In the world of Audio Engineering, life can be all about the best mixes. Musicians and Sound Engineers all obsess about the quality of the sound. So, if you want a better mix, knowing how to use compressors is key.
Compressors can offer more loudness without clipping, as well as make the loud parts of a piece softer and the soft parts louder. Compression can also smooth out peaks, give more punch! Another use of the compressor is to shape the final tone by using “Attack” and “Release” tools or functions. The “Attack” and “Release” times play a very important role. Having a faster attack time usually adds “thickness” to a track. Without getting into too much detail about how that could be a negative outcome sometimes, by getting rid of some transients; a slower attack time can help you preserve the transients.
Combining all these parameters together with the choice of compressor in the end define the tone and finished product. While not every compressor does the same thing, all compressors can be used for all the recorded elements in the mix. Compressors have different personalities in that they tend to offer various compensations for each other. When they allow you to manipulate the dynamic range of a piece of music, it changes the perspective of the listener’s experience. The listener will perceive the stereo image of what is being played, either with certain sounds seeming farther away from them or closer to their ears.
Even if this sounds a bit complex, essentially the mix will be more stable in that way.
A mix engineer should have several compressors in order to get the entire texture of the mix. The perpetual argument among audio engineers is whether or not there is too much compression. That is the same as asking, “is there too much salt in this food or is it just me?” Who cooked? The use of compressors is like adding salt in a meal, but of course, too much of it will ultimately kill the mix. There is as well the fact that not everything requires salt. So, the trick is to keep it simple sometimes.
Interview with Thando Magwaza
Q: 1. Can you discuss (without giving away too many of your secret gems of course), the steps you take when you apply compression on your mixes? When do you decide to use parallel compression and when do you not for instance?
A: “Compression is one of the most difficult tools to understand or explain in the world of audio. Its most primary use is to take care of the dynamics in a signal, controlling certain parts of leveling. My parallel process can be quite confusing to some people. I tend to emphasize the tone of certain instruments via parallel compression.
The original source will be treated normally and the parallel channel will have all sorts of dirt and grit to kind of give the original signal something it never had before. I guess you could call it “the taste of analog” it never had before; some would call it an “FX” but I call it the “Burn”
Photo Cred: Howard Audio
Q: 2. Based on your answer for no. 1, which is your favourite step to take when you are knee-deep in your mixing process? (Your favourite aspect regarding mixing engineering)
A: “I would say the touch and clean up phase (that’s what I call it), the EQ and compression check when I feel the mix is in a good state. This is the part where I find the juicy parts of the mix in colour/tone and dynamics between the relations of all signals, and try to sound design creatively.”
Q: 3. How do you find the balance in pleasing the client based on their desires for the outcome of their project and your instincts and expertise to what the project may need which may be slightly different to what the client envisioned?
A: “The client and I usually have a small premix meeting where I let them tell me exactly what they need from the mix. At this point I have already listened to the mix. The first mix delivery for review is usually similar to the actual mix they have sent but cleaner, every element cleaned in the best possible way.
The reason for me to do so is to show that I’m not in any way trying to change the rough mix, but I am building it to sound even better. Then from there we both have a much clearer vision of the mix. This is a process I do to build trust with the client, get them involved from the first step and get them to really understand what I do in every revision. By the time I get to the 2nd revision I start getting technical on the current mix and do things that keep making the mix better with what we already have. This process for me puts us both in agreement in every step from the get go.”
Q: 4. In the journey of a Sound Engineer one can have more than one mentor, but can you talk about one mentor who taught you much of what you are still using in your career today, and how much they believed in you?
A: “I was given the opportunity to be an assistant to one of the greatest engineers Africa has produced, Richard Mitchell. He had a successful career for over 40 years. Most of the time I worked on my own, recording an album or song and delivered the project to him to mix afterwards. Other times when we were both handling the project, he would be recording and I would be his assistant; set up for the recording, prep the session and also be around knowing exactly what is going on during the session.
I feel that earned me a position to have a voice when we were working together (not me working for him). My judgement would be trusted from the start because my intentions were pure and were to try to make the project move forward. That alone imprinted the idea that I am capable and can be trusted as Richard was the best in this job. If he could trust me, then even the client and everyone in the room could. I have had other mentors in my career, but Richard stood out for me as we both didn’t have a musical background but we still fitted in a room with musicians. Every time we had a session together we always had something new to teach each other, which I loved so much.”
Q: 5. Which engineers do you follow for a few tips and tricks up their sleeves?
A: “I have a few. I have one for every process of a mix. One for recording, one for mixing, one for the creative aspect of a mix, another for the technical parts of a mix, and the one who just gives me mind blowing tricks. These engineers are;
Eric Valentine
Marc Daniel Nelson
Shawn Everett
Derek “MixedByAli” Ali”
Photo Cred: Howard Audio
Q: 6. What would you highlight as the challenges of being a Sound Engineer in general?
A: “Hahaha, this one I have to mention… As engineers we don’t just play with our tools. The technical aspect of the job plays a huge role which musicians often do not understand, and that can be a huge problem when trying to explain to a band or musician the issues when it comes to the science and mathematics of getting things to sit well within a mix.
An example of this would be;
The band could be playing tight and performing right, but as an engineer I need to fit each and every frequency and make sure I am not overloading my stereo track/master; clean out bad frequencies that I don’t need so my speakers don’t get affected with comb filtering (instruments clashing with one another). This is when one can tell if the engineer is experienced or not.”
Q: 7. What advice do you have for young engineers?
A: “Be open to recording/listening to all types of music genres. This will help you with identifying how instruments are blended/treated on every style of music. Your ears will get better and you’ll be able to work with any musician in the world. That’s how you’ll be a better engineer.”
