Compressing Modern Vocals

Most modern vocals use some form of compression.

When mixing genres like Hip-Hop, Trap, Pop, & R&B, you will almost certainly use a compressor on your vocals. Even if you adjust the clip gain throughout a given track (like we personally like to do)

When you ask an engineer or expert what settings they use to compress, the answer is usually "It depends on the track."🧐

Now, we do agree with this, but hey! There are some general guidelines & starting points that can be offered & helpful.

So these settings may not work in every mix, & you will usually find yourself making some adjustments to the settings, but this is definitely a great starting point & you won't be far off with them!

• 3:1 Ratio - This will reduce the gain coming out of the compressor by 3:1. So for every 3dB that goes in, it will be compressed down to 1dB.
• Fast Attack Time - This determines how fast the compressor starts to reduce the gain. Fast attack times work great for modern vocals because it keeps them locked in & tight.
• Fast Release Time - This determines how quickly the compressor will end the gain reduction. Fast attack times work well for modern vocals because it doesn't cause a "swelling" sound when the compression ends.
• Threshold - This setting will depend heavily on how loud the gain is on your track coming in, so because of that, it won't always be the same number you can set it at. BUT what you can do is adjust the threshold until you're seeing an average of 4-5dB in reduction on your meter.
• Makeup Gain - Adjust accordingly to bring back the gain you lost through compression. 

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