How to use the JOEMEEK compressors??

[room51]

I was told the other day that all professional recordings use a compressor of some sorts when recording to give the recording a fuller sound. The thing is do i use the JOEMEEK compressor plug-in with my M-Box before i begin to record my vocals or after. When i use the pluig-in after i have recoreded my vocals, i don't seem to notice any difference in the sound, or maybe it's just my unfamiliarity with the plugin as i have never used it before.I kind of get the idea of how the compressor works, so now i want to be able to use the plug-in effectively so as to get a better quality, on my vocal sounds. So what i am really trying to say is how do i go about using the compresser plug-in to achieve professional results, taking in to account i havn't really used the plug-in before

Thanks

[mindnoise]

HI,

first start off with a decent quality compressor plug-in like URS or Sony Oxford, Massey plug-ins or
McDSP. The Digi III Dynamics Suite is also of decent quality, I say.

The Joemeek is just effects quality and will most likely NOT give another quality to your recording that is not just an effect, which also has it´s place in sound design.

I´d just want to make clear that nearly every plug-in out there has a special strength for
how to use it at it´s best. Some more, some less.

Then, you should NOT record with any plug-in in the recording chain and with as few add.
outboard gear as possible, unless you´re exactly know what you´re doing.

The effect you are experiencing is most likely the distorted signal you hear when you clip
the signal for driving it too hard. The compressor plug-in will lie to you about the signal clipping. It will just compress the clipped signal and not show it in the meter.

When recording with 24bit you only need to record with conservative levels about 2/3 the meter up.
You don´t need to record HOT and btw. you DON`T need to compress. Compression is a method of articulation if used right and squeezing all the life from your sound when used wrong.

for further info about handling plug-ins I´d suggest reading the PT manual
and this one - mostly everything you need to know.
http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm

regs

[flommer]

Audio quality is a subjective thing and it is hard to find adjectives that everybody agrees on, but to say that compression gives a "fuller" sound isn't very descriptive..

Compression is used in different ways depending on problems that you perceive to need fixing and your desired end result. I am not going to attempt to give you a course in compression but I'll give you a link that will get you started:

compression

If you take the time to read through this then you'll have a better understanding of what you can do with your JOEMEEK plug..

And then you can join the argument about which compressors are better than others..

[req06]

As ever experimentation is key.
I find the Joe Meek useful on busses but i rarely use it as a solo instrument comp. Play around with a drum loop through the sc2, try changing the slope - this affects how rapid your compression knee is - 1 is soft 4 is hard, then just play around with the other knobs til you get your desired effect. For instance do you want to level the signal transparently or do you want to exploit the sucking sound compression can generate? Get accustomed to reading the vu meter in the plug in. With a little learning curve the sc2 can be really useful.

I second the recommedation of the massey mc-4, truly a great comp and exceptionally easy to use, also would like to praise the wavearts trackplug, which is a good compressor to use to learn about compression as reading the meters will teach you alot about compression.


before anyone says...yes hearing is everything, just reading the meters can really help you make decisions and see how things are working.