When I was learning about mixing, I, like many others, sort of understood how compressors worked but wasn’t quite sure what to listen for when setting them up. Then I discovered “Mixing With Your Mind” by Mike Stavrou.
It’s a trip of a book but also beautifully profound and worth your time/investment.
Cracking The Code
This simple little trick cracked open compressors and how to hear what they are doing. Once you try it you’ll find it’s obviously simple:
- Turn up the ratio of the compressor 10:1 or 20:1. We really want to hear the compression.
- Set your attack and release to as fast as possible.
- Bring the threshold down until you’re getting at least 10dB of compression. Can you hear it?
- First adjust the attack to a place where you’re getting enough of the transient of the sound.
- Next adjust the release so that it is musically pleasing and suitable for what you’re trying to achieve. Fast release is more exciting but won’t be as smooth. A medium release will be more transparent especially if you time it with the BPM of the track (more on the another time). A long release will be more gluey and smooth things out but might be a little choked at high ratios of compression or if you’re compressing 3dB+.
- Bring the ratio back to a place where you can still hear it working but more tastefully.
- Adjust the threshold so you’re getting a suitable amount of gain. I’m usually aiming for peaks at 6 dB of compression.
If you need to hear what the compressor is doing this is a good method. If you don’t have attack and release or ratio – LA-2A style compressor for instance – you can try slamming the compressor and then dialling it back.
The Takeaway: If you’re not sure what a compressor is doing to your sound. Try the method above. If you like this little bit of gold about compression, check out the rest of Mike’s book.
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