Michael Brauer - Parallel Vocal Compression Technique

[@zettepix2009]

I especially agree with the guy on the left. So much concentrated wisdom.

[@DrOtumbo]

Underated comment 😂

[@owlmuso]

Bwaaahaaa haaa!!!

[@GlennErikMathisen]

The vocal sound on Parachutes is just ridiculously amazing!

[@periorsound]

Always a like for Michael Brauer. Legend.

[@CarlosJannarelli]

I love his approach and as a puremix subscriber, I've seen the whole tutorial several times now. As I get more experienced with mixing and mastering, I'm starting to realize that, in this particular vocal "seasoning", he was using compressors as saturators in a time when digital saturators didn't exist. That was a way of getting saturation out of tubes and transistors. It has way less to do with compression itself. Does anybody feel that way too? Just to be clear, he's amazing, I've learned a lot from him. No criticism here.

[@WheelieMix]

People, stop complaining you can't see anything, it's not a tutorial, it's an advert to draw you into the main (paying) course where he explains everything in there. Mix With The Masters had been doing the same thing for years (with a bit more or sometimes a bit less in-depth explanation in their teaser/ad). Peace

[@raphaelherzig3316]

So what, what's wrong with that

[@WheelieMix]

@@raphaelherzig3316 I never said there was anything wrong with that, just it getting old seeing people complaining about something that is not what they expect it to be.

[@raphaelherzig3316]

@@WheelieMix right, sorry I misinterpreted your comment :)

[@WheelieMix]

@@raphaelherzig3316 No worries :D.

[@mrmorpheus9707]

Would love to see it demonstrated !

[@danielcoppens5684]

Sign up for Puremix there is a 4.5 hour demo on Brauer's entire approach. This one alone is worth the cost.

[@shayeasy]

I still remember hearing Parachutes for the first time and the effect it had on me. Incredible songs that are showcased beautifully by the mix.

[@adycfrbv]

Parachutes from Coldplay?

[@TransistorLSD]

​@@adycfrbvyes

[@JoshuaTMagee]

Would love to see a follow-up video with Michael actively demonstrating this in the box!

[@jordibuch]

@CyrusherBikes. 🤣🤣🤣

[@jonautry]

🏆 Best Supporting Actor 🏆: Assistant Who’s Clearly Heard It All Before Sitting Next To Michael Brauer Still Looking Interested

[@matthisschwarz2227]

I think he looks like he doesn’t get a single word Michael is saying 🤣

[@jonautry]

@@matthisschwarz2227 Exactly! ‘What is this barrage of challenging, game-changing information that I’m just now hearing for the first time, with you, the viewer?! I find myself bewildered and confused. Para-WHAT? Compressa-WHO?!’ And the first NARAS-awarded Oscar® goes to…

[@dustincicero7452]

😂😂😂

[@jahana81]

Oh Fernandou

[@Mereomusic]

I put the Arturia Sta level plug-in on my c bus and it’s quite something! Thank you for all the amazing info. This method is definitely a game changer for me

[@mickeymiguel2726]

Brilliantly explained

[@virginstudio120]

Amazing concepts! Thanx for sharing. Regards from Bcn! 🤘🏼

[@owlmuso]

Parachutes is a master class in mixing

[@poorhouz5051]

MIchael Brauer is a BEAST wit it. I would have Ioved to see you demo that technique. LOL From Your Boy Poorhouzzzzzzz SALUTE

[@bhargavdobhal5327]

Thank You 🙌🙌Very Helpful Video🔥🔥🔥🔥.

[@row.b]

Awesome tips....question: what is the setup of the main Korneff Pawn Shop screen?

[@CLdwyer]

I also feel like you could just do parallel Multiband compression and saturation and get a similar impact. But his approach makes a lot of sense. On parts where the vocal is bare and featured, giving it “more” is beneficial. It sounds like it would take taste & time to choose a versatile & consistent array of parallel compressors and you’d need to gain stage your threshold and know what audio you’re sending. That’s a moving style that would take some time to nail & practice.

[@ianmcgranaghan9888]

Not the same using multi band compression because you want colorful compressors like he talks about. Like the Sta-level,distressor,blue stipe, 1176,Fairchild 670/660,and the TLA 100.Also Multiband Compressors can cause many issues with phase when you are multing 4 or 5 different ones. By using his aprouch you need to realize that you are trying to avoid (major) EQ on the vocal and try and build the vocal with the 4 or 5 colorful compressors. Using Multiband compressors will just make you vocal bouncy and will have a more colorless vocal. And then you will have to EQ more. He also only really compresses about 1 db calibrated in the compressors he uses for vocals. Not including the distressor which is on nuke and the Blue Stripe which is also pretty drastic compression All buttons in. And no, using saturation in combination with multiband compressors will not work either. It just complicates everything including PHASE. I downloaded his template and i can verify this.

[@CLdwyer]

@@ianmcgranaghan9888 Thanks for the technical distinction! I was pondering how he calibrates the compressor use. But I will say that many of these compressors do saturate in their own way and provide an eq result/change so there will be some phase adjustment on things (though very minimal if there is no eq being used after the compressors in this template). Just a clarification, he's not actually doing 10-15db side chain compression on these right? He's tapping the meters using the more extreme settings? That's very unique. I was wondering how he was getting the colored sound without slamming the material AND getting nothing but unpredictable breath & consonant, pumping sounds. If I'm understanding you correctly, I'm now excited to consider this approach too.

[@CLdwyer]

@@ianmcgranaghan9888 so, I attempted to set up the process today and I did get some really good results. It’s also a very simple thing to format in most DAW’s too. Thanks for the feedback on it!

[@aureliosilva]

I was thinking the same. I also think is very similar, cause he is looking for the tone of the compressor, but in terms of certain regions of the vocal spectrum, and by compressing 1 or 2 db you wont affect the phase too much. A multiband comp with different saturation colors could be a veeeery nice plugin.

[@CLdwyer]

@@aureliosilva Arguably, you could say that Izotope Ozone is the closest to this possibility since it does have different compression modes and saturation modes that could run on the same breakpoints. But now we’re getting into the theory & implementation of the God Particle too. I did attempt this with the multiple compressors and there is a noticeable coloration in the vocal with the different ones. And it does affect phase too, though minimal. But the thing about this is that it’s all full band saturation/compression, so no steep filters or Pre ringing in linear phase, and the full band vocal has the same dynamic behavior of that compressor style. I’m gonna play with this more too.

[@cycleofficial4744]

This guy to the left thinking "How did I get into this ?"

[@DrOtumbo]

Sooop Serial compression basically?

[@samsonlovesyou]

Is he talking about paralleling all of those compressors individually, or having one parallel serial chain of multiple compressors?

[@chrise229]

The guy next to him looks conserned, confused and depressed at the same time.

[@JamesArthurHurley]

From the stories I have heard from friends in the industry that have worked with/for Micheal, I’d say his assistant next to him is seriously contemplating his next career move needed asap 😂.

[@Orrinton]

@@JamesArthurHurley why do you say that?

[@JamesArthurHurley]

@@Orrinton its purposefully ambiguous.

[@juelioArtisteProducer]

😂😂😂

[@matthisschwarz2227]

Does he say how he eventually automates the total level of the vocal? All I hear is how he rides it in and out of the compressors to change the degree and sound of the compression. But what if there needs to be a drastic change in volume?

[@miquelmarti6537]

it's time for the DAW developers to start thinking about offering us post fader inserts

[@rickdeaguiar-musicreflecti7692]

Wow! Great tutorial. Please keep them coming. So helpful :)

[@g-love6507]

So is he talking about taking a single vocal track and using aux sends to send that vocal to several compressors and then summing the vocal blend on a final Bus/Fader ?

[@barneyrubble8255]

Whats A and D ? pre amp and compressor?

[@easternsouvenirs]

Compressors in series? Or one vocal post fader sent to multiple buses? Confused about the setup he’s talking about

[@siriusfun]

In series.

[@_allcap]

Parallel but there is no dry signal. He said the vocal only feeds the multiple compressors. He then blends the all the comps for the sound he wants and rinds the fader of the original which in essence is the send/input signal to all the compressors

[@easternsouvenirs]

@@_allcap Thanks! Very interesting technique.

[@jakefauber7073]

In Parallel. In a DAW, the dry vocal is sent Post-Fader into 5 separate compressed busses for the desired flavor. These are all sent Post-Fader to the Return Bus that’s routed Post-Fader to the Master.

[@sunyclubband4203]

here is the example kzbin.info/www/bejne/bKGTm56HrNSaf5o

[@hummarstraful]

I just spent an hour listening to some of Michael's latest ITB mixes. I just pulled up his All Music credits and started with the 2022-2023 mixes. Then I compared them to his early 2000s hardware mixes. And I got to tell ya, he mixes great either way, but the ITB mixes sound flat compared to the older mixes which have richer sounding compression and DEPTH. Depth is the main difference. The ITB work's sound one dimensional. I did this because I was thinking about selling my UA1176 because I need the money, but it's my only pro piece of hardware I own. The friggin INPUT knob is shorting out. Gonna cost probably $300 for shipping and repair costs to UA. That for a mono compressor.

[@jas_bataille]

All of this and man, you must be hardly mixing...Just sayin'

[@natesommers1316]

Legend

[@goranvuletic8873]

I remember reading various websites more than 10-15 years ago, while I was still a beginner, where some sound engineers allegedly revealed their secrets. They babbled about EQ-in things down etc, not once mentioning compression. Only later, I discovered myself that it's all about compression, that's what gives the sound the power, the clarity, the authenticity and finally, combining with the limiter, blending.

[@51bpm]

TLA 100 is the best compresser ever, baby...

[@sunyclubband4203]

design a plugin that does all these functions with various buttons and knobs with the characteristics and tastes of the universal preference😅

[@gregrodrigueziii8075]

You can't. The compressor is post fader. meaning youre getting the sound is also based on how you move the fader. each section will be sent to different comps to post fader. and in that point one plugin will be more work than just setting it up in his multi bus then just move faders.

[@jeremythornton433]

I'm still totally confused on how I actually do this. I'm running Cubase 12 Pro. Do I duplicate or triplicate the vocal track and send each track to a different compressor? The routing has never actually been explained to me yet.

[@NoQualmsTheArtist]

Assign the sends to the compressors as pre fader, then mute the vocal track. Make the outputs of the compressors the same bus channel.

[@Big_Old_Bondy]

@@NoQualmsTheArtist No, you want the send to the compressors to post fader so that you can drive the signal into the compressors by riding the vocal fader.

[@NoQualmsTheArtist]

@@Big_Old_Bondy there are no rules you can do whatever you want. The technique described in the video is how I answered his question. But you can do it many ways including the way you mentioned. With this technique you ride the return.

[@Big_Old_Bondy]

@@NoQualmsTheArtist Yeah your'e right tbf. Ah okay then if you are gonna ride the return track then your way is the way. I'm trying it atm by riding the vocal send channel so it pushes into the compressors. Brings out the reverb on the vocal a lot moe when you push.

[@gregrodrigueziii8075]

@@NoQualmsTheArtist but specific to Brauers process, Its post fader. Its what makes the process different. He is riding that fader into compression while managing the level so its a totally different process and mindset. He mentioned this several times, if people are refering to his multibus workflow, its all post fader, as pre fader totally changes the whole concept of what he is doing making it not the process he is talking about. If its pre fader, then thats not what he is talking about, thats a different technique than what he is referring in this video.

[@larrycavallucci3258]

I am a real "Show and Tell" kinda guy, so it woulda been alot better had he done that.....like the ole saying, "a picture's worth a 1,000 words"....so, lots of words, no pictures, so I can only guess at how this is done. I have Studio One pro 5, so maybe it can be done with a plugin chain using the Splitter they have available. Usually in other cases, I love Brauer's vids.

[@DolbyAtmosMixing]

Reality check at 00:35 #wordtothewise

[@SoundFreqsOnline]

Legend! However I prefer lab to lecture when it comes to learning about audio production techniques. Just hard to apply theory to sound.

[@אפיאליאב]

big like from "ISRAEL" !!

[@thearno2885]

You need really good monitoring to hear the difference between the compressors.

[@thesebarehands9082]

Whoa. I love this reverse engineering.

[@djray2705]

Just be talking 😂 also who silent man in back

[@millennium-music]

To brauerize your mix in the box, you should change the 'stereo output' of your track to 'no output'; open two send busses (in Logic) and you put a different sounding compressor with the same settings in each bus. You've just split the dry sound = brauerized. You can also brauerize the wet sound: add all your plugins in different send busses (= parallel), and put the stereo output of all those buses to for example bus 20; change the 'stereo output' of bus 20 to 'no output', open two busses and add a different sounding compressor with the same settings to each bus; your wet sound has been split = brauerized. Next step: change the 'stereo output' of the dry compressors to, for example, 'bus 30', and change the 'stereo output' of the wet compressors to, for example, 'bus 40'. Bus 30 = volume of dry compressed sound; bus 40 = volume wet compressed sound. Change the 'stereo output' of bus 30 and bus 40 to, for example, 'bus 50'. Add a multipressor with light settings, only taming peaks, to bus 50. Bus 50 is now your premaster for this specific instrument, containing a mix of the compressed dry and wet sound. (Brauerizing means enriching the sound by splitting it up, and it means controlling the dynamics of each instrument, or instrument group, before it reaches the stereo output.)

[@jkilco1]

No idea what he just said

[@6stringstrum]

C'mon Michael, show us the money...

[@Wackyboombacky]

Can I just ask a question? What the duck is this guy talking about?

[@icrodriguez21]

Let’s clarify this! You released a video tutorial of parallel compression (a semi-complex process of audio mixing), and you don’t show any example or even a plug-in on the screen? Instead, you think that is a good idea to show the most boring man on earth explaining everything and next to him, there’s a weird guy doing nothing? This is why people in the film industry think we are totally replaceable by machines or AI.

[@JoshuaTMagee]

If you're labeling Michael Brauer as "the most boring man on earth," then you have no idea what you're talking about

[@WheelieMix]

It's because the content is available to those who pays, they won't show it for free on YT, don't assume they are all a bunch of idiots. It's basically a teaser (where MB is raving about his sound without telling you anything). So it's not a video tutorial, it's an advert. They are not stupid, you just missed the point it seems, and that's fine. It means that this ad didn't convinced you to look further and pay for the full explanation breakdown, and that's totally fine :). No need to bring AI replacement into the equation (yet) ^^.

[@icrodriguez21]

​@@WheelieMix ok that makes total sense now! They should make it more clear though

[@gregrodrigueziii8075]

Uhm dont speak for the film industry. Its not even the "take" of the whole film industry. or if you want to be specific, in the post production. But I agree with you somewhere Puremix really did a bad concept for this content even if its just a teaser. The title is even wrong, as what he does, well most of the time his multibus workflow cant even be called Parallel compression (and specificaly what he is explaining in this one) as there is no dry/ unaffected signal being mixed into the compressed one. signal is split to multiple and all are processed into different compressor at the same time, no dry signal.

[@harryolive1853]

omg! pure blah and no real examples..

[@jKHAHN215PA]

Thought we were gonna get an example ..to see it done 🎛️