I know what a compressor does and I know how to use them. I also know not to over compress. I know the differences between hardware compressors and software compressors. I know how to use a compressor in the context of gluing sounds together like bus compression and I also know that you should parallel compress a drums bus and of course sidechain compression. In these situations I know I have to use a compressor, I know what it does and why its there but I know compressors are much more useful especially in the mix down stages.
My question is when should I use a compressor (other than the situations ive stated above)? I dont want to compress something for no reason and I definitely know not to compress for just loudness. Am I correct in saying that I should compress elements of a mix that are peaking so I end up only compressing those elements instead of the whole mix? How should I compress my synths (leads etc)? how should I compress my bass?
I produce trap/moombahton so I am wanting quite aggressive masters but at the same time I want to hit that sweet spot between loudness and quality.
thanks
In various genres you tend to want a certain sound that is signature to that genre, not only in terms of the production signature but also in terms of the dynamic signature.
It is possible to achieve this to some degree with broad stroke multiband compression but has a too negative impact on the stereo image.
So to achieve the desired dynamic signature engineers are commonly trying to create that by applying compression more narrowly much earlier in the overall process.
It is however important to understand that the bulk of the dynamic signature comes from the hardware and what impacts on that hardware to sound a certain way and controlling that is key. That is a science in and of itself, highly important.
These decisions are made during production and recording.
But because there are so many dimensions to balance, there might be some residues, some bits that need some further tuning that is best done when keeping everything else as is and this is best done during mixing.
At mixing you are also weighting in various qualities from a slightly different point of view that results in some balancing work that slightly alters the sound and the combined dynamic signature with it.
You might also want some icing on the cake that did not make sense to apply during recording.
All of these things impact on the dynamic signature and therefore it becomes a task for the mixing engineer to use compressors to re-balance and maximize the quality of the dynamic signature relative to the dynamic qualities in the recorded material.
If you do not have a good tone and dynamic response in the material you send to mastering, the master will not come out the way you want it.
Compression in mixing is hence your insurance policy for the desired dynamic signature.
Relative to that, compressors in mixing can be used to balance the signal in a number of ways and relative to a number of intents that are all aligning to the overall creative vision that the mixing engineer has, including having the mindset necessary to get the most out of the dynamics already present in the recorded content, the skills required to spot where/how the recording has to be slightly different in balance in order to make up the desired mix of those recorded elements and a true awareness of how listeners will perceive the mix on their playback system.
The general answer is that software compressors should not be used and that forming the dynamic signature should be done as early as possible by effectively engaging the right hardware. The rest is specific relative to individual dimensions.