Vocal compression threshold settings reddit. o Ratio is the ratio of Input:Compression.

Vocal compression threshold settings reddit ultimately With the research I’ve done online, some engineers like it, some don’t. Ratio effects how much gain is subtracted when the audio goes over the DB level you set with the threshold. Pull up a ratio/threshold that's smashing it pretty good like 10dB of gain reduction (for the purpose of more obviously hearing it work). A good starting point would be a threshold setting of 0db with a ration of 4:1 with attack and release settings set at their midpoints. Third is to shape a sound. A higher ratio (4db for every 1db over the threshold vs 2db for every 1db over threshold) will turn the volume down more aggressively. The typical use is to compress say the lows, the low mids, the high mids and the highs independantly on a vocal for example. This is just a quick example of how to start hearing compression. It’s helpful to set a compression ratio around 2:1 to 4:1, sometimes even up to 5:1, for most vocal tracks, offering a balance between subtle and firm compression. The voxbox is Trent Reznor's live vocal settings, this may not be exactly up to date, but it's from 2014, and his live vocals are always surprisingly clear. But I'm having trouble with Ratio. Use serial compression because you need to use it for that sound. I set the threshold pretty low, so any open mouth sound goes quickly into compression. Breakdown of the Mysterious & Confusing Compressor settings for vocals! ratio of compression or reducing volume. Jul 6, 2016 · Here are my go-to compression settings for vocals: Ratio: 1. Here are the 4 main reasons to compress: Taming the peaks of a signal. Some engineers look down on compressing a vocal on the way in. Set a lower ratio for the compressor to turn the volume down less when the vocals go above threshold. 2:1, 3:1. 215 votes, 109 comments. Because it won't. Once you find a threshold setting you like, now adjust the attack slower and faster. For backing vocals/harmonies the panning and levels are subjective again. Now, why does lowering the threshold make it "louder"? Well in the previous example I've used a rather extreme setting - a ratio of infinity and a threshold of -12. Ratio: Higher ratios mean more aggressive compression. Fair question. I don’t do parallel compression on vocals. Say we set it to -6 with a ratio of infinity (acting as a limiter). after you've nipped and tucked your vocal using editing and clip gain and normalization on the track itself, duplicate it and slap the fastest comp you can find onto it, shooting for at least 6 dbs of compression. 5-2. It has no place in a hip hop vocal. Some music has the lead vocal compressed to hell and back and this serves the song. ratio either 4:1, 8:1, 12:1. Start lowering the attack. 8:1 compression on a track and 2:1 on the master is 16:1 total compression (when both compressors are active/past threshold). I’m often doing 20dB of gain reduction total. however the better their setup the less itll be required weather its on or off at the desk. This is easiest to hear on drums. Vocals in pop can be all kinds of things. Set a medium sort of ratio (maybe 2. And be sure not to think "compression makes things louder" -- common misunderstanding that can confuse the learning/use of a compressor. Fast release is “in your face” (vocal for example). Other settings will let the transient though but squash the tone. Vocal compression is one of the more challenging and nuanced mixing tasks and settings are going to vary widely between different styles, different vocalists, and even different recordings of the same vocalist in the same recording session. Using more minimal compression like this on the bus will keep your tracks from "pumping" while still giving you that desired "blended Vocal Compression Settings I always start by finding the threshold level. The big thing about compression is you NEED main monitors and/or a sub to really understand it. Try setting attack to longest, release on shortest , and threshold down so it’s constantly gain reducing. Timed release is also a great way to get certain instruments present without taking too much real estate (drum bus). o Ratio is the ratio of Input:Compression. Let's compare it to the same limiter setting (ratio = infinity), with a higher threshold. Asking for compression settings is always a shady thing because compression is extremely dependant on the situation and input signal, so dialing in some settings, someone suggested on the internet, is a recipe for disaster. Initial compression on input, light compression after a bit of eq, usually an opto compressor on the vocal bus, and finally some light compression on the mixbus. Like acoustic guitar and drums, drums with vocal, etc. Once you find an attack setting you like, adjust the ratio. However, a compressor that identify a loud frequency on the fly and compresses it alone exists. Of course, if you set the limiter's threshold lower, it won't catch just the peaks, you'll get something similar to a soft knee compression where one compressor will provide the transition from no compression to the limiting. But I don't think it's a good habit to just do anything by default. Forget character. You don't want 1 compression setting to rule them all. See full list on musicproductionnerds. Use your ears and let that tell you the ratio, release, threshold that’s needed in one comp or two. Then bring attack down slowly till desired effect. If you have a vocal with some loud parts and some soft, you can pull the loudest parts into check to avoid clipping. Make sure that your instrumental has frequencies "carved out" for your vocal to sit in. Dec 28, 2020 · Rock vocals are often double (and even triple) tracked, so compression plays a large role in gelling these multi-takes together as one “larger than life” instrument. But you can really slam vocals. Of course there may be other EQ in there to dial some life back in, de-essers for sure. I switched over to using this type of compression on vocals after using 30ms/100ms on everything for a long time. The Envelope section is again an envelope for the compression, where the Attack and Release relate to the compression of the signal, but the severity of the at tack and release slope is controlled by the Curve setting, Curve 1 will produce a steep slope, while Curve 8 will produce a relaxed slope. With a -1dB signal and a -10dB threshold, the signal is 9dB over threshold. Generally gentle settings on the threshold and ratio. There are some general starting points you can use, but you will have to tweak them to taste, as we walked through above. 5:1; Attack Time: 15ms (but up to 30ms for more punch) lower threshold) Tonal EQ; Dynamic compression Dynamic eq only changes the volume of the frequency you're adjusting. Sep 24, 2024 · Vocal Compression Techniques. Clip gain is a step further. I've been getting better at hearing compression and hearing the effect of the attack and release. Then set your threshold to the level where you’d say is the “normal volume” of your vocal track. Like 15dB gain reduction often sounds great to my ears. Think of it this way - on a rock record you have two bass heavy things- kick drum, and bass guitar. Play with the threshold as your only variable. But how do you get started? In this section, we’ll dive into the nitty-gritty of vocal compression techniques, exploring threshold setting, ratio adjustment, and attack and release time. always handy to have a degree of compression on bass to even thungs out. A 3:1 compression ratio does different things to a signal metering at -20dbfs with a threshold of -24dbfs vs a threshold at -30dbfs for example. Set a moderate ratio (around 3:1 to 4:1), a threshold that catches the louder peaks, and a fast attack (around 10-30 ms) to ensure the compressor reacts quickly to sudden loud phrases. See how it affects the strength of the threshold/attack you It has no place in a hip hop vocal. Or if there’s none, select something a bit more obvious so you can hear the effect (compression is hard to hear for newbies) something like a Ratio of 1:3. For example, if you've got threshold at -3, knee at 12 (meaning that the low threshold would be at -3 -12 = -15) and ratio at 4, compressor would apply 4:1 gain reduction at -3dB and up (threshold setting), 2:1 reduction at -9dB (a midpoint between -3dB and -15dB), almost no reduction at -14. I rarely use automation now that clip gain is available. Things like vocals might only need 2-3db GR with a light ratio. Threshold Starting Point (before we get started): Make sure the: Attack is at minimum, shortest attack Release is at minimum, shortest release Ratio at maximum (100:1, infinity, whatever the highest ratio of your compressor can be) Threshold to the lowest (-40 or -60 dB, so you get maximum compression on the whole song) So you can be more liberal with how low the threshold is at lower ratios of compression. Now as you’re listening bring the threshold down and get about 6dB of compression. High Pass filter at 80hz, take out the harmonics that are produced by proximity effect or breaths. For every dB above your threshold, you will get 1dB of compressed audio (this is why things sounds squashed, because the ratio is squeezing super loud audio into a tiny space). Forget attack/release. INCREDIBLE for de-essing (as well as full band compression and controlling bottom end). I've already got a noise gate on the vocal mic and eq cuts for the individual instruments. Dec 5, 2019 · Vocal Compression Settings. The output gain is just used to make-up that volume at the end of the compression process. o Threshold tells you at what volume level do you start compressing. Use some settings and turn the threshold down until you start hearing it, keep going until it fucks up your audio and just observe in what manners and way it's making it sound bad. A higher RMS setting, which uses an average volume over a time period, is also useful. When using a high ratio, the peaks that are above the threshold get through unaffected while the stuff below the threshold gets amplified by the makeup gain. and here is some vocal specific tips: -a good place to start is 4:1 with a medium attack and release with threshold set for about 4-6dbs of GR -harder compression will make the track cut through the mix better -as a general rule squash the hell out of metal vocals and most hard rock in general -make sure your compressor is in peak mode -for Some tracks might sound just fine with no compression at all. That being said, here are a few tips. 0 seconds With neither of the boxes checked. Not because you read it somewhere. There are also other takes of the vocal panned about halfway to either side, de-essed a bit harder, and with a gated reverb. You can also use a limiter with a high-pass filter in this way to catch the esses that a slow compressor usually Serial compression. There are no rules, only different outcomes. Then, adjust the threshold until you're getting 6-12 dB of gain reduction. I don't think I've ever felt the need to use a limiter on vocals, though, but that's just my use case. A good starting ratio is 3:1. g. Basically you just want to compress until the vocal sits pretty well in the mix without automating. The slowest setting is 50ms, I think, so definitely not fast! The knee changes with the ratios. The best I've heard (by far) is the softube weiss ds1 mk3. Watch/listen to how it affects the gain reduction. Like sam smith is pop vocal. Typically using two compressors to share the load when working ITB. 20:1 starts to bring in the distortion and all buttons in adds a bunch (which is awesome!) mess with the input & output until you like how much compression your getting. Even "pop vocal" is not really anything. You can avoid the muddyness by putting an EQ on your reverb Aux, high-passing up to 1k as an example. Also, a bit of saturation will give you a little more compression. vocals, yes to reign in sudden loud parts and bring up more subtle singers. Release around 2'oclock, faster release will bring the vocal into your face, slower puts it back into the speakers. 5 dB and stop applying gain reduction completely Compression issue I've only ever used pretty low ratios (2-4) on the lead vocal track, and I'd have a duplicate track with a high ratio (10-20) mixed to taste and often distorted a bit. Let me state up front that there's no single setting you can use for every vocal track. I have tried using the lowest possible threshold, sometimes -60 dB, sometimes -inf dB, and a low ratio, like 1. Hard means that once the threshold is passed, the compressor kicks in full, medium allows 6 dB where the compression is applied, vintage allows 7 dB, and soft will apply the compression over 15 dB of sound. And those settings with a 10ms attack and 250ms release are different from 10ms attack and 10ms release. ultimately Use some settings and turn the threshold down until you start hearing it, keep going until it fucks up your audio and just observe in what manners and way it's making it sound bad. SM7B-Neve-DBX902-Distressor is one of my favorite chains for that. I just like the sound of tons of compression from an 1176, hitting really hard. There is no wrong way to use a compressor. Is running no compression on the vocals a possible solution or a common thing? My live sound experience is pretty limited, as most of my knowledge comes from the studio. Turn or pull the threshold knob/slider until the compressor starts working. Bass guitar at 4:1, electric guitars at 2 or 3:1, drums as well but with tight attack times, etc. It will take all the life out of your mix if you are dynamic at all. Go back and adjust the threshold if needed. But yeah, multiband compression is hardly the first thing i'd reach for on vocals. For example, tracking a raw vocal: Up to 7 db of compression on the way in 3-6 db of compression on the track within pro tools 3-6 db of compression on the vocal bus 3-6 db of compression on mix bus These are arbitrary and general numbers, but i wish more people specified WHEN the compression their talking about is getting applied. Ratio and threshold are way more important anyway. Bring threshold back up so it’s taking 5 or 6 db, adjust your makeup gain as needed. In the beginning I watched videos and copied compressor settings and would often just stick to 3:1 on everything in an SSL channel strip compressor. To get a good threshold setting simply use a very fast attack, long release and set the ratio to unlimited then start pushing the threshold parameter till you hear a pumping effect The difference would be in the timing & transients behavior - the two systems' level detectors and attack/release settings are reacting to different sounds. 7:1. 6 days ago · Starting Points for Settings. Hold is how long the compressor holds onto the quieter signal before it let's go and is below the threshold again. It’s a good question because the ratio affects reduction and so does threshold. Compression at 4:1 for highly dynamic uncontrolled vocals or for dance music. Some music uses compression very lightly because the vocal dynamics impart some of the emotion to the song. The attack, release, ratio and threshold settings on a dynamic eq are adjusting the detector, which is triggering the volume change at a specific frequency. HPF and LPF the vocal channels to eliminate explosives and high end as needed. Add on a bit of bass and treble boost via equalization and you're golden! Threshold: -18 Noise Floor: -40 Ratio: 2:1 Attack Time: 0. In addition to my fellow redditors, I'd suggest going the other way and increasing compression on the rest of the band. It's only 2 settings, bit there are also lots of compressor types, and different effects you want. The second part of your question is “serial compression”. Any sound that sounds louder than the threshold (let's say, -12 dB threshold and a sound at -10 dB) will be processed. Hope that Inverse Relationship - Decrease Threshold → Increase Compression Compression increases with a lower threshold, because level more easily surpasses what compressor considers “too loud” Minimum Threshold - Most signal levels considered too loud, and everything will be compressed Low Threshold - Larger portion of signal is compressed As a mixing engineer myself, compression is important, sure, but most important is the recording quality itself and the rapper's vocal technique. Try listening to extreme settings, finding the one you like the most and then dial each setting back a little bit if you want a more natural sound. Adele is pop vocal. I tend to compress everything but in varying degrees. Also vocals need generous compression to be audible and reasonably level when playing supersaws, etc. there isn’t a magic point on the waveform to aim for the threshold of the compressor; if they start to sound too “squashed” to my ear, i raise the threshold until the effect achieves my goal - controlled peaks and fairly consistent loudness. There is a lot of info on vocal compression out there, and has been stated there is no one size fits all answer. If you have a vocal in the foreground and there are some keys or a guitar playing a riff in the middle-ground of the mix, then those quiet elements will also affect the envelope of the vocal. Sometimes words, syllables, or just S’s are harsher than the words around them. Peak uses dynamic filtering while RMS uses averages. Repeat ad infinitum and mash your head on the desk. A classic example of that is (as you mentioned) an 1176 into an LA2A, because the 1176 (FET) is good at being fast and grabbing peaks of a vocal, then the LA2A, a slower type of compressor (opto) will be able to what it does well, smoothing things over generally, without having to react to those peaks of energy that the 1176 has . Attack is how quickly the compressor turns on and starts actively compressing the signal. Note that you are probably familiar with a type of band compression : a deesser is a single band compression set on a high band. **EDIT: Thanks for all the advice guys. true. I think what makes the Distressor se Turn up the vocal, now the instrumental's too quiet, turn up the instrumental, now the vocal's buried. With high compression, a fast or slow attack is the difference between your vocals pumping, or getting a really full and even sound. Apply Compression, to make sure that boosted frequencies are brought back to the same level of amplitude. Set a 4:1 ratio, 100ms (or auto) release and a long attack like 50ms. For our first compressor, you want around a 3:1 ratio, a fast-ish attack (~15 ms), and a slow release (~300 ms). Our 3:1 ratio means that for every 3dB coming in over threshold, the comp wants to allow 1dB out the backside. . Since the threshold is low, every single element of the mix starts to affect the compressor. Basically, tackling dynamic range for my vocals entails hand-leveling the larger shifts, some saturation, and 2+ stages of compression. Downward: when level goes ABOVE the threshold, during the attack time, the gain is being REDUCED to a lower level. Don’t preset it. When you do this type of "bus compression" to help blend the vocals together, it's usually best to use minimal compression - keep the threshold lower as I said and only use around 1. A 3db drop is physically reducing the sound pressure(NOT SPL) by 50%. Then adjust release to desired sound. If you set a shortish attack and very short release, you’re boosting the tone/ringout of the drum while lowering the transient. modern hip hop vocals tend to be compressed hard. If your vocal is too dynamic, just compress it harder. Compressors are used to make vocals sound even in volume. Go in to an La2a and then maybe even an rvox or some glue compression on the bus. 5 dB for the ratio value. Adjust ratios to 2:1 or 4:1 for mild to moderate compression. So unless your vocals are insanely high passed, you will feel the compression messing around in the mix A good trick to test this is to use sidechaining bass and kick using a sub. The weekend. Try 3:1 compression and a slow attack. Vocals I will use lighter ratios, especially if I'm mixing IEM or wedges from the same desk. Vocal compression: it’s like having a personal voice assistant, helping you refine your sound to perfection. High ratios (or low thresholds relative program) on the master can make it hard to find/fix problems in the mix, or create a situation where you have to make a dramatic change upstream to hear a small difference on Don't rely on a generic "vocal comp" preset to tell you how vocals should be compressed. Subjective BUT: di bass, yes, especially if acoustic or has some peaking natural resonance. For rap vocals, ideal compression attack settings range from 5 to 15 milliseconds to control initial loudness. A vocal performance is one of the most dynamic signals you'll have to deal with. Lowering the threshold and increasing the input gain will technically do similar things, but raising the gain will increase the overall track volume where the threshold just dictates the compression. You can often see when it starts working on a ‘gain reduction meter’. Apply Compression, if there is a simple VO then a Tube Modeled Compression would do just fine. 5-4) and just close your eyes and lower the threshold. Whether it's timing, levels or pitch adjustment most people don't understand the extent to which we go to great the i A good starting point would be a threshold setting of 0db with a ration of 4:1 with attack and release settings set at their midpoints. For vocals, I pretty much use it exclusively for modern metal/metal adjacent styles. Simply enable the compressor on each vocal input at 2:1 ratio and set the threshold low enough so the singers are mostly in compression. I would focus on using the threshold and not using the input gain unless you want to raise the gain of the track AND compress it. Here are some basic settings you can start with: Threshold:-20 dB; Ratio: 5-to-1; Attack: 1 milliseconds 2 Compressors: Set one ratio and threshold for the more dynamic and louder parts to grab just the peaks of the vocal, and then a lighter compression with lighter ratio for processing the average signal. Adjust the threshold setting closer to either the average or above the average so you're only catching peaks. E. The threshold settings will depend on the dynamic range of the vocals you’re working on. Then you blend the signal from your wet parallel compression channel with the original channel to thicken/give more weight to the vocals. So if you have a soft knee, the compression of the sound will increase to your set ratio over 15 dB. if your looking to sweeten or fill out vocals with compression, it will require a much more subtle approach. Apply EQ, to attenuate or boost some frequencies slightly to make VO sound better. Hard compression is key to getting professional sounding vocals. There's going to be a lot of variations in the sound. But it is a deep deep beast. This is advice meant for a whole song, or for like vocals in an intimate ballad. Threshold: –4dB; Ratio: 3:1; Attack: <1 ms; Release: About 40 ms; Gain: Match the input level and output level. In fact, parallel compression is one of the ways to achieve upwards compression and pretty much the only way this was done in the analogue world. The more reverb you add the more it will push an instrument back in the mix. The threshold triggers the compressor to tell it above which amplitude (dB) it should start processing the sound. Or if you need some intense vocal sound squash the living fuck out of it. During release time, gain returns to normal. I almost always end up around -12db gain reduction (sometimes more) for modern sounding vocals, but the process happens through 2-4 compressors. Pick a vocal preset first - that’s always a good place to start. Release settings around 100 to 200 milliseconds can maintain consistent sound. Be careful with over compression due to its "pumping" artifacts. EDIT: This piece is set with 4ms attack, . On a side note the advice ill give you for once you find your main comp settings will be to side chain a compressor from the master, or a group channel far down the line. Phil Collins : almost infinite compression Whitney Houston : almost no compression Both had good vocals that served their respective music. If Necesary limit (30:1) the mix output but at the maximum safe threshold for your ears. 3ms release. Hours spent tweaking, all of which I tend to lump under the label "micro-editing", is the norm for a radio-ready mix. After doing some subtle volume adjustment with trim/automation throughout the song, your vocals are now in a good position to be compressed, so you can squeeze it without applying a lot of compression to balance the volume which when TOO dynamic can become quite tasking and uncontrollable for a compressor Aug 29, 2022 · Standard compressor settings for backing vocals. Some engineers apply very minimal compression on the way in (2:1) with the threshold just touching the peaks, and then some engineers like to dial it in by finding that sweet spot. On an amateur night I might use 3:1. Long attacks are fun and short attacks will smooth it out. For parallel compression on vocals you want to use a fast attack and release setting on your compressor, quite a hefty bit of noise reduction. Try to listen to what it's doing and make it less scientific. So yes, it does effect dynamic range, but it doesn't compress the audio based on time constants like a compressor does. First, set it to 0dB (no compression) and then play the voice-over. The threshold for the compressor will vary depending on gain structure and how loud the input is. com Now you determine with the Thrershold where the compressor starts working. VSC-2 is a boutique VCA compressor, but it has this mode where the ratio increases as the amount of compression increases, which is typical of any vari-mu style compressor. "Don't use too much compression" is bad advice I always hear people attribute to vocals. Otherwise it's very difficult to set them correctly. others might need a swift kick in the ass with a drastic setting. There is no delay whatsoever in this response, which belies the myth that attack is the time it takes a compressor to respond once a signal crosses threshold. Compression allows you to tame the amplitude of a sound, to control its volume. I mix rock, country, funk, pop, even jazz. 3:1 ratio (this is not exactly a 3:1, maybe someone with more experience with this piece can explain it), and uses the Manley Electro-Optical Limiter circuit. Metal High-gain distorted guitars, frantic double-kicks and overdriven 5-string basses require the vocals to often be heavily compressed in most cases. Mess around with attack settings, release settings, and see if you can hear how it changes just go by your ear. 5:1, 2:1, etc, and generous makeup gain. Compression: Utilize the Fruity Compressor to control the dynamic range and make the vocal performance more consistent. With all of this compression you are going to have to DS in stages and manually edit breaths and sibilant sounds. You always want to have an end goal on what you want something to sound like, then move accordingly to get there. Billie Eilish, Katy Perry. About 2-4db of compression through threshold setting. When it comes to the hissing in vocals, improper settings of these compression parameters can contribute to harshness: Threshold: If set too low, even the quieter parts of the vocal signal may trigger compression, potentially amplifying any underlying hissing or noise. Then slide the threshold back up until you stop hearing the compression. (It sounds like the singer is gasping for air between lines or phrases because the compression is functionally reducing the volume of the vocal phrases to the same volume of the breaths. should be about 1/3 of your threshold setting I use Vocal Rider if the recording needs it, followed by a stock peak compressor with the threshold set just above the quiet parts, 5:1 ratio with 7 or 8 db of knee, 10-20 attack time, and 50-100 release. When setting up vocal compression, begin with a few good starting points. Threshold Setting For me, slower release is a great way of locking tracks into a rhythm. You can use compression subtly to balance something with varying amplitude, you can use it aggressively to clamp down on sharp transients, you can smash things with it and apply upward compression to fatten a sound as done with OTT compression, or you can use to make transients pop more with slow attack settings. 5 seconds Decay Time: 1. I usually compress until it sounds more consistent. Low ratio, low threshold compression - glue compression. Don’t use the compressor to boost the signal. On a quality singer, or a lead singer I want to keep above the rest, 1. You should start to hear the vocal phrases begin to be pushed back in the mix. attack as fast as possible, release should be set to taste and probably should be set while listening to the sum of the two, not The settings I use are as follows and they work quite well for me. wilpb wzrl rtpn knhne tldr nihg sgg ssip bqhr mac