Magic Compressor Settings for KICK & SNARE

[@hardcoremusicstudio]

Grab your free Mixing Cheatsheet to learn the go-to starting points for EQ and compression in heavy mixes: hardcoremusicstudio.com/mixcheatsheet

[@bheatslayer5410]

🔥🔥🔥

[@mang0mag1c]

Will there be a version 2 coming soon including all the instruments you did in the series not mentioned on this cheatsheet? Like Gang Vox & Acoustic Guitar?

[@stemdog]

@hardcoremusicstudio are the eq settings on your sheet based on the ssl channel strip?

[@aangovan]

conclusion: slow attack, and fast release. thanks, really good information.

[@tronnyplaysguitar]

Hey Jordan I just wanted to say I really appreciate everything you do, thanks to these videos and your mix cheatsheet, I've been able to get my mixes to the point where I'm actually proud of them and not just "good enough for a demo", the mix cheatsheet is amazing even if you only have basic plugins, just having that starting point for each track takes so much guess work out of the process and makes mixing fun instead of daunting. Anybody reading this, get the mix cheatsheet! it's free and it will improve your mixes guaranteed!

[@BobK115]

This is probably the best video on compression that I've seen in a long time. Thanks!

[@franzgalvez6328]

Agree

[@seazons_official]

This compression series is going to be another great hit !!!! Keep going !!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@SaintStereo]

Love these purely practical and straightforward demonstrations! Very useful, thank you!

[@johncostigan6160]

Straightforward nuts & bolts techniques. Valuable simplicity, Thank-you!

[@sprvky4370]

Please do compression series of bass that does have multiple play style such as fingering & slapping in one track.🙂

[@yeenar]

split/mult them onto different tracks and process them separately, then if they need more cohesion you buss them back together onto a bass submix-buss and apply some gentle saturation or compression to glue them back into feeling like one performance

[@christopherharv]

Yes that is the toughest to nail.

[@sprvky4370]

@@yeenar splitting them into different tracks might be easier solution, but the reason I was asking how to do it in one track, I want to grasp the idea how he would approach such a situation, where we got a lot of dynamic all over the place in one track such as bass that have a lot of different play style. I want to know what is his ideal way to deal something like that, so I could apply that mindset if I ever encounter such a situation. A live situation may be a good example where we don't have such a luxury to split each play style into multiple tracks, imagine cutting each play style of a whole live session, that insanely takes a lot of time.

[@yeenar]

@@sprvky4370 it's not the easiest solution, it's the most sensible, common, straight-forward, and universal amongst many strata of engineers. and his channel is about audio post-production, not live sound, so using that as an objection seems disingenuous. if my offering a solution somehow bothers you you don't have to accept it

[@66fitton]

@@sprvky4370 Keep your comp control close for live. I do adjust quickly during shows when needed. It also really helps knowing exactly where to set your comps input and output etc, to be able to insert them on the fly with no noticeable changes at time of insert and activation. You just start adjusting from there. Until I learned those settings, it was a scary prospect to think of inserting a comp on something during a show! Now I don't hesitate. Cheers

[@fabellara01]

This is the best explanation of transient compression

[@DavidDavis-FA-photog]

This was great. It seems the more I learn about mixing the more I see where consistent simple approaches with understanding works. Thanks!

[@toddcollins6746]

Love the emphasis on things that are repeatable.

[@SilvermainMusic]

Another fantastic compression explanation. Seriously top notch content. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain this stuff so well :)

[@marcelmiagi4579]

Your approach to teaching is a god send! This was soo clear and easy to follow. Thank you!

[@venturahowie]

A very clear and useful explanation. I'm sure I'd love to see more videos like that about compression.

[@iodfusj]

Sometimes bad compression settings can add character to a song like using too slow of release on a bus channel can give an effect like turning the speakers up too much and gives an illusion of cohesion. It's an art just as much as it is a science. I prefer to sacrifice clarity for dramatic effect at times.

[@consumer365]

Man u just fixed all the problems I was having over here 😂 love it!

[@michieladriaansens5977]

that parallel so pumpy! :3 Great stuff i'm doing the professional production system course right now but these videos are also very insightfull. Def do a series on compression, i'm all for it.

[@moritztorsiep5161]

Great video!! I'd love to see how you compress bass and guitars. My approach to them is honestly just to turn up the threshold on the SSL Channelstrip until they sound good and punchy.

[@eweesplace]

Oh man, been hoping you would do something like this!

[@drummingjeremy11]

Thank you! looking forward to the rest of the compression series especially for multi band comp on rhythm gtrs and in general bass gtr

[@justinreynolds3935]

I've always compressed after my samples are dialed in. Usually about 20-30%. Especially kick drums when double kick runs. Keep things level and consistent. Once in a while I get a very good drummer where that doesn't need a lot but it's rare. I use very similar settings and same compressor . Awesome video. I think a lot of people don't understand what compression does and get the attack and release wrong.

[@craighughes-shug6694]

Definitely love to see more

[@elisson_brum]

best channel on the subject nowadays! direct spot on!

[@elisson_brum]

not only nowadays but for since i discovered years ago!

[@aarondirk9511]

Thank you! That just helped SO MUCH! You just helped me burst through a major barrier! Please keep going :)

[@kevinkeener]

Man, it's so nice to see your techniques on actual instruments. So many other channels use these electronica samples (esp. drums & bass) that sound like something out of an 80s arcade game. This is much easier for me to relate to, since you're starting with sounds I can associate with the real world.

[@Tallstreehouse]

Sweet, thanks for the advice!

[@JanselKaye]

This guy deserves a million subs. This is my second account but been watching his contents since 2020.

[@kevinlentz7604]

Love the Detail,awesome actually ❤

[@waidfaid]

Thank you so much! Please, please, please make a video of how you compress a piano - it just sounds overdriven and terrible with me!

[@MikeGalutva]

Great video! Thank you very very much! Waiting for Magic Compressor Settings for TOMS and also for drum ROOM

[@figlermaert]

Good to see how you’re using SSL on compressor. “Slow” and “fast” attack/release could be relative based on the compressor.

[@Notinserviceij]

Yes it could be, but that's why you are (the reader of this comment) the engineer, that's part of your job to figure that out for that source material Having the words slower or faster will help make your decision But this video nor this channel will make that decision for you, or anyone for that matter of fact

[@hardcoremusicstudio]

Yeah, that's why I also demo'd it using a stock compressor with number values.

[@figlermaert]

@@hardcoremusicstudio I gotta finish watching!!! 😀 your tips have been great for my mixing!

[@figlermaert]

PS. I’ve been using an SSL Chanel strip for EQ and compression too and was always unsure what to do about “slow attack” cause you can’t set it. I felt the default had good response so it was reassuring to see you also echo that same mindset.

[@guitarsoul1129]

Thanks for the video, it would be great to have videos about all the instruments you mentioned in your cheatsheet, because these are the basic instruments, not only for rock music. Now there are four videos in this playlist about Magic compressor settings, but two of them are hidden for some reason. But thanks anyway, incredibly helpful for me)))

[@pom5716]

Was expecting an april fools with just 10 OTT'S tbh 😁 great vid!

[@ketilroaas-sedal816]

Great stuff! How about rythm gtrs and lead gtrs?

[@Kanavesimeloni]

Wow there was lot of good information! Thank you for these good videos!

[@The_Absurdistt]

Absolutely wonderful tutorial. Thank you for sharing. I did notice that you have a snare and kick sample that were muted. How would you process and mix these with the real snare and kick? Cheers.

[@hardcoremusicstudio]

The samples I use are pre-processed, so usually don't need much extra, just blend them in as needed with the real drums. The samples themselves are processed the same way I do regular drums (in terms of compression, eq etc)... but since there's no bleed, you can go way more extreme with the processing, hence the ultra-intense sound of samples.

[@Дмитрий_Асанов-Бессонов]

Спасибо за твою работу, ты очень помогаешь понять сложные вещи

[@tvd1188]

Cool stuff. Would love to see how you use reverb in your drum mixes.

[@thesalienttruth]

I would like a distorted guitar compression demonstration with the cla 3a! Please and thank you Jordan! 🙏

[@iceland_is_cool.]

Very useful video, thanks!

[@nikolatomic5287]

compression series is cool. maybe you should side chain compression as well ...

[@michaelobrist4716]

Great video as always, thanks a lot. What I still wonder: do you compress let's say different snare mics/samples like top and bottom individually, even differently or all together in a snare bus? I'd love to see more videos like this!

[@diostaylow]

Learned a lot! Thanks

[@DennisBergDrums]

I love these simple to the point videos! It takes so much guess work out of the process. I´m also very glad you finally included some numbers on those settings ;-) Would be great to see toms and cymbals next. I know you are not an "overhead for the whole drumset" guy but maybe you could do overhead compression as well. The Parallel Compression Channel only gets the individual kit elements right? You are not sending the whole drum bus to the parallel bus as well?

[@Dave-Rough-Diamond-Dunn]

I agree about the numbers! It's always fast this and slow that, without any reference to what ranges are considered fast or slow.

[@DennisBergDrums]

@@Dave-Rough-Diamond-Dunn Exactly! How are you supposed to know that apparently 30ms is considered SLOW if the stock logic compressor lets you choose up until 200ms of attack time?? I mean whats that? Like super extreme slow attack? Same with release. If 100ms is already considered FAST why is it possible to change it to 5ms?

[@Dave-Rough-Diamond-Dunn]

@@DennisBergDrums You need those options, but you assume that the defaults are what's considered 'normal usage'. So you see a default setting of 5 on the attack, and 200 on the release, and you think they're considered average, not slow or fast. Then you watch 200 videos about compression, talking fast attack this, slow attack that, slow attack this, fast attack that, without even mentioning what values are considered fast or slow! 😱😡🤬😭

[@DennisBergDrums]

@@Dave-Rough-Diamond-Dunn haha yes! I can totally relate to the 200 videos ;-) I was searching like crazy to finally get some numbers

[@cabuffal0]

What about the attackness of the e-guitar ? Thank you for coaching.

[@godofspacetime333]

Interesting about using the same compression settings for every song, as well as using basically the same settings for kick and snare (which basically match what I’ve been doing with toms, so I guess that’s pretty much the whole kit). That’s one more thing I can add to templates and not worry about too much. I got away from doing parallel compression on drums for some reason, maybe because I’ve been crushing the room mics like that, but that’s another thing I’ll start throwing onto the template and mixing in if it adds something. The cheat sheet really has been very useful btw. At some point I’ll get all this memorized, but I’ve only just started mixing live drums so for now I keep it close by and it’s always been helpful.

[@alessandrosummer]

Just a side note Jordan didn't mention in this video: on the parallel compression bus turn down the send from the cymbals and the rooms, otherwise they sound really bad (especially the cymbals become very washy and nasty). Obviously that was the video on kick and snare, just wanted to tell you!

[@pastinepolenta]

would love to see how this combines with the discussion on using clippers to increase overall volume. Do you apply the clipper after this comp chain? Before? on the buses? on the master?

[@thebrokenchessboard]

Do it at the end of each channel, end of each bus, before your final limiter on master. ;)

[@BrainDeadTX]

Great video, thank you!

[@robjohnson5829]

Please do one for bass next!

[@marijnrots4943]

Im curious if and how you compress distorted guitars, because the distortion does a lot of compression as well

[@hleet]

lot of good informations here :)

[@wyrlismike]

How do you feel about the auto release setting for drums on SSL bus comp? Also I dialed in the same settings on the new waves ev2 SSL as the G console i was working on and wow, they got pretty darn close with that plugin! Very impressive

[@LuckyS_212]

Magic Frequencies for violin, viola & flute please?

[@blackeyed.]

on flute wide band cut 20-20khz; - 48dB.

[@SolipsisStudios]

@@blackeyed. Works well on harmonica too.

[@blackeyed.]

@@SolipsisStudiosfor such cases I have a rifle..

[@christopherharv]

I’m really starting to become fatigued with how everybody’s drums sound almost identical nowadays. I strongly recommend checking out Andromida, he makes top notch polished productions and has “perfect” drums yet they actually sound distinct and unique. But I hope that one day we will get great modern recordings where the drummer is the sole beatkeeper, slightly speeding up the tempo for tension and slightly reducing tempo for release, with the rest of the band reacting in real time.

[@jesperimommo9006]

EXACTLY! Just commented about the same thing 😂

[@jesperimommo9006]

youtube.com/@RobotDogStudio?si=3NdTAn6NOrTrnB8Z I’m sure you will like that channel and their approach. They have good sounding stuff with a very unique down to earth style.

[@huberttorzewski]

listen to The Aristocrats - 100% this is true for their recordings

[@christopherharv]

@@huberttorzewski checking them out rn, very cool stuff thanks for the recommendation. It’s reminding me Joe Satriani’s eponymous album

[@DbiPro]

How do you eq and comp a drum group? I know people need to use their ears but what should it sound like

[@blackeyed.]

If I had this knowledge 20 years ago.. my addition: for rock and metal sounds: do not waste your time with compressors other than VCA type on close miced drums.. an 1176 way to fast for those transients..

[@jeremylarue4503]

Fast attack with the FabFilter compressor or 1176 style can really make a snare sound fat.

[@basalganglia9082]

I'd love to see a synth compression tutorial in a rock song.. i cant find that anywhere.. ambient stereo synths that the cuttoff and resonance are moving a lot

[@fuckcensorship69]

Mb compression at 1 to 6k

[@wearesolarset]

Do you do any parallel compression on drums before the drum bus?

[@nickkerriwilson9990]

Perfect. Thanks Jordan. Love to see how you compress rock guitar?

[@YewrinePish]

Bro gotta do toms and cymbals

[@VicktoRUrosAndrijasevic]

Compressio on bass would be cool... You know what, it would be uber cool if you did for guitars and vocals as well...

[@valeriorizzotti]

Bass!

[@plummetplum]

What verb settings on the snare did you use please?

[@hubertoog1952]

Hi Jordan, @hardcoremusicstudio the ssl channel you use is an older one from W. There is a newer on from W. The SSL EV2. Do you use the older one, because you think it sounds better, or is it only because you didnt bought the newer one?

[@AdiKotes119KRITICAL]

Hey i think I can answer this for you and give you some insight.. I'm pretty sure I remember Jordan saying in one of his other videos that he prefers this as he is used to the interface of the plugin and that he hasn't really tried anything else.. Personally I prefer the sonics of the EV2 over the old one, however I have also noticed that it uses way more CPU so.. Consider the pros and cons I guess!

[@domminney]

The cla mixhub is great, over sampled and has an insert

[@angelorasmijn7306]

Drum overhead compression? 😊

[@DbiPro]

I like 36 ms attack and 50 ms release 5:1 or 6:1 & -10-16 db threshold -36 max

[@SteveCiampa]

What is the logic behind setting such a low threshold for the compression?

[@gaetanclybouw]

Ken Andrews always sets the SSL compressor on .4 release. Sounds good if I listen to his work underoath, failure, Paramore and Jimmy eat world last 2 records

[@Xyu_TeBe_B_PoT_CyKa_CoCoK_228]

its work in fast black metal ?

[@CreateArtRecords]

First Explaining of Attack and Release on a Compressor/Leveler. Attack acts not like a (Pre)-Delay on a Reverb. Its quite the same like on Synths. Or im wrong? Since i got that, i can work lot better on Compressors. I think..ioi

[@PROJECT-de9pd]

Good God are we still making videos about this?

[@dshredmusic]

And this is the kind of scenario where you want your EQs to be linear phase. Right?

[@GermanFafian]

Quick question. EQ before or after compression?

[@hardcoremusicstudio]

Before

[@GermanFafian]

@@hardcoremusicstudio thanks a lot. Your videos have been a great help as I record and mix my band's jams.

[@ezramc3237]

3:50 no matter how I think about it I can't understand please can you explain it to me Jordan or anyone else? you used a slow attack and fast release on the white noise, shouldn't that result in the wave looking quieter after the attack time and then goes back up to its original loudness after the release time? why does the white noise look tapered ? as if the release time is veeeery very long like the compressor is keeping on reducing the signal of the noise all the way ? why only the beginning of the white noise is louder? does the make-up gain activates only when the compressor is compressing ? isn't make up gain just a gain knob that affects the entire signal and not just the compressed part of the signal?

[@hellaslayin7175]

Do you route that parallel channel back into the drum bus or not?

[@hardcoremusicstudio]

No, mix bus

[@keithrichards4296]

OK everyone on the planet is probably using the Silencer right now

[@theharvesterproject6779]

How T.F is every track so clean with no bleed? Outboard gates while tracking or something?

[@kahus-b]

He uses the Black Salt Audio Silencer (his own company). But it's honestly the best drum gate (bleed reduction) plugin I have ever used. Would highly recommend

[@theharvesterproject6779]

@@kahus-b solid info,mucho appreciato

[@peterlehmann3765]

Nice mix again :) I just always wonder why American mixers almost always mixes from a drummer perspective. To me it makes it super weird. Its sounds almost out of phase having the drums from the drummers perspective and the the rest of the band from the audience perspective. It is just a deal breaker to me :/ Is there any particular reason for doing this?

[@hardcoremusicstudio]

I guess it's just what I'm used to. Audience perspective is super weird for me!

[@grgschfr8]

Hmmm...you start with: "Nice mix again..." then finish with: "It is just a deal breaker to me", all while assigning this "deal breaker" to "American mixers". Can you explain your blatant self-contradiction and sweeping generalization? Can you understand how some (me and perhaps others) might take issue with this? Or shall we just chalk it up to "the internet e.g. KZbin comments"?

[@peterlehmann3765]

​@@grgschfr8 You are right. I was to fast and generalizing. Sorry about that. What I meant was that the drums mix sounds perfect (again) it's just this little thing that trows me of. Like when a picture is inverted etc. And when I say "American mixers I meant those who are in the lead who mixes most popular rock albums. Maybe its just a coincidence? Modern albums tend to have super isolated toms and they are often panned hard L/R which makes the drums stick out more than they used to. I always listen to music with headphones on and I visualize a band and when the drums are inverted it makes me kind of dizzy. Hence a deal breaker. The mix can be perfect in all other aspects. Have a good one :)

[@fuckcensorship69]

​@@peterlehmann3765just imagine a left handed drummer einstein

[@davejohnsonmusic]

Magic settings for drum rooms.

[@buddyalbert5808]

👍

[@kimseniorb]

why would you even use samples on a nice recording like this one

[@jesperimommo9006]

It’s interesting how americans have such a different approach to music now than the rest of the world. Everything has to be on the grid and tuned to perfect pitch and the sound has to be the same sterile overprocessed radio-sound that everyone else has. Who says that’s what the people want? People are used to it only because they hear it everywhere now. Let’s bring the human element back to music please. Cool stuff on the channel though, loved the compressor shootout and the tape vs computer -video!

[@snowandcoal]

It's about 30ms attack time

[@francobuzzetti9424]

so, we don't compress, we expand

[@bonzology322]

hilarious how those don't sound like drums at all to me, don't look now but you are the problem

[@BukanIbuMu]

Wow. No side chain hpf filter.

[@EmmettFlo7]

Really great video! Thanks!