Listen closely to all of the instruments in the mix and see how you're affecting each in the summed total. Doing this allows you to keep better control over the various elements of your mix. There is no right or wrong answer as to whether or not you should use a mix bus compressor. Between 2 to 3:1 should be good to keep things under control. It lets through a lot of initial impact so it gives you a punchier sound. What matters is your preference for transparency or coloration and how "musical" either option is. As far as specific recommendations, you could honestly get the job done with any on our list of best compressors, but if we had to pluck one out of the bunch it'd be the Empirical Labs Distressor. Please take this as a starting point and not a template. The more familiar you become with mix bus compression, the less of an issue this becomes. By passing the whole mix through a stereo compressor, the tracks can also gain a sense of cohesiveness, glue and polish. So you can be confident that any level changes you make or any EQ or compression that you apply to individual tracks will sound good whilst being passed through a final layer of compression at the mix bus. For example, let’s say that we have a compressor with a ratio of 2:1 (not very high). Slow attack times and fast release times are generally a good starting point. But sometimes we want these initial transient hits to exist, so we set a slower attack. If you are happy to receive these types of emails, please confirm here: We treat your information with respect. Remember to ponder these options as you set up your stereo bus compression. You may enjoy the process of working with a mix bus compressor in place. Faster tempos will need a faster attack and release. There are four main types of compressors, whether they're analog or digital: The difference between them comes from the circuitry applied to execute the gain reduction. The problem arises that the faders get wonky. Vocals are the most important part of a vocal mix. Jared has surpassed his 20th year in the music industry. Start with the settings above and tweak them based on your tempo, genre, and dynamic material in the song and then as you mix into it, you'll hear the cohesion you've been seeking but not yet attained. So here you could compress the 2k-5k frequency range by itself, for example. See how you feel about the final results and, just as importantly, see which method of working you prefer. The one above is mono but you can score a stereo pair for less than the price of two mono's. If you want to add some levelling to your audio but you want to leave the sharpness of the transients intact, go … Most default, stock plugins is your DAW will have this ability, if not four separate ones you can bypass to create the comparison. It is for these reasons that personally, I very rarely use mix bus compression. You don't want your release longer than when the next kick or big guitar strum comes through. He has also mixed, mastered, & recorded for countless independent artists. They usually turn the attack and release as fast as possible and crush everything. Home » Columns » Mixing & Mastering » Here. Whats more, some producers prefer to make their mixing decisions without giving consideration to how it will affect, or be effected by, a mix bus compressor. What we mean by musical is how obvious the compression effect is to the listener. If you want to have authority over the compressors you use and understand how to use compression to make your mixes sound better, then this post is for you. It boils down to preference and access to the best compressors for the job. It is used to give a sense of "glue and punch" to the mix, creating a sense of cohesion between the various tracks. But at the same time, we aren't talking about that level of compression, where you make adjustments after the mix is finalized. Meanwhile the rest of your mix is being compressed harder along side the synth thanks to the mix bus compressor, so instead of getting a louder synth, you're getting an objectively quiter synth that is subjectively louder due to the root-mean-square amplitude, and you're now getting less volume out of everything else. Whilst mix bus compression has the potential to add a sense of polish and smoothness to your mix, using a mix bus compressor can somewhat decrease the control that you have over things. They are not referring to the process of mixing a song and then applying compression to the mix afterwards. Adding a compressor to snare can be such a rewarding experience, as you get to really tighten or thicken a snare sound for your mix here. That is the process of mixing a song with a compressor in place on the mix bus from the outset. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. It travels down its signal path into the processor, but it also goes down another path to the detector known as “the sidechain.” If you think about that phrase “sidechain”, it’s act… Mix bus compression is the act of mixing through a compressor on the master output, although the term is commonly used today also to refer to sub-mixing sets of instruments on an auxiliary bus as well, such as drums. Doing this makes it less likely that you will need to alter the mix bus compressor’s settings later on in the mixing session. You'll notice that you don't even need a side-chain detector (as mentioned below) because these beasts come with high-pass filter and mid-range detector options. I explain step by step how we place these different elements in the mixing space, go over our compressor settings, and give equalising tips to achieve a clean and crisp mix. Your email address will not be published. Using mix bus compression is a process which divides many producers. But if … In order to understand what compression does we need to understand how it generally works. He has released 4 independent albums and merchandise to global sales. Remember when choosing an audio interface was confusing before you read this? We're talking about mixing into a compressor as part of the process, and doing so fairly lightly as to leave plenty of dynamics and headroom for the mastering engineer to perfect. As with many of the various elements of mixing, if you’re not sure whether or not mix bus compression is right for you, then the best thing to do is try it and find out for yourself. By clicking below, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with these terms. The biggest issue people run into with mix bus compression is they go too hard. Join Date Mar 2004 Location Analog Heaven!!! But with side-chain detection you can run a copy of the mix through an equalizer on a bus to EQ the low frequencies out or even a copy of the mix without the kick in it. sorry for my bad english, but it's really One of them is stereo bus compression and auxiliary bus compression. Some people might then push them through a set of auxiliary bus compressors. Before we do anything we are slapping compression on the mix bus so that our audio is massaged by it from the get-go, so we can make the appropriate sonic choices initially instead of disrupting our careful balance later. We aren't looking to squash anything here, just glue it together. Many producers use this process to add excitement and punch to their songs. The mix bus will be receiving all of the tracks and so there's not going to be any regular dynamics from which you can set your release. It is used to give a sense of "glue and punch" to the mix, creating a sense of cohesion between the various tracks. (function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]='EMAIL';ftypes[0]='email';fnames[1]='COMPANY';ftypes[1]='text';fnames[2]='ADDRESS';ftypes[2]='address';}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true); Your email address will not be published. Some swear by leaving all of this work up to the mastering engineer. Each song will demand a unique set of parameters applied.". There are endless techniques and tools used for treating vocals. We will use the email address you provide to send you free downloadable guides, notifications of our latest blog posts, general updates and offers on our products and services. Then slowly drop your threshold down until you're seeing anywhere from one to three decibels of compression. It works the same way on a compressor, where the frequency spectrum can be separated into bands of two or more (up to 8 usually). How to Mix Vocals. Not all professional mixers prefer this method. For instance, let's say you want to increase the volume of a synthesizer solo so you push that fader up, but your compressor is post fader and then you hit the mix bus as well. And finally they're hitting the stereo bus compressor. It’s really just a case of personal preference. The recipe is fairly simple.