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9.5.3. 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 to 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.
