The Complete Guide to Mixing

Vocals: Dynamics
By Randy Coppinger on 8/22/2013 Compression / Mixing / Vocals

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[This is the second of a two part guest post by Randy Coppinger, originally
published on his site. Check out the first installment covering vocal EQ
boosts and cuts.]

Compression Effects
If frequency cuts are less than obvious, using compression can be positively
counter-intuitive.

I dont know any way to write or talk about compression that leads to an
ability to use it without actually using it. A lot. You have to try, and probably
fail at first, to get any good as using audio compressors.

THE GOOD
The most obvious result you get from a compressor is that it turns down
the loud parts. And when I was first learning I couldnt figure out why that
was a good thing. After playing with compression for a bit I realized that
lower max volumes meant that the whole thing could be turned up louder:
make up gain. This is the origin of the first desirable effect of
compression: increased apparent loudness.

If the reduction of the loud parts isnt so exaggerated that it sounds awful,
then turning that signal up can make it seem like it is louder overall. And this
may be the most common reason people use a compressor, though it is
certainly not the only one.

Increasing the perceived

loudness may bring other
perceptions: more presence,
better low level detail, and
increased intelligibility. When
mixing a vocal in a song or
preparing dialog for use in a
game or film, these
improvements can be significant. Even slight improvements
in presence, detail, and intelligibility make compression worth the trouble of
learning how to use it. But there are other sonic consequences of
compression.

THE BAD
Frankly speaking, bad compression is annoying. The pumping and
breathing of poorly/over-compressed voice makes most other audio
professionals cringe and may even be distracting for untrained listeners.
Really smashing the louder parts can sound weird too, even if it doesnt
pump. Squashing the peaks may also take away power from sounds that
would otherwise have more impact.

Heavy compression can put things off balance, so that louder parts
seem too soft and the soft parts seem too loud. Of course bringing up low
level sounds can mean making it easier to hear noise, room
reflections, breathing, and may exacerbate sibilance. Compression can
make plosives worse too (filtering before compression can help minimize
the blossoming plosives that compression may cause).

Most of the time these examples of bad compression would be considered

undesirable. There are times when our list of bad things sound cool, and
rules are meant to be broken. So go nuts when it works for your project. A
few other compression effects may be good, or bad, depending on the
desired outcome. Compression may make a voice sound thicker, heavier. If
you wanted a delicate, airy quality then this effect would be considered a
failure. But plodding songs, serious themes, and moody dialog might benefit
from a weightier sound.

Compression may also level out variations in volume, to a point where it

sounds like someone automated volume rides for a consistent volume. If
you want everything closer to the same volume, then this effect is pretty
useful. But if you want the whispers soft and the screams loud, leveling can
make things worse instead of better. When the attack is set slow enough to
allow the front edge of a new sound through, compression can make things
sound punchier. Thats good when you want more impact, bad when you
want things nice and smooth.

If youre just getting started with compressors, or growing your

compression skill set, listen for these effects as you adjust the controls.
Read on to learn how to achieve these sonics.

Compression Techniques
There are any number of different ways compressors can be applied. But Id
like to focus on the ways I tend to use them for vocals and dialog. Not all
compressors are the same some have as few as two controls! But lets
have a brief look at all of the major parameters that may be available on
compressors so we can adjust whats actually available on any single unit.

KIAI!

Many of the basic effects of compression can usually be obtained with auto
attack and release. But the more exotic colors come from tweaking these
values. This is especially true for the increased impact you can get
from slowing down the attack.

Much of the time I find my manual attack settings between 5 to 30ms for
voice. As I push out toward 30 and beyond, the compressor lets the front
edge of new syllables sail through freely, then it clamps down afterward. It is
more noticeable for syllables that begin with a sharp, percussive sound.

Longer attack times will exaggerate sharp sounds for more punch and
impact. The downside is that the compressor does less to reduce peaks.
That means the makeup gain cant go as loud as a quicker attack time
without running the risk of clipping the channel. So this is a trade off.

On the other end of the scale, super quick attack values may sound thicker,
heavier. So open up your attack time a bit to lighten up, or choke it down
and hear if that adds the right kind of weight.

CATCH AND RELEASE

When my chosen compressor does not have an auto release function, I find
my setting for voice in the 20 to 80ms range. The release time will
be slower than my attack setting. I generally like to have the compressor
fully recover between syllables or phrases. So for a quick, choppy delivery I
will have a shorter release time and for held, legato notes my release time
will be longer. If your compressor isnt recovering a noticeable amount in
between, then youre just turning everything down all the time.
If your release time is too quick, you may hear the voice pump, breath, and
otherwise sound terrible. As the release gets longer the compressor will
sound smoother, bring up less low level detail, and level out the volume of
the signal overall.

If a compressor has an auto release or signal dependent release option, that

tends to sound good on voice. The variable release of the LA-2A is a big part
of the magic that box imparts. I dont usually select a fully manual release
time for voice if auto release is an option. In the rare case when I choose
manual over auto its usually to intentionally make things sound weird or
unnatural.

SAY WHEN

I dont have a most of the time threshold setting, because it depends on

the level variation of the voice and interaction with other compressor
parameters. The key is how much gain reduction I want to obtain. Generally,
I set the threshold so that the gain reduction is just a few dB RMS, 3 or 4 at
the most. There are many important exceptions, but hitting for just a few dB
is how I generally target for voice. When the gain reduction is heavy on a
compressor, a voice can sound artificially processed. And that might be
great in some cases (like rap vocals), but most of the time I want a voice
to sound natural.

You may have noticed that once you have the threshold set for the gain
reduction you desire, adjusting the attack, release, and other parameters
can change the amount of gain reduction. This interplay means that I will
probably revisit the threshold setting when any other parameter changes
significantly. Ill check the gain reduction during different parts of the song
or program too, and make adjustments if I encounter compressor inputs
that are much louder than the signal I used to set the threshold initially. My
point: I seem to adjust and re-adjust the threshold more than any other
compression parameter.

RATIO

Some sounds benefit greatly from high compression ratios. But voice isnt
one of them. In my experience, compression ratios lower than 2:1 work well
for voice. Ill routinely use from 1.2:1 to 1.5:1 ratios on voice. This allows my
threshold setting for several dB of gain reduction to be active more of the
time, on a wider range of signal volume. This tends to sound more natural
and be more effective, in my opinion.

On the other hand, I do love to use higher ratios and more severe gain
reduction in a different context: parallel compression.

DUELING CHANNELS

Often attributed magical properties, parallel compression is a good trick.

The signal path gets split in two, with the voice bussing to two channels at
the same time, then different processing is applied to each side, and finally
they are recombined. The compression is only applied to one channel, which
can help it sound less obvious. Thats because a loud passage comes roaring
through the uncompressed path, and the compressed channel is relatively
lower in volume. So the compressed voice gets out of the way for the
uncompressed. Quick, percussive syllables still sound fast; the compressor
lowers its side of the signal, which makes it less noticeable by comparison.
When the voice is soft the compressor opens up to reveal low level details.
Its like someone going through your whole mix automating the volume up
for all of the quiet parts.
 The technique from olden
times is still used today,
using two channels on an
audio console. The tape
return (or DAW output) goes
to a vocal channel and is
then sent on an alternate
path using a buss or aux
send. This secondary output
is patched into a
compressor then returned
to a second console channel
input. The uncompressed
channel and the
compressed channel are
both mixed together.

In a DAW the voice can be

bussed in the box to two aux
channels. Compression is
added to one of the
channels. The output of both channels are mixed together. In recent years
weve seen plugins with a wet/dry mix option. This allows a single channel to
pass some uncompressed plus compressed signal at the same time,
simplifying the setup for parallel compression.

I typically adjust my compressor parameters until the compressed signal is

lower than the other channel for loud voice, and higher than the other
channel for soft voice. With that compression scheme, my mix is almost
always 50% compressed and 50% uncompressed (each channel output set
-6dB). I may go automate something different later, such as pushing the
compression channel when I want more perceived volume during extreme
shouting. But 50/50 is where I start and frequently stay.

NEXT LEVEL COMPRESSION

Parallel compression provides some unique mixing opportunities. For

example, if you want a consistent amount of a sparkling plate reverb for the
voice all of the time, your send to the reverb can be from the compressed
channel only. If you want a dynamic delay that rings out mostly in the loud
passages, send from the uncompressed channel only.

Performers with mic technique will tend to lean in for quiet parts and pull
back for louder stuff. Thats often helpful, but it can also mean the quiet
parts have more bass than louder ones due to proximity effect. But if you
apply a frequency cut and/or shelf in front of the compressor (on that
channel only) you can thin out the quiet parts. Likewise if the quiet parts are
difficult to understand, you can apply an EQ boost in the 2-5k Hz range after
the compressor to aid diction.

Basically, processing on the uncompressed channel tends to be heard

more during the loud parts and processing on the compressed channel is
better heard during the quiet parts. Being able to target your processing
based on loudness is advanced sonic kung fu.
 AGAIN! AGAIN!

I love the metaphor that compression is like

painting: if you apply it all at once you get a
big, gloppy mess. But if you apply it in layers,
you get better coverage for a nicer finish.

Latest Popular Featured

This is my favorite compression technique
secret dont just do it once, do it several
ARTICLES
times. I like to apply a few dB of analog gain
reduction when recording, then maybe
some more on the signal in the box via
VIDEOS
plugin, then maybe some more on a group
buss (for instance, all of the vocals), and
probably some more compression on everything when the full mix is
mastered.

This serial compression works much better if each iteration is

slightly different. For example, use a low ratio for recording. Then use a
different sounding compressor with a higher ratio as part of parallel
compression. Maybe the attack and/or release values are different for one
of the many layers. This way the gain reduction doesnt keep hitting the
voice in the same spot over and over, or all at once. Instead the voice is
gently reshaped and refined from recording to final mix.

Limiting
Some people use limiters early in their process. Im not one of those people.
Ive attempted it a few times, and always found that I prefer to save limiting
to the last step. Or occasionally Ill decide things dont need any limiting.

For me, bad limiting sounds worse than bad compression. And thats pretty
bad. Over-limited material sounds more amateur, more sonically offensive,
than just about any processing mistake that people make. But as often as I
hear it, I suppose it doesnt bother other people as much as it offends me.
So if my concerns seem a little dire, feel free to take this article with a grain
of salt.

4 dB

I remember when L1 limiters roamed the earth, unchallenged. This was the
first serious look-ahead digital limiter for the masses, meaning that the
detector had a head start before the gain reduction was activated. As
transparent as that sounded, I found that when I pushed the gain reduction
more than about 4dB, things sounded crushed and transients lost their
impact. Sometimes you could push further, but 4dB was a reliable measure
to avoid auditory ugliness.

This forced me to work harder at containing my mixes, finding other ways to

communicate apparent loudness instead of just banging up against a
limiter. And though some superior limiters followed the L1, I find that my
processing for voice over, vocals, or anything else seems more powerful and
vibrant when I dont smash the living daylights out of things with a digital
limiter. So I continue to use with caution.

TELL ME THE TRUTH

I believe we use good digital limiters to help increase apparent loudness

without otherwise making things sound worse. So if we set the ceiling below
0dB FS, the audio wont distort right? Along comes the concept
of intersample clipping to make things confusing (and to explain why things
sometimes sound bad even if the meter doesnt show it). Some good advice
from Bob Katz, Ian Shepherd, and others has been: stay FAR below 0dB FS.
Unless youve got a true peak meter. And Ill take that one level up: unless
youve got a true peak limiter!

Ive recently started using Ozone 5, which has both true peak metering and
limiting. Now I have to admit that Im still learning how to wield the limiter
well (iZotope stuff is so tweakible). As much as I appreciate knowing exactly
whats going on with the ceiling, making things sound good still requires that
I listen. Limiters just like any other audio tool should be chosen
thoughtfully, should become familiar by repeated use, and should ultimately
be judged by how things sound.

You might also like:

1. The Mysteries of Dynamics Processing Revealed
2. The Most Effective Way to Learn Compression
3. Tips for Effective Buss Compression
4. 5 Dynamics Processors That Arent Compressors
5. Two Effective Ways to Use Parallel Compression
6. Mixing Rap Vocals Part 3: Compression

R ANDY CO P P INGER

Randy Coppinger lives and works in Southern California. He likes to record with
microphones. He likes to drink coffee. On a good day, he gets to do both.
2 Comments The Pro Audio Files Login

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Adrian Ganter a year ago

Thankyou for this. I haven't gone through the whole guide just yet but i will be referring to it
when i get to the point of recording vocals!
Appreciate it!
1 Reply Share

Dan Comerchero Mod Adrian Ganter a year ago

Thanks for stopping by, Adrian. Stay in touch!
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