In Summary

With all ears on the song’s vocal, using compression can be used to control levels, but also to shape voices creatively. Here we show you different ways to use two stages of processing to get the sound.

Going Deeper

It’s probably true to say that newer engineers can go a bit crazy over compression. Whether that’s how to get the best out of them, which one to use, or even why to use them in the first place, the hype around compressors just keeps on coming.

With so much music relying a vocal to get the message across, humanity’s oldest instrument can really benefit from some good old fashioned level control in more ways than one. In this article and video we’re going to tackle the Why and How of vocal compression using two processes on the same channel.

Why Compress The Vocal Anyway?

• To Control Level If the song’s message relies on the vocal being heard, controlling its level can be right at the top of every mix engineer’s to-do list. OK, we could simply push the fader to make it loud and proud to sit on everything else, but actually placing the vocal properly towards the front of the mix deserves a little more attention.

• To Create The Sound Once the voice is at a level that agrees with the music, that can be all. Some genres won’t use any further compression such as in classical, and in others such as jazz (yes I’m generalising) the aim can be for the subtlest of signatures from any compression. Lots of other styles expect a more compressed ‘sound’ to literally push the envelope and shape the voice’s character.

Using Two Stages Of Compression

In the video we show you different ways to use two stages of compression to control level before shaping the sound creatively:

• Fader Automation Into A Compressor Riding the fader is the oldest form of ‘manual’ compression; some in classical circles here in the UK consider it simply as another type of compression but the technique can be useful for any style. Doing this to even out levels first can be a great prelude to creative shaping using a compressor.

• Two Compressors This time we replace fader rides in front of a compressor with two devices. The first is used as a ‘punchbag’ compressor to tame the biggest incoming audio hits, before a second gets down to the finer points of shaping the result.

• Using An Adaptive Leveller/Compressor Finally we use one device to do it all. There are small number of dual stage devices out there, and in this case we use Sound Radix’s Powair for some pre-compression levelling into some cohesive compression. This technique can be analogous to manual rides into a traditional compressor.

Are the old ways the best, or are modern tools better? I don’t think it’s as clear cut as that; time-saving audio plugins that do the job well exist for a reason, and more recently tools such as Powair and Sonnox’s excellent Voca have really certainly caught my attention. That’s not to say that I won’t ever give up some old school fader surfing into a ‘classical’ compressor. Why? Because armed with a little time and real faders, it’s fun!

How About You?

Do you use two stages of compression to get vocals or anything else into shape? If so, how do you choose to do it and what are your devices of choice? Let us know in the comments…