Compressor and vocals

[RE-EM]

Hi , could anybody tell me the average settings for compression of vocals.All i want is : turn up the quiet parts and turn down the loud ones,to make equal loudness.It's such a pain to mess around with the faders and all that stuff. I spend a lot of time on it and sometimes ,i dont achieve what i want. So i would appreciate some kind of suggestions how to compress rap/hip hop vocals by using a compressor and achieve what i mentioned above.
Btw i know how a compressor works , but i have no idea how to compress vocals.But please don't tell me things like ''it depends on... '' or ''there are no average settings , thats the part where u must mess around...'' and such things , because there must be some kind of settings, that everyone keeps abreast with.. Thanks!!!

[TonyB]

Originally Posted by RE-EM

Hi , could anybody tell me the average settings for compression of vocals.All i want is : turn up the quiet parts and turn down the loud ones,to make equal loudness.It's such a pain to mess around with the faders and all that stuff. I spend a lot of time on it and sometimes ,i dont achieve what i want. So i would appreciate some kind of suggestions how to compress rap/hip hop vocals by using a compressor and achieve what i mentioned above.
Btw i know how a compressor works , but i have no idea how to compress vocals.But please don't tell me things like ''it depends on... '' or ''there are no average settings , thats the part where u must mess around...'' and such things , because there must be some kind of settings, that everyone keeps abreast with.. Thanks!!!

There are different ways of doing this [NOTE: This is in reference to RE-EM's question in relation to rap vocals]:
- Standard compression
-- Example, (example only): Ratio around 5:1 to 4:1 (more than traditional pop/country); low threshold (close to 0), medium attack (not as fast as traditional pop/country); relatively fast release. The threshold setting should give you anywhere between 3 and 5 dB of reduction depending on song.

- Automation
-- You can use automation in you DAW to bring down some of the wayward peaks, if any

- Dual compression
-- Kind of a combo of the two above, but you're using two compressors; one to catch peaks and the other to smooth out the vocals so it's consistent in the mix

[cheatingatmath]

i think you know the answer...

..but..you can try 30ms attack, 1ms release at a ratio of 3:1. that's probably gonna be a common preset. start pulling the threshold down a few db's and see if it helps.

bg vox, i would usually use a similar setting..but i would group them to a bus and compress them more aggressively (5:1 maybe). you may want to look at parallel/new york compression for something like this. a google search will give you plenty of good info and screenshots.

but really, the best vocal compression is good mic technique. moving closer for quieter passages...scooting back for louder..trying to create the best uniform take.

also keep in mind, that if you're taking the "quiet stuff" and making it "loud stuff"..that means all kinds of other unpleasantries are coming up with it. sssss's, pops, breaths, spit noise (ew) etc etc. you may need to experiment with what's called a de-esser.

that should help..but that's not the real answer. if there were an end-all/be-all setting for any of this shit, engineer jobs would be like telemarketing jobs..anybody could walkin and pick up the magic script to make perfect mixes. most plugins have presets, and are often well-defined in their title (male vocal, etc). use one as a jumping off point and adjust it until it sounds good. knowledge+experience is better than any answer we can give you.

but i do hope it helps. good luck.

[brandondrury]

But please don't tell me things like ''it depends on... '' or ''there are no average settings , thats the part where u must mess around...'' and such things , because there must be some kind of settings, that everyone keeps abreast with..

Well, you are asking me to lie. I compress as much as I need and little more. This is somewhere between 1dB and 40dB of reduction.

also keep in mind, that if you're taking the "quiet stuff" and making it "loud stuff"..that means all kinds of other unpleasantries are coming up with it. sssss's, pops, breaths, spit noise (ew) etc etc.

True, but calling this "unpleasantries" isn't exactly accurate. Sometimes you NEED that stuff (minus the ssssss).

If you are looking for a good generic setting for a hardware compressor, I'd say knock of 6dB from the loudest peaks with a super fast attack and fast or fast/medium release at 3:1 - 5:1. You can always add more via plugins if you need it.

Brandon