Can somebody explain how to properly use a compressor?

[BlackDroog]

At this point whenever I add a compressor to my beats, I just play with the settings until the beat sounds "different" but I don't really know what I'm doing. Better yet...I don't really know what the desired outcome is supposed to be.

Also what is sidechaining? All I know is that it can make one track louder than another when they are playing together. but other than that it's still a little foreign to me.

Trying to add higher production quality to my beats...that "intentionally grimey" sound I typically go for needs to be refined a little.

Post some YouTube Links if you know any good tutorials.

Peace.

 

[OGmittee]

At this point whenever I add a compressor to my beats, I just play with the settings until the beat sounds "different" but I don't really know what I'm doing. Better yet...I don't really know what the desired outcome is supposed to be.

Also what is sidechaining? All I know is that it can make one track louder than another when they are playing together. but other than that it's still a little foreign to me.

Trying to add higher production quality to my beats...that "intentionally grimey" sound I typically go for needs to be refined a little.

Post some YouTube Links if you know any good tutorials.

Peace.

i learned side chaining in FL stu offa youtube, i believe what it actually does is make a synth "jump" or "react" to a kick or whatever you want it to act on...i could be wrong but when i did it thats what seemed to happen lol

all you do is

1. clone your kick
2. send to mixer, put "fruity formula controller" on it
3. then send the synth or whatever to the mixer, right click and choose "link to controller"
4. choose your cloned kick in the "controller field"
5. then go to "mapping formula" (in same window) and choose "inverted" and hit accept.

you should notice a difference in how the synth is sounding when the kick hits...this is what i understand to be sidechaining in fl studio, if anyone else wants to correct me, by all means do so..ive only had experience with FL Stu 10, so it may be different in other versions.

 

[901Cory10]

basically side chain is using one source like a kick to control the volume of another source like a bass....so long story short everytime the kick hits the sidechain is triggered and the volume of the bass dips a bit....as far as compression umm not trying to sound like a a$$hole but do you know what a compressor does??

 

[HamAndEgger]

 

[OGmittee]

New Side Chain Compression Techniques - Into The Lair #66 - YouTube

lol i appreciate the video and that guy knows his stuff but im not sure hes the right guy for instructional videos like that...haha

 

[KushSkywalker]

OK so the best analogy I've heard I explain what compression actually does is the riding in the car with your mom analogy.

So say you are riding in the car, your mom driving, you shotgun, and you're playing music. You keep turning the music up and at some point your mother will have reached her 'threshold' for hearing your music. She'll then reach over and turn the volume knob down. You can look at the speed in which she turns the knob down (or up technically) as the attack and how quickly she lets go of the volume knob as the release.

Ratio doesn't really fit in that analogy but I stole a definition that's easy to follow.

Ratio-how much compression is applied. For example, if the compression ratio is set for 6:1, the input signal will have to cross the threshold by 6 dB for the output level to increase by 1dB.

So compressors are basically a way to manipulate volumes. They can be a great help taming baselines and kicks etc.

 

[EddyBlazeBeatz]

yea exactly what kush said good way of putting it. Just to add to that. You have to decide WHAT you want to compress and why is it that you choose to compress it. For the most part vocals need compression unless you work with hardware and you dont need to mess with it but for the rest of us home studio guys compression can make or break the sound were looking for. There are no set rules for compression but you have to know how much you want to compress those vocals ( usually eq before adding any compression ). Also keep in mind what kind of vocals are you applying the compression. For example if you have an artist vocal who raps fast you will want the fast attack on the compressor to work so it can push down some of those levels. If you have a singer ( because their long notes and usually softer ) you want to have a slower attack 10 - 50 ms. Usually the order of things is Threshold so you know where you control the level of the volume then the attack and release ( how fast and how long you want the compressor to work on the input signal ) then goes the ratio ( usually 2:1 - 4:1 , depends on the kind of vocals ) then you want to raise the makeup gain a tad bit to compensate for what you have done usually 3-6db. This is not a formula to all vocals BUT its a start if you dont understand what compressors do. Not to throw you off even the KIND of compressor makes a different as each compressor has its own style ( if you will ) in which it works. Hope this isnt gibberish, took me MANY years to figure that out.

LMAO I just noticed you didnt ask about vocals.. what pulled an a$$hole stunt right about now.

 

[BlackDroog]

OK so the best analogy I've heard I explain what compression actually does is the riding in the car with your mom analogy.

So say you are riding in the car, your mom driving, you shotgun, and you're playing music. You keep turning the music up and at some point your mother will have reached her 'threshold' for hearing your music. She'll then reach over and turn the volume knob down. You can look at the speed in which she turns the knob down (or up technically) as the attack and how quickly she lets go of the volume knob as the release.

Ratio doesn't really fit in that analogy but I stole a definition that's easy to follow.

Ratio-how much compression is applied. For example, if the compression ratio is set for 6:1, the input signal will have to cross the threshold by 6 dB for the output level to increase by 1dB.

So compressors are basically a way to manipulate volumes. They can be a great help taming baselines and kicks etc.

Now it all make sense. Thanks Kush.

 

[BlackDroog]

LMAO I just noticed you didnt ask about vocals.. what pulled an a$$hole stunt right about now.

Naw...it still makes sense. The whole reason i started using the compressor in the first place was because I had two different sounds/loops playing together and wanted to make one stand out when the kick came in...so your comment about the vocals was still helpful. Thanks.

 

[PUT IN WORK]

It's just something that you have to play around with, once you have the basic understating of the concept (threshold, limiter, attack, etc). Just play around with it (but know what you're doing). You're not really going to hear the biggest difference in the world in the beginning but you'll start to realize slowly when it kicks in. Kush and Eddy explained it very well. Once you start recording vocals its definitely a must know so its good that you're interested in it now. and once you start understanding the basics ,that video will make some more sense . Breh, I was using this book in 06 in studio trying to grasp the whole idea of compression and limiters. Rappers in the room were giving me this , so i tore the cover off . It was very helpful, i didn't care i was utilizing every resource i had.

 

[Buckeye Fever]

It's just something that you have to play around with, once you have the basic understating of the concept (threshold, limiter, attack, etc). Just play around with it (but know what you're doing). You're not really going to hear the biggest difference in the world in the beginning but you'll start to realize slowly when it kicks in. Kush and Eddy explained it very well. Once you start recording vocals its definitely a must know so its good that you're interested in it now. and once you start understanding the basics ,that video will make some more sense . Breh, I was using this book in 06 in studio trying to grasp the whole idea of compression and limiters. Rappers in the room were giving me this , so i tore the cover off . It was very helpful, i didn't care i was utilizing every resource i had.

Im fukkin around with this mpa app on my tablet (broke nikka shyt) and I downloaded a mixing app that has compressing, reverb, chorus, etc.

Playin around with the compressor and knowing the functions of it is the best way to learn on the fly.

shyt, sometimes I go out to the car and make my "whip" beats in there lol

B4 I started makin beats, I thought samples would be the hard part. The toughest part for me is gettin my drums to sound right. The compressor has helped me out in that aspect immensely.

 

[PUT IN WORK]

Im fukkin around with this mpa app on my tablet (broke nikka shyt) and I downloaded a mixing app that has compressing, reverb, chorus, etc.

Playin around with the compressor and knowing the functions of it is the best way to learn on the fly.

shyt, sometimes I go out to the car and make my "whip" beats in there lol

B4 I started makin beats, I thought samples would be the hard part. The toughest part for me is gettin my drums to sound right. The compressor has helped me out in that aspect immensely.

Is that what the app is called? Sounds interesting. I really didn't care breh, i had a AT3035 mic and recorded in the bathroom with 2 twin beds as acoustics. I got payed so . They laughed at me but when they went to other studios they wanted me to mix their mixes the way i did so i kept clienteles with my mattress technique . I was in my mama's basement back then.

I create most of my drums from an 808 and add on to it. I can spend a whole day in the lab trying to master a kick (snare, hats). To make one kick i can use 3 808 kicks , change pitch, compress differently etc.

 

[KushSkywalker]

another tip, don't use compression where it's not needed.

i.e. the snare in my last beat vs Kaydigi. I had that thing with eq compression and reverb on it, just didn't sound right. I took EVERYTHING off, no effects at all, and thats how I ended up leaving it.

If the sound selection is good enough, less work will be required afterwards. Also a lot of old mixing engineers think us young cats WAY over-compress things. Use it sparingly, like salt in a meal. (I actually dump salt on )

 

[Propaganda]

it's kind of dry reading but it'll give you a pretty solid explanation of compressors and their functions.

Understanding Audio Compressors and Audio Compression

 

[producingfire]

At this point whenever I add a compressor to my beats, I just play with the settings until the beat sounds "different" but I don't really know what I'm doing. Better yet...I don't really know what the desired outcome is supposed to be.

Also what is sidechaining? All I know is that it can make one track louder than another when they are playing together. but other than that it's still a little foreign to me.

Trying to add higher production quality to my beats...that "intentionally grimey" sound I typically go for needs to be refined a little.

Post some YouTube Links if you know any good tutorials.

Peace.

A Compressor in short, makes loud sounds softer in volume. A compressor usually has a threshold, ratio, gain, Attack and a release. the compressor only will activate after the threshold is reached. The ratio, will control the amount of decibels taken away from an audio signal.Common compression done is a ratio of 2:1. This means for every 2 decibels over the threshold you will only hear 1 decibel. The attack is the amount of time it takes for a compressor to fully compress a signal after the threshold is crossed. the release is the amount of time it takes for a compressor to stop after the audio levels fall below the threshold. the gain, is the amount of volume added or subtracted from any audio signal.

Think of it as an automatic fader.

Sidechaining- is used to control the audio signals of 2 instruments. Ex:
If you're making a trance record. so that the kick doesn't overpower the bass or the lead

you will sidechain the kick so that it gets out of the way whenever the basses audio signal sounds, so that both sounds can be heard accurately.