r/mixingmastering • u/ExpressCommercial759 • 6d ago
Question Need help with compression on master bus
Does anyone know a way to make it so a compressor only adjusts the output gain when the threshold is met and compression is applied. I think that this would be helpful when mastering because I often find that if I throw a compressor on the master it will be to quite during loud bassy parts so I up the output gain but then find that my song is overly loud when the bass/loud parts arnt happing to engage the compressor. What should I do???
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u/Kljunas1 6d ago
You'd like to add gain only when gain reduction is applied? Maybe I misunderstood but it sounds like what you want is just less compression lol
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u/ExpressCommercial759 6d ago
Well if I’m pushing the output gain in the compressor I’m boosting the compressed Audio whereas no compressor or less compression would be boosting the track while it’s not compressed and I might liek the sound and cohesion of the compressed audio more.
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u/Selig_Audio 5d ago
To be clear, you only boost the volume if the amount of gain reduction allows it, if only to keep the overall/average level the same when bypassing the effect for comparison purposes.
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u/Limit5465 6d ago
In mastering context you don’t want to be compressing a lot. Basically hardly moving the needle. Best practice for you is to go to the loudest part of your song and dial in the compressor as you want…just remember you don’t want heavy compression at this stage unless it’s “the sound” you want. After that goto less dense sections or breaks in the music to see how things are sounding. If it’s still to much on the less dense areas then dial it back. If you like but not on the breaks just automate it then.
I use very little compression in mastering. Basically only for vibe. I use heavier more aggressive parallel compression in mastering if needed.
Hope that helps
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u/djmegatech 6d ago
Interesting! You use parallel comp on the two-bus when mastering? Would love to know more about when you use this, is it something you throw on for choruses or peak energy sections, etc?
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u/Limit5465 6d ago
It’s just a tool to bring things closer and add more density and loudness. I don’t want to destroy the mix with compression so using it in parallel lets me squeeze the mix and add that in. Transients don’t get squashed but you get the vibe of heavier compression
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u/QuoolQuiche 6d ago
If you don’t know how to use compression, don’t use it. Particularly on the master.
What exactly are you aiming to achieve?
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u/Commercial_Badger_37 1d ago
Weird advice.
If you don't know how to use a compressor, learn how to use it? We all didn't know things at one point.
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u/QuoolQuiche 23h ago
It’s not really no. My advice is do you have a clear understanding of why you want to put a compressor on your master bus? What is the desired effect you’re looking to achieve? Glue? Pump? Transient control?
For transparency it took me years to work out what I wanted from compression, particularly on the master, so I just didn’t use it.
What specific result are you looking for? Then people can give specific advice. From what I’ve read it sounds like overcompression so just don’t compress as hard.
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u/Attack-Chihuahua-85 6d ago
Does your compressor have a “makeup gain” setting? I think that’s what you’re after.
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u/ExpressCommercial759 6d ago
If that means auto gain it does but I find that I like the controll without it
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u/seasonsinthesky 6d ago
I think you need to automate it. Or forego the compressor at all and head straight into the limiter.
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u/Lower-Custard-563 6d ago
Probably not the answer you want, but it sounds like an issue with the mix, happening prior to your stereo buss.
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u/fuckityfucky 6d ago edited 6d ago
sounds like youre compressing a LOT, which is fine if thats really what youre after. what I normally want on 2bus compression is the needle moving only when the loudest transients come in, not flattening the entire mix. thats taste though. the bass is loud in your mix so its flattening only on that part and opening up on the rest - the fix is adjusting the bass itself.
however, a tool youre gonna want to look for here many times is labelled SC, or side chain, or HPF (not the EQ kind). so the compressor is not reacting to any information below your HPF cutoff. For example, you set it to 180hz and the compressor only reacts above 180hz. you may also want to look at a multiband compressor.
all that being said, what youre describing also sounds like your bass is too loud or not compressed enough in the mix itself. you may want to address that prior to 2bus compression. impossible to diagnose without hearing tho.
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u/alexaugustusmusic 6d ago
It sounds like your bass is what's triggering the compressor, so the bassy sections get squashed the hardest. Try turning on the sidechain high-pass filter (a lot of compressors have one built in). That way the low end doesn't drive the compression, the loud bassy parts don't get clamped as much, and you won't need as much makeup gain. If the bass itself is the issue, a multiband compressor or dynamic EQ on just the low end can tame it only when it gets too loud and leave the rest of the mix alone.
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u/DogFashion 3d ago
This screams automation. The compressor won't compress unless it needs to, based on your settings. If that is the route you wish to take though, set a second compressor for the part in question. Automate it on the relevant track to activate at the necessary part of your song and then to bypass where it isn't needed.
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u/rightanglerecording 2d ago
Assuming the compression is dialed in well, you might automate the track volume or automate the compressor's output gain, section-by-section, as needed.
Often, even a few tenths of a dB of fader volume is enough.
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u/GWENMIX 1d ago
Use one compressor for the low end—specifically the low-frequency band of a multiband compressor, with the other bands disabled—and a second compressor for the rest of the spectrum, using an internal sidechain to exclude the low frequencies. Typically, you would choose to exclude everything below approximately 150 Hz to prevent the compressor from working too hard.
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u/Bluegill15 6d ago
Use different settings for the part of the song which is giving you trouble… no one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to choose one setting that works for the entire song
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6d ago
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u/ExpressCommercial759 6d ago
Thanks for the reply that is exactly what’s happening. Usually running 808s and it’s causing the compressor to clamp down because there turned up but my probly is trying to get the to come through while also gluing with a comp on the master buss. I’ve found that when I run no comp on the bus it sounds better but I also know that master buss glue is very frequently recommended and used so I feel like I’m missing somthign
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u/tknomanzr99 6d ago
Probably best to clip the 808's at the track level then. That way you're not over compressing them. I also generally only use gentle glue compression on the master. In fact, I generally compress in stages, generally no more than 4:1 compression. I was just comparing two tracks earlier, that are essentially the same track when you consider the kick, toms, sub bass, and mid bass in each track. One sounds flat and thin and I remember really struggling to hit my desired loudness levels with it. The latter one has a lot fuller sound and I had plenty of headroom. That one, I clipped the kick, toms, and both bass lines. It depends on the artifacting that I'm willing to accept how I go about the clipping. I generally clip through a saturator but sometimes I'll clip on the limiter or through the drive on an auto filter. It really just depends how it sounds in relation to the mix. Some strategic clipping will give you plenty of headroom and keep you from making the mistake of compressing the life and dynamics out of your track.
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6d ago
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u/ExpressCommercial759 6d ago
What would you put for the settings on the compressor for the two buss if you didn’t have anything going through it till you started making the song.
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u/Apprehensive-Cry-376 6d ago edited 6d ago
What you want is a compressor with a sidechain filter. You set it so that the detector ignores bass and only compresses everything else. That way, you decide the bass levels and the compressor won't mess with them. Your bass elements then become your point of reference for mid and high frequencies.
Auto-gain will also cease to be a problem. Although personally I avoid the issue altogether by not using automatic gain compensation on the master. After all, I am the boss here - I tell the compressor what to do, not the other way around.
If some of your bass notes need taming, use a multiband compressor so you can have different amounts of compression for bass vs. highs. Better still, determine what instruments are getting ahead of themselves (kick and bass are the usual suspects) and correct those at the track level. A limiter on the kick, for example, or volume automation if there are only a handful of errant hits.
It's also possible you're just over-compressing. Except for certain ultra-loud genres, compression on the master bus is usually pretty gentle.