The Details War

[brandondrury]

Everyone talks about the loudness war. Without a doubt there have been examples of oversquashing killing a tune. Maybe it's just my nature to undercompress, but when I feel like I'm pushing the compressors a bit much good things seem to happen almost every time.

It seems that when I dig into the compressors I'm not hearing a lack of dynamics. Instead, the loud stuff is still loud, but all those little musical details get brought front and center. It could be everything from a vocal breath or a little note not getting lost in an acoustic guitar solo.

It's possible that the kind of music I usually do is just more dense than other styles. I don't do jazz or folk too often.

Brandon

[mindundermatter]

Well there are different types of compression. There's upward compression, downward compression, upward expansion and downward expansion. What you seem to be describing is upward compression. You leave the loud parts alone, but you bring up the quieter parts. This is quite the opposite downward compression (mostly what's done in the 'loudness wars') in which the louder parts are made quieter and the softer parts stay the same level and then the OVERALL loudness is brought back up with makeup gain.

[brandondrury]

Nope, I'm referring to go old downward compression where I knock the peaks right off.

Brandon

[recordingDR]

without the use of those weird categories ive never heard of, i'd say most people use compressors the same way which is to make the loud parts quieter and the soft parts louder. im with brandon, i love the sound of tasteful compression and limiting on the master, even if it is pushed pretty hard.

[shackman]

Brandon: you shock me (I'm a delicate thing - easily shocked).

You make it sound as though compression is a crucial part of your processing, no matter what. SURELY there's occasions when you say: "No: a little automation to cut the nastyy peaks, leave the dynamic range In there and that's how it'll be."
SURELY!!!

[mindundermatter]

Originally Posted by recordingDR

without the use of those weird categories ive never heard of, i'd say most people use compressors the same way which is to make the loud parts quieter and the soft parts louder. im with brandon, i love the sound of tasteful compression and limiting on the master, even if it is pushed pretty hard.

I'll agree with you and add that most people don't know that a compressor is capable of doing a whole lot more than just that. You're describing one of the four functions of a compressor (which I named in an earlier post).

[ryanoliver]

I don't think people compress enough. A majority of the problems I hear with amatuer mixes is lack of compression on individual instruments. The argument I hear all the time is, "you're killing all the dynamics man!" Well that's what automation is for! If you want something to swell or explode then get in there and ride those faders. Ofcourse this is all relative to what style of music you're doing but if we're talking about anything you'd hear on the radio today, then yeah, compression is a crucial part of the process. That being said if anyone hasn't tried the free vintage plugins that Modern offers, especially the fairchild and 1176 emulators, then I suggest you download em. They're incredible.

Ryan

[shackman]

Originally Posted by ryanoliver

The argument I hear all the time is, "you're killing all the dynamics man! ... anything you'd hear on the radio today, then yeah, compression is a crucial part of the process.
Ryan

Ryan that's the point. RADIO has led everyone to believe that EVERYTHING has to be compressed.

Join the revolution man, ride the faders and preserve the dynamics. Take the MUSIC back and FORCE radio's hand!

[ryanoliver]

I'm not sure that radio led people to believe this, I think people just think it sounds better. I can see we are not going to agree on this topic so I'll spare you the speech.

However, we could have a "mix off" and settle this like men. Each of us upload tracks for a 60 sec song, untouched, then we mix and post both. Let people decide for themselves which they prefer. I'm not sure what the rules are yet so here's a rough draft, feel free to make ammendments.

Mix off rules:
1. Each party will mix 2 songs. One of their own and one from their opponent.
2. Each party will upload tracks from their song to be downloaded by their opponent.
3. All tracks uploaded must be in mp3 format, 44.1/320kbps
4. Percussion must consist of at least Kick, Snare and Overheads
5. A maximum of 8 tracks are allowed to be uploaded in any combination
example: kik,snr,overs,room,bass,gtr,vocals,piano,etc
6. All tracks must be raw, untouched and the exact same material that the "uploader" will be mixing. The honor system is implied to maintain fairness.
7. Sound replacing is not allowed.
8. Songs must be under 60 sec and can be original or non-original as long as licensing agreements are not violated.
8. Mixers will have one week to complete both mixes from the day both songs are uploaded.
9. Final mixes, must be posted on the same day and will be made availabe for 1 week to be commented on and voted for.
10. A mix off will consist of only the two members who have accepted the challenge. Spectators are free to participate but must post their mixes separatley and only after the mix off has reached it's completion.

Do you accept this challenge?

I am accepting challenges from anyone willing to put their music where their mouth is.

BTW-This isn't meant to be confrontational or disrespectful, just fun and educational.

[mindundermatter]

Oh I so want to do this. I'm not exactly accepting your challenge; I'd prefer to see how this one turns out first. But keep me informed and we'll see out it turns out. I'm game.