Learn to Actually HEAR Compression

[@matcatmusic]

Added value here because not only is this the best advice on the whole internet about learning compression but the soothing ASMR quality in Justin’s voice makes it ideal for late night listening

[@JustinColletti]

Haha, thanks matt catlow! If it sounds relaxing, I attribute that in part to not using a lot of compression on the video versions of the podcast. (Ironic for the topic at hand.) Some people ask me to amp up these episodes with a little more squeeze. I’ve been considering it. Both work. It’s just a different vibe.

[@TheMusicrunner]

This! Its so relaxing when he sometimes ends his sentences in a super gentle way like at 8:28.

[@coreystopperan9555]

More like Bob Ross!!

[@tarun.krishna]

You say ASMR, I hear SM7B.

[@CareerDropout.]

Best explanation of hearing a compressor

[@jayakamakshianandamayi7461]

Very effective how you approach the issue, thanks for the compact overview!

[@sINGLE_hANDED]

Great video, thanks so much Justin, surely this methodology is the best I heard so far!

[@practice_Chinese_yoga]

Wonderful,helpful talk.

[@Silver6003]

After watching this Vid . Using a few tracks to experiment. I went to my latest mix I’m on . I could not get the bass to sound how I wanted . I split things into two tracks . Cut one at 300 hz the other cut at 300 for the mids and used trash for distortion . Used a limiter on the bass buss ..still nothing . So went back to the notes I took whilst listening to this vid . Release on the low bass track 250 ms …back it off . Lo and behold ….The bass sounded as I wanted it too . Man thank you for this great explanation and strategies to approach compression settings . I have learnt so much from you … it’s your holistic approach that Imo puts you way above most on here . I look forwarded to learning from you more . 👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@SonicScoop]

That’s so awesome to hear! -Justin

[@curtisjudd]

Great advice and has been super helpful for developing my ears and ability to use compression more effectively. Thanks!

[@BassBusMusic]

I don't know how many videos I've watched on this subject but this and your attack/release video are the first I've come across that even take me a little towards understanding compression. Thanks for the time you have put into these vids.

[@KamilKisiel]

Hey Justin, thanks for the podcast and your continued posts on KZbin. Some of the best and most educational production content out there.

[@howardconder5272]

I really appreciated your direct-to-camera approach on this important topic (hearing compression). I so need to get to grips with this. I am currently in Spain setting up a new TV and Music studio but I am a Brit from London and should be returning there soooooooon. Thanks again, blessings Howard

[@Wh1teland]

THE best video about compression I have ever seen! Thanks. Also one of the best compressor plugins to try all this out is Fab Filter Pro-C

[@iandeegrees1509]

Wherever I see Justin, I learn so much valuable stuff and details. Thank you

[@djsmokel.e.s.1686]

I just want to say thank you to all at sonicscoop for the time and effort you guys put into doing your podcasts, videos etc. they are super intuitive and fun to listen to.i,ve become somewhat addicted to watching/listening and i am extremely grateful that you guys exist..I really don't know how to express how much I appreciate sonic scoop...THANK YOU!!

[@Enice43]

Yes Justin you are right....this information is great and so valuable.

[@peterbrien2975]

This really is one of the best channels on mixing on KZbin!!

[@FifthnLincoln]

Just saying Hi Justin - Love SonicScoop This short format is good. I've been watching another channel's (Mix Bus TV) short Q&A videos and finding them helpful too. I agree that 'mousing around' tutorials are not so helpful as doing it yourself. OTOH I do find that I learn how to use plugins by watching people use them because although the manual tells you what the knobs do it doesn't tell you what to do with the knobs if you see what I mean? KZbin is my only option for learning from others so I really appreciate the time you put into sharing knowledge. I've also enjoyed and learned from the MIxCon videos on SonicScoop channel I especially liked the Bob Power one from 2 years ago - I'd recommend that everyone interested in mixing concepts watches that one.

[@JMartinBerry]

Thanks Justin!!

[@tomigoodall]

This page is freaking awesome, just discovered it today, watched two masterclasses and this video. I know how im spending the rest of my quarantine, thankss

[@BainesLiu]

On point, it's always better to experiment it yourself instead of just watch somebody do it, great video!

[@mikewallace1270]

Justin, I appreciate this more than you know. Sometimes I struggle to hear what compression is doing at the mix stage until I hear it on another system. It’s been quite baffling. Your explanation in this video has already helped me a tremendous amount. And I will do the exercises as you suggested. Thanks again!

[@OtherJesus]

This is going to change my life. I believe. Thank you xox

[@RobbJolleymusic]

These videos/podcasts have helped me vastly improve the way that I mix, sound treat a room, and different micing techniques! Thank you for making these videos!

[@sixto6]

One of the most underrated podcasts when it comes to audio!

[@Silver6003]

This and ALL your vids are Priceless …thanks 👍👍👍👍

[@davidasher22]

I just got the FabFilter compressor with the visualization read out on it. That thing has really helped me understand what a compressor is really doing. I’m definitely going to do this exercise today. Thanks for the video!

[@freesouljah]

Great!! Thank you, this helped to fill in some of the blanks in my knowledge and I will take some time to experiment and train my ears! 🤙🏼

[@RooftopRecording]

Hi Justin - Thanks so much for what you do! Your videos hold wisdom for me 25 years into audio engineering, and would have made me MUCH better much faster. Great tips here - listening is key and building experience! Where do I find information on mix critiques and mastering rates?

[@JustinColletti]

Thanks David Roof! Glad to be helpful. You can find all my contact info and a rate calculator here: joelambertmastering.com/team/justin-colletti/

[@jazzedout]

Thank you for the practical advice.

[@AllanGildea]

Thank you!

[@aguponcefractalblow4761]

Really clear Justin, thanks for your knowledge and practicality on the way to teach

[@nichttuntun3364]

I think this is a great and inspiring video and it's a good thing not to just show some things. But instead encourage people to actually do exercises with their tools. At first it's really hard to hear what compression does. After exercising more and more you will be able to hear even small subtleties. Level matching there is one of the most important things to have in mind. Thank you.

[@alexw4566]

Thank you brother, I appreciate you're point of view and experience. You're video has helped me, and changed my point of view. Love this vid, I'll be checking in on your other videos when I have the time

[@danielgigstuff5121]

this guy deserves more attention! i thought i had it down but this is so helpful, thankyou!

[@michelgaudin4758]

The best video advice tutorial for learn how to hear compression, congratulations for the educacional and didactic approach!!

[@CalvinRossWorld]

Thanks for the video. Looking forward to trying these techniques 🖤👌🏽

[@proverbalizer]

7:53 your compressor may have an A/B setting. Alternatively you can set up the same compressor on different inserts then simply turn one one and the other off to switch back and forth between fast and slow compression

[@SonicScoop]

True! Both are great ways to go about it. You could also duplicate the track and have two different settings for really fast switching if your compressor doesn't have an AB function.

[@ThePearlDrummer10]

Thanks Justin, awesome video and awesome advice, as always!

[@SonicScoop]

Want to REALLY Learn to hear compression? Try the new full length course at CompressionBreakthroughs.com Change the way you hear, understand and use compression FOREVER for the better.

[@jazzman97813]

Cant wait to try this out!

[@artsandtechnology]

Hi! Thank you for your advice ♥️🙏🏻 have a good day ☀️/🌃

[@eglessons]

Great stuff Justin...nothing like hands on experience !

[@kkillaWOW]

love the style of these videos! clear on the to do's and looking forward to try in the studio :)

[@SonicScoop]

So glad to hear! -Justin

[@samsonlovesyou]

Awesome video. So useful.

[@matchesmbp999]

Great work I love this type of help

[@m.i.stapes]

I haven't bought your course yet, but I really appreciate the tact of your pitch in these videos.

[@RozBeats]

Thank you only tut that goes super in depth

[@StayTrueJBake]

thank you

[@DjClimamusic]

Thank you SonicScoop, very helpful information.

[@jordn1]

I'm really stoked to try this exercise! Have a couple of questions: Are you suggesting to take the full mix and adjust the compression settings, as in use a compressor from the Stereo Out bus? Similarly, is the idea to import some radio track and just run the compressor setting over that every which way? This, as opposed to changing compressor settings on individual tracks?

[@DarkSideofSynth]

Direct experience with one's own material. How can that NOT be a good idea? ;)

[@lilikura]

Love your videos! Leaning so much from them. Could you please do a video on the Michael Brauer technique. Thank you and keep inspiring ❤️🙏🏽

[@SonicScoop]

Oh, we've got you covered! We've got a Q&A episode that covers that right here. Jump to the 16 minute mark: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6DFlJmbfdaijsU&feature=emb_title We also have a whole video interview with Michael Brauer himself where he talks about this in detail: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYu6k6utnNCjnKM

[@ThomsenTower]

Thanks for this. Simple but instructive exercise to try. I have a related question: how do “envelope shapers” come into play? Are they related, are they substitutes to compression, or what? Perhaps something I should learn by listening and comparing?

[@JustinColletti]

Thanks Federico Thomsen Audio. I think of compressors as offering a form of envelope shaping-whether you want them to or not. But dedicated envelope shapers (like the Transient Designer and others) can get you far more radical shaping of attack and sustain while still sounding surprisingly transparent. Those dedicated envelope shapers won’t really control your dynamics like a compressor will. And they won’t impart the “tone” a compressor might. This could be seen as a feature or a bug, depending on what you need to do. But they can certainly take you even further in adjusting the attack and sustain proportions of a signal, but without the (sometimes welcome) side-effects of compression for the same purpose. Hope that helps!

[@walterlopez1504]

Thanks Justin, gonna go try this out now!

[@SonicScoop]

Awesome to hear! We now have a guided version of this exercise (and more) at compressionbreakthroughs.com as well. -Justin

[@raverone909]

Great channel! I really appreciate all that you do for this community. I have two questions. The first is a clarifying question on a term since it was mentioned here, and I trust your ability to articulate this. In many turorials I see, they speak of how some compressors are affected by what they call "program material" or "program dependent". I'm getting hung up on what that means.. "program". My second question is regarding gain staging/level matching in a compressor. Some youtube channels say to match the peak between the dry and compressed signal. Others say to match the dry/wet level by ear, which is to say, perceived loudness. Which is the better practice, and why?

[@izvarzone]

"program" = volume I suppose, maybe frequency balance too. Like different attack and release speed, depending how loud sound is. Other stuff like ratio and soft knee could be affected too? You can see on LA-2A how arrow slows down instead of always moving at linear speed. read this: theproaudiofiles.com/program-dependent-compressor/

[@dinobose7126]

great tutorial

[@rrtheproducer8178]

thank man, help a lot

[@BottleneckMoses]

Thanks for sharing and for having a great channel. I always enjoy your content. I’d like to make a suggestion though... KZbin is visual medium, and I, like many others are visual learners. Rather than just talk for the entire video, I feel the whole experience would be vastly enhanced by illustrating what you’re saying with on-screen examples. I realise most youtubers follow the ‘show and tell’ model, but I would say that’s for good reason. Anyway, just my opinion. Keep up the great work!

[@JustinColletti]

Thanks Brad Ferguson-we have some videos like that here too. I just put one out yesterday called the “Cheat Codes to Mastering”. Check it out! The podcast episodes I think of as being more of an audio medium. They’re meant to be heard more than watched. But we have other types of videos that do exactly what you’re talking about too! Also: The best kind of visual learning you can do in relation to the ideas in this particular episode is to crack open your own DAW to see and hear these changes for yourself on your own material. That’s a key point in this particular episode. If I can inspire you to close KZbin and get to work on some tracks right after finishing this episode, I’ve done my job!

[@mmsoundslosangeles3043]

Thank you, This was a very good video.

[@alexw4566]

Good stuff mate, liked and subscribed.

[@ozwaltreacts4709]

That was really helpful man. Thanks!

[@wongsanggar]

Great way to train ear! Thanks Justin!

[@dx_armitage]

Really love your stuff.

[@federicofernandez8785]

Nice One! Thanks!

[@qimingmusic]

Great advice, I have a question could you kindly check? You mention we need to define our intention first at 12:45 Should we start with attack first or release first？ The steps will be, define one of attack and release first, and keep it, then change the rest variables later right?

[@SonicScoop]

It’s usually best to start with attack first in my experience. Medium fast release and dial attack to shape the front end of the sound. Then adjust release.

[@_banja]

Why did I never research this??! Very good video

[@shawnspeake]

Super appreciate you, my dude! developing sense memory! That's whats up

[@ciudad.nocturna]

very thanks man!! you rules

[@kelainefes]

Solid advice. You basically are detailing how to apply the scientific method to finding out how a compressor sounds. Very well, BTW. If you are a junior engineer you should click sub and do what this guys says.

[@alexw4566]

I agree completely and I am grateful he exists :)

[@duckboi94]

Love this!

[@PeanskeanENT]

Thanks for the tips bro - Peanskean Riddler #TheRiddler

[@ANDREW007CZ]

Hi, thanks!

[@AVDRE]

Great video

[@ellane8441]

Great Advice, It would be even more effective if there were more physical examples along with the tutorial. - I'm from the Old School where the hardware was hands-on. So I use analog and DAW and there is a significant audio difference. Much Appreciated SonicScoop.

[@JustinColletti]

Thanks EL Lane! The great thing about this episode is that it’s all about being hands on with your own tools, no matter what they are. If you have an analog compressor with attack and release controls of any kind, you can do these very same exercises with it for sure.

[@docteurgreene]

Hi, thanks for the video, this is something I try to do often, exagerate the settings to actually ear what the comp is doing. But I have two questions please: - is it a good thing to set the release time according to the tempo? - is it a good thing to set the same release time to each band of the multiband comp on the master bus? or do we need to choose a release time for each band? Thanks!

[@toyswillloveme8733]

thanks I can't hear the difference at all: but I know how to do it now

[@Seni0r999]

thanks!

[@JobThako]

Awesome tutorial. do you ever use auto-release?

[@JustinColletti]

Thanks Job Thako. Absolutely yes! It’s part of the tone of some compressors than can be quite desirable. Some compressors that have an auto function will still have the release be influenced by the settings you choose with the release knob, and some are full auto. Some old-school compressors essentially only have an auto mode! The best way to learn to hear these differences by far is with a manual release. But sometimes flipping to auto mode after a little experimentation will give you a sound you like even more. When it does, go for it!

[@JobThako]

Justin Colletti wow thanks for your your reply😊🎶🙏🏽

[@MikeRP3147]

What do you think of the CL1B?

[@Gamubi]

The part I don't get is the threshold. If say I have an eq and a compressor after. I tweak the eq and come back to compressor later the sound dropped due to the eq and now it's not hitting the threshold to have any effect. Does the threshold literally do nothing else than to find the right level to effect the compressor? It's not like a setting like attack/ratio and release that makes the compressor sound different?

[@SonicScoop]

The threshold only sets the level at which the compressor kicks in. If the signal goes higher than the threshold, then compressor starts compressing. If the signal is lower than the threshold, no compression happens. If you EQ a signal before it hits the compressor, and your EQ choices lower the level of the signal, then that signal could now be below the threshold, and may no longer trigger the compressor. If you EQ something in a way where it gets even louder, the opposite could happen: You could start triggering the compressor even more often and harder, because the signal is now going above the threshold more often. Hope that helps!

[@Gamubi]

@@SonicScoop Yeah, I figured as much just wasn't for sure...so really that's all its responsible for then. Thanks

[@zinablebeatz8857]

You know a lot, i respect you from the bottom of my heart. a video is good, when u show what u mean. i hope you will get more views and get that youtube-award-thing.

[@zinablebeatz8857]

Sir, do you know what i mean? I would really appreciate it, if you would show what u doin‘ with that compression. I‘m from switzerland and if i would understand it 100% i swear it would be like a radio i would hear 24/7. U talk helpful things, but if we can‘t see, we don‘t learn a lot. Thank u for havin u sir! Can i send you somethin‘ i did to have a feedback from you?

[@barrettabney]

Your SM7 needed a little more compression...

[@JustinColletti]

Barrett Abney - It’s true we don’t compress the podcast episodes a lot for their KZbin versions. I like the more open and relatively unprocessed sound for this compared to other videos. I guess I’m just too sensitive to the sound of compression now! :D We do add a little more compression and limiting to the audio-only version you’ll find on iTunes and Spotify and the like, as I figure people are more likely to be listening to those versions in noisy environments. You’re not the only person to request even more compression on the KZbin versions though, so maybe we’ll start slamming them more as well as of next week. Thanks for the feedback.

[@barrettabney]

@@JustinColletti just caught myself riding the volume at my office desk so I wouldn't disturb the other sound goobers I work with. You're a very dynamic speaker.

[@bedtimeread]

I'm trying I promise.

[@Soonzhiyang]

4:39

[@dannyho6786]

eat some edibles, put on your phones and play with the compression in your daw, you'll start hearing what its doing

[@dannyho6786]

wait 2 hrs after consuming edibles

[@tiptop8218]

you are for sure a top engineer but plaese use pictures for your explenations.

[@arseniy]

We have argue with friend. He often listening to very bad music. I tell him, don't listen to it, you will ruin music taste. He says, no, music taste is developing the wider range you listen. I think the developing and ruining music taste can be interesting topic for podcast.

[@xaosnox]

Is it just me, or are these just really obvious tips? This whole video can be summed up in one sentence: Play with the settings on a compressor. It would have been so much more helpful if it included examples of the different settings applied to a track with descriptions as to what the differences are that we can hear. IMO, Alex Zeleno is the master of teaching people how to listen to these things. He gives very detailed examples of what he is hearing when he's doing things and has a great way of bringing your attention to what the sonic differences are by demonstrating them with his voice, describing how the effect is altering the sound, and explaining what it does in the mix.

[@walterbeckley7634]

Thank You!

[@SuperJetos]

Great video, great advice!

[@SonicScoop]

Awesome to hear! -Justin

[@syndiko]

great video