Compression Vocals

[shylessness4924]

hey

So I need a little help for when I master my vocals with compression.

If you use Cubase to compress (as well to master) your vocals, what plug in (effect) do you use???

If you use a mastering plugin or app, which one do you use?



thanks for any useful help!



alex

[thesilentdrummer]

I just use the Kjaerhus classic compressor (free). it works pretty good. Don't know what others use.

[shylessness4924]

Originally Posted by thesilentdrummer

I just use the Kjaerhus classic compressor (free). it works pretty good. Don't know what others use.

Awesome thank you!

I'll be using this for now



alex

[brandondrury]

What do you mean by "master" vocals? Generally, I refer to the mastering stage as the process that occurs after mixing....as outlined with my interview with big dog mastering dude, Eric Conn.

Understanding Audio Mastering: An Interview With Eric Conn

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If you use Cubase to compress (as well to master) your vocals, what plug in (effect) do you use???

I "mix" in Cubase. Are you asking if I use the Cubase compressor? If so, I have, but I'm not huge on it. Sometimes it is fun, but I usually use the Waves Rcomp.

Brandon

[shylessness4924]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

Sometimes it is fun, but I usually use the Waves Rcomp.

Brandon

Thanks for replying.

But could you tell me more about the Waves Rcomp (never heard of it before)



alex

[brandondrury]

It's a compressor plugin made by Waves. It has the usual attack, release, ratio, and theshold controls on it.

What else do you want to know?

Brandon

[shylessness4924]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

It's a compressor plugin made by Waves. It has the usual attack, release, ratio, and theshold controls on it.

What else do you want to know?

Brandon

Is it free? if not how much does it cost?

and what's the difference between the wave compressor and the Kjaerhus classic compressor ?


thanks for your help


alex

[brandondrury]

No, the Waves Rcomp is not free. You can find it several bundles at Musician's Friend.

Waves Renaissance Maxx Native Bundle

and what's the difference between the wave compressor and the Kjaerhus classic compressor ?

I always have a tough time describing the difference between compressors. They both have the same functionality. I prefer the Rcomp 90% of the time, but I LOVE the Kjaerhus on parallel compression for drums!

Try 'em and let me know what you think.

Brandon

[khaliqovision]

Brandon gave some great tips about the Waves RCompressor and compression takes a while to really hear and understand the effect on your music.

Compressing vocals is more effective if done in a 2 step process. Once while recording your vocal and again during mixing.

The key is watching the gain reduction meter. Compress gently about -3 to -6 dB as an average with a ratio of 2:1 or no more than 3:1 if you are just learning.

This is safe enough to not cause problems. When you compress again while mixing it's already slightly tamed and 2 passes at -6dB is less noticeable than 1 pass at -12dB.

Hope that helps a bit.

Khaliq

P.S.- I have some video tips about recording vocals on YouTube and I just released my "Vocal Recording Secrets" course if you want more info.

[brandondrury]

Just a quick note: In some styles of music you want to hear a bit of over compression on the vocal. I think it's more of a hard rock kind of thing.

But I agree that if the desire is to keep the vocal compression relatively transparent, then multi-stage compression is DEFINITELY the way to go.

Brandon