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Compression.... Sound Engineer Secrets/wisdom

Rooster009

Rooster009

Feb 27, 2008
1,296
1,073
#1
I love compression. I use it to squash until I get acceptable punch from my instrument. I have many Basses, ranging from SX basses to a Warwick FNA Jazzman. All with different pros and cons. Compression by squashing the signal to the point of increased punch helps me to overcome any tone issues bass to bass. Once I have the punch I want, it makes life so much easier on stage. EQ’ing becomes so much easier. I started doing this at the recommendation of a few different sound engineers and it’s made a world of difference. What’s some wisdom about compression that you have gained from sound engineers?
 
#3
Rooster009 said:
What’s some wisdom about compression that you have gained from sound engineers?
Click to expand...

LOTS of great info here: Compressor and Audio Gear FAQ

I usually go for subtle/transparent smoothing, but every so often I use a trick possible with parallel compression, i.e. compressors with a wet/dry blend: I dial in strong compression, but then add lots of uncompressed signal so that it doesn't sound so squashed. This provides phatness in the mix, not to mention lots of sustain, but still sounds dynamic.
 
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#4
Fuzzbass said:
LOTS of great info here: Compressor and Audio Gear FAQ

I usually go for subtle/transparent smoothing, but every so often I use a trick possible with parallel compression, i.e. compressors with a wet/dry blend: I dial in strong compression, but then add lots of uncompressed signal so that it doesn't sound so squashed. This provides phatness in the mix, not to mention lots of sustain, but still sounds dynamic.
Click to expand...

I’ll have to try that
 
#5
2 excellent pieces of advice above. I really need to learn to trust my ears more than the look of knob positions. If i dial in a setting i love but something is maxed out or looks extreme i tend to bring it back a little and go a little against my ears......
 
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#6
I use compression in a pretty transparent way. Basically, I use it to give a full, even sound. No one would even notice it (outside of the sound engineer) unless I turned it off. My tone is more about what is NOT there than what is there. Running compression, a tube preamp, and a HPF gives me a clean, smooth, warm tone. I don't do much else to it. My preamp has a bass and treble control which I bump up just a bit to give some fatter bottom and a little brightness up top so the G string doesn't sound muddy or dead.

My signal is:

Programmable EQ (Set flat only used for level setting across multiple basses) --> Compressor (Multi-channel so I can switch to a different setting without knob twisting) --> H9 (for just about any effect you can imagine and it's my tuner) --> HPF (in an FX loop) --> Volume Pedal --> Preamp/DI

IMG_2724.jpg
 
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#7
I think my most oft used piece of compression advice (applicable to other effects such as reverb, chorus and eq etc) is dial it in to where it sounds good, then back it off by around half. Then it'll sit in a mix much better. I still have to remind myself of this one from time to time (particularly when it comes to eq).

The other advice is in regards to signal chain. For years I ran comrpession first, believing that was the best way to get a solid bass tone before running through other effects (on a lot of multi-effect units you don't have much choice!). Then I found out the effects that rely on playing dynamics should go before compression. Well duh, of course - stands to reason. However, I never thought of drive and distortion as dynamic effects. I moved compression after overdrive and it sounds so much better.

Lastly, if you use a clean blend or multiple signal paths, a little compression att the end of the chain or after mixing signals together can help them gel and sound more 'together'.
 
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#8
Beyond the general rule of thumb for bass that suggests starting with a compression ratio between 2:1 and 3:1 and the threshold set at -30dB and use your ears to adjust to taste after that - it’s about all I can suggest. Each compressor and player is different. So there’s no golden formula or rule that will work for every situation.

About the only other thing I can suggest is to go with a light compression setting. Most times less is more unless you’re deliberately going for a heavily squashed sound.
 
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#11
Great info everyone. I’m a fan of squashing the low end below @ 300hz at a rate of about 3.5:1. Then setting the high end to taste on multis. Usually a pretty light threshold on the high end, sometimes 5:1 and some times lower rates.
 

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