Compressor options

[greno]

I know it's not a good idea to have hard and fast rules for mixing, but in general - in what situations do you tend to choose one compressor over another? For example, 1176LN for drums and LA-2A for vocals?

Also, is there a noticiable difference between the 1176LN and the 1176SE?

Thanks!
-Gregg

 

[Arys Chien]

In my humble opnion, it's better to \"know your compressors\" than to \"remember which is good on what.\"

All the UAD-1 compressor plug-ins have their own characteristics. Even the 1176SE. I suggest that you take the same material, say a vocal track, and then apply different compressor plug-ins one at a time for comparison.

Try tweaking them to make them sound similar. Then you'll really understand the difference between them.

 

[Akis]

I second what Arys said. Re: LN vs SE, yes, there is a big difference; that doesn't mean the SE is unusable, it's just not that close to a real 1176.

 

[Spacey]

Is it me or does the 1176Se feel a bit more snappier than the 1176ln, but without the nice coloure of the 1176ln. I could be imagining it

 

[greno]

Thanks for the replies. I'm pretty new to recording, and just got my UAD-1 project pack last week. I've turned on the demos for the LA-2A and the 1176LN, and have been comparing the different compressors to figure out what other plugins to buy. But to be honest, I'm struggling to hear the difference. Hopefully my ears will develop in time! Until then, I'd appreciate your comments on two of my test files

The first is a vocal test broken into 5 parts: http://greggreno.com/renovation/songs/VocalTest.mp3

1) Raw
2) 1176SE - 4:1, Attack 3, Release 5, 6db peak reduction
3) 1176LN - 4:1, Attack 3, Release 5, 6db peak reduction
4) LA-2A- - 6db peak reduction
5) Cubase's Dynamics VST - attack 20ms release 300ms

The second is an accoustic guitar, although the levels might be too low for a good comparison: http://greggreno.com/renovation/songs/AccousticTest.mp3

1) Raw
2) 1176SE - 4:1, Attack 4, Release 5, 5db peak reduction
3) 1176LN - 4:1, Attack 4, Release 5, 5db peak reduction
4) LA-2A- - 5db peak reduction
5) Cubase's Dynamics VST - attack 20ms release 300ms

Both the vocals and the guitar were recorded with a Studio Projects C1 and a Firepod into Cubase SL3.

I look forward to your comments!
-Gregg

 

[tkingen]

I haven't listened to your mp3's as dialup takes too long, but I can tell you that as you learn more about compression you will find a use for everyone of the UAD-1 compressors. The source material will tell you which one to use - and it's difficult for anyone to tell you how to make those decisions. For me it's as much of a gut level feeling as it is technical.
Sorry for not being able to give you a better answer, but that it is how it plays out for me.

 

[Fairlight]

To be completely honest, I've not long been into compression and the likes, I was always a bit confused at how they worked and how to work them with audio. Lately, I feel a lot more adequate but still have a long way to go.

I did a rough mix of a vocal to backing track the other day and I messed with the Fairchild compressor on the vocals. I got a nice sound out of it, but I found myself tweaking and tweaking but was never 100% happy. I decided to start again and replaced the Fairchild with the LA-2A... Bish, Bash, Bosh... within seconds, it was right. Simple and effective.

I suppose depending on material, source sound and mood, different compressors for different needs. I think mood is an important factor here as your brain and ears are trying to sculpt the sound in a certain way and if your creative flow changes from one day to the next, a different comp might be needed to meet those changing desires. Maybe this last paragraph is jibberish :roll:

Cheers,
Peter

 

[Fundy]

The main difference between the Second Editions of corresponding plug-ins are they don't upsample or use any dithering algorithms. The SE versions still sound good though, just not as refined or \"analog\".

 

[Fairlight]

I'm only beginning to hear very, very, very subtle differences between different compressors. I always believed I could achieve the same results with ANY compressor, but as I said above, I'm beginning to use different compressors depending on needs. Maybe it's psychological at the moment. I do really want my ear to be more focused and tuned to these subtle discrepencies.

I did a bit of tweaking on an orchestral track I did some years ago, I used Pultec Pro, cambridge and Fairchild saved it off as a different file then level matched the two files and, to be honest, no one yet has noticed any difference.

 

[Awesom-o]

Greno -

Thanks for uploading the test files. I personally prefer the LA2A on your vox and 1176LN on the guitar.

At low amounts of gain reduction, the diferences between the compressors is less noticable (except for the cubase compressor - horrible and thin!). When you drive them harder, the differences become more pronounced.

You can also add a little distortion on the two 1176 units by dialling in very fast release times, plus there's the all button \"nuke\" mode too. I find that no matter how hard I drive the la2a, it remains clear and composed at all times, which might not be what you want. Then again, it might be just the ticket.

So I'd suggest messing around, driving them to the their limit and see then what you think of the sonic differences at different stages of gain reduction.

Paul

 

[greno]

That's a great suggestion. I'll give that a try!

 

[Fundy]

Psychoacoustics affect a lot of how we perceive sound. A typical example, an orchestra in grand hall versus an orchestra in a large chamber. Same sounds reacting different to their surroundings or at least how we perceive them.

With all these compressors, it's no wonder people get confused then again that's what seperates the Pros from the amateurs. I would probably fall mostly into the amateur rank, although I have learned a lot of tricks and tips.

I find sticking 2 different compressors in a mix helps tighten up the sound. I normally use something like WaveArts Trackplug on drums hits. For the group buss I'll use a 1176 or LA-2A.

Typically I tend to use the UA plug-ins on the final part of the effects chain.