Mixing with Stereo Bus Compression : Making Better Mixes

[nwright]

So, to reference this thread specifically, if you were to run a comp on the stereo buss, you would compress down 4dB, and make it up back to 0, or do you leave it -4dB with no makeup gain?

 

[metalkingdom]

if blowing means being able to win grammy awards and mix some of the more popular artists then i'll love to blow.

My discography slays his. "Livin' La Vida Loca" sucks, too.

 

[nuclearass]

I make it up back to 0. Then you can hear better what the compression is doing by bypassing it and switching it back on.

 

[nwright]

I make it up back to 0. Then you can hear better what the compression is doing by bypassing it and switching it back on.

Thanks!

 

[Matt Crooks]

My discography slays his. "Livin' La Vida Loca" sucks, too.

Now you've gone too far!!! Ricky Martin is the BOMB!

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

LOL

 

[Seizure.]

let me do the post where metalkingdom probably has been waiting for:

Where can we find your discography then?

 

[ApolloSpeed]

nice.....I never had the option to do a stereo buss compressor when I was using Audition 1.5 but 2.0 now has a master buss, and side-chains!

I have the SSL plugin, but never really used to liked it much, as I preferred L3 highly to the SSL.....

So, I put my SSL plugin on the master buss on an old mix I did, and it is pretty cool! Kept the the levels low (2:1r, 30ms AT, Auto Rel.) Seems easier to keep levels together. I'm gonna work with this some more in the future!
thx guys!

I'm wondering how the L3 would compare to the SSL on the master buss?

 

[~BURNY~]

I have the SSL plugin, but never really used to liked it much, as I preferred L3 highly to the SSL.....

So, I put my SSL plugin on the master buss on an old mix I did, and it is pretty cool! Kept the the levels low (2:1r, 30ms AT, Auto Rel.) Seems easier to keep levels together. I'm gonna work with this some more in the future!
thx guys!

I'm wondering how the L3 would compare to the SSL on the master buss?

Dude, SSL Buss compressor is a compressor, L3 is a brickwall limiter. They are not the SAME treatment and they are not designed for the same purpose.
It's like saying "I prefer the Ampeg SVT over the 5150"... It doesn't make sense.

 

[ScottCash]

Probably a stupid question but...


Nuendo users, I can't find it in the manual anywhere, but how do I add any type of effects to the Stereo Output Buss or Stereo Output Channels? It says yoiu can but it doesn't show you how to do it. I would assume you could add this Buss in the track view but when I right click there is no option to add the Stereo Out channel or Buss. And when I click the Stereo Out in the mixer view there are no insert slots. Any idea how I should do this?

 

[LSD-Studio]

Probably a stupid question but...


Nuendo users, I can't find it in the manual anywhere, but how do I add any type of effects to the Stereo Output Buss or Stereo Output Channels? It says yoiu can but it doesn't show you how to do it. I would assume you could add this Buss in the track view but when I right click there is no option to add the Stereo Out channel or Buss. And when I click the Stereo Out in the mixer view there are no insert slots. Any idea how I should do this?

hit that "e" on the stereo-out of the mixer

 

[metalkingdom]

Nuendo users, I can't find it in the manual anywhere, but how do I add any type of effects to the Stereo Output Buss or Stereo Output Channels?

Go to mixer view, the stereo buss is on the far right. Change the channel view by using those little arrows and select Inserts. Click on the blank insert area and choose whatever you want.

 

[ScottCash]

hit that "e" on the stereo-out of the mixer

I think that is a record here for perfectly answering a question in less than 10 words. Classic,

Thanks guys-

 

[sparkyness]

loved this thread....here's a link to that andy wallace article someone mentioned http://mixonline.com/recording/interviews/audio_andy_wallace/ it's been posted before, but like his mixes, I dig the interview too.

 

[Nuk3m]

Ive used some stereo bus comps on my mixes before. Though i only ever did this on a simple mix. Either sparse music or not to many tracks. Now i think about it i did always like the analogue gear then the SS or plug ins.

Not anything to do with warmth or anything like that..

It just seemed to be alot subtle and gentle or at least sound it. Especially when tracking but thats a completely different thing.

I dont think i have my head completely around the way i want to use compression in my mixes. And tend to have the train of thought that each tracks dynamics will always be different so i should tend to those first, or just hear that.

In the better experiences when i did use this i had compressed on tracking and then had a compressor over the tracks that needed. Only then i would employ the stereo bus comp. Then id start my Eq'n.

I think it as always is just up to your ears and your mind.

 

[Ermz]

I've tried employing stereo buss compression recently, but my mixes always sound better without it. Even when I just set it to reduce maybe just 1dB or so, the mix instantly sounds smaller... maybe I just don't know how to set it right.

I usually just opt for hard limiting, or use a vintage warmer to get a bit of its sound on the mix.

 

[A Gruesome Discovery]

if blowing means being able to win grammy awards and mix some of the more popular artists then i'll love to blow.

My discography slays his. "Livin' La Vida Loca" sucks, too.

I'll have to agree here; invoking Charles Dye in defense of reasonable compression is a fallacy. In the Loudness War, "Livin' La Vida Loca" was Pearl Harbor.
I tend to think it's better to let the ME decide how to handle the entire mix's dynamics in lieu of bus compression. The ME knows what he's doing. Probably.

 

[greyskull]

I've tried employing stereo buss compression recently, but my mixes always sound better without it. Even when I just set it to reduce maybe just 1dB or so, the mix instantly sounds smaller... maybe I just don't know how to set it right.

I usually just opt for hard limiting, or use a vintage warmer to get a bit of its sound on the mix.

did you start your mix through the bus compressor or did you slap on the 2 bus off a mix you'd already done?

you really do have to mix through it and adjust levels and eq accordingly so it doesnt kill the dynamic of the track.

 

[Machinated]

I remember reading this thread at the time when it was being written and trying this stuff out and not being fond of it. Recently I've been using the URS CSP on the mix buss, taking off about 1-2 dB on the mix, but adjusting the settings by lowering the input and output accordingly (as well as mixing through it). I have gotten some really cool results from it. I'm taking off less than 1.5dB's and getting a more aggressive sound. Cool stuff

 

[JBroll]

Now where the fucking fuck is Metalkingdom?

Jeff