ADSR Settings for Multi-band Compression on Master.

[Daniel Carroll]

I can't find any tutorials on Youtube about mastering with multiband compression using FL 12's stock multiband compressor.
What attack, release settings to you guys do? and how much do you compress? I imagine no more than 2-3 dbs.

 

[Free Your Mix]

Hey Daniel,
Just set the treshold and ratio down to a very hard compression. Now you can try and hear the effects of different attack and release times. After you've found the right settings for you, set back the treshold and fit the ratio to a nice compression, you like.
Always compare and trust on your ears! If you're compressing a master channel, you may use long release times, otherwise the song is pumping!

 

[laurend]

ADSR values are for synthesizers.

 

[crimsonhawk47]

Hey Daniel,
Just set the treshold and ratio down to a very hard compression. Now you can try and hear the effects of different attack and release times. After you've found the right settings for you, set back the treshold and fit the ratio to a nice compression, you like.
Always compare and trust on your ears! If you're compressing a master channel, you may use long release times, otherwise the song is pumping!

One thing I'll say about this, is you can actually overdo the threshold and completely defeat the purpose of what you're trying to do. I get overcompressing it and setting the release, but if your threshold is too low, you'll constantly be compressing part of the signal, and then your release times really won't matter, because it never actually releases. So when you set your release time and back off the threshold, your release time could be anything. You're now compressing part of the signal and your release time may not be appropriate.

I can't find any tutorials on Youtube about mastering with multiband compression using FL 12's stock multiband compressor.
What attack, release settings to you guys do? and how much do you compress? I imagine no more than 2-3 dbs.

As a side note, I would use Maximus instead of FL's Multiband Compressor. I think Maximus is a lot easier to use when you get the hang of it, and it's a little more graphical, which is helpful when you're learning multiband. I wish I had more tips for Multiband, but I don't use it as much on the master as I do on individual sources.

 

[MarcDHall]

A long time ago I used things like this on master buses for a while. Over time I stopped. The reason is that, now, once I get past the mix stage everything is exactly as I want it and I find it very hard to justify the radical change in timbre that things like Maximus give you, or the distortion of transients and pumping that you can get with master compression, or the unnatural warping that multi-band compression gives you.

Now I only use multiband compression for sound design situations like if I'm using some bizarre sound generator that produces sound that doesn't behave and spans a lot of frequencies or really specific situations where specific frequencies stick out but have some important role. For vocals maybe, since vocals are very complex signals.

But across an entire mix? I mean if the low end needs managing just turn the low end stuff down. You have access to those things at source, why combine them then try to un-combine them with a plugin?