Will I ever need to use compression in my production?

Psalm

Psalm

New member
Hi FP, I have some confusion when it comes to compression and would love some help here.
I understand what a compressor does but I don't know how to use one properly. However, I'm not here to learn how to use one, I would just like to know what a producer would use a compressor on. The only use that makes sense to me is for vocals which is obviously the mixing/mastering stage, therefore that would be done by a mixing engineer.

So is compression only used for the mixing/mastering stage? Or can it be used during the production stage?
If so when would a producer apply compression to their beats?

Also, I often hear of people applying compression to their drums which doesn't really make sense to me unless it was a drum loop? Can anyone enlighten me on this?
Thanks!
 
compression is often used to tame dynamically large signals: signals that would otherwise exceed the maximum signal your interface, adc's and therefore daw and dac's can handle

acoustic drums are one of those instruments that generate large dynamic range and may need to be compressed simply to tame the initial transients. Traditional micing techniques have a microphone placed to capture sound for each drum in the kit as well as overhead mics to catch the cymbals. At a minimum you would record kick, snare and hats to separate tracks and use some room mics to capture the rest of the sound. Each microphone may require an in-line compressor to bring the signal into the dynamic range that your equipment can handle.

you might also use compression on any part that requires similar control and management in their signal path

i.e. using a compressor is not essential (there are some workarounds) but can provide you with a toolset that allows you to better control your overall sound ...

my personal position is that there are always some other things to try first before resorting to compression
 
But besides being used as a technical tool, it can also be used as a creative one - compression changes the sound and can be used (together with makeup gain) to "beef up" certain sounds, drums being an easy example: let the attack through and pull the rest of it up.
 
Try not to focus too much on what a compressor "does" load one up and hear it work, if it improves your sound use it, if not don't. Production is trial & error
 
definitely need to compress your samples if you're a sample based producer. i shy away from compressing drums really since they are programmed in at the same velocity. i guess you can shape them a bit with some compression, i would go light. sometimes i use it on break beats, but again usually don't. parrallel compression is gonna be a big one for bringing out transient tones and different frequency ranges that may not cut thru as good as u would like to when mixing. for drums it'll definitely give it that ooomph. compression in general can help instruments get brought to the forefront and create more presence.
 
Psalm said:
Hi FP, I have some confusion when it comes to compression and would love some help here.
I understand what a compressor does but I don't know how to use one properly. However, I'm not here to learn how to use one, I would just like to know what a producer would use a compressor on. The only use that makes sense to me is for vocals which is obviously the mixing/mastering stage, therefore that would be done by a mixing engineer.

So is compression only used for the mixing/mastering stage? Or can it be used during the production stage?
If so when would a producer apply compression to their beats?

Also, I often hear of people applying compression to their drums which doesn't really make sense to me unless it was a drum loop? Can anyone enlighten me on this?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter if the sound came from a sample or not. It's still a sound.

You should judge if a sound needs compression not from where it was generated by, but by how it sounds to your ear.

You can use gentle compression during producing/recording yes. But make sure you add that much that would leave you
with options. If you over-use an effect/processor during tracking you won't be able to delete it after it.

A great example of this, is when people record vocals. They use compressors that take away some peaks so they can make their life easier during mixing.

If you're into electronic music chances are you're going to need lots of compression, especially modern EDM music.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top