Many classic compressors have a sound that is either right or wrong. If your chosen settings don’t work, use something else!
Not everyone wants their compressors to sound the same. But once you’ve set yours up how you like them, why change anything?
A couple of years ago, I wrote an article explaining why I never touch any settings on my calibrated outboard gear. You can read that article at www.soundonsound.com/techniques/calibrating-your-mixing-setup; in a nutshell, it facilitates reliable, easy recall. Lately I had many people ask how this could possibly be a good thing, since every record is different. Here’s why.
People generally understand why I calibrate the gear in terms of input levels. But their next question is usually something like “But you adjust attack and release times as needed, right?” Well, no, I don’t. That’s the point for me. And I know a lot of engineers who work the same way. For example, Chris Lord‑Alge is famous for buying another 1176 to set it differently, rather than changing settings on one of the units he has. Not everyone has the space and money to do that, but that’s the spirit. It’s equally true for plug‑ins, too. The reason why this approach does work is simple: every unit, and specifically every compressor, has a sweet spot where it sounds best. And that sweet spot depends on the application and the user.
I have done this long enough to know that 12:1 is my preferred ratio on an 1176 for vocals, and that I like it to slam on loud consonants. If that sound doesn’t work, another ratio or attack likely won’t change the way I feel.
Locked Down
Let’s take a lead vocal. There’s many ways to compress it, but it’s safe to say an 1176 is a favourite choice for many. If you’re one of those people, are you constantly varying the ratio and attack and release time to see what sounds best on a given voice? I know I don’t. Attack 3 and release 7 for me just works on vocals, as does the 12:1 ratio. Many prefer 4:1; I know people using 20:1 and I’m sure there’s people loving 8:1, too. My point is: to me, there is no point fiddling around on every mix. I have done this long enough to know that 12:1 is my preferred ratio on an 1176 for vocals, and that I like it to slam on loud consonants. If that sound doesn’t work, another ratio or attack likely won’t change the way I feel. I’ll use a different compressor with a different sound.
Or consider the legendary SSL bus compressor (and its many, many clones). Ask any engineer how they would use this on their stereo bus and you’ll get two possible answers. One is “I never use it because I don’t like it.” Two is “I use it on every mix — with these settings.” That may be a slight oversimplification, but you know what I mean. Either you’re an advocate of classic VCA compression on a mix or you’re not. Those engineers who are using an SSL‑type compressor — be it in a desk, as outboard or in the box — typically tend to use the same settings on every mix.
The author’s ‘SSL compressor sound’ might not be the same as yours, but what matters is that it’s consistent from mix to mix.And that makes total sense to me. SSL‑type compressors sound completely different depending on whether you are using a 2:1 or 4:1 ratio. And while you could argue one of these may likely be the better choice on any given mix, usually engineers connect with one of them because they want to ‘feel’ a certain way when the compressor kicks in. To me, that’s especially true for the release. Many swear by the glueing effect of the auto release. Others love the bouncy excitement of the fastest release. Rarely do they use anything else. Why would they? In both cases, that’s the sound they want from an SSL. With the attack time, it’s pretty much the same. You either want it wide open and punchy, or you want to rein in the mix a bit. Depending on what you prefer, you likely find the other approach to sound awful.
To me, my trusted SSL XR626 on the stereo bus has two sounds. The first is 2:1 ratio, longest attack, fastest release, just tickling the needle. This is the perfect balance of glue and rhythmic drive for me. The other is 4:1 ratio, longest attack, auto release, 2‑3 dB of gain reduction. This is a very different kind of glue, sustaining rhythmic holes and ‘easing up’ the mix. The great thing is that my initial calibration for the former also works for the latter due to the internal gain structure of the unit, so I don’t have to adjust the threshold, just the ratio and release.
In the rare case neither of these sounds works on a mix, I’ll use a different compressor. As soon as I get the SSL’s attack down from 30 to 10 ms, I hear the mix becoming small. And none of the intermediate release settings cuts it on the mix bus for me. It’s how I feel. I’m sure tens of thousands of engineers frankly disagree. Good! Andy Wallace is well known for using an attack of 1ms on his SSL or Smart C2, with a 4:1 ratio, auto release and 4dB of gain reduction. This is a sound I would never, ever use on a mix — but I have yet to hear an Andy Wallace mix that doesn’t sound amazing, and that’s the point. Every unit has a sweet spot, but that sweet spot can be different for different people.
In The Zone
The takeaway here is not that there’s no need to bother checking out different settings on a processor. It’s not that you should blindly adopt a preset you saw someone else use without listening or thinking. Quite the opposite: your chosen settings should be the result of intensive listening, to determine the sweet spot that works for you. A good example is something like an LA‑2A or LA‑3A. On these classic T4‑based opto compressors, there’s nothing to be adjusted apart from how much compression you want and how much you want it to favour the high frequencies. So the sweet spot of these units depends entirely on the amount and character of the compression. You may find it’s between 3 and 5 dB of gain reduction, I may find it’s between 1 and 3 dB, and so on. I may love the sound of LA‑3As on drums, you may hate it. There’s only one way to find out, and that’s actually listening.
The gain‑reduction sweet spot on a compressor is particularly crucial, because whilst erring on the safe side will do no damage, pushing past it can do more harm than good. Knowing that spot is critical. For example, in my calibrated hybrid template I have an instance of Softube’s Chandler Germanium Compressor on the mix bus. The setting I use is a lot more dry than wet; it’s less about the actual compression, more about the Germanium’s harmonics and the high frequency sheen it adds. That’s the sound I want from it. The sweet spot for the mix is between 1.5 and 5 dB on the plug‑in needle. As soon as it goes past 5, the music starts to sound choked and loses everything I like about that sound. Knowing this and paying attention to it comes from hours of listening and trial and error. No‑one else can tell you.
Softube’s Chandler Germanium Compressor plug‑in is a key element of the author’s mix bus chain, again with fixed settings.
To me, every piece of gear used for making, recording and mixing music has a sound, and not just a range of settings. Sure, a sound is a result of a setting, but it’s always the sound I’m thinking of. A Telecaster has a very different sound from a Les Paul, no matter what settings you make on the guitar or amp. Just like a Telecaster through a Fender amp, an Empirical Labs Distressor (which changes its knee and actual timing with every ratio) on 2:1, HP and Dist 2, attack 7, release 2 on drums to me is a distinct sound. And it’s the sound I usually want drums to have: a little more compression when it’s rocking, just a bit when it’s a quiet track. In both cases, the drums benefit from the way their transients get shaped, how their rhythm is energised and from the density of the added harmonic distortion. If not, guess what: I’ll use another compressor.
Likewise, every guitar amp has a sweet spot. With a Fender Princeton Reverb, which I love to record across all genres, I know where that sweet spot is for me. That’s the sound I want, and it’s always my starting point. I’ll adjust from there if I think I need to, but more often than not, I’ll use a different guitar or record a different amp with a different sweet spot and hence a different sound. Musicians often think of their instruments and amps as having a specific sound, and it can be helpful for engineers to think along the same lines.
Musicians often think of their instruments and amps as having a specific sound, and it can be helpful for engineers to think along the same lines.
Endless Search
The work that I’ve put into finding sounds I love on particular instruments by listening to different gear and finding its sweet spot has more than paid for itself. When I load my template and start a mix, I have all the sounds I love ready to go, set up and calibrated to operate in their sweet spot. All that without having to move a finger to recall some tiny knobs on a hardware unit. In the time it used to take me to try out different compressors and settings on a vocal, I have the whole mix almost done now. But even so, I still make sure to try out new ideas and sounds. Because without all the long hours of trying, I wouldn’t have come to this point. So keep trying, but don’t forget to listen. You’ll know when you have found your sweet spot!