Why do we compress anything but the master?

[Fletchur]

Just a nooby question. Why do people compress individual tracks like the drums and not just the overall mix? What are your reasons for compressing individual things?

[SunkLo]

To control the dynamics of individual things instead of the mix as a whole?

[ThisIsSovereign]

To control the dynamics of individual things instead of the mix as a whole?

[Brothulhu]

I normally put a really light (like 1 or 2 Db with a ratio of 2) compressor on my master channel to smooth it out a bit before limiting, not sure if it's standard but it doesn't make it sound bad to me so I'll keep doing it

[chekov]

I normally put a really light (like 1 or 2 Db with a ratio of 2) compressor on my master channel to smooth it out a bit before limiting, not sure if it's standard but it doesn't make it sound bad to me so I'll keep doing it

it's what we got taught in music technology at college so i guess it must be fairly standard

[Brothulhu]

I normally put a really light (like 1 or 2 Db with a ratio of 2) compressor on my master channel to smooth it out a bit before limiting, not sure if it's standard but it doesn't make it sound bad to me so I'll keep doing it

it's what we got taught in music technology at college so i guess it must be fairly standard

I'm sure someone on here who I see as reputable posted it so I took it as gospel and have done it ever since haha

[Marzz]

to not use it on the whole mix and compress each channel on an individual level.

[SunkLo]

I normally put a really light (like 1 or 2 Db with a ratio of 2) compressor on my master channel to smooth it out a bit before limiting, not sure if it's standard but it doesn't make it sound bad to me so I'll keep doing it

it's what we got taught in music technology at college so i guess it must be fairly standard

I'm sure someone on here who I see as reputable posted it so I took it as gospel and have done it ever since haha

Nothin wrong with a bit of master buss compression. But by no means should it be handling the majority of the compression duties throughout the track. It should already be pretty close going into the 2buss if not 100% there. A lot of people do abstain from master compression due to personal preference. It usually results in a cleaner and more isolated sound. Most of the time, I subgroup things and compress a bit there and then probably take another slice off on the master just to glue things together. A bit here and there will sound much more transparent than whacking a bunch of gain reduction all at once.

[titchbit]

yeah, my template has a glue compressor with ratio of 2 on my master. I can see why some might be against it, but I personally think some light compression on the master isn't a bad thing.

[Benji]

I've read too many posts on how compressing the master channel is the best way to ruin a track and so I've never done it, but now I think I'll have to give it a try

[daeMTHAFKNkim]

There's no right or wrong.


It's all preference depending on the person mastering your track...

I watched a video from FutureMusicMagazine where the mastering engineer parallel compresses the master track...



I heard an artist named James Egbert(was a mastering engineer); whom does his own mastering for his tracks , put Sausage Fattener on the master for all his tracks + other stuff of course..

Just shows you can do anything. As long as it sounds good..

[bkwsk]

I usually do very slight compression on individual tracks (1,5:1 or 2:1 ratio max usually), then compress for another 1,5:1 or 2:1 in the buss to glue them a bit, and then just straight to the master channel compression, also usually never above 2:1 on the C6 there, and then straight to limiting. I read an article somewhere on how compression works "additively": once you do a 2:1 compression you're reducing your dynamic range quite a lot, and then if you put some more compression on the sound you're doing it in an exponential way (sorry for my poor explaining). So one 4:1 compressor in your individual channel, plus a 2:1 buss comp and then the master channel, it's going to completely destroy the dynamics in your sound. I guess it depends on what you're going for.

[Mad_EP]

It just depends....


Usually if I use a buss comp, then I leave the Master channel completely naked.

BUT - if my channels are free-from-compression, then I sometimes will use a compressor on the Master.


OR... sometimes I keep compression off of ALL channels (including the Master), and I just ride the faders like a rollercoaster.

OR... other times I just squash the shit out of everything on every channel, and when they come up for air, I spit in their collective faces. (granted - this option is very rare for me).


Use your ears, the rest will follow.

[Sharmaji]

You compress individual sounds for character; the gain control is just an added benefit.

I'd much rather use a limiter, and automate the level into the limiter, to control level.

If I really need to make a sound, or a group of sounds, FEEL different- that's when I reach for compression.

[Artie_Fufkin]

Because we're not mastering engineers.
However, I do usually put some saturation and/or a brickwall limiter on the master to distort everything a little bit to prevent digital hard clipping from going over 0db.
But this thread made me realize how silly that habit is. Maybe next time I'll just leave the master channel alone and pull down the faders. Except...I do like using saturation. I use it on individual tracks too, with varying levels depending on the instrument. Anyone else addicted to saturation?

[xtcvsmistycold]

ARTICLE ON MASTER CHANNEL COMPRESSION. cos i can't be fucked to type out a proper post that's gonna say pretty much what this guy says: http://www.gearslutz.com/board/showwiki ... harles-Dye

Tips & Techniques:Mix Buss Compression by Charles Dye
Compressing the Stereo Mix Buss

There are essentially 3 ways to use buss compression on your mix.

1. Put it on near the end of the mix.
2. Put it on from the beginning of the mix.
3. Don't put it on @ all.

Near the End of the Mix

The first is an approach I used for a number of years. When I insert a compressor near the end of a mix, I will first work to make my mix sound as big and powerful as possible without it, and then once I put it in, at about 4/5's of the way through, the mix will become even bigger. I usually use a softer less aggressive style of compression this way, because the individual tracks might have a bit more compression on them.

From the Beginning of the Mix

The second approach is to insert the compressor at the beginning and mix into it. It can have a number of advantages over placing the compressor on near the end. I tried mixing through a compressor when I was a younger engineer, but @ the time I wasn't very satisfied with the results. So, a few years ago I tried it again, + this time I decided to stick with it for awhile to really get a handle on it. And after a few mixes I really liked both the sound + the process of mixing thru a compressor.

If you're used to mixing without a compressor across the buss it takes some getting used to. The dynamics of the mix don't react the way you would normally expect them to, so you can't just try it once. You need to do a number of mixes, so you can familiarize yourself with this new limited dynamic response.

I've found it has a few advantages. One, it helps bring the mix together much quicker. Two, I find myself not needing as much compression on individual tracks to get the sound I want. Three, the mix requires less automation to bring out all the elements. Four, and most of all, mixing though a compressor changes the way I approach a mix. I'm able to get a very big + powerful sound very quickly with just the kick, snare, bass + hat. Then I just begin to fill the other instruments in around them.

To establish my starting levels for the mix, I first set my kick + snare level peaking around -10 dB on my DAW's stereo buss meters without the compressor, but from that point on the compressors goes in + never comes out. I generally use a Ratio = 2:1, Attack = 4-10 ms, Release = approx. 250-300 ms (set about to 8th note). I've used many different plugz for this, including RenComp, Impact, + Waves SSL, but I'm currently using URS Channel Strip Pro.

With most of the music I've been mixing lately (rock or other aggressive styles) 4 dB of compression has been sounding really good. It may sound like a lot, previously when placing the compressor over the buss towards the end I would hit it only 2 to 2.5 dB, but I also had more compression on the individual tracks. Since I now use less individual compression, it probably works out to about the same amount of compression overall, just a different way to apply it.

Mixing this way gives me a sound that's very different than the more controlled sound of individual compression, a lot of automation, and light compression on the bus. It really sounds much more exciting. Explosive. As if things are at the brink of popping through the speakers. I love it.

I should also add that this really isn't considered mastering compression. Compression across the stereo buss while mixing is done all the time on most of the records you own. Whether inserted at the beginning or towards the end it's been a pretty standard technique for decades done by engineers all over the globe. If you need anymore proof, I have three letters: S - S - L.

None @ All

Mixing with compression is not the only way to go, another way is to use no Mix Buss Compression @ all. This can be more work, but the results can be amazing, creating a very open + airy sound. I just recently mixed an entire album where I wanted a more dynamic sound than I usually go for, so I didn't use any Mix Buss Compression. It required more automation, but the end result had a lot of depth + subtlety that would have been lost if I compressed it more aggressively.


©2008 Charles Dye

p.s. penultimate paragraph might as well have been written for artie fufkin

[Artie_Fufkin]

Ya, I'm not trying to master my own tracks per se, just too lazy/efficient to route everything to a bus when it's going to the master anyways.
The only times I've really tried to play mastering engineer have been to normalize tracks in audacity. In those cases, I had pulled down the levels of everything so there was no chance of it getting close to clipping as I had nothing on the master.