Compression
Compression and Limiting are processes that control the dynamic range (loudness) of audio.
Managing dynamics is a professional technique that can produce GREAT sounding results! In essence we are controlling the quietest and loudest parts of audio. The type of compressor we use and, more importantly, the manner in which we use it will have a big impact on your production.
The most common forms of compression are downward and feed forward compression. However, in the right hands compressors can do WAY more than the traditional ‘squash and boost’! The videos in this category cover downward and upward compression as well as expansion. Additionally we detail different compressor designs such as Opto, VCA, FET, Vari-Gain and some esoteric configurations to round things off!
Tutorials
Brickwall Limiting
Beginner
A detailed tutorial explaining what a brickwall limiter is, how it works and how to use it on a stereo mix.Duration: 8 mins
Comparing Different Opto Compressors
Intermediate
Understanding the differences in Opto compressor designs and how and when to use them.Duration: 5 mins
Compressing Roland TR 808 Kick Drums
Intermediate
Understanding and exploring Roland TR 808 kick drum compression techniques.Duration: 12 mins
Compressing Roland TR 909 Kick Drums
Intermediate
A detailed journey into how best to use a compressor for processing Roland TR 909 kick drums.Duration: 15 mins
Compressing EDM Drums Beats
Beginner
A detailed tutorial on how to compress a driving EDM Drum Beat.Duration: 9 mins
Multiband Compression - what is it and how do you use it
Beginner
A detailed tutorial on what is a multiband (MBC) compressor, how does it work and how to use it to treat a Hip Hop mix.Duration: 18 mins
Compression - what is it and how to use it
Beginner
What is a compressor, how does it work and how and when to use it.Duration: 25 mins
Mix Bus Compressor Topologies - which compressor to use on the master bus
Intermediate
Covering the various compressor topologies (designs) for the Mix Bus and how best to use and configure them.Duration: 13 mins
Compressing Hip Hop Drum Beats
Intermediate
Transparent and parallel compression techniques for processing Hip Hop drum beats.Duration: 9 mins
The 4 Modes of Compression and Expansion
Intermediate
Covering all forms of Downward and Upward Compression and Downward and Upward Expansion.Duration: 11 mins
Feed-back Compression
Intermediate
A thorough tutorial explaining both feedback and dynamic compression and how to use it to process female vocals.Duration: 13 mins
Compressor Types - FET , Opto, VCA and Vari-Mu
Intermediate
Detailed explanation of the various types of compressors with processed before/after audio examples to display the differences between compressor designs.Duration: 18 mins
Negative Limiting using Valley People Dyna-mite
Advanced
What is negative limiting, how does it work and how to use it. In this tutorials I show you how to use negative limiting to process vocals.Duration: 5 mins
Pumping and Swelling Drum Beats using Compressors
Intermediate
Learn how to use a compressor to pump and swell a drum beat.Duration: 14 mins
Side-chaining Bass and Kick for EDM
Intermediate
Creative side-chaining techniques for low end management using compressors.Duration: 19 mins
Side-chain Expansion - Bass and Kick processing
Advanced
An advanced tutorial on how to use the side-chain of an expander to manage the kick and bass in a mix. The expander is used to extend the dynamic range as opposed to narrowing it like a compressor.Duration: 6 mins
Transparent Brickwall Limiting
Intermediate
How to use a limiter transparently for pre-mastering for your mixes.Duration: 7 mins
Transparent Limiting with a Compressor
Beginner
How to use a compressor as a transparent Limiter for pre-mastering your mixes.Duration: 7 mins
Compression - Science and Application
Beginner
What is a compressor, how does it work and how do you use it.Duration: 7 mins
Processing Low End Kicks
Intermediate
Very cool techniques on how to process Low End kicks for a bigger sound!Duration: 7 mins
Side-chain Pumping Effect
Advanced
Detailed tutorial on how to use side-chaining and filtering to create the famous Pumping effect.Duration: 9 mins
Using Ghost Triggers for side-chaining
Advanced
This tutorial explains how to configure a compressor and its side-chain for triggering using what we refer to as 'ghost triggers'. This is a great technique for managing kicks and basses within a mix.Duration: 8 mins
Layering Vocals using Parallel Compression
Intermediate
Parallel compression techniques for layering vocals to achieve a big and dynamic sound.Duration: 5 mins
Using Expansion - the power of Side-chaining
Advanced
An advanced tutorial on how to use the side-chain of an expander to create new textures for a drum beat. Expansion is a well know dynamic that professionals use for a number of corrective and mixing processes.Duration: 6 mins
Reverb Compression for Drums
Intermediate
Cool techniques for processing compressed reverbs for Epic Drum sounds.Duration: 7 mins
EDM Kick Drum Processing using Valves/Tubes
Intermediate
How to use valves/tubes to add warmth and thickness to EDM kick drums.Duration: 11 mins
Compressing EDM Kick Drums
Advanced
Advanced tutorial on how to use a compressor to shape and colour EDM kick drums.Duration: 15 mins
Roland TR 808 Kicks and Multiband Compression
Intermediate
Learn how to use a multiband compressor (MBC) to shape and colour Roland TR 808 bass drums. Getting 808s to swell and bounce has never been easier.Duration: 7 mins
Layering Drum Sounds using Multiple Layers
Intermediate
Learn how to layer drum sounds by using multiple layers and with parallel processing.Duration: 9 mins
Creating a Huge Low End Kick
Intermediate
A sound design tutorial on how to use dynamic processors to create an epic low end kick!Duration: 6 mins
Adding Sheen and Bounce to Roland TR 808 Kick drums
Intermediate
Learn how to add 'bounce' and sheen to Roland TR 808 bass drums.Duration: 8 mins
Mixing Bass and Kick
Intermediate
Mixing the bass and kick in a mix can be troublesome, but that can be negotiated by working on the harmonics and complimentary frequencies of each sound.Duration: 15 mins
Ducking any Frequency using Middle and Side
Intermediate
Advanced production technique incorporating M/S (Middle and Side) processing to duck specific frequencies within a mix.Duration: 7 mins
DIY Mastering using Pink Noise and Profiles
Intermediate
Advanced techniques showing you how you can master your music using pink noise as profiles for use with equalisers that offer a Match eq feature.Duration: 17 mins
Roland TR 808 Kick Drum Bounce Processing
Intermediate
Get your Roland TR 808 bass drums bouncing like a rubber ball!Duration: 10 mins
MixBus-Transparent Pre Mastering
Intermediate
This detailed video tutorial guides you in how to achieve transparent masters using the dynamic processes within your DAW.Duration: 14 mins
MixBus - House Music Pre Mastering
Intermediate
Explore how to prepare and process your mix for House music mastering.Duration: 19 mins
Using Side-Chaining to Duck Reverbs on Vocals
Intermediate
Old school technique of ducking an effect within a mix using vocal lines as triggers. Perfect for cleaning vocal lines and managing spoken word in broadcasting and busy mixes.Duration: 7 mins
Layering Backing Vocals to create Harmonies
Intermediate
Let me show you how you can maximise your backing vocals for impact and interest by using band-pass equalisation and layering to create interesting and epic vocal harmonies!Duration: 13 mins
Downward and Upward Compression for Rap Vocals
Intermediate
A unique approach in managing the Dynamic Range of rap vocals using various compression and expansion modes and topologies. If you want your Rap vocals to jump out of the mix this tutorial is for you.Duration: 12 mins
Ducking Effects in Real-time using Vocal Triggers
Intermediate
Learn how to duck any effect anywhere within a mix using the vocal track as a trigger for the side-chain of the compressor that attenuates the effect.Duration: 14 mins
Extending the Dynamic Range of Rap Vocals
Intermediate
A very cool technique demonstrating how to extend the dynamic range of rap vocals. Most rap vocals are heavily compressed with a narrow dynamic range - this tutorial shows you how to repair and reverse the process adding dynamics back into the vocal take.Duration: 17 mins
Processing Backing Vocals
Beginner
Backing vocals are as important as lead vocals and understanding how to process them to best optimise them can be daunting. Let me show you how to process them easily and efficiently.Duration: 13 mins
Using Compression in Series to Process Lead Vocals
Intermediate
How to use two compressors in series to control the dynamic range of lead vocals and enhance the overall texture.Duration: 7 mins