The Sound of Compression
There lately was a post in the “RMB Forum” about the Loudness War in recent pop productions (The link had a lot of faulty details and descriptions in it… better google “Loudness War” or buy the Book “Mastering Audio” by Bob Katz)
Of course i generally agree with all that but then someone named a culprit: THE COMPRESSOR !
And now you see so many compressors in my rack and even more in my plug-in list - am i participating in the loudness war and trying to kill all dynamics in my songs ? No, because there is a misunderstanding…
A compressor is a tool.Â
Its like a knife. You can cut nice figures out of the tablecloth for your girlfriend or you can stab your own grandma. The same with compressors. And to bring evidence i give you a snippet of a tune with my typical use of compression for this style of music (its most obvious sounding in this style).
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And now you can hear what happens if i switch off all compressors in this mix (and try to restore the levels a bit) Especially listen to how the bassline doesnt work with the groove anymore. The kick also doesnt “cut through” anymore and the claps have become washy.
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And here is an example of OVERCOMPRESSION… its loud but its flat sounding… if you listened to the other recordings before you have to reduce the volume…
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A compressor makes loud audio softer. It reduces the level in loud passages. And when it does there is a time factor involved. The compressor needs a bit of time to reduce the level and a bit of time to return to full level. And by changing these times you can make a compressor “groove” or even “pump”. The Magic is in the knobs labelled “Attack” and “Release”.
Many producers and engineers use compressors as a dynamic-tool, to give instruments or group of instruments a distinct loudness envelope - a groove. And some of them use compressors (or even worse -brickwall limiter) for killing all dynamics in order to get a higher perceived loudness which often results in harsh sounding recordings that are fatiguing to your ears and cant be heard loud anymore without physical pain. Both are using the same (or similar) tools…Â
For example put the album “californication” on good speakers with high volume… i couldnt stand it… and worst of all this now is kind of an industry standard and expected by major labels. (If you didnt yet, google “Loudness War”)
Good that i dont have a major deal anymore 
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17. May 2008 at 09:40
Now, that’s nice.
Thanks for this post.
I’ve to admit that the first one is pretty
much enhanced by whatever you did with respect to
the plain mix.
Btw, I like the way those snippets can be integrated
in your posts… *wink*
ps: I’m disenchanted now, “Spiegel Online” spreading faulty details?
17. May 2008 at 10:53
Very interesting - especially because you give some examples. I would appreciate a little workshop on how to make voice recordings sound “better”. Perhaps you’d like to do one?
LG, Neri
17. May 2008 at 12:45
yeah, just get in contact with my agent… and bring some money
ok, that was a joke, i dont have an agent… anymore… i am free like a bird in the sky… and… errrr.. are birds happy ?
17. May 2008 at 12:58
Thanks for this post!
It’s great because you learn us how the projects and the tools (the compressor now) work, and with some snippets that are very nice.
I agree that the compression should be used. In this case, the first sample sounds more nice to me with all the distinct sounds clear.
17. May 2008 at 13:32
The fossil record indicates that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs during the Jurassic period, around 150–200 Ma (million years ago), and the earliest known bird is the Late Jurassic Archaeopteryx, c 155–150 Ma
17. May 2008 at 13:39
Touth the sky, . . . a great song,
Looking for the album “Widescreen”
First I couldn’t understood why this record is so quite. And now I have an expensive stereo hi-fi system and I know the reason: “Dynamic”
This record is one of the quietest in my CD-collection. An the only one you couldn’t hear any clippins or overdrivings. My smile is getting a bigger one if I turn up the volume. Very warm noises!
17. May 2008 at 20:51
One thing more to know about the evolution (oh what for a wordplay
) of a track. Very interisting. By the way, I like your style to write your posts, they are very entertaining like this contrast with the knife.
The first snippet sounds very good and hence I show more attention to such things like the “Overcompression”, until now it didn’t attract my attention.
I’m looking foward to your next post and wish a nice weekend (what remains of it).
19. May 2008 at 08:14
Thanks for the explaination. Now i know that i have always used the compressor in the wrong way, mostly too much.
21. May 2008 at 01:18
Nice example! Want this track on the new Album.
But we should not forget that a compressor also makes quite parts louder.
It’s really a shame how many songs does sound. In some cases there’s all time clipping which you ALSO can hear but it doesn’t interest anybody!?! Poor!
There’s a good way to describing it: Compress to Fuck!
And I must say one thing, when you use an compressor or another plugin: There are no real rules when you use a compressor: It’s allowed everything, what sounds GOOD!
22. May 2008 at 20:42
Right…, but sometimes no compressor is necessary there…
However, a compressor makes it easyer to fix a relative sound. An so I see it like Tony. “No rules.” The important thing is that it sounds.
07. March 2009 at 16:21
Good take on subject. Nice to read that one of my favourite producers have conserns about loudness war too.