When do you use COMPRESSION?

[Caine123]

ok i think some might ask themselves "now he asks this? after all these posts?" ;D. i am mixing recently a lot more than in the past and want to streamline my workflow and i bought in the past just too much.... marketing crap i fell for and so on. in the end i somehow use mostly the same plugins which are quick and stable so far and also graphically just great. mostly fabfilter so far and compared a lot of compressors and didnt find much difference (excluding the colourizing/ with additional knobs etc.).

i see that i dont use compression much though and wonder if i should?

i use it always on:
Mix Bus -> 2-3 db GR
Master Bus -> also 2-3 dB GR max
Sounds where i want it more FULLER -> e.g. synthsound GR up to 4-5 db to get it more stable if i want it.
percussions are mostly samples, mostly processed already so i mostly use EQ, transient designer and then i dont feel the need of compression.

where do you use compressions and what you want to achieve? e.g. hihats etc.

thanks!

[jamcat]

The main reason to use compression is to bring out more body/sustain in an instrument or vocal, and/or even out the performance, particularly if it is dipping below the other instruments in the mix.

You should only use compression as needed. If you’re not sure, you don’t need it.

[martiu]

i use it to bring up the background sounds in the mix

[Vortifex]

Mostly just typical usage, i.e. ironing out undesirable peaks and troughs. I normally use Fircomp 2 or MJUC for that. Sometimes a bit of glue or parallel compression for the drum bus. For that I'd normally use Arturia's 1176 or DBX emulations.

Depending on the track I'll sometimes put a compressor after reverbs and delays, particularly on synths, for ducking and/or to create a nice smooth wall of sound. Again I'll use Fircomp 2 or MJUC for that.

I use DDMF's MagicDeathEye on the master for small amounts of gain reduction.

[Benedict]

Q: When do you use COMPRESSION?
A: Whenever the Song asks for it.

I mostly use compression to change the flow or groove of a sound or group of sounds. this is Groove compression which is a form of Glue Compression and where compression really becomes fun. I cover my approaches in this review for a very cool comp the AdHd Leveling tool
https://youtu.be/SSLN5zJGONQ?si=15P-bIxQ7iAY6VkB

I do use compression sometimes for controlling levels esp with Flangers or other synth/fx processes that can be very uneven and cause issues down the track. BUT only after that has become a problem as I want sounds to be dynamic/mobile and not that On/Off thing so common these days.

[CrystalWizard]

Sparingly, when the track "needs" it. Lately, i am playing with a live percussionist, the mic goes through PSP Old Timer or something during the performance, Then later in the mixdown it will get another compressing along the way, a more subtle touch, maybe on a bus. Then it may get a final touch of compression on the output. On Synths they don't get much use by me, usually just if i want to bring up the background sounds in a patch. i use them for field recordings and samples quite a bit, after noise reduction. If i did more tracking of live instruments they would get much more use.

[zeep]

When something jumps out on a track too much for your liking, compress that peak.
For (mix) bus, catch some peaks with a fast compressor. To taste, create movement with a slower one.

[unaufadox]

I think of it as an automated volume control. So if a singer sings louder in a part, and it jumps out of the mix, I’ll add a compressor to just shave off the dBs which prevent it from sounding balanced. Different compressors add different flavours like low end or top end ‘air’ but fundamentally, they make louder parts quieter and quieter parts louder (when compressing then adding make up gain)

[Negoba]

More experienced people may clarify this, but I read long ago about using compression to make some thing feel "closer" in the mix while reverbs tend to make things seem far away. Then panning gives you width. This all combines into a 3D image where you want a lead element that gives the listener a focal point. So along with everything else said, it can help bring a lead element forward.

Sometimes it is overused so much that you feel like you're in a closet with the singer.

[CrystalWizard]

When something jumps out on a track too much for your liking, compress that peak.
For (mix) bus, catch some peaks with a fast compressor. To taste, create movement with a slower one.

Generally if something jumps out on a track i will give it a vol automation curve or EQ, if it's a very short peak then compression.

[vurt]

rarely.
i have one on my guitar pedal board, pre volume pedal. (unless im using a fuzz, then no point compressing as the fuzz levels it out)

then one on the mastering stage.

it really depends what you are doing, ie i rarely use drums/percussion, i may use one there if i do, on a buss.
when i was doing more live band recording, i would use a lot more dynamics processing than i do for ambient synth stuff.

experience will help you understand more than any of our words or videos.
the best way to learn is to make mistakes, and at least here, no one gets hurt from the mistakes, not like skateboarding.

[Benedict]

More experienced people may clarify this, but I read long ago about using compression to make some thing feel "closer" in the mix while reverbs tend to make things seem far away. Then panning gives you width. This all combines into a 3D image where you want a lead element that gives the listener a focal point. So along with everything else said, it can help bring a lead element forward.

Sometimes it is overused so much that you feel like you're in a closet with the singer.

I wouldn't put it like that but the bestest use of compression is to mimic the effect of the way that our ear/brain reacts to a LOUD sound. Think of fireworks overhead, your whole body reacts by shrinking in, closing down for a bit. Compression can mimic that which is a great way to have people feeling that the sound is more dramatic. Closer maybe but that is more done with Echoes - but again you can do things like Sound>Echo>Compression to shape the overall rather than Sound>Comp>Echo.

[sin night]

I use compression a lot, along with limiting, clipping and saturation, to tame transients and gain headroom. A few dB here, a few dB there, I try to keep it not that obvious…

Sometimes sounds/parts have too much dynamic excursion and I can’t set the level properly (it ends up too loud if I want to hear certain details, but I can’t hear them otherwise), so I try compressing those parts a bit. Note that sometimes compression is not the right solution and you may want to use other tools for unmasking, for example an eq.

Another consideration is how much I want the part to jump out in the mix. On a background part, I’ll probably want to tame transients more, because I don’t want that part to steal the attention from the main parts…

Usually that’s my usage of compression as a “problem solver”… then there are also situations when a sound may be too much dynamic for certain processors (maybe they distort), so I may end up compressing.


I use compression also for aesthetic purposes. Sometimes I want a bit of compression to colour the transients in a certain way. It often goes together with gaining headroom. I don’t go for a noticeably compressed result, more for a subtle flavour.
I mainly use synths for my music, so a lot can be done at a patch programming level… but sometimes that little push against a compressor, just a tiny amount of dB of gain reduction for a fraction of time, is what makes it sound “right”.


Then there is compression to glue things together, for example on a bus… a tiny bit of compression to make things “dance”…


Using compression to get the performance dynamics right is less of a concern for me, because I mainly rely on synths (and they are sequenced for the most part), but sometimes I may use compression for that as well.


There are so many usages, I probably forgot some…

Speaking of transient taming, sometimes a little bit of eq/filtering is a better choice, or can allow for less compression. Say you have a lot of low end not needed (on a high pitched sound, for example a hi hat): controlling those frequencies with an eq before entering a compressor may be helpful (but don’t completely filter all the lows and the mids from a hi hat, you may still need some, otherwise the transient will sound “annihilated”)…

[Scrubbing Monkeys]

I use compression quite a bit.

To level out vocals
To add punch to bass or leveling if needed
To add groove or pumping on a parallel track. Not obvious but rather something you feel.
Molot GE is fun to totally mangle a drum kit. Used in parallel panned a bit with verb opposite.
Sometimes on the 2 bus for flavor.
Sometimes o n a track just to add flavor.

My favorite tools of the week are.

MJUC
1176
Kotelnikov GE
Molot GE
Shady Hills
DBX 160

[enroe]

Where do you use compressions and what you want to achieve?

On all individual tracks that require it. For me there are four areas of application:

1. Reducing and cutting off annoying peaks

2. Lowering disturbing resonances (here a multiband compressor
is usually even better)

3. For building loudness and substance of a sound or instrument

4. For shaping the transients and the transient portion of the signal.