Compressing kick

[Pedro Teixeira]

Hey, I tried searching but couldn't come up with answers to my questions.

Let's say I recorded a kick, my questions is mainly about signal chain, where should the compressor go? Should it go before the EQ or after the EQ? And what's the difference in having the compressor in an aux channel instead of the insert of the kick track? Does it take the signal and feed it hence doubling it or something?

Because I can't seem to work well with compression on the kick, I want to make it even, if the kick has too many dynamics, but the result is always a bit more thin, but I can get a nice punch but it still doesn't seem more "even" dynamically it sounds just louder... What are yall methods in compressing the kick , signal chain etc? Thanks

 

[Torniojaws]

That's why most people use 100 % sample replacement for the kicks.

 

[Pedro Teixeira]

Hm.. yea I know, but let's say you don't wanna use samples, because it's not even a metal band and the kick you captured actually sounds nice : p

 

[punkrockacademyfightsong]

if you wanna make it sound more even I think you should use a pretty high ratio (6:1 - 10:1) and a pretty fast attack time (0-10 ms) and I would always compress the kick pre EQ, that way the attack will be more consistent.

 

[Pedro Teixeira]

But doing that in an aux track isn't the same?

 

[punkrockacademyfightsong]

if you do it on an aux track you will be adding the compressed signal to the dry (uncompressed) signal (parallel compressing)
that will give you more detail than without compression but it won't even out the level as much as with the compressor inserted

 

[Metaltastic]

Hm.. yea I know, but let's say you don't wanna use samples, because it's not even a metal band and the kick you captured actually sounds nice : p

Take the best two hits, make samples out of those, and then replace all the others 100% with 'em. And if you want dynamics, automate

 

[Let it burn...]

limit it?

 

[seditz740novaprospect]

distressor after pre on the way in set to 4:1, tube tech, and api also makes a couple nice comps as well that work very well for kick

 

[006]

Because everybody has those to play with...



No offense intended <3

~006

 

[seditz740novaprospect]

Because everybody has those to play with...



No offense intended <3

~006

none taken


pretty standard chain for kick though

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

In a thread like this earlier IIRC people were split as to eq before or after comression. I almost always EQ last for all instruments.

 

[seditz740novaprospect]

In a thread like this earlier IIRC people were split as to eq before or after comression. I almost always EQ last for all instruments.

i eq pre compression most of the time when mixing, tracking its pre then comp i never use eq unless its a hp tracking..............after the compression


but there is no right way, and can put eq after the compression and get good sounds still


when mixing, i mainly use eq before compression to reduce the unwanted compression artifacts on high rations.... it allows me to hit the comp a little harder with less artifacts from the compression


sometimes i will shape sounds with a eq after the comp itb if more processing is needed

 

[Pedro Teixeira]

Hm... seditz, why do you EQ before compression? Won't that affect the signal differently? (I'm really confused about signal chains)

 

[Pedro Teixeira]

Take the best two hits, make samples out of those, and then replace all the others 100% with 'em. And if you want dynamics, automate

I already did that for the snare... god how awful... moving on to the kick then

 

[Metaltastic]

The snare is different, because the drummer can hit it all sorts of different ways in different places - the kick is operated by a mechanism, the beater hits it in the exact same place every time, so the only thing that changes is the level

 

[seditz740novaprospect]

Hm... seditz, why do you EQ before compression? Won't that affect the signal differently? (I'm really confused about signal chains)

i was editing my post as you put this up i wrote in the post above why i do it this way...


i found this out from cla a few years ago when i got to ask a him a few questions... very wise man when it comes to mixing i was supprised he opened up to us as much as he did on his techniques

 

[Pedro Teixeira]

Btw, just a quick question, nothing to do with the thread, but what is the difference, when bouncing in ProTools, between Mono Summed or Multiple Mono ? I'm fairly new to PT and I need to know this asap thanks!!

Oh I got it... but it's pretty stupid, since I'm bouncing a mono track and remaining an option for multiple monos as if it were stereo oO

 

[Zuranthus]

Hm... seditz, why do you EQ before compression? Won't that affect the signal differently? (I'm really confused about signal chains)

compression will raise the volume of all the quieter parts (should be obvious now)
you might want to remove any strange noises before compressing. what would be kind of weird is to try & boost a signal & then compress, you would probably want to boost after compressing...it really all depends what you're after

 

[Sloan]

I'm not into sample replacement too much and kick is the one thing that seems easiest to get a consistent level, for me.
I always eq before compressing, always subtractive to take out sound i don't want, then the compressor only works on sound i do want.
Sometimes I'll limit and slap on another eq to finish it up.

Here's a short clip from an unfinished album i worked on a few years ago:
http://bestnetworx.com/uploader/files/52/sloan_hkmatrix.mp3