Compression: A Brief Overview for Non-Audio People

Compression is an important part of the mixing process. However, it’s not something everyone knows, or needs to know. If you’re not into the tech side of music, you may be wondering what compression is and what it’s for. Here’s a quick rundown for you!

What is compression?

It’s essentially a way of balancing out the loud and soft parts of a track. Let’s say I’m singing on a track for you and there are parts where I’m whispering and parts where I’m screaming. You’ll want to be able to both hear the whisper parts and not blow your eardrums out on the screaming parts. Compression will take care of that.

How do you use compression?

Like everything else, there is a lot of debate over what good compression is and how to use it properly. I included the term in my book because I’m often asked if I include compression on my vocal stems. The answer is, of course, yes, but my idea of good compression may vary from yours, so it’s important to keep that in mind. If I send you wet stems (with effects), you can’t make them dry. If you have a specific idea of how you want it to sound, it’s better to just ask me to send them dry (without effects) so you can add however much compression you want (or have your mixer do it). I don’t mind doing it myself but it’s one of those things like asking me to make you an egg. You might like it or not, depending on what I make and how you like it. You won’t be able to put it back in its shell if you don’t like it, so just ask for the raw one!

Here is a video I made about Logic’s stock compressor. I walk you through each button and show you what each thing does, so hopefully it helps if you use Logic!

For more terms and info, check out my book here: https://payhip.com/b/9qjd

If you’d like your tracks mixed or want to have your mad compression skillz evaluated, contact us here: www.brainstampmusic.com

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