Compression for Voiceover

I'll walk you through the basics of a compressor so you can understand all the settings. At the end you'll know how to set up a compressor for your voiceover recordings.

[@ClaireWyattVoiceActor]

I think you are the nicest man in the industry!! Another awesome video - what would we do without you?! Massive love, C x

[@BoothJunkie]

Thanks, Claire!

[@thierrylaflamme4823]

I agree 200%. You are so pleasant, professional and respectful of your viewers. Thanks your generosity as well. From Canada. 🙂

[@mind-brainstudio927]

@Учим Английский Язык - Mr Wonderful из Нью-Йорка. Wow. So unkind. I can't imagine why you would think that comment applies or is appropriate.

[@GeorgFKa]

Demonstrating just with a simple tone rather than actual voice recordings is great. Helps so much to understand the actual concept behind it. Thank you.

[@maureenaverill2125]

OMG! Thank you so much for this video! Amazing job describing for us laymen what the heck compression is, how it works, and how to adjust it. Also, thank you for sharing your settings and recommendations for a good place to start with these settings. Trying to get started in audiobook recording and have been struggling with some of these pieces and just determining a good place to start! Your recommended jumping off point was just what I needed, so thanks for letting us peak behind the curtain and not giving us the cliche response “everyone’s settings will be different”!

[@actualnotanewbie]

This is incredible. You've done the best job at explaining these settings for what I need, especially when it comes to spoken voice while streaming. Thanks for making this!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Mike, great discussion!

[@szabojanos4410]

The Boss is here :D

[@RaymmanVO]

Thank you for a very understandable explanation of a very important part of VO work. And, 6 years later it's still fantastic, Kudos

[@sharingmyfun8804]

This video made compression so clear. Using the tone was an excellent idea to demonstrate your points. Nice job. Thank you. 26:17

[@PashaCnC]

I watched many of your youtube videos. All of them are very nice, thank you very much. I want to thank you especially, for this video. Because it is very difficult to tell the subject to those who have no knowledge about the subject, I know very well from my experiences in consultancy service periods. Choosing simple words, examples, even for someone like me who is unaware of the subject, was very useful. I am retired now, I have plenty of free time. I am playing a PC game, and I want to make youtube videos by voiceover the replays of the games I've played. I would like to thank you again for your youtube videos. Best regards, Pasha

[@Zvukobuka]

This is the very best explanation of compression I've ever heard. Although my English is so bad that I need google translate for this comment. That's what I call a professional who is really passionate about what they do. Just great!

[@deldridg]

Thank you so much - your analogies make a lot of sense. I set up a tone gen in Cubase and replicated your test case and now compression makes more sense to me - great to have compression visually represented. How fortunate we are to have generous and may I say, very nice individuals such as yourself offering such wisdom! Cheers mate and thanks from Sydney, Oz - Dave :)

[@jfranciskay]

one of the best explanations of a compressor I have ever seen...

[@lmorgan5775]

THANK YOU for this! I'm new and I have no idea what all of the terminology means. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain what compression is, not just how to adjust it.

[@Clinterus]

The best explanation of a compressor I've seen on KZbin! Thank you for explaining all the settings well in plain English. Cheers

[@LemuelCDees]

I cannot begin to express how grateful I am for your tutorials! I was actually able to track with you, and UNDERSTAND the concepts you were conveying. As a 'non-techy' voice over artist that is absolutely invaluable; thank you so much!!

[@paulgerg6879]

The clarity of your explanations, with examples, is always so much more understandable than other people on You Tube. I love your content, it has saved me money and time. As well as being entertaining - I compress ads using my mute button, so i can never hear what they are saying.

[@AshharHasan07]

You are the only video I could find on KZbin who explained the mechanics of a compressor instead of telling me to input magic numbers in the compressor. I now understand how it's working and can tune it for myself as required. For voiceovers over games I keep compression on the game at a high ratio but almost none on my voice to allow passing that excitement that comes in my voice during certain moments. On the other hand during screen recordings and sharing instructions I have enough compression on my voice that i don't need to do multiple takes cause some part was very low in sound. Thanks a lot for explaining like you did.

[@GingerDrums]

Hey Mike, another great video! Slight stickler here: Im a pro mix engineer and broadcast engoneer. The knee gently increases the ratio as the audio approaces the threshold, so it is acting BELOW the threshold. For voiceover work knee is important and should not be at 0, it should be turned up a fair bit. This means there will be a gradual application of compression as you get louder. With no soft knee the compressor will do nothing until the threshold is hit and then it will jump into action. Compression is more transparent on VO woth soft knee! Hope this helps.

[@dorafoufa9887]

thank you so much for your clarification, much appreciated. so my passion for audio engineering started just few months ago, as my husband is a voice over actor, I started playing with his raw recordings on reaper , and he told me that I have some potentials at editing, processing and adding background music. that's got me excited to learn more bout audio engineering. i know it is not easy, and it is a big learning curve but I really want to get into it. any advice and resources? and can someone become an audio engineer without going to audio engineering school?

[@SeverusChaos]

Dude, I needed this video. I’ve been such a perfectionist trying to learn all the details of editing and compression, trying to control my audio to the point that I’ve been driving myself crazy. THAN YOU.

[@adrydungscraper]

I got a DBX 266xs compressor earlier this year. I still don't understand it fully but I couldn't live without it!! I picked up an RE320 it sounded great alone but the compressor REALLY makes it shine!!

[@anandajayarathna6149]

thanks millions for your generosity in teaching me the real facts about compression.i'm a complete novice and learned almost everything i need to know about this.

[@Toccobass13]

using a sine wave for this makes you my favorite

[@wagonet]

Best explanation of compression that I've found. Nutty sent me here. Thank you!

[@ChrisOnoo]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I'm currently learning how to record my own voice and have already gone through dozens of tutorials, yet your voice stands out exceptionally. It's rich and clear, without any unwanted booming or hissing. Listening to it feels like being enveloped in sound. It's truly intriguing. I need to listen to your other recordings to understand whether it's a unique characteristic of your voice or something that can be learned. 🤔

[@arunthomas189]

I just wanted to say thank you for making this video on compression on voice overs. Up until now I've only really seen tutorials for compression on vocals for music. Your method of using the sine wave is really helped make it clear for me.

[@frankdamienzoe]

Absolutely fantastic teaching explanation for non-techies. Your way of explaining should be the norm. THX a lot!

[@WNxExectechWarriorNation]

This is one of the best explanations on compression I've heard. You answered the specific questions I had on voiceovers too. Excellent video!

[@jackb859]

This is some of the best and easiest-to-follow advice on compression that is out there. Thanks!

[@philipogley3476]

Wow, A voice-over guy who actually knows what he's talking about. Great!

[@DeepDarkBoys]

Hey Mike! Something that's been bothering me for a while now - What's the difference between using Makeup Gain within the Compressor itself, and just adjusting the overall Gain? Is this the best practice? * First adjust Master Gain to get your average audio in that sweet spot between -12dB & -6dB. But of course there will be louder bits that peak and quieter bits that you can't make out. * Use the Compressor as you've explained in this video to wrestle everything into that sweet spot. * Use Compressor's Makeup Gain to do final touches on Master volume?

[@SuzD0n]

This is without a doubt, the best explanation of compression I've ever heard. I've been struggling with the concept for so long. Thank you!

[@hiergibteszuviele]

I could listen to you for hours... :D

[@MrPostie]

Wow, newbie here, I’ve been looking for a decent video to explain compression from the basics, this was incredible. Thanks for the great content!

[@KarimLeMec]

At last. Best explanation over hundred of compression tutorials. Great job!

[@elevatordancer]

You sir, are a great educator! This video was very helpful. I’m trying to learn audio recording and editing techniques as an amateur podcaster, and I still have a lot to learn. Because of you, I now understand the compressor more and I’ll be using it a lot more. I hope to create a full audio story production someday.

[@Promovoiceguy]

Mike, I know this is an old post, but just reviewed it once again and you nailed it! Thanks for covering all the key adjustments regarding "compression". I've been playing with compression for a lot of years now, and you've covered pretty much all the things that we tend to mess up on (including me in the beginning) when trying to compress our VO tracks. The biggest being "Make-up gain". Don't know how many times I used to adjust threshold, ratio, attack & release, then couldn't figure out why my track was SO quiet... lol. Keep crankin' out the great tutorials! -Bobby Sheldon

[@mrVojjin]

This video is amazing, you keep knocking out of the park Mike. You may want to take a look at the auto focus on your camera. It can get a little dizzying when it keeps changing focus because of your hands moving around.

[@BoothJunkie]

Yeah. Time for a new camera I think! The one use is too darn slow!

[@StevenSclafani]

Very informative video, thanks for posting. Don't think you require a new camera, your image looks very good. Just set your focus to manual.

[@rustongrosse5460]

No way. It's the video version of compression. 😁

[@feanorgaming5600]

Thanks for the thorough explanation on all the settings. All other videos I have seen essentially give you a preset to use and do nothing on explaining how to really go about truly using the compressor. I appreciate it

[@sacuW9ep]

This is the best description of audio compression I've found on KZbin so far! And I like that you used Reaper to show it. Here's a suggestion that I found helpful -- when you're getting started with compression and trying to understand it, add the "JS: Tone Generator" as the first plugin in your effect chain. Then double-click the Tone Generator to pop it out into its own window so you can control the frequency/amplitude of the tone while you're experimenting with the compression settings.

[@GooseWayneTV]

My favorite audio guy

[@GarethWalkerPhotographer]

This is the best and most clearly explained compressor video on KZbin - Thank you! As a beginner I feel you have covered every point perfectly. Such a great teacher!!!!!!

[@jasoncartwright586]

Thanks for getting a newbie like me started in understanding how to get compression working for me!

[@sounddesign4941]

You are the best... your videos never fail to teach me something new. Thank you.

[@jesselegere4591]

You’re an absolute legend. Thank you for the explanation. I’m just getting into editing with no formal training. There’s a lot of trial and error but I’m loving it.

[@geographylearner7987]

Excellent explanation .You are great teacher to covert complex idea into very understandable .you are so creative.Invisiable not tangible and abstract idea get life and living body through ur words. Lost of thanks .Namasta sir

[@Espedals]

Hey Mike! Huge fan - your videos are actually what got me started as a voice actor. Would it be possible for you to put your recommended/standard settings in the video description? Sort of like this: *Attack: 5 ms* *Release: 100 ms* *Knee size: 1 dB* Thank you for making us all better at our jobs and hobbies!

[@tombstone1440]

Bah! Where was KZbin when I was a baby dj? Thank you for a FANTASTIC explanation delivered with dulcet tones. Reminds me of VO heroes, Beau Weaver, John Wells, Doc Morgan. Nicely done!

[@stef5415]

I don't understand what you're saying most of the time, but I keep coming back to your videos, they've helped me out with setting up my microphone in Reaper, for doing voice recordings and commentary stuff over the last year. Really appreciate it man. I would sound lesser in my videos without you. :) Thanks.

[@Gipeamusic]

HI, I am a musician, and singer, and your's explanation are so clear ! very good job ! From Paris, France : )

[@morganelucas78]

Best explanation out there of compression basics. I'm a beginner French voice over artist and I've researched high and low, trying to understand what compression is but other videos are way above my head. Yours is to the point and very educational. Thank you for your time!

[@happyaccidentstudios8541]

Thanks so much. I'm about to clean up my first recorded samples... I'm getting some last-minute knowhow from your channel. I love the way you present the info and I just wanted to pop in and say thank you for all the helpful information.

[@gerardvanamstel]

Thank you Mike, for this very clear explanation!

[@denniswage9748]

Thanks Mike. I use two compressors one after a 120 hz high pass and one after some high end boost. I am a ham radio hobbyist and I have a man crush on your voice. ;)

[@jeffmcconnell2933]

Thank you SO much!!! What an amazing explanation! I’m a total novice and I understood exactly what you are saying.

[@TechBoss]

Brilliant Video, super informative! Do you know, how many time it would have saved me, if i could have seen it a year ago? Haha!I have a question: What do you think about this technique (I don´t know the Name of it, so i describe it, sorry for wasting your time)You gonna copy the uncompressed voice-Track so that you have two exact similar tracks. Now you compress one of the tracks really hard. So hard, that it alone would sound absolut crap... After that you turn this track way down, so that it is only just recognisable? This is supposed to give the original track that little bit of extra Punch. I used this once for a rap-voice, and it worked pretty nice... Is this a technique you´d recommend? If not: Why not?

[@bizthevillain]

wow, i watched several videos and yours is the only one that made it click! thanks so much.

[@sirescobar90]

i wish i had found this years before finding out the hard long way. best beginners explanation of the compressor. very slow and clear. hat off

[@WheezyTech]

This was the best overview of compression I've seen. Compression was a difficult one to get my head around at first. Its so important to understand the relationship between compression and gain. Its all about balance.

[@grizzly9960]

I just wanted to thank you for all the videos they have been a huge help in educating me about audio.

[@VeronicaGorositoMusic]

Thank you so much! I'm into audio production and found dozens of compression tutorials to be crazy confusing, as mixing engineers are still keeping the elitist mistery about compression. Even in a sound engineering school last year I couldn't understand it so well... Oh the soft knee means that it will start compressing at a slow ratio and increase it in a way that sounds natural, not abruptly as with hard knee when reaching the full ratio. You're a great teacher 🎶💜

[@takeniteasyfriend]

A very well thought out tutorial. I'm glad you used the sine wave as an example. Keeping it simple. Thanks.

[@quailstudios]

Thanks Mike. Good video. I really appreciate your expertise.

[@trentonbennettVO]

Thank you for this excellent, clear explanation and demo! I'm going to start playing with a compressor between projects, using what I've learned here--much appreciated :)

[@FlameJackstar]

This guy just displayed knowledge worth a few hundred bucks, you would normally spend on a class about audio engineering, in a free YT video.

[@TheWillenlos]

Thank you for your hard work. I really love the way you explain things. It helped me a lot to understand some basics for my project.

[@mediaguy50]

Loved it - really helpful and well explained..... thanks - I love your voice

[@holdthewinds]

Thank you for making this!! I just a a new preamp tube mp/c today so your video is greatly welcomed!!

[@marjohnsmusings3222]

Thank you so much! I got a rejection letter from Audible today on my first ever audiobook with issues and solutions. After I finished crying I had to look up words and acronyms. My sound engineer got sick. I now have to master myself. SCARY! But you made it sound possible. I see other videos with your face. I am going to check them out.

[@pedroarruda7878]

One of the best Compressor explanation that I see! Thank you for this.

[@atomclub37]

The University of KZbin (YTU?) should give you tenure!. Thanks Mike. That really helped.

[@modvind]

Holy moly. You've lost a lot of weight since back then!!! Watching your videos now, you look a lot better, and healthier

[@itsthevoiceman]

The TV Commercial audio level analogy is spot on! Helped reinforce my understanding of live sound use =)

[@cdrchrrs]

Thanks for your great advice! The fact that you are using Reaper was perfect for my needs!

[@robehickmann]

Very good technical explanation, this part is completely applicable to musicians.

[@alexhamilton8000]

You are a phenomenal teacher!

[@BoothJunkie]

Thanks Alex!

[@Interlinked]

Dude, you're awesome. Truly understanding compression has eluded me until now. Many thanks!

[@AllThingsTop5]

I just discovered your channel and you have been extremely helpful! I hope to get my voice over to sound as good as you one day.

[@andrewp1513]

It really helps. Watched this before but I feel today that I’ve understood something.Thanks so much from Sydney

[@airailimages]

Helpful to those of us who need to up our audio game. Thanks.

[@archowdhury007]

Beautifully explained. Your tutorials are amazing!!...please keep uploading such tips :)

[@pinkgrahmik]

This is the best explanation I have ever heard!! Wow. Thank you.

[@portiacue5320]

I've been looking for this video for some time. I've been looking for someone to explain it in a way that I can understand it. Thank you so much for this video!

[@AllegedChaos]

Thank Mike! I'm just trying to get into voice acting and there is so much that I am learning from this channel! Thank you Thank you!

[@samantha.sherratt]

Thank you for this - you've made it so simple and understandable! I feel like I finally understand it and the best way I can use it

[@DIYCameraGuy]

I am sure that this video will be of great help to a lot of people.

[@wompusslompus5424]

0:03 I feel that. Every time I record, three of my neighbors simultaneously decide to mow the lawn. Every. Time.

[@JoshuaC0rbit]

For me it's the air conditioner. I love staying cool here in Houston but I swear that damn thing comes on whenever it's inconvenient.

[@tomwilson2112]

True dat. Here, it's motorcycles with straight pipes driving by. Brraaaaaaaaaaap.

[@voicehead]

for me its literally inside my house

[@naveebisrael]

Hello. You have a wonderful channel. Your training is great and I enjoy every video. Well done !

[@jonasschenell8354]

Fenomenal presentation about voice compression! You talk so genuine and kind to the me as a viewer. I think youtube nowadays are insane with this typical High-pitch , screaming overexcited people make my brain go nuts! Most of them DONT know what distortion means and do to our ears 🤪 thanks for those videos. Pretty new channel for me. A lot to learn:)

[@blainedonlon]

awesome explanation, now the settings I've used forever may need to be adjusted after watching this. lol, great video!

[@mjp121]

Great informative video! Still helpful 5 years later! Also reminded me to turn off auto focus when recording lol

[@chrisfox6843]

Thanks for all your work. I use the wet fader on ReaComp for makeup gain. Don't know if that's what it's for but it works.

[@jcat96]

I've been looking for this kind of tutorial for months and I randomly stumble upon it, and the best parts are it's with BJ and using ReaPlugs! Lucky day for me! Thanks for the video!

[@Madamegato]

Such a great cache of videos! Thank you for posting these tidbits for those of us just starting out. I've watched a ton of videos on compression and none of them ever bothered to put it into layman's terms FIRST before moving onto the technical aspects - and they were videos for beginners! Lynda let me down, what can I say. Ha ha. Anyhow, thank you! I'm busy watching many of your other videos as well. They're excellent!

[@HowardEllisonUKVoice]

Yay! The black art of compression, de-mystified. Starting out, I worked with an analogue compressor front end. Not a great idea, as you can't uncompress the result if the client asks for something different, nor can you really judge what you are getting when you are yapping at the same time! So I went to software which lets me work on a copy of my track after recording. I was lucky to stumble upon the FabFilter plug-ins: excellent sound, helpful pre-sets and above all a really good dynamic visual interface which makes all the difference to speed and confidence if you are more a performer than a trained engineer! I have no kind of connection with the company or any other, but would urge a free trial.

[@HoustonBrownPhotography]

Just a beginner in the Audio world but have always been curious as to how to approach compression. Now I feel like I have some knowledge that I can apply yo my next project. Many thanks.

[@tonim8643]

Thank you so much!! I know this is an old video but I just had to say it. Amazing information to the point and I was so easily able make the correct changes on my side. This has saved me so much time.... and money... in the audio learning process. Thank you, thank you! :)

[@kodave1188]

Mike. Im not sure if you read this. Coz this video 5 years old. But… you just make my day for understanding better something in garage band. Just wishing you a good life. Thanks for the knowledege!! ( bad english sorry ) . Sub to your channel.cheers mate

[@BoothJunkie]

Happy to help, my friend!

[@kodave1188]

@@BoothJunkie wow you read mine. 🙏🙏✌️✌️🔥🔥

[@mileyondrumz]

Drummer here, doing more speaking/teaching videos; this helped a ton - thanks! (As well as hand gestures affecting autofocus in portrait mode on a camera ;)

[@bhgemini]

Came back to rewatch this to refresh on Reacomp. So funny to see videos from before we all got camera/lens with good eye detection AF. I use my hands on camera a lot and it's so good not to have focus shift like this anymore.

[@Sasha0927]

I need more tutorials like this in my life. The ratio section was a little painful (for comprehension, not the tone), but I understand compression much better now. Fat chance of you answering this question, but would you say your numbers have changed in the past 5-ish years? Thanks so much.

[@misterjaroslav6859]

It is very informative and interesting. Thank you! What do you think about compression of vocals, singing a song, etc? Should a ratio be less hard, like 2:1?