is no kick or to make the kick stand out?

[@Ashish8363]

In compressors like the glue etc where you dont have an interface to see the signal it is very hard to define how much threshold is enough and how much is too much. Also what i find difficult is how much ratio do i have to use.

[@Bloomythegoat]

What do you use to record your videos? Is it all in one? Does it record your screen and audio? (Subbed and great Vids by the way!)

[@chroma-agogo]

Tbh I take the compression off of synth presets and dial my own in, for the same reason you mentioned as it muddying things up

[@daffertube]

aren't all compressors the same with the exclusion of extra features? attack time, threshold ratio, gain, ect? isn't it all the same basic formula?

[@daffertube]

some please explain the difference... they all seem the same to me 🤔

[@kevinking8455]

I swear from all the tutorial and videos I've watched, the only real way to know the difference is to try them out in your own music so you know exactly what it is effecting, I critique my own music much more than any other music, so it enables me to really hear differences in compression, sounds, tones, shapes, highpass, low pass, etc. Do not be afraid to slaughter a beat or song trying to learn, have a back up saved of course but just "play" with everything and use what u have to its max potential

[@johnschneider49]

@@garogarogaro yeah apparently some of the give subtle distortion, saturation etc.

[@nmkrios6551]

holy fucking shit man what were you thinking when you picked that sound as an example? i literally couldn't watch the video because of it.

[@mertoksuz6805]

''Oh Yeah That's some good compression right there''

[@xenura]

Though I picked up on it during the video, this comment just made it way funnier.

[@thesuncollective1475]

That's some R rated shii

[@lordnicholas92]

Piggy backing on Nate question, i get confused on what different compresses do. I understand what a compressor does for reducing dynamic range, leveling out things, bring out transients and making quite parts more upfront. But like a LA-2A or any other analog modled compressor or digital do the same thing as any other compressor?? or do others have more strengths than others

[@WheelieMix]

First they tends to induce different harmonics and a different amount of saturation to your sound. A 1176 is pretty dirty for example compared to Millenia TCL-2. Then you talk about an LA2A. Any LA2A as a fixed attack and release time which make it really different to, for example, the stock comp in a DAW that has more thing to tweak. Why bothering an LA2A so ? Because sometimes it gets better results quicker (studio are all about efficiency in little time). Moreover an LA2A (the hardware not plugin) tends to have some saturation and really colorful sound due to the transformers inside and the components used in the signal path. A lot of compressors (like the Fairchild 660 or the 1176) weren't made to be so colorful. But they are technologies from the past where the signal was pretty messed up internally during the whole processing due to the components (tubes, old capa, old transformers etc...). And so resulting in a different kind of sound. It's a really vast and wide subject that can't be summed up in a KZbin comment, I've missed some points here obviously. But I hope it gave you an idea ;) (nice profile pic by the way).

[@ohstirfry]

Does this also pertain to side chain compression

[@FullHouselEdmMusicc]

Also say a sylenth preset has a compressor already used, is it necessary to go into the mixer and add more?

[@Adsrsounds]

It just depends on how that track is sitting in your mix.

[@artao5]

Okay, here's a question: Why would you compress a synth track? That would just remove the volume differences stemming from velocity, no? ... I mean, if it's a layered synth track, I could see that perhaps. Or maybe I'm totally missing something here. EDIT: Also, I'm surprised to you didn't mention these two things: Setting your attack (or even release) too fast, and setting your ratio too high. :)

[@Adsrsounds]

Sometimes it helps even out the sound and make up for gain differential from the ADSR. Sometimes it just makes the sound a little more thick. There are a lot of different reasons to compress, just depends!

[@west818coastin]

Are u ever releasing this song tho ??

[@n8can2chitown24]

What exactly is so much better or different about getting, say, the fab filter compressor over just using the stock compressor in studio one?

[@Adsrsounds]

I don't use Studio One, but the FF Comp2 is a really great plugin! It can even handle mid side compression. That being said, I use the logic x stock compressor all the time.

[@WheelieMix]

Features : Oversampling, lookahead, auto-gain compensation, auto-release, hold settings in conjonction with the classic release settings, Mid-Sid, different style of compression and reaction (Classic, Opto, Clean, Pumpy etc...), filtering and narrowing a freq to trigger, parallel compression (dry/wet knob) etc.. You can probably go very well with the stock studio one as it has some features of this one (lookahead, sidechain filtering, knee settings) etc... Also some plugins are more aliasing free than other, that makes them more appropriate for squashing the dynamic without sounding weird (on 1 track you wont probably notice but on all track it can mess up a mix sometimes).

[@_WearyTraveler_]

You were talking about compression on Pads/ambient material. what about if you have a few tracks of really stereo/ambient material and want to group the tracks and buss compress to really bring them together as a cohesive sound? maybe like 3 db or so of reduction? or like you said would compression be unnecessary on that type of material?

[@georgeg.6841]

Dustin Scott My humble opinion is that its better to apply soft compression in this situation than no compression at all

[@_WearyTraveler_]

see that is what i always thought. usually ALL my tracks all end up separated into group tracks with some type of gentle compression on the buss

[@Adsrsounds]

That was mainly a joke! I meant that if you were throwing on compressors left and right and even putting them on pads and things that don't have a lot of transients, might be a sign to look at when you choose to compress!

[@Adsrsounds]

I think that's a great technique! I put gentle compression on my groups too!

[@_WearyTraveler_]

ADSR Music Production Tutorials ah ok. i get what your saying. actually think about if you need to compress for a goal rather than arbitrarily putting a compressor at the end of every track by default.

[@kiqyou]

omg you pronounced timbre correctly!!

[@brythebass]

Hi thanks for the video, what do you think of logic pro X's multipressor? Or Native Instruments/Softubes VC compressors(if you have used those)?

[@AdelAli0]

Waves C4 is pretty good or C6

[@brythebass]

Hmmm, I didn't mention Waves....

[@joshjames6397]

How important is it to use a compressor ? I hardly ever use them. Am i missing out by not using them ? The only time I ever really use them is on kicks and bass/sub bass.

[@joshjames6397]

Bob Marley If you mean adjusting the attack and release, then in serum for example you can do it on the inbuilt compressor.If the synth you'er using doesn't have one then I'm sure you can just ad one in the external effects.

[@joshjames6397]

Bob Marley so that if for example you have a reverb (and delay) tail and it isn't very loud but you want it to be more present then you can add a compressor to raise the volume of it without muddying your mix to much. That then comes of course at a cost of losing dynamics

[@jan-martinulvag1953]

Using compression is not necessary. People fool themselves.

[@BarmizzIe]

I love mixing stuff the only issue my best speakers are in my car. I'll be mixing something and gotta run out to the car to see if it sound good lol

[@FullHouselEdmMusicc]

Should you always compress kicks?

[@Adsrsounds]

I have used some samples that were already so compressed I didn't have too. Gently running them into my masterbuss compressor was enough. Most of the time I do though

[@christopherdarapper5487]

bro wheres the sound cloud link, this is turnT!!

[@gabrielf8094]

That beat is dope

[@xMiyazakiAkira]

yo that lead melody is dope

[@elidadi]

this is great

[@wade123davis]

If you want to avoid using compressors then use a Gain plug in and the marquee tool

[@henrikhansson1]

Maybe you should have done these examples without slamming the 2bus! Everything is even much quieter once all instruments are playing since you are limiting too much.

[@DavidBoura]

Can i replace compressors with tape?

[@Chris-St-DE]

Saturation is also kind of compression, so yes, you can replace / combine tape and compression.

[@fakshen1973]

It's ironic that you're using an emulation of a dbx 160 when throwing shade on some of the best hardware compressors out there and peoples' OBSESSION with trying to nail the exact sound of one. :) DAWs are so POWERFUL today. If you want to set up your usual go-to compressor, get it dialed in. By-pass it. Then take a minute to audition another compressor you normally wouldn't use. If you're in a situation where you're not on a deadline, then take the opportunity to throw another good combination in your mental presets. :)

[@jocemat]

dope!

[@macronencer]

0:39 No, you had it right the first time! 'Wary'.

[@xPBKM4x]

If I end up having a compressor on everything in my mix it’s probably because I use the producer kits in logic and it fucking puts a compressor on every single freakin track on the drum kit.

[@namanrawal5849]

This guy could do a cameo on Rick and Morty lol jp man

[@Pl4sm0]

Don't really agree about don't put compression on a pad, it really depends on the type of music you do, you can sidechain with the kick and have a pumping effect like in psytrance,

[@Beatsbasteln]

Mistake no6: Only using fabfilter c on everything by default xD

[@ShroomheadOne]

tbh fabfilter pro c is super versatile with all its different modes, i can see some ppl using only that

[@julians7785]

What is wrong with using pro c as a sole compressor ... maybe not on every track

[@EBMZEQUENZER]

I compress mid notes and empty tracks :-)

[@ZethKeeper]

The point about presets is a bullshit to me. Yes, presets don't know anything on what sound you using them, but they're a very good starting point, especially for beginners. If something does not match, just tweak it. Also, is you use sound that are for those presets exactly (like pop piano in your example), you even may not need to tweak anything.

[@thesuncollective1475]

Six figures on a compressor is that possible? Definitely not a possibility for me.

[@wifimanboy]

you sound like charisma on command

[@ConTodayTempo]

i never use compressors they just confuse me

[@kitekrazee]

I probably have about 72 compressors and I'm compressor retarded. I have to keep watching tutorials. I may get it someday.

[@josephfrye7342]

but we are going to talk about and avoid that we are against this now.

[@josephfrye7342]

the compression mistakes

[@HarryGuit]

1st mistake: Using it at all! Fuck compression ... takes the soul out of music!