In The Studio: Using Compression On Your Master Fader

Scenario #3 – You want something to help “glue” your mixes together.

This scenario describes what I try to do when I mix. I almost always use a compressor on the master bus.

However, I’m not using it to compress the living daylights out of my mixes. I just use light compression (usually with a 2:1 ratio) to give me no more than 2-4 dB of gain reduction. That’s it. (My compressor of choice right now is the Waves SSL Bus Compressor, which is a part of their SSL Bundle.)

The reason I do this is because the compressor causes everything to “stick together” a bit better in the mix. It’s the glue that holds my mixes together. It helps my mixes sound more like a mix and less like a bunch of individual instruments.

A couple/few things to consider when using a bus compressor:

Use it from the beginning – You should instantiate your bus compressor VERY early in the mix process. Don’t wait until the last five minutes to throw it on there. If you do, the compression will essentially “undo” everything you’ve been working on for the past few hours.

For example, you could have an amazing balance going on in your mix, but when you add a bus compressor, suddenly the lead vocal seems lost, and the shaker and high hat are too loud. Use the compressor from the beginning, so you’re making all of your changes while listening TO the compressed signal.

Don’t use it “just because” – If you’re happy with your mixes, don’t start compressing everything just because you can. It’s much easier to over-compress something and make it sound worse than it is to just leave it alone. Be very conservative with any bus compression you do.

Don’t use a limiter – Limiters should be left for the mastering engineer.

Ask your mastering engineer – Contrary to what some people say, a lot mastering engineers don’t mind if you send them a mix that’s been compressed a little bit. In fact, some say that it’s easier to master a song that’s been lightly compressed than one that hasn’t been compressed at all.

Keep in mind, though, that if you go overboard with compression, you’re making the mastering engineer’s job much harder, and you’re giving him less room to work.

Joe Gilder is a Nashville-based engineer, musician, and producer who also provides training and advice at the Home Studio Corner.Note that Joe also offers highly effective training courses, including Understanding Compression and Understanding EQ.