7 Highly Useful Compressor Tips

In general, using a compressor as an audio and dynamic effect is one of music production's most challenging and comprehensive tasks. It is essential not to take the effect above for granted since it's a sophisticated tool that requires dedication, many hours of work, and experimentation to master it. In today's market, many compressor units have seemingly the same control parameters. Do not be fooled by that, as each compressor unit (hardware and software version) processes sound uniquely. Depending on the algorithm, circuit, dynamic range, or other aspects, each compressor unit possesses its character. The following seven tips will be of great help in dealing with the compressor.  

Limit Yourself to Just One Compressor at First

There are many compressor units available, but instead of using ten different ones and coming to the point of confusing yourself, try picking only one. Take as much time as you need to understand it fully. After you are comfortable with this compressor, you can move to another, then compare those two and see the difference. Furthermore, you can combine them and check how they work together on a vocal recording, for instance.  

The Extreme Threshold Trick

One trick that has proven to be particularly useful is the use of the extreme threshold. You can crank that threshold parameter to set up the attack and release times precisely. A small change to those two parameters will be more noticeable and easier to set to your liking.  

Save the Transients

Extremely short attack times will kill the transients. That is undesirable, especially when processing the sounds of the rhythm section. Try to leave some punch and impact since your track will lose its dynamics without it.  

Try to Apply Compression Gradually

In order to achieve loudness in the overall track, try to apply the compression in several stages. I use a bit here and there instead of a lot at once. For example, two or more compressor units, with different settings, at once on the drum group can significantly help.  

Volume Is the Trickster

The human ear mainly perceives the volume by the "louder is better" principle. By that, you can easily be fooled by the volume differences. To avoid this, you should pay attention to the "makeup gain" parameter in most compressor units. This will compensate for the decreased volume effect when that threshold parameter is used. Then, you can listen to what sounds better using the bypass button.  

Transient Enhancers

One of the dynamic effects that are closely related to the compressors is a transient enhancer. If you decide to squash something out and feel like you need to bring back some punch or shorten the tail of something, this is the effect that you could apply right after the compressor in the effect chain of your DAW.

Less Is More

In case you feel indecisive about the use of compression, try to remember that less is usually more.