Do you ever think compressors, suck?
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- KVRAF
- 7579 posts since 17 Feb, 2005
I have a lot to say why I would think this, but honestly I may be totally wrong. I think there could be a more expressive dynamics control device! What I hate about compressors is how they modify the frequency spectrum, making one band sound good at the expense of another. Yet I've never seen one that could make anything sound good all the time. Constant adjustments and judicious knob turning feels like facism to me. Tell me I'm wrong, tell me that compressors are good.
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- Banned
- 22457 posts since 5 Sep, 2001
[DELETED]
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- KVRist
- 277 posts since 4 Oct, 2014
Compressors are fine. De-essers though are in league with Satan.
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 7579 posts since 17 Feb, 2005
Okay I'll bite! (but only for Theo)TheoM wrote: I think a post like this deserves to have the info of what you are using that led you to this conclusion.
It is a RMS feedforwards compressor I made. It changes the dynamics really good, but on mastered material can negatively impact tone, simply because of compression.
Simply because of compression, make no assumptions.
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- KVRAF
- 5383 posts since 25 Jan, 2014 from The End of The World as We Knowit
What is your basis for generalising your results to all compressors, and to all parameter settings? And how do you define "sound good"? Do you just want a dynamic eq?camsr wrote:It is a RMS feedforwards compressor I made.
F E E D
Y O U R
F L O W
Y O U R
F L O W
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 7579 posts since 17 Feb, 2005
The similarity is they are wideband compressors.Michael L wrote:What is your basis for generalising your results to all compressors, and to all parameter settings? And how do you define "sound good"? Do you just want a dynamic eq?camsr wrote:It is a RMS feedforwards compressor I made.
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- Banned
- 22457 posts since 5 Sep, 2001
[DELETED]
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- KVRian
- 1007 posts since 12 Sep, 2005
Anything overused, or misunderstood sucks to me. I tend to use effects around 5% wet for example, and with compression it's still true that less is more. Different compressors color or don't color differently also.
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- KVRian
- 1007 posts since 12 Sep, 2005
Anything overused, or misunderstood sucks to me. I tend to use effects around 5% wet for example, and with compression it's still true that less is more. Different compressors color or don't color differently also.
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- Banned
- 22457 posts since 5 Sep, 2001
[DELETED]
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- KVRian
- 1156 posts since 10 Apr, 2006
For preserving freq content, yeah, don't hit it so hard. Low cuts, or filter settings on the comp can help with that.
My preferred method (this works well for de-essing, too) is node-style "clip gain". Just draw "automation" right on top of the clip. It's relatively quick and painless, and is pre-insert (and so pre-fader), which is nice.
Then i'll just apply light limiting on an insert for final smoothing.
That's if you use PT, DP, or Cubase. Otherwise, you'd have to automate a vocal track as normal, and route it to another track where you'd put the gentle comp or limiter. A bit more of a hassle, maybe, but you'll still probably get better results in terms of preserving freq response than trying to do a lot of GR all at once with a compressor.
For master bus, usually you want to have most of the dynamic problems taken care of prior to that...so again, just gentle comp/limiting should be all you'd really need unless you're really hammering it. It might be a good idea to set up your master bus comp first, and mix into it...rather than getting everything set, then applying comp, and having to go back and change stuff to compensate...
My preferred method (this works well for de-essing, too) is node-style "clip gain". Just draw "automation" right on top of the clip. It's relatively quick and painless, and is pre-insert (and so pre-fader), which is nice.
Then i'll just apply light limiting on an insert for final smoothing.
That's if you use PT, DP, or Cubase. Otherwise, you'd have to automate a vocal track as normal, and route it to another track where you'd put the gentle comp or limiter. A bit more of a hassle, maybe, but you'll still probably get better results in terms of preserving freq response than trying to do a lot of GR all at once with a compressor.
For master bus, usually you want to have most of the dynamic problems taken care of prior to that...so again, just gentle comp/limiting should be all you'd really need unless you're really hammering it. It might be a good idea to set up your master bus comp first, and mix into it...rather than getting everything set, then applying comp, and having to go back and change stuff to compensate...
Feed the children! Preferably to starving wild animals.
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Pooter | Software | Akai MPK-61 | Line 6 Helix | Dynaudio BM5A mk II
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Pooter | Software | Akai MPK-61 | Line 6 Helix | Dynaudio BM5A mk II
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- KVRAF
- 5703 posts since 8 Dec, 2004 from The Twin Cities
What exactly do you expect of a compressor?
Gain automation, while a bit more time consuming, is a 100 percent transparent way of dealing with inconsistent dynamics in the source material. In the days before computer audio, this was a very difficult trick to pull off, but today, with most software, it is much easier.
Gain automation, while a bit more time consuming, is a 100 percent transparent way of dealing with inconsistent dynamics in the source material. In the days before computer audio, this was a very difficult trick to pull off, but today, with most software, it is much easier.