[Jorge442]

Hi Roy,
hhhhhhmmmmmmm cymbals.......good question. Very recently I´ve found myself going back to the mix session to adjust the compression on them. I think it´s different what the C4 does compared to regular comps on the individual channels though. I said it was a good question because the cymbals are almost alone in their frequency range, and you might get all the high frequency compression needed just from the C4 alone.....

Compression on the master fader is diferent than compressing individual tracks too. On an individual channel is like taming it so you can get it as loud as you need without clipping and with the desired sound, or I use them to glue together guitar submixes, drums, vocals, etc. I like Meek comps on stereo guitars, La2a on stereo drums....sometimes I even use compressors back to back! one with a fast attack, followed by one set with a slow attack......
On the master fader you´re taming the whole mix and glueing things together as a whole.
I usually don´t consider putting a C4/L1 on the master fader of the mix session because of the lack of horsepower of my machine. If I could, maybe I would, but I´d rather use a bunch of Bomb factory plug ins and Ren Eq´s and all that on individual channels first and then get a whole new chain exclusively for the stereo mix. ....I tend to use compression before, after and in between lol
Sometimes I do it just because I have to get things to ROCK! Other times it´s just to tame the track or mix a bit before hitting a limiter. The La2a(and the faichild 660) I like to use very sparingly, sometimes set to just a couple of db´s of reduction, you can hear their pumping otherwise ..I do like the way they color the sound by just having them in the chain.
Lately I´ve been using an L1 on the master fader of the mix session, to gain a few db´s before going to the mastering session. 6 db here and 6db there sounds much better than 12db´s of limiting at once....


my .02


cheers,

jorge