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Vocals: Dynamics
By Randy Coppinger on 8/22/2013 Compression / Mixing / Vocals
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[This is the second of a two part guest post by Randy Coppinger, originally
published on his site. Check out the first installment covering vocal EQ
boosts and cuts.]
Compression Effects
If frequency cuts are less than obvious, using compression can be positively
counter-intuitive.
I dont know any way to write or talk about compression that leads to an
ability to use it without actually using it. A lot. You have to try, and probably
fail at first, to get any good as using audio compressors.
THE GOOD
The most obvious result you get from a compressor is that it turns down
the loud parts. And when I was first learning I couldnt figure out why that
was a good thing. After playing with compression for a bit I realized that
lower max volumes meant that the whole thing could be turned up louder:
make up gain. This is the origin of the first desirable effect of
compression: increased apparent loudness.
If the reduction of the loud parts isnt so exaggerated that it sounds awful,
then turning that signal up can make it seem like it is louder overall. And this
may be the most common reason people use a compressor, though it is
certainly not the only one.
THE BAD
Frankly speaking, bad compression is annoying. The pumping and
breathing of poorly/over-compressed voice makes most other audio
professionals cringe and may even be distracting for untrained listeners.
Really smashing the louder parts can sound weird too, even if it doesnt
pump. Squashing the peaks may also take away power from sounds that
would otherwise have more impact.
Heavy compression can put things off balance, so that louder parts
seem too soft and the soft parts seem too loud. Of course bringing up low
level sounds can mean making it easier to hear noise, room
reflections, breathing, and may exacerbate sibilance. Compression can
make plosives worse too (filtering before compression can help minimize
the blossoming plosives that compression may cause).
Compression Techniques
There are any number of different ways compressors can be applied. But Id
like to focus on the ways I tend to use them for vocals and dialog. Not all
compressors are the same some have as few as two controls! But lets
have a brief look at all of the major parameters that may be available on
compressors so we can adjust whats actually available on any single unit.
KIAI!
Many of the basic effects of compression can usually be obtained with auto
attack and release. But the more exotic colors come from tweaking these
values. This is especially true for the increased impact you can get
from slowing down the attack.
Much of the time I find my manual attack settings between 5 to 30ms for
voice. As I push out toward 30 and beyond, the compressor lets the front
edge of new syllables sail through freely, then it clamps down afterward. It is
more noticeable for syllables that begin with a sharp, percussive sound.
Longer attack times will exaggerate sharp sounds for more punch and
impact. The downside is that the compressor does less to reduce peaks.
That means the makeup gain cant go as loud as a quicker attack time
without running the risk of clipping the channel. So this is a trade off.
On the other end of the scale, super quick attack values may sound thicker,
heavier. So open up your attack time a bit to lighten up, or choke it down
and hear if that adds the right kind of weight.
When my chosen compressor does not have an auto release function, I find
my setting for voice in the 20 to 80ms range. The release time will
be slower than my attack setting. I generally like to have the compressor
fully recover between syllables or phrases. So for a quick, choppy delivery I
will have a shorter release time and for held, legato notes my release time
will be longer. If your compressor isnt recovering a noticeable amount in
between, then youre just turning everything down all the time.
If your release time is too quick, you may hear the voice pump, breath, and
otherwise sound terrible. As the release gets longer the compressor will
sound smoother, bring up less low level detail, and level out the volume of
the signal overall.
SAY WHEN
You may have noticed that once you have the threshold set for the gain
reduction you desire, adjusting the attack, release, and other parameters
can change the amount of gain reduction. This interplay means that I will
probably revisit the threshold setting when any other parameter changes
significantly. Ill check the gain reduction during different parts of the song
or program too, and make adjustments if I encounter compressor inputs
that are much louder than the signal I used to set the threshold initially. My
point: I seem to adjust and re-adjust the threshold more than any other
compression parameter.
RATIO
Some sounds benefit greatly from high compression ratios. But voice isnt
one of them. In my experience, compression ratios lower than 2:1 work well
for voice. Ill routinely use from 1.2:1 to 1.5:1 ratios on voice. This allows my
threshold setting for several dB of gain reduction to be active more of the
time, on a wider range of signal volume. This tends to sound more natural
and be more effective, in my opinion.
On the other hand, I do love to use higher ratios and more severe gain
reduction in a different context: parallel compression.
DUELING CHANNELS
Performers with mic technique will tend to lean in for quiet parts and pull
back for louder stuff. Thats often helpful, but it can also mean the quiet
parts have more bass than louder ones due to proximity effect. But if you
apply a frequency cut and/or shelf in front of the compressor (on that
channel only) you can thin out the quiet parts. Likewise if the quiet parts are
difficult to understand, you can apply an EQ boost in the 2-5k Hz range after
the compressor to aid diction.
Limiting
Some people use limiters early in their process. Im not one of those people.
Ive attempted it a few times, and always found that I prefer to save limiting
to the last step. Or occasionally Ill decide things dont need any limiting.
For me, bad limiting sounds worse than bad compression. And thats pretty
bad. Over-limited material sounds more amateur, more sonically offensive,
than just about any processing mistake that people make. But as often as I
hear it, I suppose it doesnt bother other people as much as it offends me.
So if my concerns seem a little dire, feel free to take this article with a grain
of salt.
4 dB
I remember when L1 limiters roamed the earth, unchallenged. This was the
first serious look-ahead digital limiter for the masses, meaning that the
detector had a head start before the gain reduction was activated. As
transparent as that sounded, I found that when I pushed the gain reduction
more than about 4dB, things sounded crushed and transients lost their
impact. Sometimes you could push further, but 4dB was a reliable measure
to avoid auditory ugliness.
Ive recently started using Ozone 5, which has both true peak metering and
limiting. Now I have to admit that Im still learning how to wield the limiter
well (iZotope stuff is so tweakible). As much as I appreciate knowing exactly
whats going on with the ceiling, making things sound good still requires that
I listen. Limiters just like any other audio tool should be chosen
thoughtfully, should become familiar by repeated use, and should ultimately
be judged by how things sound.
R ANDY CO P P INGER
Randy Coppinger lives and works in Southern California. He likes to record with
microphones. He likes to drink coffee. On a good day, he gets to do both.
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