In reply to
hey mate, found this on another forum....
I understand your frustration. Learning how to properly employ compression and limiting is one of the "black arts" of audio recording. Unfortunately, no tutorial or book can really teach you HOW--those sources are great to answer they "why" and define terms like compression ratio, hysteresis, and so forth. Definitely read what you can to get a thorough understanding of the technical aspects of how a compressor functions.
However, compression--like everything else in the world, is something that requires a lot of practice in order to master. Avoiding compression will not solve your problem, it will not make you more skilled at hearing what needs to be done. It will only delay your progress.
One element that I feel you have left out of your equation is the *character* of dynamic control. While the express purpose of compression is to manipulation of volume levels, there is a secondary audio effect that occurs when audio is processed by a dynamic altering device. In many cases this secondary effect is the MOST important element as it imparts a tone, a vibe, an overall "feel." Generally speaking, many audio engineers I know--including myself--select a compressor not for its ability to control dynamics but the character it imparts. Removing this 'voodoo' from the mix tends to impart a very amateur sound to a record in many music genres, because we've so closely associated the sound of certain compressors and limiters with that of a hit record.
While I'm not sure exactly what issue you are having there are a few areas that newer engineers have problems with when it comes to dynamic control. See if any of these suggestions help you out:
1.) The biggest mistake I see most young engineers make is failure to compress enough. You'd be surprised how much compression gets used on certain elements like vocals. 12 or 15 db's of gain reduction is the norm, not the exception.
2.) You shouldn't be able to "hear" the compressor WORKING. It's okay to hear things being squashed, but if it's pumping and sucking... that's usually a bad thing (not always--listen to some of The Beatles or Led Zeppelin's cymbals... major pumpin' going on!). If this is happening try adjusting your release rate to be a little longer, or shorten the attack time. If that doesn't work try a limiter.
3.) If things sound too distorted, try increasing the attack time. Or once again use a limiter.
4.) Limiters are your friends. This is just my preference, but 90% of the time I use a limiter (Waves L1 in software, LA2A, LA3A or Summit Audio in real life) rather than a compressor. I'm selective with what I compress. Sometimes I will use both a limiter and a compressor to get what I want. This is a personal preference, but useful to know it happens when just starting out.
5.) Try to "time" your compressor attack and release to the audio. Dial it in there until you get the magic setting for the material. This is something you just have to learn to hear, and reflects artistic choice on your behalf. Generally speaking this is critical for kick/snare sounds.
6.) Not all compressors/limiters are created equal. Some just work better on different sources than others. Some are absolutely daft except in certain contexts, but ALL of them prove useful on something. That may only happen once a year, but you'd be surprised what cool sounds you can get.
7.) Research and learn about the different compressor flavors. Fet, Mu-based tube designs, VCA and so forth. Each bring different things to the table.
8.) If you set your mix levels before you compress/limit you're going to have to reset the mix levels. Generally speaking I control dynamics first, mix later. Of course, to do that you have to "know" what a decent setting is. Once the levels are set a few compression tweaks may happen. No big deal, just hit them harder or softer.
9.) PRACTICE. The only way to get good at this is to make a million mistakes. We've all done it. There isn't a single engineer in the history of audio that didn't first crawl in the feces filled trenches of terrible sounding audio before they learned to walk. I know I had my fair share of "WHOOPS" on albums where you wonder what in the hell you were thinking. Heck, I think all of us still manage to screw things up a little bit if the hour is late, the coffee pot is empty, the deadline is near and the artist is being a pain.
Hope this helps, best of luck--the only thing more difficult than learning how to professionally utilize compression is mixing midrange frequencies and getting vocals to "soar."
Good find!! Gives some nice points there. Ive been practicing mad last week compressing different elements and slowly, very slowly im kinda gettin the hand of it.
Gonna check out that sonic academy vid later! Bit hungover now so can't keep my head straight for 2 mins.