KVR Audio

Plugs4Life · Post by **Plugs4Life** » Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:39 pm

Am I bozo for not being able to tell the different style of compressors?

Tricky-Loops · Post by **Tricky-Loops** » Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:50 pm

Not bozo but not google, either...

https://audiohertz.com/2017/08/07/what- ... mpressors/

jochicago · Post by **jochicago** » Mon Sep 28, 2020 2:09 am

Plugs4Life wrote: ↑Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:39 pm Am I bozo for not being able to tell the different style of compressors?

What matters most is being able to hear what the compressors are doing. It's tricky and takes a long time to develop the ears for it.

If you can't quite tell what's going on, you might as well pick one solid all-purpose compressor and go by presets. No shame in that until you develop the ears.

dubguy99 · Post by **dubguy99** » Mon Sep 28, 2020 6:53 am

As has been said, hearing compression is a skill that needs to be learned; anyone can learn it but it can take years of pratice.

Plugs4Life · Post by **Plugs4Life** » Mon Sep 28, 2020 1:25 pm

jochicago wrote: ↑Mon Sep 28, 2020 2:09 am
Plugs4Life wrote: ↑Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:39 pm Am I bozo for not being able to tell the different style of compressors?
What matters most is being able to hear what the compressors are doing. It's tricky and takes a long time to develop the ears for it.

If you can't quite tell what's going on, you might as well pick one solid all-purpose compressor and go by presets. No shame in that until you develop the ears.

I am more than okay with doing this in the meantime. "Oh yes, this one has 'pump' in its preset name. This ought to do the trick."

Tricky-Loops · Post by **Tricky-Loops** » Mon Sep 28, 2020 5:44 pm

Of course before knowing all different compressor types, you should know how the parameters work...

https://www.uaudio.de/blog/audio-compression-basics/

jochicago · Post by **jochicago** » Mon Sep 28, 2020 6:14 pm

If you have an 1176 compressor, one of the most classic and useful presets is the 1176 "Dr Pepper" setting. Works ok on almost anything. The 1176 is program dependent, so it's trying to align itself to your material as it is, the knobs are biasing the grip but the compressor will grip nicely as long as you center it enough. That's why the preset works, you are more or less centering the compressor and letting it do its thing, which it does very well.

Here is an explanation and demo:
youtube.com/watch?v=wXCHV_zgHBc

Basically set the Attack to 10am (on a clock), the Release to 2pm, and the Ratio to 4:1. Now crank the input until you are doing about 6db of Gain Reduction. Use the output knob for gain management.

You can do this forever, to every track of every mix of your career and be set for compression. No shame in using this method. In fact, CLA says he hasn't touched the dials on his 1176 in years.

Hermetech Mastering · Post by **Hermetech Mastering** » Wed Sep 30, 2020 7:59 am

You can use this method to "turn up your ears" to hear the effects the compressor is having in a more obvious way, before honing it down until it sounds just right:

http://hermetechmastering.com/compressors.html

acousticglue · Post by **acousticglue** » Wed Sep 30, 2020 1:44 pm

Just set some comps the same and demo that will tell you. On guitar track can def hear diffs

SoundPorn · Post by **SoundPorn** » Wed Sep 30, 2020 1:48 pm

This video does a great job of explaining what makes compressors sound different. Hint it all has to do with the attack and release control curves of the volume envelope plus any added saturation/harmonics from analog modeling or flavor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpXqYk1FoWA

audiot · Post by **audiot** » Thu Oct 01, 2020 8:30 am

Plugs4Life wrote: ↑Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:39 pm Am I bozo for not being able to tell the different style of compressors?

There are several plugins, that let you switch between different compressor types while keeping the settings:

- DMG TrackComp
- Hornet MultiComp Plus MK2
- MCDSP 6050

I can recommend all of them! I only own the last 2, but demoed Trackcomp extensivly (currently looking for a 2nd hand license).

audiot · Post by **audiot** » Thu Oct 01, 2020 8:32 am

double post

Igro · Post by **Igro** » Thu Oct 01, 2020 12:17 pm

Depends on what music you are making. If electronic, dance, then 1176 and other popular vintage comps won't do very well. Better to use some digital comps. Also DC8C would work very well.

Michey · Post by **Michey** » Thu Oct 01, 2020 2:48 pm

Igro wrote: ↑Thu Oct 01, 2020 12:17 pm If electronic, dance, then 1176 and other popular vintage comps won't do very well.
Better to use some digital comps. Also DC8C would work very well.

...or just use some kind of distortion.

audiot · Post by **audiot** » Thu Oct 01, 2020 3:50 pm

Igro wrote: ↑Thu Oct 01, 2020 12:17 pm Depends on what music you are making. If electronic, dance, then 1176 and other popular vintage comps won't do very well. Better to use some digital comps. Also DC8C would work very well.

I dont agree

1176 is a spongy term. I have tested a lot of different 1176/FET emulations. Some dont work on drums groups while others work extremly well. If you want to make your beats pumping you should check out the FET mode in Hornet Multicomp Plus MK2 or Stillwell The Rocket - PSP Fetpressor is also good (sometimes). I often use them in combination with other comps (common practice in electonic music).

Different styles of compressors