I usually choose 1 millisecond here but up to 5 ms to 10 ms can be fine. The same tool does the same job, and that's to minimize the variance in volumes across a recording. For slower vocals like a love song, you may want some of the initial transient of the waveform to be maintained before the compressor clamps down. Let me state up front that there's no single setting you can use for every vocal track. On ballads or opera style vocals you'd use a lower ratio. Generally, the Soft knee is used to compress the vocals effectively. Gain reduction is a better metric to pay attention to than any other, especially for dynamic compression as opposed to tonal compression (I'll mention this later). How far you lower the threshold will depend on if you did proper gain staging when recording. If your vocals are too harsh, muddy, nasal or too edgy in some parts of the vocal performance and not the entire song then a multiband will be the best option over a static EQ. Time-based plugins can also increase the sibilance of a vocal, so that’s … Some mixers will push vocals through two or even three compressors, one after another. The result of this is that you'll maintain some dynamics for emotional effect but really "fatten out" the lower volume sections. You can continue to revisit this make-up gain setting as you change your compression settings to keep your vocal volume in check in the full mix. I usually use more than one compressor on the main vocal channel. A lower setting (a minimum of 0.0) will have no smoothness, but a more sharp beginning to compression. We will slightly tweak them later, though. It may look different, but the same options will be provided, so you'll still be able to follow along just fine. So, for dynamic compression, start with a 5:1 ratio and explore going higher, even up to an 8:1 ratio, depending on the threshold. MXL V67G Review: A Must-Read Before Buying. Basically, the vocals will only be affected whenever they reach a certain threshold. Once you dial in the right amount, we can start tweaking other settings. Now you want to think about the attack and release. The philosophy, the knobs and parameters you can change, and your goals will remain the same. For rap, pop, and rock styles of singing, go with a fast release. In some cases, inserting the compressor before a reverb works best. It's a combination between a compressor and a parametric equalizer that lets you target specific frequency bands. Mixers use this to automatically mute regions of a track that are meant to be silent so no noise comes through. Plosives are bursts of air when we make P and B sounds. For slower vocals (not rap, pop, or rock styles), consider a lower ration of around 3:1 and a higher threshold with a slower release. Today I’ll be talking about the most underused processing tool when it comes to mixing music. These are effects such as reverb, delay, chorus, flanger and phaser. One thing you don’t want is to end up with a weird sounding vocal that sounds unnatural and over-processed. Those have to get taken care of and a deesser makes it very easy. Example: If you set your threshold to -20 dB and your ratio to 5:1 (five-to-one), then a part of your recording spikes up to -10 dB, that spike will be reduced in volume until it only reaches -18 dB. At this point, you're done. Like I said, once you know how to compress vocals it's a piece of cake, but feel free to bookmark this page and return to it at any time you need. How fast it stops reacting when the volume dips below the threshold is called the release. An example would be placing a compressor on a lead guitar track and sidechaining it to your vocal track. Here are some basic settings you can start with: Start with these settings. Follow the trail! So any time your vocals are present in the mix, you'll automatically compress the guitars so that they duck out of the way of the vocals. I would really love to hear from you and have a great discussion about the topic. You'll typically want to stick with a faster release in general. The ratio is used to smooth out the transitions rather than a hard limit, which is what a limiter is for (which is a type of compressor). These are effects such as reverb, delay, chorus, flanger and phaser. https://talkinmusic.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to www.amazon.com, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.co.uk., and any others that may be affiliated with the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. It's used on full mixes rather than separated tracks, where it's not needed. It does this by reducing the amplitude (volume) of the highest waves in the waveform based on settings that you provide. It makes the effect more transparent by gradually increasing the effect instead of making it a binary "on or off." If you don’t do this then your mix will sound thin when the kick is not playing. For vocals, push it to 1.0 and call it a day. Adjust the threshold, ratio, and makeup gain until you can hear every word of the performance clearly. Add makeup gain as needed so the vocal doesn’t drop in volume. Gain and volume are not the same (learn about gain vs. volume here), but you can think of it as adding back the volume you're losing. It’s always a good choice to have multiple de-esser plugins in your tools for every occasion. I trust that you found value in this tutorial and these tricks will help you improve your mixing skills. 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