5 best-practice compressor settings

To control instruments and vocals as well as possible, a compressor is the ideal choice, although at the expense of dynamics. But what is too much and what is too little? The following settings will help you here because they provide the ideal basis for your sounds so that they sound good on their own and in context. Customization is of course welcome! 1

Acoustic drums

By nature, acoustic drums sound great in the studio - because it‘s loud - but after the recording it usually sounds more bland from the computer. That‘s why there‘s some flavor here: Ratio 6:1 provides strong compression, Dist 3 for saturation, Attack 7 maintains percussive transients. Then set INPUT to 6 or higher.

2

Vocals

As with the drums, the compression is quite crisp with a ratio of 6:1. So that “p” and “b” sounds with a high bass content don’t ruin the mix, we switch the DETECTOR to HP (high pass). In this mode, the distresser reacts less to the low frequencies, the compression is therefore milder and avoids unnatural sound.

3 Bass

For bass, we definitely use the Dist 2 mode in AUDIO, with which the distressor simulates tube saturation and ensures a warmer sound. So perfect for basses. RATIO 20:1 ensures homogeneous volume with slow ATTACK 9 and super-fast RELEASE 0.5. Now turn up the INPUT to your liking and you‘re done.

4

Guitar

For the guitar track we use the distresser in opto mode, i.e. the simulation of optical compressors like the LA-2A classic. To do this, we set RATIO to 10:1, ATTACK to 10 and RELEASE to 0. Optical compressors react more slowly and thus preserve the transients, but ensure a fat sound during compression. Ideal for guitars and percussives.

5

Synthesizer

Synth sounds are extremely diverse, so it‘s hard to give general settings here. However, a base with RATIO 6:1, ATTACK 7 and RELEASE 3 has proven to be effective. These are all moderate settings that can be expanded to suit any sound. For extreme applications, be sure to test the NUKE mode with ATTACK and RELEASE 0!

The Compressor legend

The Distressor from Empirical Labs is undoubtedly one of the most successful and best-selling hardware compressors in the world. Certainly not least because it can do everything – from subtle compression with a soft ratio curve to the nuke setting, which, like the LA-2A classic, mutates into a real monster. ⸬