KVR Audio

bassembrace · Post by **bassembrace** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 3:06 pm

ok so my big question is how do the "big guys" compress their tracks to make their tracks that bumpy. I realised the tracks are heavily compressed and limited but for example in nicky romeros tracks it sounds really good! So my question is how do they do that and does somebody know what usually the settings are? Or is it because of the expensive UAD maximizer plugins they use on the master?! Everytime i want to get it compressed right after I mixed and equed everything properly i cant get that compression to make the track bumpy and loud like that (Yes I'm using a limiter on the master, leaving plenty of headroom and do proper compression on individual channels) but there is this one thing missing that every bigger house producer does. It seems like there is a secret behind their productions in their compression lol. Also i wanted to mention I often remade a few tracks from the big guys and it always failed in the dynamics even tho i found the same sounds. I hope somone can help me, cheers.

Mushy Mushy · Post by **Mushy Mushy** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 3:11 pm

Distort, compress, limit, clip, rinse, repeat.

osiris · Post by **osiris** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 3:28 pm

Parallel compression (which is kind of a %itch to set up in FL...)

bassembrace · Post by **bassembrace** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 3:32 pm

Yea i'm doing some parallel compression, but it shouldnt be done on every channel I think. I'm using Logic Pro by the way

RyanBrennan · Post by **RyanBrennan** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 4:37 pm

bassembrace wrote:Yea i'm doing some parallel compression, but it shouldnt be done on every channel I think. I'm using Logic Pro by the way

if you really like try and take a part a pro track and listen to the different frequency ranges individually you'll find the just sound so tight, this is because everything of that particular sound is eq'd out, this allows them to really push their bus compressor to make everything tight. So don't focus so much on the master, in my opinion most of the compression is done on the individual sounds and your buss's

As far as parallel compression, you should be careful with using it to much. I pretty much always use it on my drums, and sometimes bass. Haven't really tried using it on leads because you generally want to keep the dynamic range in tact with those sounds, just don't use too much!

Also make sure you use a compressor to get control of the peaks before you do other processing on sounds, that will probably clean up your sound a bit

dalor · Post by **dalor** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 4:52 pm

Pick the right sounds in first place to fill the frequency spectrum, then EQ, then compression/saturation/distortion.

Aiynzahev · Post by **Aiynzahev** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 5:12 pm

dalor wrote:Pick the right sounds in first place to fill the frequency spectrum, then EQ, then compression/saturation/distortion.

Yeah it's not usually just one thing. I hi-pass the bass frequencies on everything to some extent, even my kick and bass if were talking really low frequencies. I also get rid of resonant peaks in the sounds with notch EQ, my compressors respond much better after this.

Also don't discount stereo width processing, that makes things sound big and come out of your speakers.

bassembrace · Post by **bassembrace** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 7:18 pm

hmm, i know there are several techniques for stereo processing, but how can i make it different for each sound. I know that Volume, Panning and Frequencies could be visualized as a 3d model but it seems to me that the professional tracks have really wide stereo on claps kick and sub are mono. How can i prevent splashing the sounds on each when adjusting the stereo? how can the sounds differenciate from each other?

Aiynzahev · Post by **Aiynzahev** » Fri Feb 01, 2013 4:27 am

You know the HAAS effect?

bassembrace · Post by **bassembrace** » Tue Feb 05, 2013 5:12 pm

yea i know the haas effect its very helpful. But can someone tell me how the instrument on the drop is so powerful (video below) and so much on stereo. Its really interesting how a simple distorted saw wave is so powerful and works so well together with the kick (Yes i know what sidechain is, panning and also I have a bunch of stereo panning effects, sample delay is also a good tool)

1:50! that saw wave that goes with the hardstyle kick drum. I guess every experienced producer is able to recreate the sound itself but how do i compress it and what should i do to get an simple lead (maybe layered) so powerful??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bQwn6FwakY

tomfoolery · Post by **tomfoolery** » Sun Mar 03, 2013 4:31 am

I was looking for something else and saw this. Figured I would respond since it seems no one had any comment on the example. the kick is a really nice kick. Good sample. The lead alternates with the kick. The kick takes up a huge amount of sonic space sharing it with nothing else substantial. The lead alternates and is probably close to or right at the same volume as the kick. Being closer to the peak of the hearing sensitivity (Fletcher Munson) it appears very loud. It is not competing with any other sounds either. Alternating with the kick and just some short percussive elements. As it goes on another sound comes into the same range interfering with it. If this sound was there at the drop it would have been less effective. That alternating rhythm gives it drive adding to its effectiveness along with clarity. And yes the lead sounds layered.

bassembrace wrote:yea i know the haas effect its very helpful. But can someone tell me how the instrument on the drop is so powerful (video below) and so much on stereo. Its really interesting how a simple distorted saw wave is so powerful and works so well together with the kick (Yes i know what sidechain is, panning and also I have a bunch of stereo panning effects, sample delay is also a good tool)

1:50! that saw wave that goes with the hardstyle kick drum. I guess every experienced producer is able to recreate the sound itself but how do i compress it and what should i do to get an simple lead (maybe layered) so powerful??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bQwn6FwakY

Vospi · Post by **Vospi** » Sun Mar 03, 2013 10:41 am

osiris wrote:Parallel compression (which is kind of a %itch to set up in FL...)

Which is REALLY easy to set up in FL.

ferez21 · Post by **ferez21** » Sun Mar 03, 2013 7:21 pm

Vospi wrote:
osiris wrote:Parallel compression (which is kind of a %itch to set up in FL...)
Which is REALLY easy to set up in FL.

DDMF, Meldaproduction, delamancha(RIP), SKnote and a couple of more developers, offer some great compressors that features a "mix" knob for creating NY Compression without complicated routings - and they are quite cheap too, most of them are sub 40$, and quality is great.
My recent discovery is the MeldaModernCompressor, which i only got yesterday, but i feel like it's going to be my go-to drum bus compressor.

Vospi · Post by **Vospi** » Mon Mar 04, 2013 7:24 am

My point was that in FL you have this knob for every FX slot.

ferez21 · Post by **ferez21** » Mon Mar 04, 2013 10:06 am

Vospi wrote:My point was that in FL you have this knob for every FX slot.

Sure, of course, but it still much much more convenient to have an "NY" compressor in your arsenal.... especially when theyre that cheap.

Compression technique in modern house music (EDM)