Compression works wonders on vocals. It allows you to bring them to the front of
the mix while not having to worry about their ‘power note’ making everyone in the room
cover their ears. No longer do you have to ride the fader up
and down so that the peaks and valleys of the vocal fit in the mix. The compressor will do this for you, automatically. So, let’s talk about how to set a compressor
for vocals. This video is brought to you by Behringer
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description to learn more. Vocals have a wide dynamic range – they
can sing really soft or really belt it out. A compressor takes this wide range of volume
and makes it as narrow as you want it to be. But, keep in mind, dynamic range on a vocal
is a good thing, so you don’t want to cut it too much, you simply want to make it manageable. When compression is set correctly, you reap
all the benefits without any of the drawbacks. So, let’s go through the settings on a compressor
one at a time and how to properly apply them to vocals. First up, threshold. The threshold sets the height of the loudness
ceiling. In other words, it decides how loud the signal
has to be to activate the compressor. So, if the threshold is set to -10dB, it will
compress anything louder than -10dB. If the signal is quieter than -10dB, it will
remain untouched. For example, let’s say that the threshold
is set to -10dB. If the signal from the vocal hits -6dB, the
compressor will ‘activate’ and push the signal down according to the ratio. This is much like using the fader on the soundboard
to bring the volume down on a singer’s big note but then bringing it back up when they
begin to sing at a normal volume again. I can’t give you an exact number for setting
the threshold because every situation is different. However, I recommend setting the threshold
so that the gain reduction meter rarely reads more than 6dB. The gain reduction meter shows you how much
the compressor is compressing the signal. On vocals, I have found that they begin to
sound lifeless and over-compressed when compressing more than 6dB. Now, let’s talk about ratio. The ratio setting on a compressor decides
how aggressive the compressor will respond. A higher setting, like 12:1, will compress
much more aggressively than a lower setting, like 3:1. When talking about a ratio of 3:1, you may
be wondering what the figure actually means. Basically, for every 3dB the signal exceeds
the threshold, the compressor will allow a tolerance of 1dB to pass through. For example, let’s say that the threshold
is set to -6dB and the ratio is 3:1. If the signal from the vocal hits -3dB, the
compressor will allow up to -5dB to pass through because of the 1dB tolerance. If the signal from the vocal hits +3dB, it
is now 9dB over our threshold of -6dB. Since our 3:1 ratio allows a 1dB tolerance
for every 3dB over the threshold, there is now a 3dB tolerance. So, up to -3dB will be allowed to pass through
the compressor. I could have just started by giving you a
ratio setting that works well for vocals, but it is important that you understand what
is actually going on. So, if that just went over your head, rewind
and watch that section again until it ‘clicks’. I have found that a good ratio for vocals
is 3:1. If you go lower than that, you may not get
the compression needed. If you go higher, the vocal will most likely
end up sounding smashed. Next up is attack & release. The attack setting decides how much time it
takes for the compressor to compress at full force. So, a lower number, like 5 milliseconds, will
cause the compressor to fully activate much more quickly than a higher number, like 100
milliseconds. For vocals, you generally want this number
to be low (between 5ms and 20ms). If the number is too high, the beginning syllables
may come out too strong and sound a bit odd. The release setting on a compressor decides
how much time it takes for the compressor to stop compressing. In other words, it is the amount of time the
compressor stays active after being triggered. For a vocal, if the setting is too low, it
will bounce back erratically and sound unnatural. If the setting is too high, the vocal will
sound lifeless and over-compressed. You will most likely not want to set this
longer than a half a second. If the option is available, I have found that
setting attack and release to auto works well for vocals. I recommend going this route with attack and
release times to simplify the compression setting process. Keep in mind, you will only want to use the
auto setting on vocals. If compressing a snare or some other instrument,
you will want to set these manually to get the desired effect. Lastly, let’s talk about output or gain. The output setting on a compressor does what
you’d think: adjusts the volume of the output. So, if the gain reduction meter shows that
you are compressing the signal by 6dB on average, you will want to set the output to +6dB to
make up the difference. This brings the signal back to where you started
but with a smaller dynamic range. In other words, now the quieter moments are
louder and the louder moments are quieter. Alright, the next step is for you to get out
and practice. I’ve put together a PDF download with sample
compression settings to help you get started. Click the link in the description to get it. If you are using a digital sound board, compression
is most likely built in for each channel. So, use what you have learned in this article
to dial it in just right. If you are using an analog sound board, you
will need to buy a compressor for each channel you want to compress. A decent option is the Behringer MDX2600. I’ll include a link in the description. If you have questions, drop them in the comments. I’d be glad to answer. If you’d like to see more videos like this,
give me a thumbs up to let me know. And if you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe
to our channel and ring the little bell so we can let you know when a new video comes
out. See ya next time.
