Stereo mix compressors

[Aaron Smith]

For some reason I'm extremely interested in the mastering aspect of recording, more precisely, having the ability to turn my final mixes into final masters. A final master just sounds more ballsy, more powerful and just more awesome in general. I don't think I ever would have even thought of "do-it-yourself" mastering, if it weren't for the incredible results that Andy gets.
Anyhow, my basic mastering chain generally involves smoothing things out with a C4, and then running through a TC Electronic Finalizer Express. I definitely like what the Finalizer does to my mixes, how it tightens things up and especially how punchy it makes the drums, but I still feel like having some kind of analog compression in the chain would really make me smile in a way that the C4 and Finalizer alone cannot. I don't really know how much I want to spend on a stereo mix compressor, but is there something genuinely good that someone can recommend around the $1000-ish range?

On the cheap (but supposedly worthwhile) end of things, there's the ART Pro VLA, which I am tempted to buy because of the price: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LevelarPro/

However, I don't want to skimp out a few hundred dollars when I could have something substantially better. What other compressors are out there? I'm sure I could spend $5000 on something amazing, but that would definitely be excessive for me at the moment.

The Roll Music RMS755 Super Stereo sounds extremely enticing, and it looks like it retails for about $1800:
http://www.rollmusic.com/systems/superstereo.shtml

I wish I could try one!

Anyone?

 

[sincethefailing]

out of your price bracket... but this will make your mixes tight as a baby's ass.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/GSeriesComp/

or if you're going for a more commercial sounding mix go for this (the lord-alge brothers use these on their mixes)

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Red3/

or if you're on a budget

http://www.mercenaryaudio.com/splstvimksos.html

the SPL unit works well...

 

[metalkingdom]

Tom Lord-Alge uses the SSL buss comp on everything and then sometimes use the Focusrite very sparingly afterwards.

An analog compressor isn't gonna do anything for you that a software comp won't at this point in your experience level. The things that you are relying on from mastering (punchy drums, balls, etc.) are actually part of mixing. Use a good software comp on your L/R while mixing if you're not doing so already. Save your money and just keep getting better at mixing.

Mastering a really good mix should take no longer than 10 minutes.

 

[Aaron Smith]

Tom Lord-Alge uses the SSL buss comp on everything and then sometimes use the Focusrite very sparingly afterwards.

An analog compressor isn't gonna do anything for you that a software comp won't at this point in your experience level. The things that you are relying on from mastering (punchy drums, balls, etc.) are actually part of mixing. Use a good software comp on your L/R while mixing if you're not doing so already. Save your money and just keep getting better at mixing.

Mastering a really good mix should take no longer than 10 minutes.

Thanks dude! You always have some really good input.
As for the punchy drums that I get from mastering...I think part of the reason that I'm "relying" on mastering to do that, is because I have actually never even tried sending my drums to a compression bus during mixing. I've read all about it, but for some reason I've never even had a go at it, which is pretty stupid. There's probably even a good chance that I'll like the drum bus so much that I won't ever want to go back. And guitars...mostly I like the way that the Finalizer fattens them up a bit, but should I actually be limiting/maximizing my guitar tracks during mixing a few dB anyway to get that same fattened sound BEFORE mastering?
And lastly...mixing through a software comp. Are you talking like a Waves C1 or more of a mastering style software comp? And do I print my mixes this way or is it just for reference? I have never mixed through a software comp only to remove it later, but my mixes do turn out a whole lot better when I get my mixes up and running, and then route it through the Finalizer and mix that way for a while. And actually, after mixing through the Finalizer for a while and making some mix adjustments, if I switch it off and go back to the non-Finalized mix, it sounds a whole lot better by itself.

 

[broken81]

there is a way in protools to use 2 comps on mix buss one for the left and one for the right. I'm not sure how to do this exactly but i need to learn. I think thats what metal kingdom was referencing when he said L/R. Arron you should check out the ssl plugs there pretty nice i think personally!

 

[metalkingdom]

I don't group drums and then compress the group. Even though there's lots and lots of talk on the internet of doing this, it's not nearly as common of a technique as you'd think... I tried and tried to make that work until I realized that it wasn't the answer. You just have to spend a lot of time to get all of the instruments/freqs to work together (via eq, compression, and relative levels). Once you get some control of your low end the drums will become punchy by default. Mastering the lows is a MAJOR milestone when it comes to mixing. Some dudes never even get that far, and the ones that do have steady business.

You always want your mix to sound the way that you want it to sound (sonically) before mastering. Loudness is a different issue, but that all depends on your clients (rappers usually want the mixes to be real frickin' loud NOW). Working in the big studios in L.A./Hollywood, there were certain things that I heard many great engineers/producers say. One of them is, "They (the mastering houses) better not fvck up my mix!"

The L/R is the stereo buss... Also known as the "2-Mix". I use the buss comp on my Duende 100% of the time now. I was using Ozone before that, and I was using Impact on PTHD before that. Try any stereo compressor and fiddle with it until it sounds right. If you have Waves SSL, try that buss comp and I'm sure you'll be happy with it. Shit, why not just mix through the Finalizer? I may be mistaken, but I believe that Sir Sneap does just that.

 

[HeadCrusher]

Do you leave the comp on the stereo buss when you send your mix off to mastering or do you only put it there while mixing?
I always thought "Never touch the sum while mixing"...

 

[Ermz]

Do you leave the comp on the stereo buss when you send your mix off to mastering or do you only put it there while mixing?
I always thought "Never touch the sum while mixing"...

Most MAs will prefer you to keep your master bus empty before sending to them.

I've adopted the habbit lately of mixing into a Waves SSL Bus Comp, shaving off a few dB, but that's more to get an idea of how everything will sit after mastering. Before sending the mix off, I take everything off the master bus.

 

[metalkingdom]

Do you leave the comp on the stereo buss when you send your mix off to mastering or do you only put it there while mixing?

The buss compressor is part of the mix. If you mix with it and then take it off, your mix will need remixing. I don't use it for loudness, and generally speaking most pros don't. The SSL buss comp is and has been on nearly every major release for the last 20 years, but it's utilized during the mix stage - not during mastering.

The mastering houses couldn't care less what's on your mix buss. I'm sure that they get a little irritated when people slap a L1 on the mix and squash it to infinity -which is an extremely bad idea-, but they'll take the business regardless.