JUST ONE MORE THING If you don ’ t know about serial and parallel compression , you should . This article is already long so I might cover those later ; however , I did want to share this one more thing . Most plug-in compressors ( or at least many ) include a “ MIX ” control that lets the sound operator blend 100 % wet compressed signal with 100 % dry not-compressed signal . Why ? Because this is a very useful tool that most inexperienced sound operators don ’ t take advantage of .
• First , turn the MIX control to “ Dry .”
• Next , setup extreme compression with 10 or more dB of gain reduction and a very fast attack time . At this point , you shouldn ’ t hear the compression .
• Now start turning the MIX control toward “ Wet .” At 100 % wet , the track will sound VERY compressed ; but , somewhere between wet and dry you ’ ll hear a very natural sound that stays very consistent in volume .
• Once you find the best setting , you might need to use the Makeup Gain / Output control to regain the original peak level .
C
A B
Use volume automation to even out the vocal track ( A ), then route the output of the vocal track to a bus and send that bus to the input of an audio aux channel ( B ). Now insert the compressor into the aux channel ( C ) instead of the vocal channel . This technique achieves very similar results to the use of clip gain .
This technique works extremely well when a public speaker has a tendency to speak loudly and then very quietly . The very compressed wet side of the MIX control has a dramatically decreased dynamic range so the dry side can sound very full and natural but there ’ s room for the wet side to keep the nuance and quite words very audible . You ’ re actually using the best parts of the dry and wet signals . You hear the loud parts of the dry side ( very natural and not compressed ) and you hear the quiet part of the compressed signal . The quiet parts of the compressed signal are really just turned up because of the gain reduction applied to the loud parts . It ’ s a little like magic and a very handy tool to have in your tool kit .
Bill Gibson Teacher at Berklee College of Music Online , content creator for LinkedIn Learning , and author of more than forty books and videos about live sound and studio recording . Most recent book releases : The Ultimate Live Sound Operator ’ s Handbook , 3rd Edition , and The First 50 Recording Techniques You Should Know to Track Music . He also recently self-published an eBook / Audiobook combo called Stream Great-Sounding Audio : Guide for Streaming Church Services and Other Events .
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Blend the wet and dry mix for a very natural sound with consistent volume . If necessary , use the Output control to regain lost level .