Topic: Compression assistance needed

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http://www.sendspace.com/file/alrlvb (flac, aprox 75mb)

I've uploaded a segment of a show that I taped onstage. The rhythm guitar and bass are to the left, drums center left, and lead guitar to the right. Currently I want to add about 2db to bring the lead guitar up to snuff to balance stuff out, but I really want to add about 6db and bring up the "fill" around the lead guitar (essentially, compress the channel) but I'm not sure what to do or what to listen for. Any ideas?

edit: using audacity, but the general principle is the same, any tips on what I should be looking for (e.g. "because the guitar has a bigger attack, consider the following"), and general blurbs on compression (other then or better than the ones in the stickies)?

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So what you really want to do is bring everything but the guitar up 4dB, Correct?

Not sure you can do much with Audacity unless it has a multi band compression tool.  I've not looked at it in a couple of years.  iZatope Ozone can work a variable 4 band compression schema that you apply to frequency zones.  It may or may not do what you want.  Single band compression is basically a volume adjustment tool and treats all frequencies within a specific loudness bracket the same; either raises or lowers the zone. 

I'm not an expert and I'm very likely hammering the explanation but that's how I use the tool in my limited experience.

It gives me a good starting point. I'll see if I can find a good guide on various settings (and I do have Ozone). Thanks

[capnhook]

Grayson, maybe before compressing, I think I'd try to take a copy, separate the channels, pull down the left chanel (as to not disturb what's going on over there).....then start working on the right channel, and pull down all the freqs above and below the lead guitar (isolate just the guitar).  Put the channels back together, "save as", and then make a project of your original with this new .wav........and then try stirring in the new .wav to suit your liking.

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Grayson, maybe before compressing, I think I'd try to take a copy, separate the channels, pull down the left chanel (as to not disturb what's going on over there).....then start working on the right channel, and pull down all the freqs above and below the lead guitar (isolate just the guitar).  Put the channels back together, "save as", and then make a project of your original with this new .wav........and then try stirring in the new .wav to suit your liking.

 

[capnhook]

Grayson, maybe before compressing, I think I'd try to take a copy, separate the channels, pull down the left chanel (as to not disturb what's going on over there).....then start working on the right channel, and pull down all the freqs above and below the lead guitar (isolate just the guitar).  Put the channels back together, "save as", and then make a project of your original with this new .wav........and then try stirring in the new .wav to suit your liking.

 

get it like you want it to sound......then you could across-the-board compress it....?

[page]

Grayson, maybe before compressing, I think I'd try to take a copy, separate the channels, pull down the left chanel (as to not disturb what's going on over there).....then start working on the right channel, and pull down all the freqs above and below the lead guitar (isolate just the guitar).  Put the channels back together, "save as", and then make a project of your original with this new .wav........and then try stirring in the new .wav to suit your liking.

 

get it like you want it to sound......then you could across-the-board compress it....?

Yeah, I'm not sure I'm familiar enough with multi-band compression to get it the way I want it to sound first.

I'll play with it tonight and see what I get. I was in a rush to get setup during the set change that I goofed and put it on the right side of the vocal amp instead of the left which would have put the drums trending slight right, the vocals on the right, and two of the three guitars on the left. So more balanced, but still sort of weird. Didn't have a choice other then that, no PA patch and the room was absolutely packed so I couldn't setup anywhere else... 

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Ozone seems to have quite a few how-to vids on youtube that could help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbE4C5E_uq4   Not all aspects of this link may apply.  Have fun, trust your ears.

thanks! I'd forgotten about their youtube collection.

I don't trust my ears though. 

[outerspaces]

who is the band you recorded? multi band dynamics in cubase may help single out that guitar.

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who is the band you recorded? multi band dynamics in cubase may help single out that guitar.

Ayurveda (band site, guestlist)

I've been playing with it via Ozone's multi-band compressor with some success. It's definitely an improvement at any rate. I'll post a sample tomorrow of what I've got.

[page]

who is the band you recorded? multi band dynamics in cubase may help single out that guitar.

Ayurveda (band site, guestlist)

I've been playing with it via Ozone's multi-band compressor with some success. It's definitely an improvement at any rate. I'll post a sample tomorrow of what I've got.

Sample of what I've got now (the first song of the two song flac posted earlier). While not perfect, I'm happy enough to quit messing around with it unless someone has a great idea.

Final output (tweaked again)

http://www.archive.org/details/veda2010-10-01.ck930.flac16