When used incorrectly, compression can quickly ruin a good vocal recording and make your music sound amateur and overprocessed. The compressor will do this for you, automatically. When used correctly, compression is a key ingredient for vocals that sound professional, modern and radio. Try starting with a moderate to medium ratio of between 2. Nov 11, 2011 in this tutorial well be looking at what dynamic compression is and the various functions that can be found on compressors like the threshold, ratio, attack, release and make up gain.
A good vocal compressor is the cla2a by waves audio, it adds a nice color to a vocal and makes it rich. Then set your output gain to compensate for the 5 db attenuation. Before i dive into advanced stuff and the plugin chains, allow me to say that you need some basic of knowledge of what compression, eq and reverb is. Download a pdf of this post for you to keep forever. I ride the vocals on the way in and then i ride them again before i compress them. They have been chosen and set up to achieve sonic contrast between them, something thats a crucial element of this compression technique. Opto, meaning optical, describes the light sensitive circuits that control the compression amount in opto compressors. What are your compression goals in audio mastering. Ratio decides how the compressor reacts to the input audio signal.
The way we combine tracks is equal parts art and science, and involves utilizing a variety of tools to bring out the most emotional. Imagine a whisper and a scream on the same audio track. But certain types excel in certain applications, and understanding their function and design can be the key to choosing the right compressor for the job. Download our controls and features cheat sheet pdf. After all this compression its pretty normal for breaths and sibilance to really jump out. But can achieve transparent, perceptually losslesscompression. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. If you level match the before and after on this second layer of compression, it should feel like the vocal just puffs out a bit at you. This has the function of taking sections of audio that are. How should i set up my compressor for recording vocals. Dynamic range is the difference between the loudest and quietest parts of an audio signal. Your mix sucks waves edition its all about the vocals o nce we have created a frame for our mix as described in chapter 5, its time to focus on the vocals in many cases the most important instrument in the mix. I like to use these on vocals where a good amount of compression sounds good or better than the same amount with another unit, and on drums for room mics or individual drum mics.
Mixing vocals how to eq vocals, compress them and use. Its function is to make louder sounds softer and leave soft sounds alone. In this tutorial well be looking at what dynamic compression is and the various functions that can be found on compressors like the threshold, ratio, attack, release and make up gain. Audio mastering secrets the pros dont want you to know. The next, slightly less common way, is through upward compression also called expansion. Set your attack time to a mediumfast setting and your release time to a medium setting. If you dont know how to do that, please read the manual for your daw software. Using compression can make your tracks sound more polished by controlling maximum levels and maintaining higher average loudness.
As always, when i share my chains i advise you to bypass the plugins to actually hear if youre improving the sound or not. Im not sure how youd even get punch on vocals from using parallel compression unless youre talking about using the dry signal to put back a little of the dynamics back into the mix mixing the super leveled compressed signal with the dynamic original one. Compressing your vocals helps them sit on top of the mix. Here are some compression basics, different compression types, and some tips to try on your tracks. Dynamic range compression drc or simply compression is an audio signal processing operation that reduces the volume of loud sounds or amplifies quiet sounds thus reducing or compressing an audio signals dynamic range.
When i use different compression settings on the same track for different sections in the song i split them onto different tracks. It can also add extra punch to dance music, because it adds a dimension of feeling the bass instead of hearing it. While i typically will use compression after ive applied equalization to control for any mild volume changes that it maymight have caused, a good argument can be made that precompression equalization. Learn the step by step way to use eq and compression together the audio engineers framework book 1 kindle edition by nyquist, nathan. The following diagrams demonstrate various types of compression and expansion taking place. Ive kept these diagrams as simplified as possible with the sole intention of demonstrating whats happening to the audio signal green as it moves above and below the threshold red. If you ask those questions then youll start noticing something really important. Reverbs guide to audio compressor types reverb news. To those that do not know what is compression, it is all about controlling the peaks of recorded signal. Mpeg audio compression motion picture experts group an iso standard for highfidelity audio compression. As vocalists move between different registers, the tone of their voice can change.
Compression is commonly used in sound recording and reproduction, broadcasting, live sound reinforcement and in some instrument amplifiers. When i use different compression settings on the same track for different sections in the song i. Analyze the audio and send only the sounds that can be heard. The threshold is lower in volume compared to the vocals, the primary reason is that guitars need to sound a bit lower than vocals in the mix or else it will dominate the vocals. These approaches apply lowcomplexity, lowcompression, and medium audio qualityalgorithms to audio signals. A compressor will reduce the level of your voice when it becomes too loud, and provide you with a less dynamic, and more dynamically. When used correctly, compression is a key ingredient for vocals that sound professional, modern and radioready. Cuts will make instruments more distant so cut here if you need to pull something back without using volume. The algorithms are psychoacoustically based compression techniques, since they claim to reduce information in the sound signal that cannot be heard by the human ear anyhow. The vocal compression should be similar to the backing tracks. How to craft the perfect vocal with eq and multiband.
At no point in my mixes will a compressor hit 10 db and little to nothing on the rest of the song. Audio compression techniques linear pcm pulse code modulation is a direct digitization technique for sound waves. In this guide, you will learn how to use eq and multiband compression to control and shape the tone of a lead vocal part. Audio compressors generally can be sliced into four categories. Here are the five compressors you can see in use in the first screenshot. Because vocals are very transient nature, a good knowledge of overall audio must be understood to make the best of vocal compression. He explains how to edit out breaths and other noises and fabricate a doubling effect for additional texture and vibe, and then brings in some plugins into the mixantares autotune, melodyne, and izotopeto tune. The human voice is the most complex instrument we have to deal with, and in the following, ill. Mixing vocals how to eq vocals, compress them and mix. The lowest frequency range adds fullness to those bass instruments like the kick drum, toms and bass. With multiband compression, you can reduce and control certain elements of the tone only when the issue appears.
But when the vocal is aggressive you need to compress more. A compressor takes this wide range of volume and makes it as narrow as you want it to be. There are a few different ways you could set up the multiple parallel compressors in cubase. As ive talked in my compression tutorial, one of the primary aspects of compression is to bring the sound upfront with a. They often react more slowly than other compressor types, but this can be desirable. The more ratio you apply, the more compression takes place. In this guide, ill show you how to eq vocals, give you my personal vocal compression settings techniques and in general, youll see how to mix vocals and get them to sit in the mix properly. But, keep in mind, dynamic range on a vocal is good, so you do not want to cut it too much, you simply want to make it manageable. Now gradually raise the threshold until youre getting somewhere around 5 db of gain reduction. Mixing vocals how to eq vocals, compress them and use effects. The easiest way to understand how compression can be useful to a mix is vocals. No matter what digital audio workstation youre using heres the best daws. The vocal should just sound a bit more thick, dense or husky whatever word makes the most sense to you.
Understanding audio compressors and audio compression. Compressors and limiters are used to reduce dynamic range the span between the softest and loudest sounds. The melody and lyrics carry a song, so if your words and voice get overpowered in the mix, the listener will be lost. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the eq and compression formula. Lpcbased codec model the sound source to achieve good compression. As a general rule of thumb, the more percussive an element like drums, the more hard knee compression makes sense, and the more connected an element like vocals, the more soft knee compression makes sense. Mar 22, 2020 ratio decides how the compressor reacts to the input audio signal. The complete guide to mixing vocals pro audio files.
For an indepth guide to getting the attack time right watch this video, where i share 3 simple tips. Audio engineer scott hirsch starts with comping the vocalscombining the best performances into one final vocal master take. The complete guide to mixing with compression pro audio files. As a basic definition, a compressor is a device used to automatically the dynamic range of an audio signal, thereby resulting in a more even sound. Compression invites the vocals to the front of the stage. Not all sounds in the sampled audio can actually be heard.
The simple guide to compression recording revolution. There is no onesizefitsall formula to vocal compression. Eq, on the other hand, is static and affects the whole track. If you want to learn more about using compression on vocals and further improve your mixes, you can read my indepth guide to vocal compression and also download my free vocal compression cheat sheet below. Its possible to quickly dial in the right vocal compression settings, if you know what to listen for. Vocal compression is a piece of cake once you know how to. May 18, 2008 professional audio mixing is basically two steps. When our knee is adjustable, we can control how gradual we want this transition to be. Vocals have a wide dynamic range they can sing really soft or really belt it out. Now that we made some things clear about vocal compression and compression in general, its time to continue this mixing vocals guide by showing you my usual vocal plugin chain. Also, be sure sure to grab the free pdf cheat sheet below which will help you get your vocal compression right every time get vocal.
You need to reduce the dynamic range of most audio signals for them to sound natural on a recording. Compressing a lead vocal isnt always easy, but avoiding these mistakes will help you mix vocals that sound modern and musical. How to compress vocals in 7 easy steps for pro results ledgernote. Dynamic music compression settings for vocals dummies. I know some people use parallelny style compression on vocals, but i never do. The famed teletronix la2a is an optical compressor that many producers swear by for vocals and mix bus compression. Understanding audio compressors and audio compression by barry rudolph.
Vocal compression cheatsheet many bloggers will tell you what the perfect vocal compression settings are. How to set a compressor for vocals collaborate worship. Jun 24, 20 these approaches apply lowcomplexity, lowcompression, and medium audio qualityalgorithms to audio signals. Depending on the playing style, you may get away with mild compression, but someone who goes from finger picking to slapping is going to need to have the compression turned way up. Different instruments require different compression scenario. Mixing vocals guide lets see how to properly eq and mix vocals along with some great compression settings. Compression is one of the most common processes in all audio work, yet the compressor is one of the least understood and most misused audio processors compressed audio is an everyday fact of modern life, with the sound of records, telephones, tv, radios and public address systems all undergoing some type of mandatory. I know understand exactly what to do when compressing vocals, etc same with choosing vocal takes, i no longer look for the perfect pitch and timed comp, but instead feel for the one that triggers my emotion i used to always follow rules, and when mixing drums, i always was. A good compression setting has a fast attack to catch the stray transient, a quick release so that the compression doesnt color the sound of the singer, and a low ratio so that when the compressor does go on, it smoothes out the vocals without squashing them. Right click here to download these are excellent references made for beginner and intermediate levels to explain how different types of reverbs, compressors, eqs and delays work and what the various controls and features do. Cut in the 50 100 hz area if they are getting too thick and interfering with the clarity of the lowend of your mix. Music compression is the process of reducing a signals dynamic range. How to craft the perfect vocal with eq and multiband compression.
A good compression setting has a fast attack to catch the stray transient, a quick release so that the compression doesnt color the sound of the singer, and a low. Compressing vocals during recording used to be standard practice with analogue recorders, and was important to avoid distortion being caused by unexpected peaks. The ultimate guide to compression black ghost audio. By the end of this guide you will be able to apply. Thats how we should decide how compression we should add or not.