General Compression Settings

[ajenkz]

Can anyone (especially those familiar with the Antares Vocal Producer processor) give me some basic guidelines for compression settings? I realize it depends on the song, but i'm having trouble getting settings to even begin working with. The presets on the Antares unit bring up the volume of the signal which is good, but don't do anything to help prevent clipping/digital distortion, and this is beginning to be a big problem for me. While recording, i'm having to hold back quite a bit so im always flat because im worried about overpowering the mic, and for a song i'm doing right now especially which has a lot of high belting notes, I need to be able to get them recorded without the distortion, and without sounding more distant than the other lines in the song.

[dryan]

Are you saying that Vocal Producer is setting the gain too high before the next step in the signal chain? How much of the gain is due to compression versus just volume adjustment? So you just need to limit?What kind of song are you tracking vocals for? High-energy? Intimate? A combination? What about solo passages? What frequency is causing the problems? Plosives? Sibilants?Check this out... http://www.tweakheadz.com/how_to_record_vocals.htmdr

[andreh]

ajenks-If you're clipping the input on your DAW's converter after the AVP's output, then just go into the AVP's output module and reduce the output gain until you're not getting clipping anymore.André

[ajenkz]

Here are my basic issues right now.The gain is fine; I had trouble before, but after using the Vocal Producer during the tracking stage, i've got it to a good volume level. However, the point of a compresser is to compress the sound obviously, and it doesn't seem to be doing that, because I can't sing very loud without overloading the mic, and I can't turn down my volume levels without the music overpowering the vocal volume wise. I'm no good with equipment settings though, so thats really the problem, I just need some basic guidelines so that I can record a song all the way through without there being huge differences in the volume throughout the track. Even when I move back from the mic, i'm still overloading it, and moving too far back brings on the problem of it sounding to distant and inconsistent. The song i'm having the issues with is a ballad, so its fairly intimate, with several power notes thrown in, and thats where the problem always is. It all sounds good, then I go for a power note and everything is off balance.Also, as far as sibilance, if I turn the mic line in volume up too much on my recorder (just a basic Tascam DP01), the S's are all extremely harsh and distorted. I've had this problem before and can work around it and have been fine lately; I just need to get a consistent foundation with my compression so that like I said, I can record without having to manuevar all around for different vocal volume levels.

[ajenkz]

Quote:ajenks-If you're clipping the input on your DAW's converter after the AVP's output, then just go into the AVP's output module and reduce the output gain until you're not getting clipping anymore.AndréNever even thought of that Thanks for pointing that out, that should fix it. Still though, the general compression settings don't seem to be that great on the Vocal Producer, but this will probably solve the issue.

[dryan]

In short, you can call it gain staging. Let us know how the vocals turn out.dr

[mazz]

I would suggest also checking the input level on your preamp. If you have it up too hot, you'll overload the input and then the compressor will have to deal with an overdriven signal.Check the attack time settings. If the attack time is too slow, you could clip before the compressor kicks in. Too fast and you'll hear it clamp down unnaturally.One thing you could do is record an uncompressed vocal and then put the compressor on the track and find good settings and then use those settings as a baseline for your tracking.And enough can't be said for mic technique. If you're going to sing loud, you might need to back off a bit. Once you know the song well, you'll know where those parts are. There's no compressor/preamp/magicwand in the world that can handle a whisper to a scream, you gotta work the mic a bit too.Good luck,Mazz

[arkjack]

The general textbook guideline for compression on vocals is slow attack and fast release. This is generally related to how fast the wave form reaches a peak and how fast you want the processing to begin and end on limiting the volume peak in relation to the overall volume levels of the whole track. I believe the ratio settings are also supposed to be 'gentle', which would be a high setting, which brings the volume down slightly for every peak above the threshold. OTOH, percussive sounds like drum and piano which reach peak volume in the wave rather quickly, intuitively would need more aggressive compression, faster attack, but on the release side it depends on how much of a decay is desirable. Also I think the ratio gets set more aggressive. Thus, if your lyric and vocal technique are more percussive as in rap, you may need more aggressive compression settings. Those are 'general guidelines' that I recall from reading. Of course, it really boils down to experimentation and ear training, which is time consuming, but your ears on your recording for the sound that you want are really the final filter. HTHArkJack