compression before or after?

[serox]

hi, sorry if this has been talked about before but i couldnt find any thing on it!

Does it matter if you compress each noise/sound/sample first or if you just compress the track? A friend has told me it is better to compress each noise first.


Cheers
Srx

[Komplex]

Its entirely up to you and the sound you are going for. I usually compress sub mixes and certain parts that need compression but definately not each sound because you loose space and dynamics. When the track is finnished it always gets slight compression but thats a mastering thing and your tracks should sound how you want them to sound before getting to this stage.

[dirty_bass]

Some sounds need compression others don`t, it`s entirely depending on the sound you want and how much presence you want that sound to have.
There is no before or after rule.

[serox]

ok cheers that helps

person who suggested i did it was commenting on a hardcore techno mix so that would make sense.

[TechMouse]

As with anything in production, do whichever sounds best.

The best advice I've ever heard, was in the case of some old production / engineering / mastering pro - some guy who'd been recording stuff for ages. A young guy asked him what his secret was, and he pointed at the mixing console in the studio, and said...

"See them knobs? You keep turning them until it sounds f***ing amazing."

[dan the acid man]

As with anything in production, do whichever sounds best.

The best advice I've ever heard, was in the case of some old production / engineering / mastering pro - some guy who'd been recording stuff for ages. A young guy asked him what his secret was, and he pointed at the mixing console in the studio, and said...

"See them knobs? You keep turning them until it sounds f***ing amazing."

wise words indeed

[dirty_bass]

ok cheers that helps

person who suggested i did it was commenting on a hardcore techno mix so that would make sense.

Ok, now you have added context I see what you are looking for.
To reproduce the hardcore techno sound (or schranze) then over compressing the whole mix or (if you want to be a bit more pro with your results) grouping them and compressing groups, is a big part of that crunchy, pumping, distorted sound.

[loopdon]

ok cheers that helps

person who suggested i did it was commenting on a hardcore techno mix so that would make sense.

Ok, now you have added context I see what you are looking for.
To reproduce the hardcore techno sound (or schranze) then over compressing the whole mix or (if you want to be a bit more pro with your results) grouping them and compressing groups, is a big part of that crunchy, pumping, distorted sound.

why you always call it schranz(e) ? did you make up that e?
schranz + frenzy?? ;) ;)

[dirty_bass]

ok cheers that helps

person who suggested i did it was commenting on a hardcore techno mix so that would make sense.

Ok, now you have added context I see what you are looking for.
To reproduce the hardcore techno sound (or schranze) then over compressing the whole mix or (if you want to be a bit more pro with your results) grouping them and compressing groups, is a big part of that crunchy, pumping, distorted sound.

why you always call it schranz(e) ? did you make up that e?
schranz + frenzy?? ;) ;)

I don`t care enough about it to spell it properly :lol:

[Bastian Storm]

for the final mastering you need a compressor.

but some sounds need a special compression, so use it there too ;)

[serox]

im not really looking for the schranz techno sound. schranz techno sounds like a wet fart. im looking for hardcore german sound. i think alot of noise is done with nord lead but i cannot work out how the compression is done to make it sound so big n deep on every thing.


cheers

[robin m]

"See them knobs? You keep turning them until it sounds f***ing amazing."

Brilliant! That's what I've been doing wrong :doh:

[dirty_bass]

im not really looking for the schranz techno sound. schranz techno sounds like a wet fart. im looking for hardcore german sound. i think alot of noise is done with nord lead but i cannot work out how the compression is done to make it sound so big n deep on every thing.


cheers

If you get some audio links up on here
I may be able to help.

[serox]

im not really looking for the schranz techno sound. schranz techno sounds like a wet fart. im looking for hardcore german sound. i think alot of noise is done with nord lead but i cannot work out how the compression is done to make it sound so big n deep on every thing.


cheers

If you get some audio links up on here
I may be able to help.

;)

[loopdon]

u mean the german hardtechno stuff like wittekind, amok, obi n stuff?

[tocsin]

For hardcore techno, your emphasis would pretty much be on the kick drum. So, with some EQ on the other tracks, you might be able to get away with just compressing the kick. Generally, for hardcore, I'm just compressing the kick drums. Just don't overdo it or you'll get a loud and flat sound. As for getting a fat and deep synth voice, that may not necesarilly be related to compression at all. That could be achieved with EQ and the stereo width.

[TechMouse]

That could be achieved with EQ and the stereo width.
Be careful with stereo width on bass noises though - especially if you're aiming to press to vinyl at some point.

[sash]

i think alot of noise is done with nord lead but i cannot work out how the compression is done to make it sound so big n deep on every thing.


cheers

think of a compressor as a volume controller on a sound. it makes the loud bits quieter and the quiet bits louder. so for example on a kick drum you could decrease the initial high transient (peak) so the sound dosen't clip (distort) and increase all the valleys (low transients) thus making the sound phatter.

It's good to practise compression theory in a wave editor where u can physically see the waveform and what ur compression results do to the sound.