Master Buss Compressor Setting

[JD01]

What you think of this video: (its only a couple of minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuLM5LMMIvE
I was going to do some experiments with this but I only have the focusrite RED3 and Scarlett compressors. So if anyone has a recommendation for a good compressor to try, I'm listening.

I've read good stuff about Slate and Waves but they're expensive.

[ido1957]

I just stopped compressing my main bus completely on recent mixes. I'll leave it to the mastering engineer, if/when they are mastered.
Why? I don't have a lot of good compressor plugins. The one I used tended to make it louder, but the "glue" effect was more of a mud effect.
Separation/clarity is improved now.
When I first did it it sounded "WOW" but then I've been mixing a little longer I tend to mix the tracks better and maybe that's why a master comp is not as required.
This is just my experience so take it with a grain of salt

[JD01]

I won't be sending anything to be mastered... ever I don't think. I just want to get the process done as well as possible so want to attempt to amateur shonky mastering other than just sticking a limiter on it and making it louder. Actually, I'm not really sure what mastering is supposed to achieve aside from limiting and making it louder.

[miroslav]

If you had posted this a few weeks back...Plugin Alliance had a sale on two top-line comps, aimed for bus/mastering use...Millennia TCL-2 and Vertigo VSC-2. They sell for $300 each...they had them bundled together for $99. I managed to get them for $24, had a $75 voucher, 'cuz I get a lot of Plugin Alliance stuff.

Anyway...not sure how cheap you're looking for, but Klanghelm plugs are supposed to be really good, and inexpensive. I have a few, though TBH, I've only played around with them since I got them recently...but the big ass comp they have might be good for you for bus compression...the DC8C...and there are some freebies two.
I didn't want to just take the guy's free plugs...so I bought a couple of the others too.

https://klanghelm.com/contents/main.php

If you use a comp lightly on the master bus, it can tighten (aka "glue") the mix, without really affecting loudness all that much.

[Greg_L]

I won't be sending anything to be mastered... ever I don't think. I just want to get the process done as well as possible so want to attempt to amateur shonky mastering other than just sticking a limiter on it and making it louder. Actually, I'm not really sure what mastering is supposed to achieve aside from limiting and making it louder.

Mastering is the process of assembling finished mixes, organizing and coordinating them to flow well together, getting them all to the same listening level, getting them all balanced, and just general finishing up for the album format.

In today's constant single release world, and in our one-at-a-time home rec world, mastering is usually just some fine tuning EQ and smashing for loudness. Maybe some metadata/ISRC code stuff.

[JD01]

I won't be sending anything to be mastered... ever I don't think. I just want to get the process done as well as possible so want to attempt to amateur shonky mastering other than just sticking a limiter on it and making it louder. Actually, I'm not really sure what mastering is supposed to achieve aside from limiting and making it louder.

Mastering is the process of assembling finished mixes, organizing and coordinating them to flow well together, getting them all to the same listening level, getting them all balanced, and just general finishing up for the album format.

In today's constant single release world, and in our one-at-a-time home rec world, mastering is usually just some fine tuning EQ and smashing for loudness. Maybe some metadata/ISRC code stuff.

Cool - I just thought there was some magic that I wasn't aware of. Seems OK though.

I do tend to get my mixes all to the same level - that's just using Event Horizon and knowing what sort of levels to mix things to in relation to my kick and snare.

If I was going to stick a comp on my master buss, I'm assuming that I stick it before Event Horizon, and that if I was going to add an EQ too, which I've never done on a mix but have played with a bit, I'd stick it before the comp.

[Greg_L]

Cool - I just thought there was some magic that I wasn't aware of. Seems OK though.

I do tend to get my mixes all to the same level - that's just using Event Horizon and knowing what sort of levels to mix things to in relation to my kick and snare.

If I was going to stick a comp on my master buss, I'm assuming that I stick it before Event Horizon, and that if I was going to add an EQ too, which I've never done on a mix but have played with a bit, I'd stick it before the comp.

I have never put a compressor on the master bus for mixing. I don't really believe in all the "glue it together" bullshit out there. I don't want it all stuck together. I want my shit to punch and breathe and have space between the elements. I don't want it to be just one solid mash of everything crammed together - especially if it's gonna be slammed through a limiter later.

[JD01]

I'll give it a go and see if I like how it sounds/feels. I did go through a phase of sticking a comp on my guitar folder for a while and I quite liked it and then went off it. Maybe I'll do the same thing with this idea.

[Greg_L]

I see absolutely no value in compressing overdriven guitars. They're already heavily compressed. Very dynamic guitar tracks, like clean tones or leads can benefit from some compression. But compressing a dirty rhythm track pretty much does nothing. And something that does nothing actually makes it worse.

[JD01]

I usually compress my cleans and when I do that wah/skanking thing that I sometimes do I compress quite a lot actually. - but those wah tracks are really spiky.

[miroslav]

I have never put a compressor on the master bus for mixing. I don't really believe in all the "glue it together" bullshit out there. I don't want it all stuck together. I want my shit to punch and breathe and have space between the elements. I don't want it to be just one solid mash of everything crammed together - especially if it's gonna be slammed through a limiter later.

Now you're talking about Chris Lord-Alge kind of stereo bus compression...he's using some serious epoxy glue.......but you can also apply a real light amount, and the difference between on and bypass is pretty subtle, yet the mix elements come together, and it helps remove that "tracked individually at different times" vibe you sometimes can have in the home rec solo world mixes.

I like the Dave Pensado approach.
He always likes to say "just kiss it" when talking about the amount of processing to apply.

I see absolutely no value in compressing overdriven guitars. They're already heavily compressed. Very dynamic guitar tracks, like clean tones or leads can benefit from some compression. But compressing a dirty rhythm track pretty much does nothing. And something that does nothing actually makes it worse.

[Greg_L]

Now you're talking about Chris Lord-Alge kind of stereo bus compression...he's using some serious epoxy glue.......but you can also apply a real light amount, and the difference between on and bypass is pretty subtle, yet the mix elements come together, and it helps remove that "tracked individually at different times" vibe you sometimes can have in the home rec solo world mixes.

I like the Dave Pensado approach.
He always likes to say "just kiss it" when talking about the amount of processing to apply.

I've personally just never found it necessary. And when I've tried it, because I try everything, it doesn't add any value to my kind of mixes IMO.

I think the "tracked individually at different times" problem is a sim and sample problem. Mixes that use real sounds and real performances generally don't have that problem.

[JD01]

I have never put a compressor on the master bus for mixing. I don't really believe in all the "glue it together" bullshit out there. I don't want it all stuck together. I want my shit to punch and breathe and have space between the elements. I don't want it to be just one solid mash of everything crammed together - especially if it's gonna be slammed through a limiter later.

Now you're talking about Chris Lord-Alge kind of stereo bus compression...he's using some serious epoxy glue.......but you can also apply a real light amount, and the difference between on and bypass is pretty subtle, yet the mix elements come together, and it helps remove that "tracked individually at different times" vibe you sometimes can have in the home rec solo world mixes.

I like the Dave Pensado approach.
He always likes to say "just kiss it" when talking about the amount of processing to apply.

I see absolutely no value in compressing overdriven guitars. They're already heavily compressed. Very dynamic guitar tracks, like clean tones or leads can benefit from some compression. But compressing a dirty rhythm track pretty much does nothing. And something that does nothing actually makes it worse.

In that video I posted up earlier he's talking about 4:1 and only 2-3db of gain reduction.. I guess that qualifies as just kissing it.

[Greg_L]

In that video I posted up earlier he's talking about 4:1 and only 2-3db of gain reduction.. I guess that qualifies as just kissing it.

I don't know. In my book, that's more than kissing it. But I'm nobody.

[miroslav]

The guy in the video is not Dave Pensado...who knows how to "just kiss it".

Here's the other thing...if you compress and then re-compress your tracks during tracking/,mixing...what you do on the MB will not be the same as if those tracks are raw/uncompressed, and with a lot of peaks/dips.

I know these days people are slapping comps on everything, multiple times...so at that point, squashing the whole mix some more can just mush it out.
I tend not to use comps too often on tracks. The last mix I did that I posted here, I was fucking around with dual compression on the vocals, just as an experiment...and it didn't work out well. Maybe I just need to refine the process...or maybe it just doesn't work for my mixes.

Speaking of CLA...he's a compression fanatic...layers and layers of it...and TBH, most of his mixes ain't all that bad.
Then you got the guys who barely "kiss it"...and most of their mixes ain't all that bad, either.
So...there's obviously a few ways to get there.

I'm not one of those who like to start mixes with shit on the MB....we just had that debate over on HR, where some people said they always do...but I guess if it works for you, it works for you.

[Greg_L]

There are only two things that I compress as a matter of standard procedure: drums and vocals.
Drums - I do use the gentle glue approach. I don't really like the sound of totally raw drums, but I don't like them squashed down either. Just a hint of ratio and peak reduction does the trick for me. I very often have the very fortuitous "problem" of my drums being too punchy, so I tame them down a little.
Vocals - I savagely murder the shit out of vocals. I just like the way it sounds.

[Even older now]

...
In that video I posted up earlier he's talking about 4:1 and only 2-3db of gain reduction.. I guess that qualifies as just kissing it.

'Bend down a little lower.
1.5:1, 50 - 70 or more attack,
Now that's 'kissing it.

[paulman]

I was going to do some experiments with this but I only have the focusrite RED3 and Scarlett compressors. So if anyone has a recommendation for a good compressor to try, I'm listening.

I've read good stuff about Slate and Waves but they're expensive.

The Puigchild plugin from Waves is available for $49 right now. I have that, but I rarely use it anymore because I now have UA's Fairchild collection. The Waves one is good though, I just really like my UA plugins that I bought back before I became poor again. I put a Fairchild on almost every song, either on the master channel on the mix or the first plugin on the master. I use it for exactly the reason the video demonstrates, a subtle glue and warmth. I also use it a lot on individual tracks, more than any other compressor (I have UA models of the Holy Trinity of compressors, and some good free ones).

[paulman]

There are only two things that I compress as a matter of standard procedure: drums and vocals.
Drums - I do use the gentle glue approach. I don't really like the sound of totally raw drums, but I don't like them squashed down either. Just a hint of ratio and peak reduction does the trick for me. I very often have the very fortuitous "problem" of my drums being too punchy, so I tame them down a little.
Vocals - I savagely murder the shit out of vocals. I just like the way it sounds.

I'm big on vocal compression as well. I never seem to do it the same way or with the same compressors, though. For some reason I like to reinvent the wheel on every damn song I record. I'm just inefficient like that.

I do much less to my drums than I did in the beginning. Unlike you, I'm not recording real drums, and it occurred to me that I already have these great drum samples that were recorded impeccably, so why fuck around with that any more than I have to to get it to fit the song? I might use a Waves TG12345 on a drum bus, maybe a Fairchild, or maybe nothing depending on the mix. I would say mixing drums is my weak point, but I feel like saying that about almost every instrument.

[miroslav]

I just really like my UA plugins that I bought back before I became poor again.

If I started over with my plug-in hoarding...I would be looking hard at the UA stuff...though TBH, when I started buying lots of plugs, UA didn't have the huge selection of great plugs they have now.
That said...I'm not hurting for plugs...I've got a ton of Waves plugs, and as much as people drool over the UA stuff, most of the Wave stuff is good too. I mean, there are some identical plugs by UA and Wavers, and people are always comparing...but both are good, there just might be some minor sonic differences. Like I know UA's Neve channel is probably a bit closer to the original hardware, but Wave's Sheps' version is quite good too...just a slightly different flavor.
I also have most of the stuff offered by Plugin Alliance...and all their stuff is top-notch.

The best thing about the UA stuff is that you get the additional DSP processing power rather than depending on the computer entirely...so if you're the type that uses a lot of plugs per track, per mix...it help quite a bit.
I know here, KC uses the UA stuff.
I keep looking for a deal on a quad core PCIe card, as that would work for my computer...but still not cheap when you add in a decent amount of plugs.
Not that I need more plugs.