If you’ve ever seen one of those Idiot’s Guide To… books you’ll know that they have a little box at the end of each chapter, entitled ‘The least you need to know’, which summarises the least amount of information you should have taken on board in order to get the job done. This idea has caught on with other publishers too, so you’ll find a similar approach taken in many other tutorial series.
Well, instead of ending this beginner’s guide to compression series with a ‘The least you need to know’ chapter, I’m going to start with it. That way you can get on with making tracks straight away and maybe pick up some of the detail later on. A brief and unscientific note on what compression is, and why you’d want to use it Compression reduces the dynamic range of a sound, squashing the loudest bits so that the overall volume remains more constant. This has the effect of making the music sound tighter and more uniform – many engineers think of a compressor as something that ‘glues’ the mix together. Get the compression right, and the apparent volume and punch of your music is increased. With no compression, you’ll likely find your tracks to be lacking in volume and energy when compared to contemporary releases. Too much compression, on the other hand, will leave them sounding flat, distorted, and lifeless. As with most things then, a happy medium is desirable. Many compressors feature a fearsome array of adjustable parameters, and often we value them precisely for that reason. Equally valuable, however – perhaps even more so – are those that make us sound fantastic without us having to try very hard at all. These tools are great for the beginner, and just as valuable for the professional who doesn’t want to spend all day tweaking individual sounds. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight a few compressors that are both great-sounding and very simple to use, so that you can jump straight in without being concerned with a lot of confusing parameters.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, so consider these suggestions merely a starting point in your quest for the greatest sounds for the least amount of work. I’ve also restricted the list to VST compressors, seeing as this is the format that most newcomers are working with. Some of these are emulations of classic hardware however, so it’s fair to say that if you like the emulations then you are unlikely to be disappointed by the original hardware if you have the money. A quick note for the absolute beginner on how to use a compressor on a track A compressor is an insert effect, meaning that the whole signal passes through it (unlike a reverb or delay, for example, which is a send effect, meaning that you combine it with the unprocessed sound). How you insert a compressor on your track will vary depending on your recording software. Here’s how you would do it on Cubase 4: Firstly, if you haven’t already, you need to install the plug-in. Follow the instructions with the plug-in you downloaded or purchased on CD for installation. During installation it will probably ask you where your plug-in folder is. If you are using Cubase as I am here, it will usually be something like C:/Program Files/Steinberg/Cubase/VSTplugins. Now that the plug-in is installed, start Cubase, and either start a new project or open an existing one. In order to use your compressor plug-in you will, of course, first have to have some audio tracks that you want to compress – I’ll leave that up to you! On the audio track, click on ‘Inserts’, then click on an empty slot, and select your new compressor plug-in from the list. The interface will then pop up and you can adjust the compressor settings. Easy and forgiving compressors: Some suggestions.
Sonalksis TBK3 Uber Compressor It doesn’t get any easier than this! One knob controls the amount of compression: turn it up for more compression, turn it down for less. Simple to use, and sounds great. The effect is quite gritty and up-front, but this suits most contemporary dance music. A free 30-day trial is available from sonalksis.com.
Digital Fish Phones Blockfish This is my personal favourite freeware compressor. If your budget for plug-ins is zero, I recommend that you start here. Though there are a few additional options on the interface, beginners can get a useable sound on most sources simply with the Compression and Response knobs set to around halfway. For extra fatness, turn the Saturation knob up as desired.
PSP VintageWarmer Compression is only one of several processes – including limiting and saturation, which we’ll cover in part five – that the VintageWarmer employs to make its distinctive sound. It fits this list, however, because of the sound of the resulting effect and its easy and forgiving nature. There are a wealth of controls that you can manipulate as you delve deeper, but beginners might start by simply turning the Knee control up to 20 or so, and then adjusting the Drive knob: try turning it to the right until you hear the audio starting to distort, then back it off a little. Alternatively, try the ‘half-saturated tape’ preset as a useful starting point. The VintageWarmer can be a life-saver on poor drum samples, and is equally serviceable when placed over the whole mix; if you need to quickly bring a rough mix up to the volume level of a commercial track, strapping the PSP VintageWarmer over the stereo buss is a fast and painless way to achieve it.
The next three plug-ins are from Universal Audio, and as with all of their current plug-in range, you will need the UAD-1 expansion card to run them. It’s worth the price, in my opinion – and in fact the cost of the card plus plug-ins is really no more than that of native plug-ins of comparable quality. (‘Native plug-ins’ = those that do not require an additional card or expansion device to run – ie. the majority.)
UAD LA2A Just two knobs function as the main controls for Universal Audio’s excellent emulation of the old Teletronix LA2A. The original hardware unit was popular in the broadcast industry, valued for its smooth and relatively transparent operation even at extreme settings, and the UAD-1 version is no exception. Just turn the Compression knob to vary the amount of compression, and then adjust the Gain knob to set the volume. Beginners can use the LA2A with confidence: it is unlikely to sound terrible on any setting, and is especially smooth on bass or vocals. UAD SPL Transient Designer Now, strictly speaking this is not a compressor, but the effect that it creates can sound very much like one. In fact, that perfect compression effect that you imagine in your head but can be so elusive in your tracks might be more achievable with the Transient Designer than with a traditional compressor. With just two knobs – Attack and Sustain – it certainly won’t take you very long to find out! The Transient Designer is especially good on drums: just turn the Sustain up high, and turn the Attack knob a little to the left, and you’ll hear your drums fill out and fatten up considerably. For those without a UAD-1 card, there are other plug-ins that use the same principles (and also the SPL Transient Designer hardware device, where it all started). Flux Bitter Sweet II and Dominion are two plug-ins that use the same approach.
UAD 1176LN A few extra controls on this one, but I include it here because it sounds so good on any of them. Just turn up the Input knob to increase the amount of compression, and use the Output knob to set the final volume. As a starting point, try the Ratio set to 4:1, and the Attack and Release both halfway (we’ll cover what this actually means in part two). For great drums, or really aggressive vocals, try the Ratio at 12:1, the Attack at 3 or less, and the Release at 5 or more – and turn the Input way up! This is a very useful compressor for when an aggressive sound is desired.
Hopefully this has given you a few starting points for your first forays into music production. When you’ve got a feel for the sound that compression emparts to your music, please come back and check out part two, where we’ll highlight some of the specific controls that you’ll find on many compressors and other dynamics processors.