Glue Your Jam Recordings Fast With These Compressor Techniques

Understanding Compression in both creative AND corrective instances can really help to easily glue your beats together. I find these techniques extremely helpful when I'm trying to get the most out of my dawless recordings and most importantly, for me, fix my "dawless" jams. Say you recorded something in, and in the moment it sounded great but you didn't realize you left the bass WAY too loud. Well, there's a way to massage that back into place to get your track to a solid mix.
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00:00 The Problem We're Fixing
01:16 Gluing Your Drums Together With Compression
05:04 My Favorite Pre-Delay Rhythmic Tip
06:48 Use Saturator To Glue Your Drums Together
08:17 Check This To Make Sure Your BASS Is Cleaned Up
10:49 Fixing A Multi-Source Signal To Sound Better, AKA OCTATRACK
14:57 Creative Compression, My Favorite!
18:58 What Is a Compressor Actually Doing?
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#ableton #dawless #musicproducer

[@jimlampshady]

Nice 1 fella. Of all the rabbit holes in music production, compression is for me one of the deepest. And as always, the most important tool for using it well is your ears. There's one simple technique you didn't mention. It's super fun, creative and easy to understand and do, and is called parallel compression, sometimes known as New York compression. It's basically an uncompressed track mixed with a compressed one. That means you can get that edgy, dirty vibe and punchy attack from compressing the hell out of a mix, but not lose the thump, the meat of it, as you're getting that in the uncompressed track.

[@RickyTinez]

It’s funny. Ive tried parallel compression so many times and almost always prefer the full compressed signal haha! But yes that’s a GREAT technique to try that can be both creative and corrective. Thanks for sharing it Jim

[@HIFI1965]

@@RickyTinez Well done. I think New York compression works best with Multi-band compression, like the OTT preset in Ableton. Perhaps that's next week's topic ?? !!!

[@mitdemall]

@@RickyTinez For me NY works best when you slam the compressor really hard and mix the signal in only a little bit.

[@garbagemanfan]

Love that you're not just a gear shill, always appreciate an Enrique video, super informative!

[@petegough7729]

Knowledge is power.

[@BraveSirSausage]

Love your style, musically and the way you teach, so mellow and not a bunch of rapid video editing ✌️ peace

[@EZBOT_]

"I am speaking as if I am a compressor" that had me cracking up

[@edwingamesandmusic]

Really enjoy your description of compression!

[@RickyTinez]

Glad to hear it!

[@a8fine1youngSchapT]

Thanks for covering this, been ignoring my Digitakt because of how different overbridge stems would sound vs. the headphone out. Cool stuff!

[@BeyondtheVeilofLaw-oy2mu]

Thank you for the explanation of compression.Fantastic

[@Kev-1k]

dude all i can say is that you so much for this kinda stuff. Iv been making beats on elektrons for a few years and just now trying to learn how to make them sound good in a daw and take it to the next level I love trying out all the things you suggest and tweaking it to work for me

[@chupitooneeleven]

One more video with such a cool vibe ! thanks for sharing, it's so inspiring.

[@RickyTinez]

Julien!! Thank you so much for the support. I really appreciate it

[@user-dt9kk6sg8z]

great video. thanks. very good explanation

[@diegomanjate2275]

Always giving the content that we need, u the best Ricky 🍻🔥🔥

[@niklibe1312]

To grab the first transients from the kick and snare you mention on creative compression section you can use the lookahead function of the compressor to process the signal faster by 3 or 10 ms and this should do the trick! Some really useful tips in this video!!

[@lonsoalonso]

what a master class !!! Thx !!

[@antikaaos]

This might the best explanation how a compressor works. Thank you. I finally understand ratios.

[@MikeGomeztheDMG]

19:20 - Great explanation of the fundamental controls. I still find myself confused at times & that really simplifies it

[@MikeGomeztheDMG]

Big, dirty undergarment 🤣🤣. Loved this vid man 🙌

[@K___7]

Just picked up a rytm mk2 and this is exactly the info I’ve been hoping for. Thanks!! Also more rytm vids soon?? 😏

[@NunyaB1s]

Moar Rytm!

[@shipitsoneo]

6:06 wow, now that’s the juice! Great stuff man!

[@illegalgiant_]

cool to be leveling up with these man. been out of the box but i’m trying to go in. keep being frustrated my mixes aren’t close. cheers brother

[@janisdiz713]

Great timing, I used the free time of my last week to dive deep into compression (especially on the drum bus). I've been trying to train my ears to really hear the different settings of ratio, attack and release, yet I still find it difficult especially when adjusting the release. I tried to recreate the Drum Bus plugin's compressor with the Glue compressor to get more control. I found that a very short attack increases the sustain of the kick, resulting in a boomy kick because the transients are compressed more than with a longer attack. A longer attack, on the other hand, emphasizes the transient, so the sustain gets quieter and the kick loses a bit of low end. However, my main takeaway from last week is how important it is to get the metering right for A/B-ing. I found a free metering plug-in (youlean) that measures LUFS, which, compared to Ableton's peak meter, reflects how loud the human ear perceives the sound. With this plug-in, it's much easier to set the meters correctly for proper A/B-ing, so you're not misled by the difference in volume.

[@RickyTinez]

Wow! I’ll have to check out that free plug-in! There’s also a really good tip to make compressor adjustments with the volume really low because that’s when it’s really apparent as to what is shining through. And I know if you look for a gain compensator for Max 4 live there is a pretty good one as well. I just cannot remember the name of it :/

[@WalkinonSunshyne]

That huge mix bus compression was dope. Really loved the different approach.

[@gossipboynyc9625-VN]

Bus compressors create vibes (when done the right way or set correctly), moral of story

[@foodstampz]

big studio dillema, i did watch your video on the midi time clock box, really need that

[@lateralshiftmusic]

Man I've never imagined myself as a compressor before haha, might have to start doing that 😂

[@RickyTinez]

That’s me on the daily.. 🥴

[@chevere4209]

Appreciate this vid bro. Just getting into tracking out work with overbridge and wrapping my mind around losing the built in fx of the RYTM. That analog sound was a big part of why I made the purchase so I may end up tracking things out individually using overbridge for clock. Seeing how you replace the fx though is making me think that may not even be necessary. Cheers! 👊

[@gossipboynyc9625-VN]

His timing is fairly correct here, the attack release choices with this specific digital comp - at 17 min ish that is

[@Reg-Edit]

Great tips here ….I think using dynamic EQ can work well, specially on busy parts

[@RickyTinez]

Oh very true! Are they similar to multiband compressors just more surgical?

[@beefeeb]

@@RickyTinez yep, basically. pro q3 is an excellent one

[@triften1]

I came for the DAW technique and stayed for the deep end Jazzmaster 😂

[@compucorder64]

Nicely done. You're right about the vibe. With the processing, it gets that hard driving, bumping Norm Talley feel. Which suits the deep bass, loopy key sound and string line. What can be cool is to let some of the sound of the real life soundworld into the synthetic. A dusting of things like stereo samples, ambience, voice, spoken word, talking or just tiny vocalization snippets. (Moodymann records are classic examples). Because when it's constrasts with synthetic sounds, which if left all on their own, it can sound a little airless. Or maybe if you got your hands on a real rhodes, like the Vintage Vibe one. edit: Ah, but there right at the end you pull out the Jazzmaster. That's what I was thinking, just a sprinkle of the real. Subtle little hums, string swipes, buzz, pickup noise, mic noise or vinyl sample crackle help. Even just getting a shaker and dusting with that.

[@RickyTinez]

totally, I love those types of sounds and that's what draws me to using the Nord for the organic piano sounds. I wish I could afford the Vintage Vibe.. That thing is nuts! I love the pumping compressor too because it helps the "loopyness" feel a bit different depending on what elements are present :) I appreciate you Compucorder64! Thanks for making it to the deep end of the video too

[@compucorder64]

​@@RickyTinezDefinitely agree on the compression. Running my old Jomox xbase 09 through a DBX 160X was a bit of an AHA moment on how to get _that_ sound; good drum sounds are only part of the picture, they do need to breathe for it to be cohesive and more danceable. And yeah, getting my mittens on a Vintage Vibe or vintage Rhodes is just a dream for me. Maybe someone can build a MIDI controlled one with Rotary and mic'd up through a Fender Twin. So we can send MIDI files, and get a WAV out from ;)

[@dustyaudio]

Jazz master. Nice surprise!

[@k-g-p]

Didn't know you can play the guitar😮😮😮😮 Share the love, man!❤

[@6or7breadsticks]

Its fun how sometimes you're very serious about working for electron but them not sponsoring, but sometimes you're like sigh gotta say it so here it goes as fast as possible

[@ShakyVertex]

around 12:00ish, eq8 is great and I use it all the time, but that is def the situation I would pull out fabfilter pro q3 to do some dynamic eq-ing.

[@RickyTinez]

To get more surgical? Or for better sound?

[@marcus268]

​@@RickyTinezBetter sound, you could remove the highs only when the shaker hits, snd let the rest of the signal intact, multiband compression can work in similar ways.

[@gossipboynyc9625-VN]

That 6k-7k, that's (some of) the most beautiful sound of speakers and often over-crowded. Good to attenuate it and soften in mixing or individual tracks. Mixing mistake definitely to over-crowd 3k-8k or w/e, not attenuating enough to make room Basically 12-15 min is correct or proper in controlling the volume and attenuating the harsh, making things even

[@tragicwill]

rock on

[@RickyTinez]

Thanks Will! 🤘🏽

[@onepersonmusic]

I don't know anything about this stuff... (I'm a classical musician) but have you worked with Overstayer? From what I've seen it's a scary machine on another level...

[@kaifriedrichson2438]

Do you use that make up gain in the compressor on the group channel or on the Master? Awesome content for making music in Ableton btw !! Thanks

[@marcus268]

shifting the clap with track delay removes the transient from the kick transient. There is a bpm reverb time calculator aswell, maybe have a look into it. In digitackt, using micro timing does the same thing, (assuming step 5 and 13 are used.)

[@Jbrunel510]

This track is a vibe. Great video man. That guitar did come out of nowhere lol. Not sure what your amp/fx chain is for the guitar but would be interested to learn how you go about playing that into your interface. Just ableton plugins to simulate an amp or what? Cheers man.

[@RickyTinez]

yea I just plugged that damn thing straight into jack #1 hahaha. turned the gain up 🤘🏼

[@Jbrunel510]

Amazing. Keep it simple.

[@TonyThomas10000]

It would be cool to see you work in Bitwig...

[@MichaelBarmaley]

Ricky, thank you! Are you ok with delay from your wireless headphones?

[@RickyTinez]

never really notice it tbh.

[@robertlseymour]

If you want to get the compressor to effect the the initial hit (more) should you turn up the lookahead?

[@RickyTinez]

Ah yea that’s a good option!

[@miladbarikani3591]

I always put every thing before comp cause all the control it does gonna be changing after even something like eq is there a reason for putting them after it? like cause it's electronic and everything have already more control or like it's gonna make it more alive after a pre control? is there a reason for it?

[@gossipboynyc9625-VN]

17 min is also fairly correct, for fact check

[@iqnill]

Do you actually mix and master on the AIAIA's? Al lovely as they are, they are so off, that without the SoundID it would be impossible (for me) to mix, EQ and master.

[@marylewis3311]

🙏❤️‍🔥🙏

[@Mixnotes]

Grab a transient designer for your kick / claps. Then you can open up that attack time across the 2buss. Try it out my man.

[@hosedog99]

Great content! One question, I see that you are using your DAW more to finish tracks. I think you mentioned that you like to test them out at the club after doing a rough mix. Does that mean that you are doing less DAWless performances in favor of spinning more polished tracks?

[@RickyTinez]

Yea I love DJ'ing because it 98/100 times sounds better than a dawless live set haha. of course compressors and limited on your end of chain live set help a TON but nothing sounds as polished as just playing some carefully mixed and mastered tracks! I'm down for live gigs, but I won't do a live gig at some dive bar in k-town to nobody who cares about where the music is coming from lol

[@hosedog99]

@@RickyTinez gotcha!

[@iamluchini]

Do you clip your videos for TikTok? I'd love to see your content over there. Lmk if you need help!

[@williambrandon9660]

ok so that weird, to me, low cut on the kick, I tried that on a track I'm sending to another producer dj and it did wonders. It's weird how it worked. the sub just flows with a little sidechain and the kick is taking up like no space lol. it's a....errrr riddimmy dubstep type of track and the basses are just huge. drums came off my digitakt. I used pigments to synthesize the bass.

[@Dekkie61]

So, here's the thing I always find difficult: You mix all your sounds to perfect relative levels. As soon as you start adding compression and saturation to a group of tracks these relative levels are out the door, right? No idea how much each individual element gets affected by the saturation. So yeah, ears, sure, but I am simply not trained enough to trust them to help me make a mix that works in the club. (I often find my percussion slamming WAY to hard in a club setting). So question: how do you check individual/relative levels after you've done group effects?

[@RickyTinez]

it is tricky. I notice a lot of times when I add a group compression that my clap becomes WAY "louder" than I originally heard it. especially when the kick isn't present in the pattern. I like to think of it like rolling pizza dough.. you're stretching one volume up and other things start shifting around. Eventually you get into a nice area. I only started to recognize habits my sounds would do after doing it for awhile. Another fun trick I used to do to check tricky percussion sounds was to turn my monitor waaayyy down. then turn the percussion tracks ALL the way down.. and slowly raise them with my eyes closed until I could barely hear them at a quiet monitor level. usually helped me get it in a decent ball park. Most times with monitors set to low my percussion would be sticking out like a sore thumb haha!

[@WalkingHeadPro]

can you please tell elektron to add eq tweaking in the digitakt/digitone internal mixer for external inputs please.. It would really help minimalist dawless elektron tracks with other gear sound more polished rather than muddy

[@RickyTinez]

whoa that's a cool idea! Thanks for the suggestion

[@mb102]

I swore you worked at novation a few years ago...

[@leftmono1016]

He did 😉

[@plocky401]

bro's looking handsome

[@JH-te1ct]

Can you do one with an IPad please?

[@kp8923]

Heavy, dirty undergarment

[@RickyTinez]

New album title

[@SoRusted]

i donmt hear any difference

[@gossipboynyc9625-VN]

The attack and the release (with gain reduction) manages the pump of the tails and the details, the rhythm - groove - excitement. the bounce of the loop or drums