Advanced techniques
Take it to the next level, just like the pros
By now you’ve got to grips with the basics of compression. Here are a few advanced techniques to add to your repertoire…
Chaining compressors
It’s often better to use several compressors in a row, each one only working quite gently, than to push one compressor very hard. This technique is known as ‘chaining’. A Urei 1176 followed by an Teletronix LA-2A is a real power-house of a combination, for example.
This technique was standard in the days when using analogue tape was a much more common practice. It was fairly normal to compress gently when going to tape, to get the best signal-to-noise performance. With tape, it was possible to record quite ‘hot’, allowing a little saturation to compress the sound further. After this, more compression would be used in the mix-down.
Limiting
A limiter is a compressor with a very high ratio – typically more than 20:1 – and very fast attack and release times. Limiters are often used in
“Too much multiband compression can remove internal dynamics, leaving you with a mush”
mastering because they offer a great way to control unwanted peaks and spikes in the sound. This enables you to use slower attack times elsewhere.
Multiband compression
Sometimes used on an entire mix during mastering, a multiband compressor splits the signal into several different frequency bands and applies compression to each one separately. Care needs to be taken if you’re using multiband compression, though. Just the right amount can pull a mix together nicely, but too much can remove internal dynamics leaving you with nothing but a confused, overcompressed mush.
Sidechain compression
Some compressors can be set up to react to the input from another channel – the sidechain – so that this external effect triggers the compressor. Use fast attacks, high ratios and a longer release time – and make sure the effect works in time with the music.
Heavily EQed tracks can also be routed to a sidechain and used as a crude form of multiband compression; one example of this would be as a de-esser on a vocal.
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