Mixing & Mastering: Compression Masterclass (2025)

1. Introduction: Hey, there. It's Harry for music magic entertainment. Ever feel like your tracks sound this inconsistent, like the music in the background, too loud here, aqui there, like they're fighting to be heard. Let's fix that. Hear that? That's the power of compression. But it's not just about squashing sound. It's about orchestrating dynamics to make your music punchy, polished and professional. Welcome to Mastering A your compression, from fundamentals to professional mixdowns. In this class, you'll unlock the five types of compressors, namely optical, tube, fat, VCA, digital, and their secrets. What are your mixing vocals, drums, or full tracks? Compression mastery is your shortcut to pro level sound. Come join me to learn this creative artrosry and shape your sound from okays to professional tracks. I'll meet you in the class. 2. Mastering Audio Compression – Why Dynamics Matter: Hey, there. It's Hurry from music, Magic Entertainment. Welcome to this class. In the last class, we discussed about different types of Qs and how to master the Q. In this class, we'll dive into the fundamentals of compression, understanding its purposes, parameters, and how it shapes the dynamics of sound. You'll find that compression is not just a technical process, but an artistic tool that can transform your audio. Firstly, let's demystify what compression does. Its core, compression reduces the dynamic range of an audio by attenuating louder parts. Think of it ascertaining the peaks of sound to achieve or more consistent volume level. To illustrate this, imagine manually reducing the volume of peaks using volume automation. This simple technique mimics compression by decreasing the volume automatically. However, a compression automates this process for you, offering precise control over the dynamics. Compressor feature essential parameters like attack and release. The attack determines how quickly the compression engages, affecting the initial transient of the sound. Meanwhile, the release dictates how swiftly compression returns to its normal after the signal drops below the threshold. Let's not overlook the threshold and the ratio controls. The threshold sets the level at which the compression begins, while the ratio determines the degree of attenuation applied to signal, surpassing the threshold, increasing the ratio to infinity creates a limited effect, preventing peaks from exceeding a certain level. So, consider the knee parameter, influencing how smoothly compression engages. A higher knee softens compression, affecting quid a parts more separately, useful for balancing dynamics and complex mixes. A crucial aspect often overlook is look ahead, which anticipates incoming audio and allows compression to react instantaneously, Aal for managing transients affect presses may also offer expanded functionality, which amplifies quite a signals enhancing perceived loudness. Remember, there is no one size fits all approach to compression. Experimentation is key. And yeah, always trust your ears and adjust things to achieve the desired sonic outcome that you want. After all, music is subjective, and what sounds good is the ultimate goal. To sum up things, mastering compression empowers you to shape the dynamics of your sound, achieving clarity, punch, and cohesion within your mix. Embrace the atraspery of compression and let your gravity flourish. We'll learn the different types of compressors in the upcoming lesson. 3. Optical Compressors: Smoothing Peaks with Vintage Warmth: Let's see the different types of compressors. The first one is the optical compressors. So these compressors are invented in 1930. In the world of audio engineering, the optical compressor holds a significant place. Unlike other compressors, the optical compressors use a unique mechanism where the audio feeds a light element like an LED. It shines brighter or dimmer based on the intensity of the sound. A photocell pick ups the light being emitted by the ID. Interestingly, while the speed of light is incredibly fast, the reaction between the audio lighting, the ID and the photocell picking up the light creates a noticeable delay on both the attack and release. This characteristic makes optical compressors an excellent choice when you want to compress based on the average of a signal, not necessarily what the transients are doing. Some other compressors, which we'll discuss in the class will actually use the transients and apply the effect space on the transience. But optical compresses are totally different. It uses light being emitted by the LED. So this delay in the response of optical compressors has a particular effect on vocal tracks. With optical compression, all the transients still get through and every word can be heard right on top of the mix. Without the optical compression, some words and phrases might start to drift down and become a little bit too quiet. A two A is an optical compressor, which has been invented back in 1930s and still is used in a lot of popular studios out there. It is used mainly in vocal tracks, giving that sample cohesion that the vocal track needs. Now, let's explore how optical compressor work. Over here, we find CLA two A B waves, which is the emulation of electronics LA a compressor. So here you have the gain, and here, you have the Bet reduction. You can switch between compressed mode and the limit modes. O here, you find the analog button. You can go from 50 60 and you can deactivate the analog button. This quit is a nice feature over here. We'll explore it later. And here, the w display meters, the gain reduction input and output meters. So we'll take an example to see how it actually sounds like. Let's first hear the vocal mix. Roll they on my wrist, thousand diamonds on my neck. Liz, you better go fast, Homi if you're trying to catch this. Okay, so this vocal track is actually recorded for a hip hop track. Now let's switch on the compressor and see how this works. Rolly yum, my wrist, thousand diamonds on my neck, L is, you better go fast. Home, if you trying to catch this Rolly yum my wrist, thousand diamonds on my neck, is, you better go fast, Home, if you trying to catch this Roller yum my wrist, thousand diamonds on my neck. Liz, you better go fast, Home, if you trying to catch this Roller yum my wrist, thousand diamonds on my neck. Liz, you better go fast, Home, if you trying to catch this Rolly yum my wrist, thousand diamonds on my neck, Lis, you better go fast, Home, if you trying to catch this. As you can see, we are getting a balanced tone, balanced dynamics of the ogle mix. So I'll go before Apria so that you can find the difference. Roller yum, my wrist, thousand diamonds on my neck, is, you better go fast. Homi, if you're trying to catch this Roller yum my wrist, thousand diamonds on my neck, is, you better go fast. Home, if you trying to catch this Roller yum my wrist, thousand diamonds on my neck, is, you better go fast. Home, if you're trying to catch this Roller yum, my wrist, thousand diamonds on my neck, is, you better go fast. Homi, if you trying to catch this. So here we have the high frequency in the flat, right? What actually it does is, like, when I made it to the high frequency mode, it allows the frequencies above 1 kilohertz to actually have the signal compressed. This is 100%, and this is 0%. So 100% is fully flat and 0% is high frequencies. So let's actually try with high frequency mode. Roller yum, my wrist, thousand diamonds on my neck. Liz, you better go fast. Home, if you trying to catch this Roller Yuma wrist, thousand diamonds on my neck. Liz, you better go fast. Home, if you trying to catch this Roller yum my wrist, thousand diamonds on my now. You better going trying to catch Roller yum my wrist, thousand diamonds on my neck. Liz, you better go fast. Home, you trying to catch this Roller yum my wrist, thousand diamonds on my neck, is you better go fast. Home, if you trying to catch this. Actually is working as a DSA in the compressor itself. So you don't find any ratio or threshold knobs over here. Those knobs are actually in built in these settings itself. So this is about LAA compressor. We'll know about tube compressors in the next lesson. 4. Tube Compressors: Analog Warmth for Cohesive Mixes: See what tube compressors. You may heard of some compressors called the Verimu or Delw compressors. These two compressors come under tube compression category. Tube compressors is a type of audio compressor where the audio reduction is handled by the tubes in the circuit. They are known for their slow response to an incoming audio. This characteristic allows them to preserve the transients very well, making them an excellent choices for mixes and subgroups. Often, engineers and producers refer to the effect that true compressors have on a signal as providing clue or warmth. This is due to the unique circuit topology of tube compressors. It is used in music production, they can impart a warm, smooth change to the audio, even at very small levels of compression. And this can be very particularly effective on entire mixes or the individual vocal tracks. While the compression itself is quite transparent, the circuitry of tube compressors can shift the tonal balance of the recording. It's almost as if an equalizer has been applied, warming up the audio a little popular chube compressor is the iconic Fair trial 670. It is possibly one of the most iconic chip compressors in the world of music production. So to sum up things, chip compression is a type of audio compression that has slower attack and release time. And this character allows transient or sudden changes in the signal to get through, making it ideal for glowing a whole mixed together. Unique impact of Cube compression of tool and balance might be ideal for certain applications. However, it may not be the tool of choice for all engineers. Some might prefer a slightly more subtle or transferred tool for their audio engineering needs. Now let's explore the example of cube compressor, which is a fair child 670. And in this case, it's an emulation of 670. Here you see a lot of controls. Here's the left channel and here's the right channel. So I have linked both. So when I make these changes, it affects the single signal. So this plugin is actually in a stereo mode. That's why you're saying these two types of knobs. Here's the bypass button, here's the analog button. And yeah, let's see how it works. As you can see, D I really kind of fast. That's that a little slower. Now the cots and PGO is flying. Very good. Let's add some ad as well. No drag is highly balanced dynamics at point. And if you want, actually, you can also use this feature. You can't even actually hear this, but it's make it is making a huge difference in the mix. So yeah, to sum things up, this is input gain. This is a threshold. This is a time constant which has a set of rules for attack and release times, actually. So the more you go, the higher it affects actually. So one being the fast attack and release and six is a slow attack and release. So you can choose between these numbers what your track wants. And if you think that you have lost some gain in your track, you can actually add some gain here itself. So here you can actually switch to the right channel so that you have the control over the two channels here itself. So you can control the right channel and the left channel too. So now it is in stereo mode. Let's see how it sounds like. L pass you can know the difference, actually. The difference is very phenomenal and you can know difference actually while hearing the sound itself. Another one is lateral slash vertical mode in the Fairchild 670 plugin. It actually uses a sum slash difference matrix to split the stereo signal into two channels. So, which is left and upper, and difference is like the lower and the right. The input level is adjusted after the matrix, actually. Allowing for control over the relationship between two channels. At the output, a second matrix recombines the channels into a regular stereo signals with a tremendous effect in the mix. Let's see that in context in the mix. Hey. Just with the touch, actually, it creates a kind of different wipe. See. It actually spreads the entire truck to feel like glow I feel like an ambient kind of thing. That actually sounds really good. So this is how Fairchild 670 compressor works. Most of the time, these compressor is actually used in music production and, you know, giving character to the instruments or chords to sound more richer and give that character most of the people wants. We'll know about VCA compressors in the next lesson. 5. FET Compressors: Punchy Transients for Drums & Vocals: Let's explore what is a ft compressor. A fet compressor is a type of audio compressor that uses a field effect transistor to control the levels of the audio signal. It's known for its punchy and bold sounds. Fat compressors is often used on drums due to its punchy sound. It can add a level of depth and punctual drum sound that is hard to achieve with other types of compressors. Also, fat compressors are known for their extremely fast attack times as quick as 20 microseconds. Ft compressors can create a very punchy and snappy sound, but it's crucial to adjust that at time correctly. Slowing down the attack time, you allow more of the transient, the initial sound spike to come true. This results in a more punchy and snappy sound. They also can be effective when recording vocals or instruments. So to sum up things, ft compressors are excellent tools in the realm of music production and audio engineering. These compressors are known for adding color, tone, and texture to the sound, especially effective in managing transients due to their incredibly fast attack and release time. Such popular fat compressor is 11 76 compressor, and it is by far the most popular ft compressor ever produced. It's known for its unique sound, which is often described as being punch or bold. However, it's important to be aware of the pitfalls when using them to get the sound you're looking for. And yeah, don't forget to be aware of what you're putting the compressor on and also don't overcompress with fat compressors. Let's see how CLA 76 a ft compressor works. As you can see over here, it is CLA 76, a classic evolution of 11 76 made by waves. Here you can see the input and output. This knob over here controls the input level attenuation, and over here is the output level attenuation. As you can see, here is an attack, and here are the releases and the ratios over here. And we have analog over here and different types of CLA 76 versions. This is a blackface, and this is silver blue. So these has different types of harmonics. And here you can see the grain reduction, the in, the out, and the compression of bypass button. So as you can see, there is no threshold button over here. But the higher the ratio is the higher the threshold in 11 76. And as you can see, the attack over here has actually seven options to choose from, ranging 1-7, which is actually from one millisecond to 50 microseconds. Similarly, one being the slowest, one millisecond, and 50 microseconds, the fastest. Which is setting the knob to seven. Similarly for release, it's 70 microseconds, being seven, and one being the lowest. The ratio controls the amount of gain reduction for signal above the threshold. Like many compressors, the higher the ratio, the higher the threshold. For example, at ratio of 220 east to one, the threshold point is minus two DBFS. Meaning that every peak which passes to DVFS will compress at 221 ratio. When the ratio is set to four is to one, this ratiol drops to minus eight and DBFS, meaning that every peak which passes eight and DVs will compress at the ratio of four e to one. This therefore, results in more compression despite the lower ratio. Over here, you find all. The all setting actually recreates the original hardware explosive. So this mode actually is very aggressive in nature. A adds a decent amount of distortion. So it's worth checking out if you're interested in it. Over here, with the analog button, it causes room floor and hum based on the power supplies of the original units. It's all right now, but we can trigger it with 60 hertz and 50 hertz. Let's see with an example. Here I have a drumbu. Let's first listen to it. H. So as you can see, the Trump loop has a lot of punch from the beginning itself. But let's try to control it dynamics using the plugin. Now you can see it's heavily compressed, even though I used a ratio of four. Let's actually make the input a little bit. Okay. L Let's make the tag. To be fast. As you can see, the high hat actually gets popping up. And when I switch to wall, there's a lot of distortion going on. So you have to be very careful while using the plug in. Mm hmm. You might go for whatever the desired sound that you have in mind, actually. But yeah, you can actually switch 60-50. Even though it adds some subtle hum, actually, that you can't hear, but it definitely actually make a difference. So this is about CLA 76, Emolon of 11 76. We'll know about OCA compressors in the next lesson. 6. VCA Compressors: Precision Control for Mastering: Let's dive deep into VCA compressors. The VCA or voltage controlled amplifier compressor offers the most control and flexibility and can either add a rich tone or can be incredibly transparent. The ability to control the sonic character of a mix is a key feature of the VCA compressor. It can bring in more dimension and detail to the mix, making it sound richer. On the other hand, it can also be used in a way that is transparent, controlling the dynamics without adding too much of tone. Generally, a lot of audio engineers and music producers use VCA compressors in the master. They offer control, flexibility, and low distortion. They can handle heavy compression without causing distortion or pumping issues, making them reliable tool for mastering. The famous VCA compressor til date is the DBX 160. These VCA compressors actually was invented in 1970s. This is by far the most recent invention, till date in the world of compressors in hardware. Let's see how VCA compressor works. O here, I have DBx 160. This plugit model of the DBx 160 compressor offers additional features such as input gain control, mix control, noise control, mid side matrix over here in the sterio component and a side chain high pass filter to manipulate the sound how we want. This compressor over here is known for its warm and punchy sound and mostly often used in mastering. Basically, it can be used in anything. In the most scenarios, it is used in mastering. So let's see how it actually works. All the compressors has the same settings. Threshold. Or here, it is compression, but he's in left. And this is in the right, as is the stereo. Signal. So let's tweak the settings and see how it moves. So I'm setting the threshold compression. As you can see, the piece is getting attenuated and giving us a balanced track. I know it sounds kind of odd. We'll fix it by actually going into the mid side mod. Now, this is a myth, and it's inside. What can I say? It's just a You can adjust the settings as you want until you feel that why that you're desiring for. As you can see, it's just mixed well. Here you can add noise. It'll harm in the background. It's so subtle, but makes a huge difference to the sound. B yeah, it's cool. This is how a Dx 160 works. Of course, there are a lot of settings over here, but this all the monitoring modes, actually. So this is the mono. This is a mid, this is the sides. And this over here is a duo mode, like, which is left and right. As you can see, the only right is just being affected. Now it's only the left only the left signals that have been affected. I'll stereo the modo. Now sides are getting affected. Now the pets. So this compressor is basically a game changer in the mastering scenario by using it separately, but not that, you know, over compression thing. Also, it doesn't add any distortion, I guess. It's just only adds a little bit of noise, the hum of the emolation of DBX 160. And, yeah, this is how this compressor works. 7. Digital Compressors: Modern Flexibility in Your DAW: Last but not least, let's discuss about digital compressor. So digital compressor utilizes a digital signal processing, otherwise known as DSP for compression, allowing for precise control and often featuring various presech and algorithms. It offers flexibility and can emulate various analog compressors characteristics. Such example is waves C one compressor. So here I have the CON compressor by waves. O here we have a lot of the features. Among them, the reference PDR is a unique feature in the CON compressor. Here's the graph of the visualization of how the signal is behaving. And here's the output meter and the input meter as well. We can find threshold setting and we can tweak right over here. As you can see, both these zoo knobs right here and here are adjusting. I think se is actually similar to the previous compressors we have actually discussed before. But only the thing is that the processing is entirely digital, it is not an emulation of any other compressor and has unique features that most the compressors don't have. So here we are having a drum loop. Let's first listen to it. Let's see the reference setting over here. This is nothing but the EQ mode, the SVN compressor is offering you. You can change the setting from lower reference to the peak reference. With this setting set to low reference, you can only target to the low frequencies of certain signal, and you can have the compression over that. With peak reference, what happens is that the entire level of the audio signal is getting triggered when we use the compression. That's the difference between the two reference points over here. Let's see that in context of the mix. So right now we are actually hearing some high frequencies in the background. The go east to actually level up those high frequencies using the CO compressor. Let's do it. We'll actually set the threshold down to four. So right now we are actually not focusing on the low end rather than designa so I'm setting the reference to peak. So with this ratio, you can actually, you know, go down and up as well. So I'll make the ratio a little bit higher. And we are hearing much balanced mix with those high frequencies in the background as well. Now let's see how the PDR works. The PDR, also known as program dependent release, is a feature in the CON compressor that makes the release time smarter and more adaptive based on the type of audio it processes. Let's break it down. What it actually does is you can go from zero milliseconds to 1,000 milliseconds, which is a second. Shorter sharp sounds, the compressor uses a shorter release time, so the audio bounce back quickly. This keeps your transient script and avoids overcompression of short purs. Similarly, for long sustained sounds, the release time is automatically lengthen to allow the sound to decay more naturally. This is perfect for things like vocals or instruments with lots of sustain. So now we are actually dealing with the transient sounds over here with a drum loop, right? Let's focus on the short sharp sounds. In order to get a perfect balance of both the compression and the PDR, we have to actually find a good sweet spot between the compression first. Let's take the ratio to three and threshold to 33. Makeup k of 60 we are actually losing a lot of volume. So right now, we're actually focusing on those little transients in the background, the high frequencies, right? It's very subtle so that we are not actually hearing it, but we're actually feeling it. Right now, I set the PR to 66 holy seconds. I know it's kind of hard to hear it, but you can actually find this sweet balance of those high frequencies in the mix. We're actually losing quite a bit of volume, so we'll definitely add some makeup as well. Salcho before and after, so that you can actually differentiate between sounds. This is before. And this is after. A lot of professional mixers and mastering gins use SON compressor in their mixes and achieve a great balance in the mix. Here we are actually having the reference of the low reference and the peak reference. And also, there is a program dependent release, which is a very smart feature in the SWN compressor. So yeah, this is how the SON compressor works. 8. Conclusion: Congratulations on completing the class. So to conclude things up, an audio compressor is a key tool in the realm of sound engineering used to manipulate the dynamic range of an audio signal. Mastering its utilization can significantly enhance your production skills. Our goal is to boost your confidence in using compressors and help you master their capabilities. So keep on learning. Embrace these temporary discomforts that are causing you in the music production. Trust your ears and know what type of compressor you should use exactly in which scenarios in music production. This is hurried from music Magic Entertainment Signing off. I'll meet you in the next class piece.