How to Use Compression Like a Pro Mixer

Get better audio levels for your content by using compression like a professional sound mixer.
Featured Software
Fabfilter Plugins: www.fabfilter.com
Support My Channel: www.AlexKnickerbocker.com
How to Build a Pro Mix Session: bit.ly/ak-sound-session-course
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GEAR I RECOMMEND
Home Studio Basics
Budget: bit.ly/ak-bhsb-kitco
Intermediate: bit.ly/ak-mrhsb-kitco
Pro: bit.ly/ak-phsb-kitco
Recording Gear for KZbin
bit.ly/ak-ytags-kitco
Pro Recording Gear
bit.ly/ak-psfxrk-kitco
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Instagram: / axk
My IMDB: www.imdb.com/name/nm4122863/

[@dozerjohn]

God damn, how I needed this channel, there are so many garbage tutorials on voice processing on youtube!

[@axk]

Haha, glad this is helpful!

[@patientGrevislay]

Iam a music producer ,,, but the only things that kept me behind is understanding how to use compression on vocals ,,, and I learned a lot of techniques but for this makes me understand in depth about compression,,, thanks

[@LiraeNoir]

One thing you could have mentioned for beginners, is that compression may/will bring up unwanted noise. Background rumble, keyboard clicks, noise in the street, whatever. Another reason to use a very light touch with compression.

[@EnnTomi1]

each video is precisely what i need. straight to the point, short yet informative. instant sub and like.

[@tortohare2803]

These are so helpful Alex. No fluff, straight to the point and easily digestible - many thanks.

[@thomasgamsjager7045]

Exceptionally well explained!

[@ProRedHD]

Thanks for your videos, Alex! Great to have someone from the industry sharing valuable knowledge!

[@alanecoff]

Great info. Unpacking the basics of compressors is so important for understanding it all. Love FabFIlter

[@rmpeete]

Exceptional explanation! Thanks!

[@mbaytas]

Instant and significant improvement on my audio, when I set attack and release as you recommended. Thank you!

[@arthurw8054]

I also discovered this channel by accident, and these are easily the best essential "How-to" audio tutorials I have ever run across. Thanks!

[@MarioSargeant]

Man! I love the way you explained this. Thank you for your knowledge and putting it across so well that I feel like I got it all in one. I will be back here for more. Oh! The way you did the adjustments during the video, really nice touch :) You're a boss!

[@MikeMena]

Came from the potato’s channel, very helpful channel, I’ve watched all your videos! What is great is learning these technical things without being bored!

[@pedrogonzalezgil]

By far, the best compressor for dialog tutorial that I've seen. Thanks Alex!

[@DanielScottFilms]

Learned a ton! Great explanation of compression tools!

[@JosueLemus]

Thank you! you have not idea how helpful your videos are, I noticed a huge difference in my wedding audio workflow!

[@AlexBardyshev]

Man, your video is great. For a long time I couldn't understand the concept of compressor but your explanation is so amazing!

[@estradaperu]

Great information! Keep up the great work 👍🏽

[@kyleboykin]

I've enjoyed watching everything you've put out so far, very informative and easy to follow. If you're looking for video suggestions, I'd love to learn about audio presets, how they work, and making my own. Looking forward to seeing more!

[@hiawrj]

This is gold. Thanks.

[@alexmeier19]

Your explanations are very good. Not too complicated, not too simple. Very professional. I also like that you explain the approach instead of just telling which numbers to dial where in... Sound is a big mystery for me since my home recordings in my youth. Editing video/photo feels kind of more natural to understand the cause and effect. I always wondered how do they do this "remastering" with old songs and give them so much punch.... Never got this myself.

[@bigmoose4498]

You are hands down the best mixing KZbinr I’ve ever seen, and I’ve watched a lot of them

[@axk]

Appreciate the kind words! Thanks for watching, hoping to break down some of the walls that make sound seem so challenging!

[@bigmoose4498]

@@axk keep ‘em coming my man I’m here for them

[@TheToneWork]

Great video! I would love to hear more examples about how it sounds when people go too far. Also would love to see a video about multi-band compressors. Thanks for sharing!

[@noale07]

Thank you!

[@BernardWilchusky]

Awesome tutorial! You jumped right into the educational part without all the introductory faff, and your explanation + the visualization made it really easy to grasp what I found to be a fairly confusing topic. Thank you!

[@axk]

Thanks Bernard! Glad it was helpful!

[@Joshua-iz1go]

I'm disturbed by the fact that after years of hearing the terms compressor and limiter thrown around, these videos are the first to make me actually understand them.

[@OnlyUs444]

Your awesome this video was dope

[@suzithewitch]

I love your channel, because you have such great information. I'm a long way from being able to use it, since I just (last night) discovered that mics work better if they're plugged in, but I hope to improve my skill level quickly :)

[@axk]

Excited that you're getting into the world of sound!! Hope this info will prove useful :)

[@meriredetripsandclicks3153]

Thanks, very informative as always. I would love to see a tutorial with d.resolve's included tools if you don't have idea for a video some day :)

[@offcenterconcepthaus]

Outstanding. Just made a preset in Reaper with those settings.

[@nmcbraine]

|What an amazinh channel , thank you man for every thing !!

[@nebvision6839]

What's up Alex! Yes - I am here from Potato Jet's channel - but I'm actually super excited to have found your channel because sound has always been something that I haven't felt 100% comfortable with. I made music for years and am pretty comfortable in most DAWs and can mix *okay* -- but where I draw a real blank is how audio is captured and mix for commercial/cinema. I had to opportunity to work a decent sized commercial and they lav'd and boomed the talent and it made me wonder... Is that how everyone does it? Is this how it's done in cinema? It would be awesome to get some insight on what it takes to capture the audio in a scene! Thanks man! +Sub

[@david-paquette]

Damn your good Alex... Thanks again, very useful.

[@TannerFugal]

Awesome video! I would love to have you explain when to use multiband compressors and what settings you would use in different situations.

[@mahmoudabdulaziz8811]

I recently got a Rode video micro and most of the time i record in a 6m x 4m room with nothing but a carpet and a desk so the audio i get is not good at all, any suggestions for making it more clear and deep as a pro recording ?

[@KajoCreativ]

Thanks for all these amazing tutorials! one question: Should I reduce the gain of a music track if it is peaking?

[@followtheboat]

Another great tutorial, Alex, thank you. I use a compressor after doing EQ but unfortunately I just have a preset which I apply to every clip. I know this is wrong but I just don't have the time to go through every clip. With this in mind, do you think I could get away with a few presets for each recording scenario? 99% of our footage is recorded in 3-4 similar situations. Love your channel, I'm hooked 🙏

[@strengthnet]

Great video. Finally a video that's short and concise and explains what the different parameters should be.

[@gannonmalakai9706]

i dont mean to be off topic but does anybody know a tool to log back into an Instagram account?? I stupidly lost my login password. I appreciate any help you can offer me.

[@isaaclian6035]

@Gannon Malakai Instablaster =)

[@gannonmalakai9706]

@Isaac Lian i really appreciate your reply. I found the site thru google and im trying it out atm. I see it takes quite some time so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@gannonmalakai9706]

@Isaac Lian it did the trick and I actually got access to my account again. I am so happy:D Thanks so much, you really help me out!

[@isaaclian6035]

@Gannon Malakai you are welcome =)

[@mmgh7298]

Hi, thanks for the amazing content ( Iam currently seeing all af your video's from the very first 😉). I have a question: does the compressing eliminate problems that coused by bad mice operating? And what is your advice for recording more consistent audio?

[@AIishereFOR]

Hi Alex. will you tell us about the microphones used in Hollywood when creating movies for theaters? What is the best microphone for dialogues in the film? I love your channel!

[@SalawuIbrahim]

I'm so glad potato made you start youtube! You are a true teacher! I've been watching videos about sound for so long and you're one of the very few that make this unfamiliar territory easy to understand. A little tip that might be selfish depending on how you look at it; try make your tutorials with Premiere Pro because I assume most of us looking for ways to make our audio better are beginners starting out with Premiere Pro; as we get better we start delving into other pro tools. Also, a quick tip n using lav mics would be great too! Thank you (Much love from Nigeria!)

[@SalawuIbrahim]

Just saw you already made a video about Lav Mics! Yay!!!

[@Design475]

Great Alex, loved the explanation. You mentioned in your last video louder is not better, what level peak in db do you render your videos at?

[@followtheboat]

I think he said aim for around - 6db, which I'd read elsewhere too.

[@spielundzeug]

What Mic do you use for these videos (and what are cheaper options you can recommend)?😀

[@Clive.Castro]

Do you usually use compressor before or after EQ ? BTW great video!

[@phoenixconvenience]

I''m curious what your thoughts are on Alex Audio Butler. I'm curious if you think it does a good job or not. It is an audio post-processing plugin for Premiere. In theory, it allows you to not have to send your mix out to a post sound house after you edit. Keep doing great work! You are super helpful.

[@axk]

There are a bunch of “auto-mixing” plugins out there for various purposes, and while some of them can be very useful for triage when you need to make bad audio a little better, none of them are able to mix anywhere near the quality or versatility that’s required in major workflows. As soon as you want to work on short films, long form content, narratives, or really anything that has more than a conversation happening, these mixing plugins fall apart quickly. However, if you’re just working in Premiere and have no other audio support, it can help for things like KZbin vlogging or similar (where quality is less of a factor).

[@imnaugle]

Good stuff.

[@imnaugle]

These plugins are pricey - do they compress that much better than the built-in compressors in Premiere and Audition?

[@imnaugle]

Just watched 'taterJet's video and your EQ video - so now I get it.

[@axk]

Yep! When you're buying plugins you're basically paying for convenience and performance. You can get good results from built in plugins, it just might be faster/easier to do so with other software. I use compressors (among many other plugins) so often that it makes sense for me to pay for the added efficiency. But you can use the same principles with anything you've already got!

[@imnaugle]

Alex Knickerbocker thanks Alex!

[@Albanez39]

Can you make a video about removing harsh and continuous noises in the future? Mostly natural sounds like wind, insects and birds chirping, but also RF interferences and preamp hiss. I made a short docu about stray dogs in my country, and I had to film a few interviews in the wooded area (big park) close to the city. My audio was so bad you can't imagine; All sorts of insects and birds chirping, wind, people walking and talking close by, all accompanied by the sweet tune of my Canon's preamp (horrible). I ended up using DeNoiser in Premiere, and I was able to clean it a little bit, but most of them turned into an "electronic" hiss sound. I didn't know much and just experimented with all sorts of audio effects in Premiere CS6. DeEsser, DeClicker and many other effects didn't work at all (they were not functional) for some reason. I tried to fix the clips a bit more with the EQ; For every bit of noise I removed, there was another one that just kept getting louder. The noises were mostly High frequencies, and most of the voice was kept on the Low and some Mid levels. The result was horrible, but people could understand what the interviewees were saying...

[@JGnLAU8OAWF6]

Any tricks on recording voice outside near busy road with moderate wind? Is it even possible without crazy amount of post-processing?

[@Albanez39]

Yes, with a shotgun microphone (directional, not cardioid). But they are all too expensive unfortunately. I've found some cheap shotguns on B&H (from VidPro, Boya etc), but can't find any serious review or comparison online.

[@kiyashko86]

Super subs boost from PotatoJet).

[@TheINFJChannel]

Do you offer services ($$!) to draw a custom filter curve? I have a distinct voice. I have trouble bringing my voice to the front of the speaker/mix. I also have trouble drawing eq curves so I'd rather a pro did it for me. :-)

[@MarcinAdamowicz]

Alex why not use a Final Cut Pro to tinker with the sound? Is it because not many options there or the produce bad quality at the end?

[@axk]

Final Cut (not any video editing software, really) is not capable of the finite level of control over sound that professionals need. It can be fine for less complex content, but for cinematic sound design and mixing, it really isn’t a capable tool at all. That said, you can still use all these ideas in FCP to help improve your audio a lot! And if your content isn’t as demanding as broadcast TV, feature films, etc, you can get great results with it.

[@AaronFrankel-j]

Perhaps a little off-topic, but is there still value in using a physical compressor/limiter while recording dialogue?

[@OnlyUs444]

is Tracking Out with a compressor bad?

[@FerboseSounds]

Do you also use the Fabfilter Pro-G gate for voice overs, or do you recommend using it?

[@axk]

If I have the time, I personally use Izotope RX to clean up any noise on VO and then edit/fade by hand so that only the read lines play, nothing in between. If all I have time to do is drop the VO on tracks and mix, then Pro-G is a great choice of gate! And you can also use a multiband compressor as a noise suppressor pre the gate to help even more.

[@FerboseSounds]

@@axk Thank you for your reply, will look into this then!

[@TheSmileyVirus]

Great video, I'm terrible at this so had to watch a few times... I'm a simple boy

[@axk]

Not terrible at all!! It can take years to get this stuff down, so I'd say a few repeats of a quick KZbin video is awesome!