Compressor setting for vocals
If you are looking for the magic compressor setting for vocals, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed.
Each vocal and indeed each vocal recording, even for the same singer will need slightly different effects.
Don’t be disappointed though as although there isn’t a standard perfect vocal setting, there are settings that will give you a pretty good starting point.
Once you have this it depends on what you want to achieve. This will also require you to know what to listen for. It’s a learning thing to educate your ears.
When my parents first got an HD television I didn’t notice any difference because I wasn’t looking closely enough. I was watching the program rather than looking at the image’s sharpness.
Once you know “How” to look it’s easy. My eyes didn’t become any better, just more educated. It’s the same with audio and sometimes you need to know what to listen for, then it becomes easier.
Fine-tuning the compressor setting for vocals
This can be the most frustrating or rewarding thing depending on how you look at it.
If you want to get better at recording and mixing there are certain standard things you can do that will instantly make things better. However, if you want to learn and become really good you’re going to have to listen learn and experiment.
Sometimes it’s difficult and your hearing becomes fatigued but the difficulty is what makes some people good and some people bad. If you want to learn, you’ll have to put some time and effort in.
Do you know why you’re compressing vocals in the first place?
It may sound obvious but you’d be surprised how common the answer because that’s what you do with vocals is.
Ideally, you wouldn’t need to compress vocals and they could stand alone in their own glory of fully dynamic whispers and shouts. In reality though when you record vocals you’ll need compression.
The human voice has a wide dynamic level and compression levels it out.
Using a hardware compressor
If you have a hardware compressor (yes, a real device!) you can use that to record the vocal through in the first place.
Why would you want to do this? It will enable you to get a better signal level into your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) to start with. You can avoid getting peaks and have a larger average level.
This will mean you will need less compression later on. I use a 2.1 ratio with an attack of 20ms and a release of 1 second but you may need to tweak them for your use. I start with deliberately mild settings so I don’t over-compress the recording. Remember this is what you are starting with and you can always (you will need to) add more compression, when it comes to mixing.
To sum up, this stage is just to use mild compression to get you a higher average level than you would be able to get by just recording straight with a microphone.
Compression setting for mixing the vocal
In a mix, the vocal is the most important thing.
Heartbreaking news for drummers and guitarists but it’s the thing people listen to first and it’s what you are drawn to initially.
With a recording you want all the vocals to be heard from the quietest whisper to the loudest scream. I’d go as far as saying this is impossible without compressors.
It’s not unusual for two compressors to be used in series with each other to get the vocal compression correct. If you’re new to using compressors I’d just start with one so you can get a feel for the settings and sounds it produces.
Apart from using your ears, it’s a good idea to use the meters as well. With them, you can see the amount you’re compressing and the level that comes out.
Using faders: compressor setting for vocals
A compressor will even out the dynamics but don’t make the mistake of trying to get the compressor to do “everything”.
By that I mean you have a fader that will make the vocal louder or quieter. Not only that but it will be fully automated.
The compressor will make the vocal sit better in a mix but for sections in a song use the fader to make the vocal louder or softer as the mix needs it.
Setting up vocal compression settings
The first thing I do is set the threshold control to maximum, so it doesn’t do anything.
Then set the attack control to about 1 ms and the release to .5s. Set the compression ratio to 4 and the makeup (if there is one) to 0 or no effect. Then decrease the threshold until compression starts.
You’ll know compression is happening because the meter will start to move. These are the settings to compress a vocal track. Well, they are the starting ones anyway.
They will make a difference (hopefully improve the vocal track) but you can probably improve the settings by tweaking them to the exact vocal performance you have recorded. To do that you’ll need to know what the controls do.
The threshold control for compressor setting for vocals
In the previous section, we set the compressor starting with the threshold at maximum, where it has no effect.
You eventually turn it down to introduce compression to the signal. The threshold sets the level that which compression happens. So, with it at maximum, all the signal is under, this is why no compression happens.
If the threshold was halfway with respect to track peaks and lows, the signal above the line would get compressed but nothing below. That’s how the signal becomes compressed.
Some of the older compressors didn’t have a threshold control. It was fixed and you altered the level going into the device. Bear this in mind if you set your threshold correctly, but then alter the level going into it.
The ratio control
The ratio control can go from 1.1 to infinity. The 1.1 setting is no compression and the other end of the control is the maximum.
Sometimes this will be 10.1 but sometimes more. It depends on the model of the compressor or plug-in. Once a signal goes beyond the threshold, it gets compressed by the amount the ratio is set to.
At 2.1 the signal gets mildly compressed and a lot more at the 10.1 ratio. Some compressors have this setting go to infinity, which effectively means that no matter how much the signal exceeds the threshold it won’t get any louder. It gets “limited” to the threshold setting.
You may have seen devices labelled as limiters and they are effectively compressors that stop the signal exceeding a certain level. If your compressor goes up to infinity you can use it as a limiter (you can’t go beyond infinity by the way, no matter what Buzz Light year says.)
The makeup control
If you compress a signal it will be squashed dynamically.
It won’t have such a large range from loud to quiet (that’s what we usually want to achieve with a compressor.. The signal won’t be as loud because anything above the threshold has effectively been reduced.
To make up for this reduction you can turn up the “makeup” control to bring the “new” levels back to where they were before.
Beginners controls: compressor setting for vocals
If you are a beginner, you should experiment with the threshold and ratio controls while listening to the vocal track in solo mode and observing the meter that shows the amount of compression taking place.
Don’t worry about the makeup control this is just an after-volume control. Then introduce the rest of the track. You should find that the compressed vocal “sits” better on the track and it’s easier to set the fader level. Before compression, you would probably find yourself turning the level up and down as the track progressed.
You want to get the compression level so you can hear all the vocals properly, you may have to alter the threshold and ratio to improve it.
Once you have got used to the threshold and ratio you can move on to the attack and release.
Compressor attack and release controls
You should have a nicely compressed vocal track at this point and you’re ready to adjust the attack and release controls.
The attack time is the time it takes the compressor to start compressing. On vocals, you can have a fast attack time.
On a drum track, you might want to have it set a bit slower to let some of the original percussive cracks and punch through. A voice doesn’t have the same percussive tendencies. Listen back to the vocal and adjust the attack. At longer settings, there won’t be any compression happening at the start of sounds.
You should see the DAW level meters peaking higher. As you reduce the attack time you will notice your DAW meters not peaking as high at the beginning of vocal sounds. You will also notice that the compressor’s meters are now moving at the start of these sounds. If too many “P”s and “B”s are getting through, reduce the attack.
If you find you continually have problems with “P”s and “B”s you should use a pop filter and learn about microphone proximity effects.
You should also try recording your vocals in different places if possible. I record my vocals in the car because it sounds better than anywhere else I can record.
The release controls the time the compressor takes to go from compressing to not compressing. If you have this set too long, it can reduce the level when you didn’t need it to. If you have it set too short the “compression effect” becomes very noticeable and you can hear pumping-type sounds.
Again play the vocal and adjust the release. With a vocal, it’s not too difficult to set. I have it set to fast but increase it if it becomes too noticeable.
Final thoughts: compressor setting for vocals
It’s not difficult to set up the controls of a compressor for a vocal track once you have become familiar with the sounds they produce and what to listen for.
Just start with adjusting the threshold and ratio controls and when it is about right you can adjust the attack and realise. Use your ears and the meter of your compressor and DAW and you’ll soon be tweaking like an experienced engineer.
You should also check out my beginner’s guide to essential audio effects for the next stage of adding effects.