The Evils of Overcompression...........

[prussell]

great thread Torque.

[victorgonzales]

compression is real useful on seperate channels for making noises fit in the mix etc. yeah its got a bit of a bad name, but theres millions of examples of good producers who use it properly, so a bit of perspective folks!

good hardware compressors, for example, are very useful in making amazing sounding music. theres tones of stuff to read on them.

Agreed. If I cant get an instrument to stand out the way I want it to sometimes Ill use compression for that.

[Dusk]

why is the loudest element obviously the kick ? thats not always the case even in techno.

Slight technical difference then - the kick may not be the loudest *perceived* element, but in 99% of dance tunes it must be the loudest in terms of dynamic range. even in the most wonky minimal track with the tiniest kick, the kick's "excursion" is always visible over the rest of the mix's waveform. thats why, to my understanding, you set the threshold of a master buss compressor to just under the level of the kickdrum.

whats the channel gain control on a mixer for ??

I was referring to when everything is maxed out.

[steevio]

why is the loudest element obviously the kick ? thats not always the case even in techno.

Slight technical difference then - the kick may not be the loudest *perceived* element, but in 99% of dance tunes it must be the loudest in terms of dynamic range. even in the most wonky minimal track with the tiniest kick, the kick's "excursion" is always visible over the rest of the mix's waveform. thats why, to my understanding, you set the threshold of a master buss compressor to just under the level of the kickdrum.

whats the channel gain control on a mixer for ??

I was referring to when everything is maxed out.

^^
sorry i just thought you meant the master redlining.
i suppose i havent really seen DJ's turning the gains up full.


about the kick, i know what you're saying bro, but music that has a lot of funk in it tends to not have such a dominant kick.
the bass is the loudest element in the track i'm working on at present
surely its different for different tracks.

[steevio]

compression is real useful on seperate channels for making noises fit in the mix etc. yeah its got a bit of a bad name, but theres millions of examples of good producers who use it properly, so a bit of perspective folks!

good hardware compressors, for example, are very useful in making amazing sounding music. theres tones of stuff to read on them.

you're right bro.
i wouldnt say dont use compression at all.
i've got a TLAudio classic series tube compressor, i use it all the time to glue the elements of a track together and just slightly give it more density, and gently limit it.
i think Torque specifically meant over-compression. kind of squared off waveform stuff

[humeka]

a proper compression is something which belong to the master engineers. if a label like your music, they will order it.

as for musicians, compression should be used as any other fx unit ie to achieve a specific sound / magnifying it / transform it.

I tried to compress some of my tracks in the past and the result is a complete disaster. I thought these tracks were sounding better after but I was mixing up presence with loudness. I released some tracks which are way too loud in the low end range, it completely killed them. so today I don't play anymore in that field, I leave it to the one who knows...

[Torque]

But what happens when a DJ leaves his set redlined, and your first tune is that really dynamic, low RMS wonky tune? OK you know it's a great tune, but it will still sound inferior. Ive seen this happen, a drop in perceived level was actually taken as a cue for some people to head to the bar! To the masses, louder=better.

This is the part people don't understand. You have it backwards. The tracks that are doing the wrong thing in this case are the ones that are overcompressed. If you take a track that is not overcompressed and run it through a system at the same rms level as a super compressed track the the un-overcompressed track will destroy it. If you're a dj and you're just redlining your whole set then you straight up suck as a dj.

If anybody does not believe me on this try doing a dj set for a crowd one night with all tracks that you flatten out and overcompress with a limiter one night and see who dances and see how long they stay interested, then play the same tracks the next gig with proper compression. You should notice a huge difference. You'll be more likely to catch their attention and keep it for longer stretches of time.

[steevio]

But what happens when a DJ leaves his set redlined, and your first tune is that really dynamic, low RMS wonky tune? OK you know it's a great tune, but it will still sound inferior. Ive seen this happen, a drop in perceived level was actually taken as a cue for some people to head to the bar! To the masses, louder=better.

This is the part people don't understand. You have it backwards. The tracks that are doing the wrong thing in this case are the ones that are overcompressed. If you take a track that is not overcompressed and run it through a system at the same rms level as a super compressed track the the un-overcompressed track will destroy it. If you're a dj and you're just redlining your whole set then you straight up suck as a dj.

If anybody does not believe me on this try doing a dj set for a crowd one night with all tracks that you flatten out and overcompress with a limiter one night and see who dances and see how long they stay interested, then play the same tracks the next gig with proper compression. You should notice a huge difference. You'll be more likely to catch their attention and keep it for longer stretches of time.

exactly.
if the DJ before you is redlining everything then he's going to sound sht. so youve got nothing to worry about going on after him.