You are the best, Warren!!! I have an Audioscape G stereo Buss Compressor that lives on my mixbus along with my Wes Audio Prometheus. I pretty much leave mine at 2:1, 10ms attack, auto release with a fixed side chain engaged. Grabbing around 2-3db on the meter. Most mixes, that does the trick - I never really touch it!!!
I use a Tegeler Audio Manufaktur Creme, compression into EQ. Medium to slow attack, medium to faster release, Ratio set to 1,5 or 2, often with high pass in the side chain and EQ set to a smiley curve into a Tegeler Varti Tube Compressor also medium to slow attack, medium to fast release. Threshold / Input on each compressor is adjusted to do not more than 1 to 1.5 dB of reduction.
I usually use Harrison's built-in compressor with 2:1 or similar ratio and high threshold before any stereo imaging and maximizer/limiter. I don't like a lot of compression on anything, it makes everything sound boring and lifeless if overdone. If that doesn't work, I use OvertoneDSP bus compressor or just give up on it, using Harrison's multiband compressor with more aggressive threshold and ratio settings, but with very soft knee (think 12 dB and more). Nothing really special. Bus compression is a thing where subtlety is the key, really. I hate modern overly compressed mixes that just pump like hell and make me think there's something wrong with my audio setup. Compressors are for polishing dynamics, not for killing it.
One thing is clear, Warren has incredible ears for details. I don't even know what I am listening for until he says what's happening then it's crystal clear. Amazing
Thats what i didnt get why use compression and how until i started using my ears :D After i realized that music all you have to use is ears and not eyes my production went up to another level :D Try to use eq without watching frequencies just using your ear :P
Big ups to Warren for this! Just wanna chime in with a crucial extra tip for an SSL (which took me untold months to figure out myself!) - the SSL has a VERY soft knee... this is important to understand because people often don’t mention what input gain-staging they're doing pre-compression. Many in-the-box electronic music producers like myself will focus metering plugins on the peaks of drums and percussion - using limiters/saturation/clippers to avoid >0db overs. However, analog gear is intended to be fed a “unity gain” signal into it - which in short means a headroom of 18db on a VU meter (not a peak meter!). Therefore, with a 0db threshold, I often find that I have to decrease the input volume by as much as -24db before using one of these, in order to achieve a “gentle” compression effect. This also explains why the threshold of an SSL goes through positive numbers up to +15db on the threshold. For some reason, online guides and tutorial videos almost never mention this fact, and without knowing this I was totally confused about how to use an SSL buss compressor without smashing a percussion track to pieces with way too much volume going into it. Seeing the compression needle jumping wildly when the threshold is at 0db can be super confusing if you don’t know about the soft knee effect. Unlike most other compressors out there, an SSL will start compressing the signal way before the volume gets anywhere near 0db, so I hope I can save some others the same confusion by commenting : ) So there you go, old school producers may think this is obvious, but for me this was the golden nugget of knowledge I needed to get that classic vibe going in the studio.
Yeah, that's true. A long time ago, when i bought VSC2 from brainworks, the first thing i do is "Read The Manual". It is mentioned that VCA compressors have a very soft knee and softness depends of imput signal that driving compressor. That manual actually applies to VSC2 but, i found that its also apply to other "Well modeled" solid state plugins...
Two years later and this is (probably) still the best video on bus compression I've ever seen. The detailed explanation and step by step exploration of the plugins and the effect of the parameters is amazing. Thank you, Warren!
Thank you Warren! The first thing I do whenever I need to learn about something related to mixing, is just look up a produce like a pro video about it. Invaluable content.
I sometimes watch other producers tell me things on TH-cam. they change a thing and I'm like, meh. nothing happened. Warren does it, explains exactly what he's doing and why, and before you know it (after hundreds of videos) I'm like, should change [this] to [this] before he does it and THEN HE DOES IT and I am like woah. I DID learn stuff! EDIT: I should add that in the beginning when Warren explains what 4:1 actually means is literally the first time I've ever heard it explained so efficiently. There's nobody I've seen on YT who can explain things so incredibly detailed in such a way that makes it easy to understand instantly. Great work, as usual.
Agreed. I initially got into this stuff ten years ago but only dabbled because I couldn’t wrap my head around things like compression ratios, attack, etc. Today was the day that changed. I now get the basics lol. Warren is my favorite teacher on TH-cam!
I happened to watch a video yesterday about glue compression with T-rackS and the guy that made it didn't seem to understand what threshold or ratio meant. He even showed a handdrawn graph (which he admitted he didn't understand) that had the threshold on the wrong axis! He then proceeded to demonstrate compression by setting the threshold so high that the needle didn't even move and yet claimed "It sounds so different" when he pressed the bypass button. I thought he was trolling, but apparently he believed his own hype. Warren's explanation and demonstration makes a LOT more sense.
@@AutPen38 haha yes i see so many doing almost exaxctly this so often. 'You might not hear it without a treated room or thousand dollar headphones, but trust me, it changed'. Yeah ok.
@@Producelikeapro I think a ratio is just a fraction. E.g. 4:1 is just a quarter of whatever signal value above the threshold. If the signal is 4db above the threshold, you get 1db going through. With a ratio of 10:1 you'll get 0.4db going through based on the above example.
I use Reason and was really pleased that they made the Master Bus Compressor available as a rack extension. It’s part of my default chain for when I track bass
Great video. What I really like about this video is learning a lot about the differences between certain SSL-style compressor models and getting some ideas about what sources and purposes they can be useful for. Thank you, Warren.
The best treatise on master bus I have ever heard! Man -o-Man Thank you for those of us that have been walking through the master bus castle swinging our sword at everything wondering, "why can't I sly this dragon?" answer..." you had a bazooka but you had it on Pea shooter setting!" Finally the dragon will die! Thank you Warren!
Hey Warren, Weirdly I did a road test of a bunch of SSL G Buss Comps recently based entirely on my own ears, no science. My results: I initially set my hardware SSL G to: Attack: 30 Release: Auto Ratio: 4 Approx 4db GR As they do not all come with sidechains, I did not test the sidechain function on the plugins. UAD Very balanced but less open. Duller. Not as much bottom end, but this is very close to my hardware version. This one gets the most use from me especially since they added the sidechain function. BX Townhouse Bright. Mids are forward. Open. Gritty. A lot of colour. Native Instruments Solid Bus Comp Very pumpy. Way more squashed than the rest. Too much to use a mixbuss comp. Maybe a good alternative to the API2500 or dbx160 GEM Overloud Bright. But not as bright as BX. Mids nicely balanced. More transparent than the others. SSL Native Very bright. Bottom end disappears like the UAD and hardware I own. Mids not as forward. Easily the brightest. IKMultimedia Almost identical to the UAD. Duller. More laid back. Not as bright. Mids not as forward. Bit more middle and brightness than UAD. Perhaps a but hyped. Waves G Comp Least bottom end I think. Very similar to UAD. Any more than about -2db GR and it's a bit too much. An additional mention to Analog Obsessions free Buster. This is a fantastic and FREE SSL emulation. It's very similar to the UAD, perhaps a little more hyped. Anything more than about -2db and it really adds colour. I would use it happily for a drum buss but probably not my mix buss. They have just released an updated version with additional sidechain features. It's really very very good. As I said, there is no science here, just my subjective old ears. Thanks for your video dude. As always it was informative.
Sometimes, if I don't have a side-chain and need one, I'll use a low shelf EQ to bring down the lows before the comp, then boost it back after the fact. Seems to work pretty well.
Have it, use it on everything. There does seem to be two paths that determine how i use it. 1. When inserted before i start mixing it seems to be more musical when turning the knobs and doing level adjustments. Now understand were just tapping it so the settings are wide open in auto with the threshold set to taste 4:1. 2. Inserting late in the mix just to add the SSL glue. Thanks Warren for another great video.
Thank you so much for doing this. I love that you're using several different boxes and showing us the difference; including analog variants. If you shoot-out any other gear... this is the way to go... just emulate this format. I also like that you took the time to show what "too much" or sounded like. I like the TRax the most. To me it sounded brighter and that felt right for the retro track.
I just picked up IK's Bus Compressor as part of IK's 25th anniversary sale. This video prompted me to compare it on a drum bus to the UAD SSL G Bus Compressor. After a lot of blind A/B listening, I finally started to hear a slight difference between the two. One of them was slightly more "musical". It was the IK version. I'm getting a UC1 next week, so I'm looking forward to another comparison to the SSL native version. Cheers~
Warren, just a suggestion: when you speak into your mic, it compresses the music. It would be easier to A/B the effected/bypassed sounds if you instead displayed text (i.e. BYPASSED, ENGAGED or similar) instead of saying it out loud. Instant contrast would illustrate your point better.
Every time I mix a track I go back to your video 😂 Here are my settings SA4000 mk2 (UK mod.) Drum&Bass - 175 BPM Master Buss Threshold +15 Ratio 1,5 Attack 30 ms Release .1 HPF OFF Make up 9 o’clock Mix Blend 100% Compression on (of course) Ext side chain off Transformer on
I have a limiter to keep myself safe from volume mistakes! And a Klanghelm SDDR2 for a little squeeze and color. That's all! It's too easy to make mistakes or use too many, I've learned. Warren, thanks for this amazing demonstration! It's been very informative. I have a couple of those plug ins, I will have to try them now. : )
I got back to this video Warren and You were right (answering my "what console to buy" question) that "that sound" is just SSL and that vintage bus comp gives You that Hit on snare - that 5% over the "normal" mix and if You play it louder then You can hear that punch! THANKS ONCE AGAIN!
I feel like master bus compression used to be more important when we had a limited number of analog compressors and one of them happened to be inside the SSL desk. These compressors are doing really nothing more than giving a smidge of smoothing out the bumps and filling in the gaps. But I'm not sure it's even necessary, especially when you consider multiband compressors in mastering, as well the infinite number of compressors you can have on your various groups now while mixing which provide more individual control. (Perhaps I need to watch this whole video huh?) Thanks for the always great and helpful content, Warren.
I want Waves to come out with a control surface that has their SSL channel strip, G-eq and Bus compressor physically on it. Next to each would be an LCD screen showing the name of the channel you are on and a couple buttons for you to switch between different instances of the plugin. Then either it would need motorized knobs or infinite knobs where the value is indicated by a light behind the numbers. So you just put the compressor and EQ on the mix bus, put a channel strip on every channel and then hammer away on the control surface. To make it more robust, 8 faders could sit at the bottom of this control surface so that you can also balance your channels in sets of 8 at a time. That way you get that analog experience and SSL sound all at once. Although if nothing else, I would love for waves to just introduce a "gain match" button to these plugins that automatically sets the gain so that the in/out levels match. I know it may not always be perfect but you can always press the button and then nudge it manually. It would save a lot of time. I always find myself messing up my balance with the ssl plugin and then I need to solo the channel and flip it on and off to match the gain.
Warren, Thanks for breaking down the various usage cases for working with bus compressor along with demos of each, this was very educational and now leaning towards one of them!
I love the placebo effect at 10:55 - Surprised you didn't edit that out. That happens every now again with everybody I have ever mixed with or interned with and a few have Grammy's... If I had a nickel for every time I made an adjustment on a plugin window that was left open while soloing a different channel... I'd have... well... quite a a few nickels. I would still edit that out or caption that section with an oopsie doopsie. Anyway I like you channel. You mentioned the great Mark DeMartini in a video some years back, I realized we might have ran in some of the same circles. I new Mark from his east coast days at Sigma Sound in Philadelphia. An absolute obscene wealth of technical knowledge. If Mark was around he would fix that in/out buss compressor lamp for you. And while he was in there he would correct the components that SSL got wrong in the manufacturing... as he complained about how stupid the circuit design is and what a P.I.T.A. it is to work on.
Hi Walt! It wasn't a placebo as it is adjusting the release, the mistake is I say 'attack' when I mean 'relate' although I correct myself a few seconds later. Many thanks, Warren
One thing I appreciate about a few of the plugin emulations of the SSL buss compressor I have is they have an optional and variable low pass filter on the sidechain.
Super glad to have this explanation. There are a few things I've been doing so wrong. SOOOOOO wrong. Now I get it. I will say that I will have to watch a few more times to catch on to the idea of sending a high passed trigger.
Intent - exactly this. If you reach for a plugin and you don't know what you are trying to achieve, then you're going to find it very difficult to progress your skills. Always be critical and ask what it is you're trying to do. Do you want to bass to pump a bit to give some energy? - then make sure you set the compressor accordingly, and have the kick EQ dialled in to keep it tight so it grooves in the right way.
Thanks for this, Warren! I recently got the bx_townhouse on sale from Plugin Alliance, and now I'll be using it with much more confidence. All the best!
Great video! The SSL is a glue bus comp for Randy Staub. After watchin' this video now I know, that in His heaviest songs I thing He did 10:1 and treshold "almost to zero" :D But great review as always! ps. Waren, hope You had a great day too!
I've been using the Waves abbey road mastering chain for quite a while and never looked deeply into it's built in compressor. It actually has a sidechain, THERE'S MY LOW END! Thanks Warren, informational as always.
Fantastic video warren; to my knowledge, a SC filter basically filters the low end from the sidechain signal, but the full spectrum passes through the comp circuit intact
Well done Warren! Thank you for showing us the bus compressor in action on your console! I've watched many videos on this topic over the past 10 years and this is one of, if not the first to show the actual console itself in action. Good to hear what a genuine 1986 SSL G master bus compressor sounds like. A very rare treat indeed! Thanks again! ✌🏼❤️
Warren, I absolutely love your videos and you’ve been a wealth of information for me the past years. Just wanted to say thank you and I appreciate you.
Was having so much trouble mixing the automation and compression on the low end side of a stereo djembe track recently, man those things boom out the bottom, and I recorded it on a standard condenser and not a bass mic so that did not help. The level set by the low end of the djembe really does set the bar for the compression on the drum bus and master bus more than I would have imagined. Awesome this video covers this exact problem, thanks for the tips!
Also would you recommend or advise against recording two mono tracks on a djembe. one on top and one on the bottom? Say if you're only working with dynamic and condenser mics and no low end mic? Also I believe my djembe is a slightly larger one than the one in your mix so it's getting even more bottom boom on my track than on this track.
Recently I have been using the Vertigo VSC2 on my mix buss with a 90 Hz sidechain and get 3 db of compression to glue a song together but let the low end breath. When Mastering I then run the track through the townhouse with no sidechain doing about a db or so of compression for some of the classic SSL flavour, and to just gently tuck everything nicely together. Also running Softubes Tape plugin on the mix buss does some light tape style compression that does wonders for a track in my experience.
First Warren, you're an awesome & amazing mixing engineer! And thanks for this video! I'm currently trying to do a more accurate study on mix bus compression and how it works within a mix.
Thank you for this video! That original SSL Master Comp on the desk just sounds amazing! Looking into getting some outboard modules and the SSL Master Bus Compressor will definitely be in my shopping cart!!!!
Great video that takes time to let the viewer listen to the subtle differences on several tracks with different Compressors. I put my cans on and listened several times. I use the Townhouse. I tend to go for dirty sounding stuff. It just adds enough grime for what I need. Can't tell you what it actually does. Or what my settings are. It changes as I go. I might give the Vertigo a test as well as I have that. All the Compressors had things I liked about them though. Thanks!
Thanks, Warren. Another great video. And thanks for showing us the side-chain on the Townhouse. I guess I knew it was there, but I never actually used it! This is my favorite buss. Thanks!
I use the townhouse on the drum bus and the SSL Native on the master bus. I Iove the grit of the TRacks but I find this combination works the best to my ears 💯
Great demo of them - one that surprises me is the Native Instruments Solid Bus Comp. Hands down my favourite. I never use my UAD, Plugin Alliance or Waves one anymore. Really open and mixes breathe! Definitely not one to sleep on
What a nice video again. My mix bus processing chain has a waves SSL bus comp, but this sidechain thing is something I really going to try out. I´ve noticed some pumping around that low end but never really knew how to address it propperly, I mean, I got around it somehow, but probably its time to dive into this and learn it.
Hi. There is a surprisingly big difference between the sound of a hardware SSL track and the Waves plugin. It was as if the paver had driven across the music and nothing was left alive. The music turned into a thin sheet of paper ... The voices seemed to recede into the background and become flat. Listen without Warren's words separating two fragments!
That was the most informative thing I've seen on the subject.. I'm at this stage of learning the process, and apart from getting ideas on the actual way to dial it up, the philosophy of applying different types of compressors to whatever the track requires got my head out of thinking that just one will do the trick.. good stuff.. cheers.
still dont like original ssl compressor but love townhouse ! definetly for all round use of them all ! thank you warren for your kidness for doing this video and almost free educations and advices !
that Townhouse is great, but when i got to compare it directly the Overloud Comp G i was amazed how the Overloud compressed the bottom end but retained the bass. The snap is great on that one.
I'm happy you're explaining this and also telling us what to hear. Sometimes it's so subtle, but indeed you can hear it when you know what to listen to! Great ear-training I think :)
I bought the Waves SSL bundle earlier this year, and it took me a bit to figure out how to use the Bus Compressor, but once I got, I suddenly understood the term "glue" as it applies to mixes. It brought my mixes into a kind of coherent space. All the instruments sounded like they were blending properly all of a sudden.
When you can finally hear compression and what it does its a game changer. Take the time to mess about with a compressor and train your ears, then you can use any comp effectively.
Warren, With the waves rack you could use it in a multi band way to create that side chain with the Waves SSL Bus Comp. The Rack gives you a lot of options to play with on the mastering bus, including parallel comprising options. I love this free plugin option that waves has given us. Kind of wish it was usable with other plugins, it's a great little tool to play with color.
I've never had a chance to mix with a G Buss comp(hardware or plug), though I've heard many people mix with it. I've had the Townhouse for almost 2yrs now. I love it on mix buss, and drum buss. To me it doesn't quite have the same top end snap as most any G Buss plug.....but it has a certain low-mid bump that does something really cool to most mixes. It always adds some punch to a snare. The side chain is key! ;:-) ..........not having one on a comp now seems like a big handicap.
No no no good sir thank you And I really mean it you always inspire me when music gets a bit too complicated you just seem to be having a blast doing it and I appreciate you sharing your experience
Yes, I love having different compressors because they all sound a little different which I find true about EQ's as well, like between pultec, SSL eq, fabfilter, t racks, waves, etc etc
How do you use Master Bus Compressors in your mixes?
“Aggressively”
(Edit: see “excessively”)
You are the best, Warren!!! I have an Audioscape G stereo Buss Compressor that lives on my mixbus along with my Wes Audio Prometheus. I pretty much leave mine at 2:1, 10ms attack, auto release with a fixed side chain engaged. Grabbing around 2-3db on the meter. Most mixes, that does the trick - I never really touch it!!!
I like to throw the SSL Bus Compressor (the plugin made by SSL) on mixbus before I start mixing. It makes normal faders feel musical.
I use a Tegeler Audio Manufaktur Creme, compression into EQ. Medium to slow attack, medium to faster release, Ratio set to 1,5 or 2, often with high pass in the side chain and EQ set to a smiley curve into a Tegeler Varti Tube Compressor also medium to slow attack, medium to fast release. Threshold / Input on each compressor is adjusted to do not more than 1 to 1.5 dB of reduction.
I usually use Harrison's built-in compressor with 2:1 or similar ratio and high threshold before any stereo imaging and maximizer/limiter. I don't like a lot of compression on anything, it makes everything sound boring and lifeless if overdone. If that doesn't work, I use OvertoneDSP bus compressor or just give up on it, using Harrison's multiband compressor with more aggressive threshold and ratio settings, but with very soft knee (think 12 dB and more). Nothing really special. Bus compression is a thing where subtlety is the key, really. I hate modern overly compressed mixes that just pump like hell and make me think there's something wrong with my audio setup. Compressors are for polishing dynamics, not for killing it.
One thing is clear, Warren has incredible ears for details. I don't even know what I am listening for until he says what's happening then it's crystal clear. Amazing
Thanks ever so much B D!
@Gerhard Schöner Thanks ever so much
Thats what i didnt get why use compression and how until i started using my ears :D After i realized that music all you have to use is ears and not eyes my production went up to another level :D Try to use eq without watching frequencies just using your ear :P
yup... it's easier to hear compression on headphones too
Now you just made me more confused.Thanks
“Everybody knows... it’s grooving, it’s moving...” I really need to hear the rest of this song!
Nice work! 😀
Big ups to Warren for this! Just wanna chime in with a crucial extra tip for an SSL (which took me untold months to figure out myself!) - the SSL has a VERY soft knee... this is important to understand because people often don’t mention what input gain-staging they're doing pre-compression.
Many in-the-box electronic music producers like myself will focus metering plugins on the peaks of drums and percussion - using limiters/saturation/clippers to avoid >0db overs. However, analog gear is intended to be fed a “unity gain” signal into it - which in short means a headroom of 18db on a VU meter (not a peak meter!). Therefore, with a 0db threshold, I often find that I have to decrease the input volume by as much as -24db before using one of these, in order to achieve a “gentle” compression effect.
This also explains why the threshold of an SSL goes through positive numbers up to +15db on the threshold. For some reason, online guides and tutorial videos almost never mention this fact, and without knowing this I was totally confused about how to use an SSL buss compressor without smashing a percussion track to pieces with way too much volume going into it. Seeing the compression needle jumping wildly when the threshold is at 0db can be super confusing if you don’t know about the soft knee effect. Unlike most other compressors out there, an SSL will start compressing the signal way before the volume gets anywhere near 0db, so I hope I can save some others the same confusion by commenting : )
So there you go, old school producers may think this is obvious, but for me this was the golden nugget of knowledge I needed to get that classic vibe going in the studio.
Thanks ever so much for sharing that great gem! I really appreciate it!
dude that just made so much sense. Thank you. I have wondered that for a while!
Thanks for the info. I'm pretty much in the same boat.
Thanks for this!!
Yeah, that's true.
A long time ago, when i bought VSC2 from brainworks, the first thing i do is "Read The Manual".
It is mentioned that VCA compressors have a very soft knee and softness depends of imput signal that driving compressor.
That manual actually applies to VSC2 but, i found that its also apply to other "Well modeled" solid state plugins...
I love Warren's face when he says "Townhouse sounds pretty special." Like a sommelier tasting great wine. 🙂
Two years later and this is (probably) still the best video on bus compression I've ever seen. The detailed explanation and step by step exploration of the plugins and the effect of the parameters is amazing. Thank you, Warren!
warren always gives a good vibes. I dont feel bored or sleepy while learning a lot from him! god bless always :)
Thanks ever so much! I really appreciate it
After buying the Townhouse comp about a year ago, it never has left my mixbus. Love that plugin!!
Thanks ever so much for sharing
BX Townhouse is my favourite as well. Next is TRacks then SSL Native. But the Townhouse has the mojo.
You have literally demystified option anxiety by saying that we must know our equipment when having many options. Thank you
Fantastic! You’re very welcome
Thank you Warren! The first thing I do whenever I need to learn about something related to mixing, is just look up a produce like a pro video about it. Invaluable content.
I sometimes watch other producers tell me things on TH-cam. they change a thing and I'm like, meh. nothing happened. Warren does it, explains exactly what he's doing and why, and before you know it (after hundreds of videos) I'm like, should change [this] to [this] before he does it and THEN HE DOES IT and I am like woah. I DID learn stuff! EDIT: I should add that in the beginning when Warren explains what 4:1 actually means is literally the first time I've ever heard it explained so efficiently. There's nobody I've seen on YT who can explain things so incredibly detailed in such a way that makes it easy to understand instantly. Great work, as usual.
Wow!! Thanks ever so much!!
Agreed. I initially got into this stuff ten years ago but only dabbled because I couldn’t wrap my head around things like compression ratios, attack, etc. Today was the day that changed. I now get the basics lol. Warren is my favorite teacher on TH-cam!
I happened to watch a video yesterday about glue compression with T-rackS and the guy that made it didn't seem to understand what threshold or ratio meant. He even showed a handdrawn graph (which he admitted he didn't understand) that had the threshold on the wrong axis! He then proceeded to demonstrate compression by setting the threshold so high that the needle didn't even move and yet claimed "It sounds so different" when he pressed the bypass button. I thought he was trolling, but apparently he believed his own hype. Warren's explanation and demonstration makes a LOT more sense.
@@AutPen38 haha yes i see so many doing almost exaxctly this so often. 'You might not hear it without a treated room or thousand dollar headphones, but trust me, it changed'. Yeah ok.
Thanks again for all you do. I know I give that comment often but when I think of all I have learned from you I can never say it enough.
Wow! You are so welcome! Thanks ever so much
Ten years late i understand the ratio control, all the tutorials explain this point bad, thanks Warren i really love you!
what I love about your Videos is , even a beginner like me can follow along and not get lost . thank you for this
Wow! Thanks ever so much
I still reference this video a year later to review the concepts. Warren is the BEST!!
Thanks ever so much
I work since 10 years with the SSL Compressor, but your video with the sidechain is a gamechanger. Thank you so much for that!
One of the few instances where I've seen such a minute difference change the sound clearly and effectively in a tutorial. Cheers!
Thank you for looping correctly, this is so important in listening.
I've literally been researching this topic all last week so this is marvelous timing 🙌🏻
Marvellous! Glad it was helpful!
@@Producelikeapro I think a ratio is just a fraction. E.g. 4:1 is just a quarter of whatever signal value above the threshold. If the signal is 4db above the threshold, you get 1db going through. With a ratio of 10:1 you'll get 0.4db going through based on the above example.
Aye. Mastering a new album right now :)
I use Reason and was really pleased that they made the Master Bus Compressor available as a rack extension. It’s part of my default chain for when I track bass
Great video. What I really like about this video is learning a lot about the differences between certain SSL-style compressor models and getting some ideas about what sources and purposes they can be useful for. Thank you, Warren.
HI Thanks ever so much! Glad it was helpful!
You are a wonderful educator! I could see this taking months to "get" in college or wherever. Love it. Ali
You’re very kind!!
I’m happy to be able to help!
The secret with the SSL is mixing into it. Absent side-chaining, you will always have to push more signal into it. Thats how the glued sound appears.
What do you mean by absent side chaining?
@@faceless6464 “without it”
The best treatise on master bus I have ever heard! Man -o-Man Thank you for those of us that have been walking through the master bus castle swinging our sword at everything wondering, "why can't I sly this dragon?" answer..." you had a bazooka but you had it on Pea shooter setting!" Finally the dragon will die! Thank you Warren!
I really like the Cytomic Glue plugin and been using that for years.
The CLA mixdown is excellent on the masterbus from the start
Hey Warren,
Weirdly I did a road test of a bunch of SSL G Buss Comps recently based entirely on my own ears, no science. My results:
I initially set my hardware SSL G to:
Attack: 30
Release: Auto
Ratio: 4
Approx 4db GR
As they do not all come with sidechains, I did not test the sidechain function on the plugins.
UAD
Very balanced but less open. Duller. Not as much bottom end, but this is very close to my hardware version. This one gets the most use from me especially since they added the sidechain function.
BX Townhouse
Bright. Mids are forward. Open.
Gritty. A lot of colour.
Native Instruments Solid Bus Comp
Very pumpy. Way more squashed than the rest. Too much to use a mixbuss comp. Maybe a good alternative to the API2500 or dbx160
GEM Overloud
Bright. But not as bright as BX. Mids nicely balanced.
More transparent than the others.
SSL
Native
Very bright. Bottom end disappears like the UAD and hardware I own. Mids not as forward. Easily the brightest.
IKMultimedia
Almost identical to the UAD. Duller. More laid back. Not as bright. Mids not as forward. Bit more middle and brightness than UAD.
Perhaps a but hyped.
Waves G Comp
Least bottom end I think. Very similar to UAD. Any more than about -2db GR and it's a bit too much.
An additional mention to Analog Obsessions free Buster. This is a fantastic and FREE SSL emulation. It's very similar to the UAD, perhaps a little more hyped. Anything more than about -2db and it really adds colour. I would use it happily for a drum buss but probably not my mix buss. They have just released an updated version with additional sidechain features. It's really very very good.
As I said, there is no science here, just my subjective old ears.
Thanks for your video dude. As always it was informative.
Thanks ever so much for sharing your experiences! I really appreciate it!!
I was just wondering if there was a free alternative to the big name plug-ins, so thanks for mentioning Buster. I'll give that a try.
Alot of the free analog obsession plugs have oversampling options as well. I think that's a better sound usually.
-Before watching: "Wow a more than 40 minutes video" -after watching: "Felt 5 minutes, I want more!"
Thanks ever so much Sándor!
Same here!
Sometimes, if I don't have a side-chain and need one, I'll use a low shelf EQ to bring down the lows before the comp, then boost it back after the fact. Seems to work pretty well.
I picked up the Townhouse when PA had a crazy deal on it. It’s been on my 2buss on every mix since. I love it!
Have it, use it on everything. There does seem to be two paths that determine how i use it.
1. When inserted before i start mixing it seems to be more musical when turning the knobs and doing level adjustments. Now understand were just tapping it so the settings are wide open in auto with the threshold set to taste 4:1.
2. Inserting late in the mix just to add the SSL glue.
Thanks Warren for another great video.
Thank you so much for doing this. I love that you're using several different boxes and showing us the difference; including analog variants. If you shoot-out any other gear... this is the way to go... just emulate this format. I also like that you took the time to show what "too much" or sounded like.
I like the TRax the most. To me it sounded brighter and that felt right for the retro track.
You’re very welcome! I love them all! For different things
I just picked up IK's Bus Compressor as part of IK's 25th anniversary sale. This video prompted me to compare it on a drum bus to the UAD SSL G Bus Compressor. After a lot of blind A/B listening, I finally started to hear a slight difference between the two. One of them was slightly more "musical". It was the IK version. I'm getting a UC1 next week, so I'm looking forward to another comparison to the SSL native version. Cheers~
I swear you're reading my mind Warren!! Just finished a rough mix and been agonizing over attack and release / ration / etc. Thanks for the INFO!
Warren, just a suggestion: when you speak into your mic, it compresses the music. It would be easier to A/B the effected/bypassed sounds if you instead displayed text (i.e. BYPASSED, ENGAGED or similar) instead of saying it out loud. Instant contrast would illustrate your point better.
Yes, Eric didn't put any chyrons on, that was a mistake! Haha better job next time!
Or...maybe side-chain his vocal so that whenever he talks the music in background gets squashed a bit more! Hahaha
Honestly I have been watching and learning about compressors a lot. But I only understood the ratio well today. Thank you.
Wow! Thanks ever so much
Every time I mix a track I go back to your video 😂
Here are my settings
SA4000 mk2 (UK mod.)
Drum&Bass - 175 BPM
Master Buss
Threshold +15
Ratio 1,5
Attack 30 ms
Release .1
HPF OFF
Make up 9 o’clock
Mix Blend 100%
Compression on (of course)
Ext side chain off
Transformer on
I'm so guilty of keeping my settings too aggressive. . . Thanks for putting a video out that'll challenge me to re apply some master bus compression.
Thanks ever so much Glad it was helpful!
I have a limiter to keep myself safe from volume mistakes! And a Klanghelm SDDR2 for a little squeeze and color. That's all! It's too easy to make mistakes or use too many, I've learned. Warren, thanks for this amazing demonstration! It's been very informative. I have a couple of those plug ins, I will have to try them now. : )
Thanks ever so much for sharing Lisa!
The townhouse is a monster. Love it
Thanks ever so much
Agreed!
I got back to this video Warren and You were right (answering my "what console to buy" question) that "that sound" is just SSL and that vintage bus comp gives You that Hit on snare - that 5% over the "normal" mix and if You play it louder then You can hear that punch!
THANKS ONCE AGAIN!
You're very welcome! Thanks for the great comment
I feel like master bus compression used to be more important when we had a limited number of analog compressors and one of them happened to be inside the SSL desk. These compressors are doing really nothing more than giving a smidge of smoothing out the bumps and filling in the gaps. But I'm not sure it's even necessary, especially when you consider multiband compressors in mastering, as well the infinite number of compressors you can have on your various groups now while mixing which provide more individual control. (Perhaps I need to watch this whole video huh?) Thanks for the always great and helpful content, Warren.
this video is a classic. Always come back and watch it once in awhile. And the christina holmes song is just top tier man
Great video demonstrating the differences between various SSL buss compressor emulations. Rock on Warren!
Thanks ever so much
The IK multimedia buss compressor was superb❤️
Thanks ever so much
I want Waves to come out with a control surface that has their SSL channel strip, G-eq and Bus compressor physically on it.
Next to each would be an LCD screen showing the name of the channel you are on and a couple buttons for you to switch between different instances of the plugin.
Then either it would need motorized knobs or infinite knobs where the value is indicated by a light behind the numbers.
So you just put the compressor and EQ on the mix bus, put a channel strip on every channel and then hammer away on the control surface.
To make it more robust, 8 faders could sit at the bottom of this control surface so that you can also balance your channels in sets of 8 at a time.
That way you get that analog experience and SSL sound all at once.
Although if nothing else, I would love for waves to just introduce a "gain match" button to these plugins that automatically sets the gain so that the in/out levels match. I know it may not always be perfect but you can always press the button and then nudge it manually. It would save a lot of time. I always find myself messing up my balance with the ssl plugin and then I need to solo the channel and flip it on and off to match the gain.
Warren, Thanks for breaking down the various usage cases for working with bus compressor along with demos of each, this was very educational and now leaning towards one of them!
Thanks ever so much!!
Townhouse Compressor on the drum bus is Incredible! Has become one of my favorites 🔥
I love the placebo effect at 10:55 - Surprised you didn't edit that out. That happens every now again with everybody I have ever mixed with or interned with and a few have Grammy's... If I had a nickel for every time I made an adjustment on a plugin window that was left open while soloing a different channel... I'd have... well... quite a a few nickels. I would still edit that out or caption that section with an oopsie doopsie. Anyway I like you channel. You mentioned the great Mark DeMartini in a video some years back, I realized we might have ran in some of the same circles. I new Mark from his east coast days at Sigma Sound in Philadelphia. An absolute obscene wealth of technical knowledge.
If Mark was around he would fix that in/out buss compressor lamp for you. And while he was in there he would correct the components that SSL got wrong in the manufacturing... as he complained about how stupid the circuit design is and what a P.I.T.A. it is to work on.
Hi Walt! It wasn't a placebo as it is adjusting the release, the mistake is I say 'attack' when I mean 'relate' although I correct myself a few seconds later. Many thanks, Warren
That “everybody knows” track is insane!!! 🔥🔥🔥
Thanks ever so much
One thing I appreciate about a few of the plugin emulations of the SSL buss compressor I have is they have an optional and variable low pass filter on the sidechain.
Agreed 100%!
Super glad to have this explanation. There are a few things I've been doing so wrong. SOOOOOO wrong. Now I get it. I will say that I will have to watch a few more times to catch on to the idea of sending a high passed trigger.
This is so helpful. Now I understand how important a HPF can be on a MBC!
You’re very welcome
Intent - exactly this. If you reach for a plugin and you don't know what you are trying to achieve, then you're going to find it very difficult to progress your skills. Always be critical and ask what it is you're trying to do. Do you want to bass to pump a bit to give some energy? - then make sure you set the compressor accordingly, and have the kick EQ dialled in to keep it tight so it grooves in the right way.
Thanks for this, Warren! I recently got the bx_townhouse on sale from Plugin Alliance, and now I'll be using it with much more confidence. All the best!
Wow! What a great deep dive into this topic. I've always avoided bus compressors in the past. I can't wait to apply this to a mix.
Thanks ever so much Alexander!
Great video!
The SSL is a glue bus comp for Randy Staub. After watchin' this video now I know, that in His heaviest songs I thing He did 10:1 and treshold "almost to zero" :D
But great review as always!
ps. Waren, hope You had a great day too!
Thanks ever so much for sharing!!
I've been using the Waves abbey road mastering chain for quite a while and never looked deeply into it's built in compressor. It actually has a sidechain, THERE'S MY LOW END! Thanks Warren, informational as always.
I have the Waves SSL and the T-Racks, they're both great, but my go-to bus comp is the Waves PuigChild 670. It just has that magic- for me, anyway.
Thanks ever so much for sharing!
Masterbus compressing with PuigChild 670 in M-S mode 670 is perfect
IK with the grit was my fave. Actually, that's probably because I love a bit of 2nd harmonic on the master more than anything 😆
Thanks ever so much
The IK is the best out there IMO, along with DMG track comp. I have all of them and have done many a comparison.
Some of the IK stuff is incredible.
@@CarlyonProduction I have all their T-RackS plugins and honesty they are highly underrated.
awesome. gave me so many ideas and insight in mastering the art of 2bus compression. "It's all about intention!" the lesson of the day
Marvellous! Thanks ever so much
Fantastic video warren; to my knowledge, a SC filter basically filters the low end from the sidechain signal, but the full spectrum passes through the comp circuit intact
Truly a good teacher only video I can’t believe was 45min long I truly does feel like 5-10min thank you for the great tunes and information
Hi Wyatt! Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks ever so much
Well done Warren! Thank you for showing us the bus compressor in action on your console! I've watched many videos on this topic over the past 10 years and this is one of, if not the first to show the actual console itself in action. Good to hear what a genuine 1986 SSL G master bus compressor sounds like. A very rare treat indeed! Thanks again! ✌🏼❤️
I love that snare “THWACK!!!!” from the SSL console. That Townhouse is something special. Really brought out the guitar in a nice way.
Thanks ever so much Skyler!
And fucked jp the low end. Compare to the console and badabing! It is as clear as the sun
Warren, I absolutely love your videos and you’ve been a wealth of information for me the past years. Just wanted to say thank you and I appreciate you.
Wow! Thanks ever so much TL!
I really like the shortest release, but in dual mono and only "tickling" max 0.5dB, makes almost everything sound more lively
Was having so much trouble mixing the automation and compression on the low end side of a stereo djembe track recently, man those things boom out the bottom, and I recorded it on a standard condenser and not a bass mic so that did not help. The level set by the low end of the djembe really does set the bar for the compression on the drum bus and master bus more than I would have imagined. Awesome this video covers this exact problem, thanks for the tips!
Also would you recommend or advise against recording two mono tracks on a djembe. one on top and one on the bottom? Say if you're only working with dynamic and condenser mics and no low end mic? Also I believe my djembe is a slightly larger one than the one in your mix so it's getting even more bottom boom on my track than on this track.
Recently I have been using the Vertigo VSC2 on my mix buss with a 90 Hz sidechain and get 3 db of compression to glue a song together but let the low end breath. When Mastering I then run the track through the townhouse with no sidechain doing about a db or so of compression for some of the classic SSL flavour, and to just gently tuck everything nicely together. Also running Softubes Tape plugin on the mix buss does some light tape style compression that does wonders for a track in my experience.
First Warren, you're an awesome & amazing mixing engineer! And thanks for this video! I'm currently trying to do a more accurate study on mix bus compression and how it works within a mix.
Thanks ever so much
love all your videos! ever since i’ve been watching my mixes have gotten way crispier and louder
Thanks ever so much Erxs! Glad you like them!
Thanks man. I recently got the townhouse loving it in the master buss for metal tracks
Marvellous
@@Producelikeapro plugin alliance is definitely winning the affordable plugin game
Thank you for this video! That original SSL Master Comp on the desk just sounds amazing! Looking into getting some outboard modules and the SSL Master Bus Compressor will definitely be in my shopping cart!!!!
Thanks ever so much
Great video that takes time to let the viewer listen to the subtle differences on several tracks with different Compressors. I put my cans on and listened several times. I use the Townhouse. I tend to go for dirty sounding stuff. It just adds enough grime for what I need. Can't tell you what it actually does. Or what my settings are. It changes as I go. I might give the Vertigo a test as well as I have that. All the Compressors had things I liked about them though. Thanks!
Wow! Thanks ever so much! Thanks ever so much
Thanks, Warren. Another great video. And thanks for showing us the side-chain on the Townhouse. I guess I knew it was there, but I never actually used it! This is my favorite buss. Thanks!
I use the townhouse on the drum bus and the SSL Native on the master bus. I Iove the grit of the TRacks but I find this combination works the best to my ears 💯
Great demo of them - one that surprises me is the Native Instruments Solid Bus Comp. Hands down my favourite. I never use my UAD, Plugin Alliance or Waves one anymore. Really open and mixes breathe! Definitely not one to sleep on
The SSL hardware rounds off the transients so well!
What a nice video again. My mix bus processing chain has a waves SSL bus comp, but this sidechain thing is something I really going to try out. I´ve noticed some pumping around that low end but never really knew how to address it propperly, I mean, I got around it somehow, but probably its time to dive into this and learn it.
Hi. There is a surprisingly big difference between the sound of a hardware SSL track and the Waves plugin. It was as if the paver had driven across the music and nothing was left alive. The music turned into a thin sheet of paper ...
The voices seemed to recede into the background and become flat. Listen without Warren's words separating two fragments!
Yes, every emulation will have a different SSL bus compressor it has modelled! There's so many potential variations!
@@Producelikeapro You are very kind to plugin makers )))
That was the most informative thing I've seen on the subject.. I'm at this stage of learning the process, and apart from getting ideas on the actual way to dial it up, the philosophy of applying different types of compressors to whatever the track requires got my head out of thinking that just one will do the trick.. good stuff.. cheers.
still dont like original ssl compressor but love townhouse ! definetly for all round use of them all ! thank you warren for your kidness for doing this video and almost free educations and advices !
Hi Goran! My pleasure! Thanks ever so much
subtlety is the name of the game, Best Tip by a Great Artist, if some one understand it, he or she will become the master of the art, Thanks sir,
that Townhouse is great, but when i got to compare it directly the Overloud Comp G i was amazed how the Overloud compressed the bottom end but retained the bass. The snap is great on that one.
MaN, that was one enlightening demo/comparison.
Thanks ever so much
I'm happy you're explaining this and also telling us what to hear. Sometimes it's so subtle, but indeed you can hear it when you know what to listen to! Great ear-training I think :)
Thanks ever so much! I’m glad to be able help
I bought the Waves SSL bundle earlier this year, and it took me a bit to figure out how to use the Bus Compressor, but once I got, I suddenly understood the term "glue" as it applies to mixes. It brought my mixes into a kind of coherent space. All the instruments sounded like they were blending properly all of a sudden.
Yup, things moving together helps identify them as one. Gestalts principles
I love t-racks plugins! Excellent demonstration! thanks a lot
When you can finally hear compression and what it does its a game changer. Take the time to mess about with a compressor and train your ears, then you can use any comp effectively.
What a wonderful video! Thank you so much warren for making this one! I really love watching videos on plugins VS hardware!
I have these 4 buss compressor plugins plus the versions from SSL and Slate Digital and my favorite is the IK Multimedia T-Racks Buss Compressor!
Thanks ever so much for sharing!!
Warren, With the waves rack you could use it in a multi band way to create that side chain with the Waves SSL Bus Comp. The Rack gives you a lot of options to play with on the mastering bus, including parallel comprising options. I love this free plugin option that waves has given us. Kind of wish it was usable with other plugins, it's a great little tool to play with color.
I like that baritone sax in the djembe song. It's got a cool feel.
I'm using the Drawmer S73 plugin. Simple and sounds great to me.
Thanks ever so much for sharing!
I've never had a chance to mix with a G Buss comp(hardware or plug), though I've heard many people mix with it. I've had the Townhouse for almost 2yrs now. I love it on mix buss, and drum buss. To me it doesn't quite have the same top end snap as most any G Buss plug.....but it has a certain low-mid bump that does something really cool to most mixes. It always adds some punch to a snare. The side chain is key! ;:-) ..........not having one on a comp now seems like a big handicap.
Yes, agreed, the side chain function is huge!! Thanks ever so much for sharing
Warren,
You should check out Solid State Logic’s Native plug-ins. I’d be interested in hearing your feed back.
Thanks ever so much
No no no good sir thank you
And I really mean it you always inspire me when music gets a bit too complicated you just seem to be having a blast doing it and I appreciate you sharing your experience
Yes, I love having different compressors because they all sound a little different which I find true about EQ's as well, like between pultec, SSL eq, fabfilter, t racks, waves, etc etc
The moment you turned on the grit on the Tr5 plugin we both made the same facial expression haha
That is the best explanation of compression I've ever heard. It's always meant that to me as well.
Wow! Thanks ever so much!! I really appreciate it
@@Producelikeapro welcome sir.
A great video as always! The detail and notes to make are so vital and interesting!
Thanks ever so much
@@Producelikeapro My pleasure!