(But for those of you who want to really nerd out, I’ve also attached all the samples for download.) It’s hard to hold that many sounds in your head at once, especially when the differences are minute, so that didn’t sound too productive to me. This was meant to keep you from having to listen through all 11 different samples that are only subtly different while trying to maintain any perspective. So, I modified my approach and came up with a better plan:Īs an additional test, I figured it would be more useful to try the compressors on a few different types of music and then curate things a little bit by selecting only the ones that performed the best for that specific task.
In essence, a shootout that doesn’t explore a compressor audibly compressing would be of little use to someone who wants to compare the differences between different models and types of compressor. It makes sense that the character of a compressor is defined largely by the sound of its gain reduction scheme and circuit, so naturally, the more you use it, the more it reveals. There were definitely subtle variations in tone, but for the most part it wasn’t black and white, like “this one sounds the best”, or “this one will never work”. When they’re barely working, the differences between them all were somewhat insignificant. Once I had setup all 11 compressors to a very gentle setting (about 1dB of gain reduction) I was a bit surprised. I had to ensure that my assessment was as objective as possible so that you could know that I wasn’t just trying to steer you toward what I prefer. I used a 400Hz tone to make sure they were all nearly identical in terms of gain reduction and output level. I painstakingly set up each compressor as identically as possible, with regards to threshold, ratio, and attack and release times. I have a bunch of 2-mix-worthy comps at my disposal and have used them all at one point or another with some success, so it knew it wouldn’t be hard to clearly show what each one does on the same piece of music. When I set up this shootout, I had a clear process in mind and was pretty sure I knew what kind of result I would achieve. Both of these approaches are valid, and can yield results that are exciting and effective. Others prefer to just use it for very gentle and transparent level control, while perhaps adding a bit of density to the mix. Many engineers think of a stereo bus compressor as something that forms a large part of the impact and aggressiveness of the mix, and will set the compressor accordingly, using as much as 4-6dB of gain reduction at all times.
These preferences are formed as much by how each of us use the compressor and what kind of impact we expect the compressor to offer to the mix. The tricky thing about 2-mix compressors (as in with things audio) is that everyone has very specific and often idiosyncratic preferences. What Makes for a Good Mix Bus Compressor? It may not be “magic”, but it can be pretty damn cool.īelow, we’ll take a look at a range of some of the best and most popular options available today, to help you hear the differences for yourself and pick your own favorites. Over time however, I realized that strapping a good compressor across the main mix provided a bit of sheen that I could not achieve by automating faders alone. My use (and love) of a good 2-mix compressor didn’t develop overnight, and in the beginning, it didn’t always seem to help in the way I expected it to. I am as guilty as any of sometimes relying on stereo bus compression as a crutch of sorts-though the benefits are undeniably real. It’s almost as if we can’t truly “complete” a mix until we’ve applied the magic dust that our favorite comp seems to impart. To many of us, the stereo bus compressor has become an important, if not indispensable tool in our mixing workflow.
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