Compression as a creative tool

Hi all!

Continuing on the compression theme. I’m going to give some details on how to put it to some good use creatively, and hopefully put a positive spin on something that really gets a bad rap, due to being badly used by so many people.

Ever listened to a track and thought “how on earth did they create those anticipation build ups”. You know the ones….the verse is coming to an end, the volume doesn’t noticeably increase and start hurting in your ipod headphones, but you know something is coming, then bam!! into the big chorus!!, but still only a minor increase in overall level. Before I go any further, let me say this….A lot of people think this is done in mastering, and sure, we do have a small amount of control over that, but note the word ‘small’.

If I want to do that over a whole mix, everything is getting slightly squashed, and one of my major hates, is flattened hi hats and cymbals etc!. There is also the possibility of doing this kind of technique with buss compression, grouping instruments together  and having a compressor over that group, but that’s a subject for another article. Take a listen to this clip:

Build up by PublicSpacesLab

(Apologies to all the electro dudes reading, this was the first thing to hand, and also a perfect demonstration piece. But the technique is viable across most genres)

Listen to the guitar on the left. I know the whole track increases in rms slightly, but that guitar is giving a very clear indication of ‘something coming’. Now, to get that kind of increase in level, we have to do more than just make the guitar poke its head above the mix. That wouldn’t do what you want. Anything that is above the body of the mix by too much, just creates a problem. Especially for the M E.

So, put a compressor or limiter (depends on material) over the channel of that guitar(or whatever instrument it is) at post fader. I’m not going to give any numbers for your compression settings here, as that really doesn’t work!. Just keep in mind, if this track is going to be mastered, you don’t want to have squashed all life from it before it gets there. 2:1 is a good starting ratio.

Then for these ‘build up’s', as you push that instrument up against the compressor with the fader, it will gain rms, ALONE, without ruining the space the other parts need to breath. Maybe experiment with varying the release time for different passages too. As I’ve mentioned in other articles, it will work in many places, giving a different feel with each. But there is right/wrong and artistic choice.

A track…a journey

The thing that separates the fantastic mixes from the “Hmmmm, nice but….” ones, are the mix approach itself. Everyone wants to blame their converters and eq’s etc etc, and I’m not saying those things don’t make a difference. But the real key, is capturing the listeners attention, by holding back, and then pushing forwards. Simply bringing an instrument in and then taking it out isn’t always enough, and small volume changes alone have to be kept small to keep the balance of the mix right.

Static mixes aren’t captivating enough, and I hear quite a few of them!. My attention span is about 20 secs. If nothing really changes in that time, my mind wanders off. Many people reading will probably wonder what I’m on about, but I clearly hear the tiny changes that for most listeners will go unnoticed, thanks to my over analytical hearing.

Learn to hear those changes. Dissect some of the best mixes from your favourite artists/producers. The best way to do this is by listening at a barely audible level, where you can only just clearly hear all the mix content. Then you may hear where the small volume dips/lifts happen.

Make a decision about what you want your mix to convey. If the instrument volumes stay static throughout the track, it will start….then it will end. Make it do something more in between.

Apologies if this article isn’t mastering focused, but it’s based on the frustrations I get IN mastering. Mixes that could have been awesome, but for a few builds and dips. Even the most fantastic sounding instrument can become monotonous if it’s too static. There are of course many other ways of creating interest, but this was mainly a compression article.

Till next time….thanks for reading, people

Tone (puretonemastering)