1) Start with the Ratio
– i.e. Think About What Type of Vocals you have to Deal with
- e.g. 2:1 or 3:1 for EDM / Rap / Pop is Often Too Little,
- thus Start with a Ratio of 6:1 for Modern Vocals
2) Now Reduce Threshold so All Words are Clearly Understandable and Make Sure the Vocals Don’t Lose Life Nor the Noise Floor Comes Up Too Much
3) Now Adjust the Attack, Again:
- 0ms to 8ms = Fast Attack, 8ms to 25ms = Medium Attack, 25ms Upwards = Slow Attack
- i.e. Up to 8ms it is that you Rarely Get Anything Through as the Compressor Works on Entire Incoming Signal
- if you Want the Vocal to Cut Through More Choose Something Between 25ms to 40ms
– Fast Attacks Make the Vocals Mushy as Start of Words Get Squashed (which can be a Desired Effect)
4) Now Adjust Release
- as for the Release Don’t Keep it Too Long to Not Keep on Compressing to the Next Words
- Often 100ms (Max 200ms) is a Good Spot so Compressor Releases Before the Next Word
– e.g. for Fast Rap (Small Space Between Words) a Faster Release (50ms) is Better while Slower Rap (Big Space Between Words) 100ms May Work Better
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