Live vocal and kick drum compression question

[kevin25]

Hi. I was wondering what's a good starting point ratio etc for vocal compression live. And same for the kick drum mic. Gonna dial it tomorrow night just wanna know where to start. Thanks

 

[pikachu69]

Same as you would use in a studio if you do this kind of work also.
4:1 ratio on kick and either 4:1 to 5:1 ratio for vocals. Medium attack on kick, slower on vocals, fast release for both. As far as threshold is concerned for vocal I adjust it till the comp starts working on loud/pushed passages only leaving the rest untouched with a little makeup gain. Kick, I like to take off 3 - 6db at most with some makeup gain.

Check out the 'offical live sound' thread just down the list a bit.

 

[Matula]

There really is not a magic formula. Using a fast release, as our friend pikachu69 says would be not a good idea if the drummer does a lot of drum blasts. It would sound uneven. Best adviser would be your ears. Just dial in and listen. LISTEN.

 

[if6was9]

I like to use a fast attack on the vocal live, catch the inital transient and keep it in check. With kick you want to attack to be slow enough to let the clicky punch through but not so slow that it sounds odd.
Like above, I like to have the vocal comp working when they go louder and not when they're singing at a lower level. If the comp is working when they aren't singing you're way over doing it.