Here is a simplified diagram for Bus track routing and compression:

As I mentioned previously in part 1 of this article, it’s difficult to discern what additional software processors are worth the money because there are so many to choose from.

To broaden our scope on the subject we’ll be comparing Audio Damage’s Rough Rider (which is free), Ableton’s stock compressor, as well as IK Multimedia’s Model 670 and Waves SSL G-Master Bus Compressor.  As a control for our test similar volume levels and compressor settings will be used.

Drum Bus Settings

When applying this form of compression to a drum bus you will want to use moderate settings in most cases.  Typically, a low ratio, moderate attack, and quick release time will get you in the ballpark of good results.  Also, try setting your threshold anywhere from -5 DB to -12 DB range, so that you get 3 – 5 DB of gain reduction.

To get the full benefit of this article you will need to listen to these audio examples on decent speakers – perhaps even headphones.  The effect we’re looking to achieve is a subtle one, but making great music has a lot to do with showing small details plenty of attention.

Here is a segment of the drums without any compression applied to the bus track.

drum_loop_no_buss_comp

Free Compressors

There are plenty of free compressors available on the Internet.  Audio Damage’s Rough Rider is known for being one of the better ones out there.

Figure 1: Audio Damage's Rough Rider and settings used.

Take a listen to the drum segment using Rough Rider as a bus compressor:

drum_loop_rough_rider

Stock Compressors

Stock Compressors come with most DAW’s and usually fall in the mid-tier of quality software compressors.  However, I find that Ableton’s Compressor is a solid workhorse in many aspects of music production.  It barely eats any CPU resources and it’s very transparent.

Figure 2: Ableton's compressor and settings used.

Take a listen to our drum mix using Ableton’s single-band compressor:

drum_loop_ableton_comp

IK Multimedia’s Model 670 Compressor

Figure 3: T-Racks Vintage Compressor Model 670 ($99)

The Model 670 is a software emulation of the legendary Fair Child 670 – the Michael Jordan of hardware compressors.  The cool thing about the 670 is that you have the ability to compress your left and right sides of your stereo field with out affecting your mid center and vice versa.  Sometimes when I work with a live drum buss, I’ll use two of these compressors to compress the mid center and sides independently of each other.

Figure 4: Old School FairChild 670 hardware compressor.

credits: recforums.prosoundweb.com

Take a listen to our drum segment using the IK Multimedia’s Model 670

drum_loop_670

Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor

The G-Master compressor is a software emulation of the G-Buss Compressor in the SSL 4000 console series.  To my knowledge Waves doesn’t offer this software compressor on its own.  You’ll have to purchase the SSL 4000 bundle, which will set you back five hundred to six hundred dollars, maybe more.

drum_loop_ssl

If you have the money I think the SSL 4000 series is worth owning, but I wouldn’t strain my budget for these plug-ins.  They will not make a home recording mix sound like some legendary engineer mixed the track in a billion dollar studio.  If you’ve tricked yourself into believing that, then click your heels and come back to Kansas Dorothy – there’s a lot more to it.

Summary

Decide for yourself, which compressor delivered the best results. It’s a matter of opinion.  Personally, I thought the Rough Rider comp was rather dull and the weakest of the group, but then again, it’s also free.  Ableton’s compressor was perhaps the most transparent, but the Model 670 seemed to have a bit more punch.

Here are the samples grouped together so you can quickly audition them back and forth.

Drum loop without Buss Compression:

drum_loop_no_buss_comp

the Rough Rider Compressor (free):

drum_loop_rough_rider

Ableton’s stock compressor:

drum_loop_ableton_comp

IK Multimedia’s Model 670 ($99)

drum_loop_670

Waves’ SSL G-Master Buss Compressor

drum_loop_ssl

For part 1 of this article series click here:

http://www.samplepacks.ca/compressor-shoot-out-on-live-drums

With all of the software compressors available, it can be difficult for a young producer to decide what’s an effective use of their budget.  Most DAW’s have some sort of stock compressor, but there’s always the allure of these high-end 3^rd party processors that supposedly give you this magical mix the stock processors do not.  Today we find out.

Compression plays a vital role in all aspects of music production.  Consequently, it’s also the most misunderstood and misused dynamic processor I know of.

Compression is meant to give you control over the dynamic range of an audio source.  The dynamic range of an audio source is the distance between its quietest and loudest parts.  A compressor can be used to reduce (compress) the distance between those parts, and in effect, make the overall sound source louder.

When used correctly compression is an indispensable tool in the world of engineering sound and music.

I have a live multi-track drum session in Ableton mixed and polished off using its stock compressors.  I’ll swap them out with popular 3^rd party processors to see which ones deliver the best results.

Here is our drum mix using Ableton’s single-band compressor.

comp_shoot_out_ableton

Figure 1: Ableton's single-band compressor.

The purpose of this article is to see how Ableton’s stock compressor stacks up against popular competition like the Waves SSL 4000 Series E-Channel Strip. We will also take a look at IK Multimedia’s Classic and Opto Compressor.

Note: Only single-band compressors in the mix will be exchanged to keep the results as honest as possible.

 IK Multimedia’s Classic and Opto Compressor

Figure 2: IK Multimedia's Classic Compressor.

Figure 3: IK Multimedia's Opto Compressor.

IK Multimedia has grown in popularity over the last decade making a name for their savvy ability to emulate analog gear, amongst other things.  So we exchanged Ableton’s single-band compressors for the above IK compressors and used similar settings.

You can purchase these compressors individually or in bulk with IK’s T-Racks 3 Deluxe Mastering Suite, which cost $500 (or at least that’s what it cost when I bought it).

Here is our drum segment using the above IK compressors:

comp_shoot_out_IK_single_band_swap

It’s worth mentioning that we had to use two different IK compressors because Ableton’s stock compressor is capable of both classic and opto compression.

Now, compare this to our Ableton example:

comp_shoot_out_ableton

The results are quite similar, but once you decide for yourself which example you think sounds better the question then becomes simple.  If I own Ableton, is it really worth it for me to invest in additional 3^rd party compressors?

Waves SSL 4000 E-Channel Strip

Waves are renown for they’re high-end processors.  They are one of the biggest names out there and the Waves SSL 4000 Series has been a popular plug-in bundle for many years.

We repeated this same test using the compressor from this channel strip to see how Ableton faired against some so-called ‘high-end’ competition.

All of the compressor settings from the original Ableton session were replicated as closely as possible.  Only the compressor section of the E-channel was used.

Here are the results:

comp_shoot_out_ssl_single_band_swap

Now, compare this to our Ableton example and our IK example:

Ableton example:

comp_shoot_out_ableton

IK Multimedia Example:

comp_shoot_out_IK_single_band_swap

Individual Tracks

 Here are some kick and snare examples you can compare to see how these compressors match up on an individual track level.

Kick Tracks

Ableton Kick Track:

kick_track_ableton

IK Multimedia Kick Track:

kick_track_IK

WAVES E-Channel Kick Track:

kick_track_ssl

Snare Tracks

Ableton Snare Track:

snare_track_ableton

IK Multimedia Snare Track:

snare_track_IK

Waves E-Channel Snare Track:

snare_track_ssl

Summary

Decide for yourself, which compressor delivered the best results – it’s merely a matter of opinion.  Personally, I thought that Ableton’s compressor delivered the most transparent results.  But, I also found that the IK compressors delivered what sounded like the clearest mix, which was probably my favorite of the three.  I liked the SSL E-Channel results the least in this scenario, but I could see the sound that it produces being useful in certain Hip Hop situations.

Ableton’s compressor clearly outshined the IK and SSL compressor in terms of control and flexibility.  It had the widest range (in milliseconds) for Attack and Release settings and was capable of both generic and opto compression, amongst other things.

If there is anything to learn from this experiment it’s this:  Spend less time drooling over the gear you can’t afford and more time critically learning how to work with the gear you have – it’s probably better than you think it is.

If you found this tutorial helpful please be sure to like our Facebook page where we post freebies, updates, and sales from time to time.

Feel free to sound off in the comments below and let us know which example you think delivered the best results

To Be Continued…

In part 2 of this article we will continue with a shoot out using popular bus compressors on the master mix of our drum session.

Continue to part 2:

http://www.samplepacks.ca/compressor-shoot-out-on-live-drums-pt-2

Here’s a snippet of a song I’m currently working on.  We’ll use the lead vocal from the first verse as our test subject.

cashis_beat_and_vox

If you’re not familiar with a Complete Processing Suite, think of one-stop shopping, you have everything you need right there.  A Processing Suite is an all-in-one plug-in (or set of plug-ins) that is supposed to give you everything you need to get a particular job done.  A good example is Izotope’s Nectar vocal suite.  Nectar gives you an EQ, Compressor, Gate, Reverb, Saturator, Delay, and more – all in one plug-in.  Whether you use all or some of the effects is up to you

Other suites we’ll look at are IK Multimedia’s T-racks Suite, the VX1 vocal plug-in from Waves’ Tony Maserati Collection, and we’ll even use Logic Pro’s collection of processors to see how they fair.

Note: This experiment is somewhat subjective because not all of these suites have the same exact processors and related settings.  Nonetheless, we can still get a solid idea as to the sound they’re capable of producing.

Take a listen to an acapella of the vocal cut without any software processing.  It was recorded using a Universal Audio LA-610 preamplifier and Neumann TLM-49 microphone.  The LA-610 preamp also has an optical compressor onboard, so I used some mild compression on the incoming signal.

vox_sample_no_processing

 As you can see, we’ve got a warm, natural recording to work with.

T-Racks Mixing Suite

Lets start by processing this vocal with IK Multimedia’s T-Racks Suite.  I’ve owned T-Racks for three or four years now and still like it.  It comes with an Equalizer, Tube Compressor, Multiband limiter, and Clipper.  In terms of sound, it’s not always the brightest, but if you’re looking for that vintage warmth and tube saturation then T-Racks is right up your ally.

Take a listen to my vocal sample after being processed with IK’s T-Racks.

vox_sample_no_t_racks

T-Racks 3 (the standard addition) will cost you $200.  This might sound like a lot of money if you’re on a limited budget, but T-Racks is capable of working with more than just vocals.

VX1 Vocal Enhancer

Next, we’ll put the VX1 plug-in from the Tony Maserati Collection to work.  This processor is much more simple in terms of function and is strictly geared toward vocals.

The idea behind this plug-in is to enhance your vocal recording.  It’s available in Waves online store for $75.

Take a listen to my vocal sample after being processed with the VX1.

vox_sample_maseratti

Logic Pro’s Stock Processors

Most DAW’s have an extensive collection of audio processors.  Technically, you could consider that collection a suite in itself, so it was only right that we included Logic Pro’s stock processors in the mix.

I used Logic’s single-band compressor, Channel EQ, and the Multipressor to polish off my vocal mix.

vox_sample_logic

Nectar from Izotope

As mentioned before, Nectar is a complete processing suite dedicated entirely to vocals. You can download the demo for free and it’s fully operational for ten days.

One of the cool things about Nectar is the library of presets it comes with.  It has a wide range of vocal presets to accommodate many genres of music. Many of the presets are just so-so, but there are a few gems that make the $250 price tag worth considering.

It also comes with a Pitch corrector, Breath Control Gate, and De-esser.  The De-esser works decently, but the Breath Control Gate is useless in my opinion.

Take a listen to my vocal sample after being processed with Nectar.

vox_sample_nectar

Summary

Processing suites are becoming more and more popular in the software world.  The suites covered in this article are but a few of the many available.  Some are worth the money, while others are not.

Personally, I thought that the vocal example using Logic’s processors was the most natural and transparent.  The T-Racks Suite had the warmest sound, and for this hip-hop vocal I probably favored the Nectar results the best.

Here are all of the examples consolidated together, so you can easily compare them.

Vox without any software processing:

vox_sample_no_processing

Vox processed with T-Racks Suite:

vox_sample_no_t_racks

Vox processed with Maserati VX1:

vox_sample_maseratti

Vox processed with Logic Pro:

vox_sample_logic

Vox processed with Nectar:

vox_sample_nectar

Decide for yourself, which results you like.  There isn’t any right or wrong answer.  If anything, you should notice that Logic’s stock processors did pretty well against 3^rd party competition.  Don’t sweat it if you can’t afford all of these so-called ‘high-end’ processors.  Your DAW is capable of delivering good results if you know how to use it properly.