Dr. Strangecomp (or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Compressor)

[GreggBummer]

I have a long and sordid story regarding the use of compression on bass guitar. I have tried a bunch, Boss CS series, Opto-Stomp, MXR, Zoom, Digitech, Alesis, and few others... I never found anything I really liked.

I found that either it was way too much and it killed my dynamics... or it sucked so much tone that I found it to be pretty worthless.

The problem? Me.

Although I have read Bongomania's FAQ and his very help information at OVNI's website, I just didn't "get it". I put my compressors on craigslist/ebay... or in a drawer.

Except for my Boss LM-2B Limiter. The brown one. To be honest I was using it a limiter... one of the last effects in my chain. I used it tame my wah and dirt pedals. It kept me from getting to "peaky" or "spiky". It does that job pretty well.

For the past few years I have been playing in a band that really doesn't require me to use very many effects. The wah and distortion moved to my "home board" and the LM-2B sat there with them and kept them company.

A few weeks ago I pulled the LM-2B out, and JUST the LM-2B, and started to mess with it. I figured that I SHOULD be able to get usable compression out of it if I set the threshold pretty low and tweaked it a little. In my mind, limiting is just a more extreme form of compression (I may be oversimplifying that... There is probably a better, longer, and more technical explanation of the difference between the two that I am not qualified to articulate) To be honest, I never tried to use the LM-2B as a compressor.

The results were amazing. Just a touch, not very much at all... and boy does it sound great. I am not saying that the LM-2B is the answer... it was really the way I used it. Instead of trying to get some sort of extreme sound out of it, I instead went about WANTING it to be transparent. For the most part, it is. It sounds really great in softer passages and keeps my over all volume exactly where I want it. I decided that I didn't want a noticeable "effect"... rather, I was looking for a degree of control.

This change in approach has really made a difference. I'm curious to try a little higher quality, and proper, compressor in the future.

So, I'm a believer now.

Just thought I'd share.

 

[scottfeldstein]

Nice. I've never used a compressor before, but my MXR M87 should be arriving any day now. Like yourself, I'm going to try to get a very subtle, transparent effect out of it. Just something to even out the volumes in my various playing style. I'm a pretty aggressive slapper. And I never liked the ka-boom effect of thumping a low note on the E string to accompany a cymbal crash. I just want to even things out, so I can focus instead on notes without worrying about my style changes impacting my placement in the mix.

 

[GreggBummer]

Hey Scott,

I have read great reviews on that MXR... let me know how it works out.

I'm not much of a slapper. I am pretty much a fingerstyle player. I occasionally use a pick. I have found that the Boss becomes less transparent (read:tone suck) when I am picking aggressively. However, if I am really laying into it with a pick, chances are (in a band mix) the small amount of tone suck will not be an issue.

My kid just went to bed, so I'm going to have to wait until tomorrow to crank up my amp see what it sounds like with some slap. It's hard to tell through headphones.

 

[chessrocks]

In my mind, limiting is just a more extreme form of compression (I may be oversimplifying that... There is probably a better, longer, and more technical explanation of the difference between the two that I am not qualified to articulate) To be honest, I never tried to use the LM-2B as a compressor.

That pretty much is the technical explanation.

You may have heard the term "brick wall limiting." The threshold of your limiter is just the absolute maximum volume any given sound passing through your limiter is allowed to reach before it hits the "wall."

Think of yourself as a student driver. The compressor/limiter is your driver's training instructor seated next to you with his safety break, keeping you from going over the speed limit. If your instructor has slow reflexes, that is like having a slow "attack" setting on your comp. And if he has super, lighting quick reflexes and hits the pedal in a matter of milliseconds ... then he is acting like a compressor with a very fast attack time. Or possibly a limiter if he's fast enough.

The only problem with the driving analogy is that ... speed is absolute. And volume, at least as it applies to compression, is relative. The idea is simply to narrow the difference between the loudest "thump" or pick and the quietest. In Feldstein's case, his E-string might be 10 dbs louder than his next loudest open string.

So the idea is to cut that down so it's only maybe 5 dbs louder than the rest of his strings (which, technically would mean a "ratio" setting of 2 to 1). But you can also turn that thinking around and think of it as allowing the other strings to be 5 dbs louder in relation ...thus narrowing the gap by half, from 10 dbs difference to only 5 (there's that 2 to 1 ratio again). This is usually the hardest part of understanding compression when you first start delving in to it. Once you start viewing volume, in the world of audio, as being mostly a "relative" thing, then you're on your way to understanding a heck of a lot more than just compression.

Using the car analogy again. The speed of the car is like the volume of your bass (or other audio). But this time, try and image that there is no such thing as 50 miles (or kilometers) per hour. There is only such a thing as 50 mph faster or slower than something else. Now this, IS over-simplified and not 100% accurate in the truest of senses. But it can at least give you a start in understanding how it all fits together. In a figurative sense, there is no volume in the world of compression; only differences in volume from one thing to another. And by narrowing these differences you essentially "compress" it like a giant crusher in a salvage yard, compacting your sound sound so it becomes this compact thing.

 

[bongomania]

Or often not crushing it, but only denting it slightly. Or even just buffing the chrome.

 

[chessrocks]

Or often not crushing it, but only denting it slightly. Or even just buffing the chrome.

Analogies are a tricky thing.

 

[GreggBummer]

Once you start viewing volume, in the world of audio, as being mostly a "relative" thing, then you're on your way to understanding a heck of a lot more than just compression.
.

This was very well written. I appreciate your help.

One of the things that is counter-intuitive is the control of volume resulting in a "punchier" sound. You would think that, if you want "punch" you should crank up your over all volume.


(I don't like the term "punch" usually... But it seems to work here).

For now, I'm going to stick with the Boss limiter. It does what I want it to do reasonably well. However, when I audition the next compressor, I have a much better idea of what to look for and how to use it.

 

[GreggBummer]

Or often not crushing it, but only denting it slightly. Or even just buffing the chrome.

+1

 

[scottfeldstein]

All very helpful to me as well! Thanks guys

 

[nismaniac]

Very well said. I'm loving all the recent compression threads. Everyday I read something on the subject it starts to make more sense.

 

[chessrocks]

One of the things that is counter-intuitive is the control of volume resulting in a "punchier" sound. You would think that, if you want "punch" you should crank up your over all volume.

This is actually sort of the "next step up" in understanding compression. Once you get past the crude and simple analogies like the "little man living inside your pedal" with his hand on a volume control. Or the driver's training instructor with his foot on his break. Once you get to the point where you understand volume as being a relative thing, and how attack and release times effect audio, then you can start wrapping your head around how these things can be used to sculpt and chisle your sound to make something seem "punchy."

The little man inside your pedal

I'm going to move away from the driver's training instructor analogy, and we'll use the little man who lives inside your compressor pedal with his hand on a volume knob. He has lighting quick reflexes and can reduce that volume knob for you as soon as he hears your volume reach a certain point (the "threshold"). Just bear with me and humor me on this one.

Sounds as a series of events

NOW ... think of any one sound you make. A pluck of a string, the singing of a note or the hitting of a snare drum ... as being composed of three events:

1) The initial "burst" or attack of the sound. This could be that microsecond that your pick hits the string. Or the initial hit of the stick on the drum skin. A note hasn't actually been produced yet; your pick has merely struck a wound coil of metal.

2) The fundamental sound or note produced by that strike.

3) The resonance, or closing of that sound.


Each one of these events happens, one after the other, in succession. Sometimes in a matter of milliseconds or even microseconds from one another. Now think of this: A good compressor will give you control over each of these three events. Now think of the word "POW!" It has an attack, which is the consonant "P" sound you make by passing air from your lungs through sem-closed lips. It has a fundamental, or the "O" sound you make with your open mouth and vocal chords, and a resonance or closing, "W" sound, which you again make with your lips and vocal chords.

A slow attack time means the little man inside your pedal didn't quite lower the volume fast enough, so he let that initial "P" sound through (or the attack of the sound) at full volume before clamping down on the "ow", making the rest of the sound softer in relation. Now, instead of "POW!", you have "Pow" with an exaggerated consonant P sound. All because the little man inside your pedal is drunk.

Putting it together

Now imagine saying "pow, pow, pow, pow, pow" in a steady rhythm. If your attack is slow but the release time is just fast enough to return to full volume in time for the next "pow," (again we're talking milliseconds here), then you will be able to exaggerate almost ALL of your "p"s. Like "Pow, Pow, Pow, Pow, Pow." If you now apply this concept to your bass, you have a very articulate-sounding bass now, with exaggerated detail. The beginnings of all of your plucks and picks are right out there for you to hear; crisp and sharp.

And since you now understand the idea that volume is relative in the world of compression ... you know that by making the "ow" quieter, you are, in a very real sense, making the "P" louder. You understand what the "attack" and release control can do, when interplaying with one another.

Knowing this, hopefully you can start to see how this can be used to make something seem punchy. I could go on to this, but one of my pet peaves is the "mega-long forum post," so I'll save that for another time ... if anyone is even interested. Hopefully, this gives someone a start.

 

[yem]

Regardless of whether you compress or not, this thread title is great. Yee haw!

 

[J-O]

Great thread here! Very informative thus far for a compression newb. (aka me)

 

[scottfeldstein]

Pow! Brilliant. Very helpful indeed.

 

[TomTomBass]

That explanation of compression was great, easy to follow and I think I understand it a lot more now. Thanks for sharing it. I'll be remembering "Pow!" the next time I'm looking at compression pedals. Oh, and don't worry about the text length. the post read so well that it was like reading a story not a text book.

 

[superbassman2000]

Regardless of whether you compress or not, this thread title is great. Yee haw!

agreed!


I also had a comp epiphany this year too--I built my own cab and just to be safe I bought an ART channel strip mainly for the decent EQ and LPF, but then I tried out the tube compressor just for fun and now I adore it! I realized the same thing--i just didn't know now to use the compressor as I always seemed to get a lifeless tone. I finally figured it out and I love it!

 

[KoZo]

Nobody told it but... Best..... Thread.... Title.... EVER!


EDIT : Stupid me. Did not see Yem's post.

 

[Bassamatic]

Don't forget the differences between compression and limiting, and why they are usually used together in the studio.

Compressors work by taking gain and then holding back different parts of the waveform depending on your settings. A compressor can be used to raise the level of the O and the W (to use your analogy) for a thicker punchier sound without letting the P get louder unless you want it to. But when you start putting the brakes on the P is when you sound becomes "choked" or "squashed". You can also do the opposite - make the P bigger than the O and W.

A compressor can also be used to control all of the POW, fairly slowly, just like you would with your hand on the volume control, to make up for your playing a little louder or softer. This is called AGC or ALC (automatic gain/level control). The performance of the compressor electronics is critical - if it is not fast enough to catch the leading edge of the P, you hear it working, sucking down the sound.

The setting on the compressor - threshold, attack, decay, ratio - all affect how it changes your sound. One of the BIG problems with compressors is the difficulty in getting all the settings correct. In addition, for best sound quality, AGC and Compression should be used together.

A limiter works by setting a threshold - and not letting the sound go above that, be it P, O or W, it doesn't matter. This is done usually for purposes of safety - preventing your amp or PA from clipping or damage. Most limiters put the brakes on gradually, however, you can have a "brick wall" limiter where NOTHING gets over the threshold, however, this is REALLY difficult to do without sounding quite bad. The limiters that do this well usually are multi-band - working on several frequency bands at independently, so you don't hear the result. Further, it is best to use the limiter AFTER the AGC/Compresor, so some conditioning is already done, and it doesn't have to work so hard.

It hard and expensive to put all these features into a pedal - those great studio bass tracks you hear are a result of many pieces of expensive gear all working together - properly.

 

[GreggBummer]

Nobody told it but... Best..... Thread.... Title.... EVER!


EDIT : Stupid me. Did not see Yem's post.

Thanks all... I try.

 

[chessrocks]

Bassamatic brings up some excellent points.

Since you guys seem to be okay with the POW example, I'm going to take this idea a step further as it relates to limiting. Remember what I said earlier: In the world of compression, volume is a relative thing. With this in mind, I'm going to throw something out there that is really important:

POW is the same as pow. Right? Think about it. Think of a really busy magazine advertisement. If you emphasize everything, then you emphasize nothing. And if you make everything louder, then you're really just sucking the life out of everything in equal proportions. The reason I bring this up is because some mastering engineers in the 90's and 00's started this trend that, sadly, hasn't let up much ... of just trying to squash everything, thinking they were actually making a louder and more aggressive mix.

Anyway, enough of my rambling on that topic. My point is that it's just as easy to do it with a bass as it is with anything. So just don't do it.

On the subject of "PUNCHY"

What we've been talking about so far with attack and release times, and how they effect the word "POW!" ... we're essentially talking about an "envelope" (you'll hear that term used). And what the attack and release times do is set the envelope's shape. By setting a slow attack and moderate release, we create Pow. It's "envelope" would be a slope, descending from left to right. Now if you were to do the opposite and use a super-fast attack paired with super-fast release, it would look like pOW, so the shape would again be a slope, but in the reverse direction.

Now if you get your attack and release settings just right (and it does take some fiddling) ... you can even get a "v" shape like this: PoW, or even a tent-shape in reverse like pOw.

Tent-shaped pOw: would be basically all fundamental, and no definition. Think more of a "jazz" bass tone. Amost "gated"; sometimes even mushy.

V-shaped PoW: Very defined. Very forward. Very in-your-face. When mixing a record, I (and others like me) like to use this envelope shape for vocals, because it will place the track front and center. This is especially true for voice-overs and radio, where annunciation is much more important than tone. But the same principles hold true for all instruments and tracks. By emphasizing the beginnings and endings of words (or any audio event), you make it more defined, at the expense, sometimes of de-emphasizing the actual "tone." When you think of the V-shape, think "hi-fi," and when you think of the tend-shape, think "vintage."

Reverse-sloped (ascending) ppoOWW (added some extra letters to show it in slow-motion). This is punchy boys and girls.. If you want more clarity with the punch, you can slow the attack time to get more of a U-shaped (or smiley-face) PpoOW.

Look at that for a second: PpoOW!. It even looks punchy. Like an actual, physical punch, it kind of cocks back (with the small p and the o), and then it accelerates before sssmmmACKING! you in the face. Let's look at that again in slow motion. ssssmmmMAACK!! Ouch.

Why does this shape work so well for bass?

Think of what you're doing with your fat finger when you pluck a string. In a sense, you are putting tension on the string and "cocking" it back like you would a sling shot or a water-balloon launcher. The sound is created when the string is released and "snaps back" in to position and then resonates. With the compressor, the reverse-slope (or even the v shape) envelope accentuates this action by emphasizing this "snapping back." And that's where the punch is.

So, in short, punchiness is all in the release time, interacting with your fingers (or pick). If you can time out the release to create an envelope that sssmMACKS! you with that exclamation point at the end, then you have a track oozing with punch. Now if you can actually get to the point where you can time that release with the beat of the music (very very hard to do by the way so don't sweat it too much) ... then you put that in the pocket with the kick drum, so that the kick and bass both deliver that shape as almost one instrument ... then you create a sensation that moves people. If it's funky, then listeners will want to dance. If it's aggressive music, then it will start a mosh pit. If it's smooth and romantic, then couples will be making sweet love to your uber-punchy bass line.

Now that I've just given my trade secret for punchy bass away, I hope that you will use it to move people to do good deeds for fellow mankind.