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9.5.1. Suggested Compressor Settings
VOCAL COMPRESSION. The renowned expressive-
ness of the human voice is due in large part to its
dynamics. A vocal that varies from a whisper to a
scream has a strong emotional impact, but those same
dynamics present a challenge to the sound engineer.
Ideal vocal compression maintains some dynamic range while keeping the vocal the focal point of the
mix.
(Ratio set to 4 or 6:1; threshold set so vocal peaks are compressed about 4-6 dB, attack and release
should be fairly quick; gain makeup boosted slightly to compensate for gain reduction, soft knee).
DRUM COMPRESSION. Compressing drums add
punch and fullness to their sound, and also tend to make
levels of individual drum hits more uniform. Care should
be taken to avoid squashing the attack of the drum too
much. Slowing down the attack time of the compressor
will allow more of the stick impact to be heard. You may elect to compress drums individually, or submix
various drum mics through a compressor, to be fed back into the mix along with the uncompressed drum
mix.
(Ratio set to 3- 6:1, threshold catches all hits, medium attack, quick release; gain makeup boosted
slightly, soft knee).
BASS GUITAR. Bass players use a variety of tech-
niques, often in the same song, that can benefit from
compression. Compressing bass evens out peaks and
keeps the bass level in the mix.
(Ratio set to 4:1, threshold set to compress peaks only, quick attack, medium release, hard knee, output
boosted slightly)
GUITAR. A high compression ratio (with gain makeup)
will add sustain to held notes and chords. Moving the
threshold will change the audible thick/thinness of the
guitar tone, but generally you want to compress all the
notes played. As with drums, be wary of too quick an
attack, which may reduce the percussive attack of the guitar notes. Be wary of too much gain makeup,
and too high a compression ratio, which may make a noisy guitar amplifier more objectionable.
(Ratio set from 6 to 20:1, threshold variable, slower attack, soft knee, output gain boosted slightly to
significantly depending on amount of compression. Try various release settings, depending on the speed
of notes played.)
ENTIRE MIX. It’s quite common to compress the entire
mix, both live and in the studio. This elevates the
average level of the mix, resulting in an apparent
increase in volume.
(Ratio set to 2 or 3:1, threshold set to compress peaks, medium attack, soft knee, output boosted slightly)
Section Nine: Suggestions for Optimal Use of the GRAPHI-Q