Compression is one of the coolest tools you can use in mastering to help bring punch and energy to your mix. Last week we looked at using an EQ to balance out the mix a bit more, and today I want to enhance that track even more with a touch of compression.
Do Not Create Another Song Until You Read This Guide
(Price: $17 Free Today)
Discover the 6 Steps for Creating a Radio-Worthy Song From Scratch
My name is Graham Cochrane and I'm the founder of The Recording Revolution, one of the world's most loved audio recording and mixing blogs with over 200,000 readers each month. 
Nice work Graham! Love your logical steps working the compressor. Might be best to listen to this video through larger speakers with larger frequency response, especially at the multiband compressing part.
Is there any vintage compressor that you usually use to bring a bit of character to the song? I used to use T-Racks’ emulation of the Fairchild 670 but I found that not all music genre necessarily sound better with the 670. What are your thoughts when it comes to bringingin character through vintage compressors at the mastering stage? Or do you just leave that to the mixing engineer and use a transparent compressor?
I’ll experiment with vintage sounding stuff (console emulation, compressors) in mastering if I feel it adds something nice.
Hey Graham, absolutely LOVING your videos, taking your advice and starting off small and learning well before stacking up on gear!
I have a suggestion for your videos, if you will allow me. For the videos where you show different ways to, for instance, mic up a guitar or amp etc.. why not put time links in the description for us to A/B test the different mic positions? Would make it easier than trying to guess where the 2 parts are. eg: “Mic center woofer – 2:55, Mic 2inch off center – 4:21”. Just a thought so those with less tuned in ears (like myself) can navigate these excellent learning tools and get their ears in quicker!
Keep going with these! I haven’t received my gear yet, but I am already a better recorder for having watched these.
Bless ya mate, from Australia 🙂
This is great stuff Graham! These tools will prove invaluable in the VERY near future. I currently purchased the Izotope Ozone 5 software and found the multi-band dynamics module. There are a TON of options and I believe that Ozone is a program that requires (at least for me) a few or more tutorials to get going in the right direction. Thanks my brother!
In His Name, Tal
Ozone is great. Love that plugin!
Great video Graham. The trick is definitely to keep each individual change very subtle. Bit hard for my old ears to hear each one in isolation, but can definitely hear and feel the difference on the overall mix. The key is to listen … and not to just throw on a standard preset. Looking forward to your next one. Cheers …
Very helpful video Graham, Thanks! But i wanted to know, what could really be major difference in using a multiband in low spectrum and a low shelving boost? I know how both Compressor and EQ fundamentally work, but would still want to know your thoughts.
Biggest difference is the low shelf is a constant even boost across the low end in the song. The Multiband compressor actually controls the low end and only turns up the quieter parts of the low end, not everything. It makes the bottom more consistent.
Great videos Graham!. I´ve had a hard time trying to master my own work. It´s easier to find improvements on another´s guy mix.
Just a comment from this video series. Don´t know if it´s due to video quality but it looks like the bell´s ride have lost that particular ring.
Thanks,
Alfonso
Quick question – in the case of the first compressor, you get a nice subtle about -1.86 db GR going, but only add +1 db of makeup gain makeup? Why is that? I guess I’m wondering why not +1.5 or +1.86, even? Could you explain the thinking?
Because the gain reduction isn’t on the whole track, just the peaks. The makeup gain is on the whole track. So it would likely make it louder than the original, which is not my intention.
Graham,
Thanks for this valuable contribution! I’m enjoying this series!
Graham, what is going on with the subtitles? There are some hilarious mistakes!
Subtitles?
I think he’s referring to the auto captions on YouTube?
Gotcha. No control over those.
Hi Graham
Another great video in a series of amazingly helpful videos. My question is about the compression ratio of 2:1 – #1: what exactly does a 2:1 compression ratio mean? I think I know, but I’m sure it’s more technical than I’m guessing.
And 2: how would it affect the compression if the ratio were set at 3:1 or 1:1? I fooled around with it to see what my hears tell me, but I figured a real answer might be more helpful.
Thanks again,
Andy
Hey Andy,
The compression ratio put simply is a representation of how the compressor will react to input signal above the threshold. For example, lets assume you have an audio signal with some peak levels of about -6dB. Put a compressor on it and set the threshold to -10 dB. Now for every 2 dB that your signal goes above the threshold ( which in this case is 4db on those peaks ) the compressor will only allow a 1 dB output. So the areas that are normally hitting -6dB are now brought down to -8dB. So a 1:1 ratio means there is no compression happening. For every dB in you get that same dB out. A 4:1 ratio would give you an output of 9 dB.
Looking at it now, maybe that isn’t put simply. : )
Thank you, sir! x
Graham, it’s like you did this just for me. Having said in a previous post comment that I have a fear of compression, this is great for me.
I have just seen so many mixes ruined by bad (over) compression, I have become kinda paranoid.
What helps is to see that which I really already should have known; it is about shades. Like when ya first start in Photoshop and try the ‘Bevel and Emboss’ tool and go ‘ah cool, that’s awesome’….but your a newby and don’t realize that in the hands of an amateur that Bevel and Emboss can make you look like a hack. But, when used in the hands of an experienced, good designer, can be a needed and subtle addition to the design.
I see that here, it is that shading in the audio spots that need it and not so much the ‘pow’ change. I think that has been my fear; that the subtle changes seem so, well, subtle. I do try to record smart and let my recording choices make what the mastering will be easier. I may be lucky enough that I will need only to do what you had done on this video, give it a little shading.
Awesome Graham. Thank you so much!
Great analogy!
Excellent work! Thanks!
Hello Graham.
According to this Video you said the mix could use a little bit more
bottom-end.
How you made the decision to not boost the bottom-end with EQ within past Video but with Multiband Compression ?
Thank you
Great question. Both ways work. The benefit of the Multiband Compression method is that it doesn’t just turn up the low end, it controls it as well. Less dynamics, more consistent level.
Thank you 🙂