Is parallel compression even necessary for hip-hop samples/drums and vocals?

S

StanleySteamer

New member
Hey guys, so I have been more on my mixing game lately and I seem to get everything to go good in a track but once I start parallel compressing I start to kind of lose balance of my track in certain things. Mainly my drums and my vocals when I parallel compress them. Is it even necessary to parallel compress hip-hop drums and vocals to keep my mix on par with other mixing in the industry? If so can someone help me better understand how to use it and what not. I use Pro Tools 11 and I think maybe I either leave too much in when I mix it in or I mix it too low and it doesn't even make a difference.
 
Parallel compression can be a great tool, but sometimes too much compression is too much. You can compress/parallel compress whatever you want to, but as a very general rule, it works great with drums, but a lead vocal would usually be compressed with a lower ratio, and directly on the vox track itself (not a parallel track), either after the fact, or as an insert/in-line effect on the way in (during tracking).

If you are thinking of "doubling," that is a different/separate effect...

GJ
 
Right basically when I parallel compress from my understanding I just send whatever I want to a stereo aux bus and I load a compressor on the stereo aux track and crush the signal with the attack and release knobs and then lower it down into the mix. Is that wrong?
 
That's it; compress to taste and mix to taste. If it's something like a snare drum or a drum mix buss, the compression ratio is often pretty radical (10:1 and ^); it will sound like crap as a solo'd track, but can often bring the drums to life when mixed in with the unaffected tracks.

GJ
 
Good looks man thanks for the advice. Last questions, do u use parallel compression on vocals also to bring them out? And lastly do u use bit crushing to bring out some punch to ur hip hop drums? If so how much bit rate? I use 12 but sometimes I either don't hear it or over hear
 
How are you doing Stanleysteamer? I hope all is well. "Is parallel compression even necessary for hip-hop samples/drums and vocals?" Well…that's a great question. No compression is never necessary. It's more of a "want" technique and, in my opinion, should be approached that way when attempting to use it. Why do I say that you ask…lol…because often times when creating music (speaking for me), it is sometimes a habit to reach for hardware or plugins that we really don't need. Don't get me wrong, Compression can bring life to instruments if used right but also can kill the mood if over used. It's just up to the producer and what he/she wants to do at the moment in time. How about this Stanley, can you tell us what exactly your trying to bring out of the track when grabbing a compressor? For instance…are you using it to just use one, are you trying to glue the track together, are you trying to tame some dynamics, etc…?
 
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I have always thought that falls under "artistic" type of compression, it isn't necessary, is just a technique to make the mix sound more "punchy" without actually squashing the drums.
 
I guess it depends on your recording/production aesthetics. If you are recording live classical or jazz music, a compressed vocal is a lot less necessary/desirable than if you are working with any type of current pop music (rap included). You will not hear many singers, rappers, or spoken word artists' vocals (at least on major releases) that do not have some serious compression on them these days. But in another sense, no, it is not "necessary." Neither is EQ, or recording on a large diaphragm condenser, but for the most part (with some notable exceptions), it is the industry standard.

GJ
 
Hey guys thanks for the response. I am just trying to keep my mix up there with the rest of I guess the "industry standards" for hip hop. I EQ my drums and use tape saturation already on my drums to make them beefier. I am basically trying to understand if whether I do or don't use parallel compression can I still achieve a professional "industry standard" mix you know?
 
That's kind of for you to decide, but it's also why you should a) know your room (listening and creating environment; and treat it for best possible acoustics if you haven't already), b) know your monitor speakers (understand what "regular music," whatever that is to you, sounds like on them)... a+b are there because most importantly, you will also c) have reference tracks to listen to that you consider high-bar/industry standard mixes. If you use a reference CD, it is not because you want to "copy" (exactly) what is on those tracks, but if you know your reference music, your speakers and your room very well, you will already know if your mixes are matching-up to the quality you're shooting for, before you go to listen in the car, or on 10 other systems to see how things "translate."

If, while listening to these reference tracks, you determine that your drums sound a little weak or not as punchy, then I guess you might need to try some parallel compression. It's all relative to your ears, your music, and the format and genre that you are attempting to emulate.

GJ
 
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Its not nessasary to parallel compress. Youve already realized it dosnt work. If it doesn't work for music try something else.
 
StanleySteamer said:
Hey guys, so I have been more on my mixing game lately and I seem to get everything to go good in a track but once I start parallel compressing I start to kind of lose balance of my track in certain things. Mainly my drums and my vocals when I parallel compress them. Is it even necessary to parallel compress hip-hop drums and vocals to keep my mix on par with other mixing in the industry? If so can someone help me better understand how to use it and what not. I use Pro Tools 11 and I think maybe I either leave too much in when I mix it in or I mix it too low and it doesn't even make a difference.
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Parallel compression is a way to achieve the compressed sound while having minimal side effects. (It can also be SUPER quick and easy if you're working w/ only a 2 knob compressor: gain reduction and gain).

If I was new to compressing sounds, I would DEFINITELY use parallel compression (with a 2 knob compressor like the one downloaded at Download Free Leveling amplifier plug-in: TLs-3127 by TbT).

Other than that, the only time I see it as being necessary is if I can't achieve a good sound through good ol' regular compression. Honestly there's not much of a difference between the two except for the other couple knobs which don't make that big of a difference in the grand scheme of things.

Hope that helped. Cheers!
 
remember also that a key part of parallel compression is to add punch by adjusting one aspect of the eq on the compressed channel

- on it's own it will sound like crud but when combined with the uncompressed channel it adds the shine/punch you want without damaging the sound

- it's about both channels where the original signal does not have its eq adjusted (except, perhaps, to remove unwanted low end) and the overly compressed channel having the eq adjusted by boosting the required frequency band
 
When i use it, i only use parallel compression for drums. Not always of course, sometimes it can help me get the sound that i'm looking for, sometimes i would apply the compression only to realise that my drums sound better without it lol. Experiment with it and be careful, you don't want to overdo it.
 
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