I'll walk you through the basics of a compressor so you can understand all the settings. At the end you'll know how to set up a compressor for your voiceover recordings.
Demonstrating just with a simple tone rather than actual voice recordings is great. Helps so much to understand the actual concept behind it. Thank you.
This is incredible. You've done the best job at explaining these settings for what I need, especially when it comes to spoken voice while streaming. Thanks for making this!
This is the very best explanation of compression I've ever heard. Although my English is so bad that I need google translate for this comment. That's what I call a professional who is really passionate about what they do. Just great!
Thank you so much - your analogies make a lot of sense. I set up a tone gen in Cubase and replicated your test case and now compression makes more sense to me - great to have compression visually represented. How fortunate we are to have generous and may I say, very nice individuals such as yourself offering such wisdom! Cheers mate and thanks from Sydney, Oz - Dave :)
Thanks for the thorough explanation on all the settings. All other videos I have seen essentially give you a preset to use and do nothing on explaining how to really go about truly using the compressor. I appreciate it
You sir, are a great educator! This video was very helpful. I’m trying to learn audio recording and editing techniques as an amateur podcaster, and I still have a lot to learn. Because of you, I now understand the compressor more and I’ll be using it a lot more. I hope to create a full audio story production someday.
I just wanted to say thank you for making this video on compression on voice overs. Up until now I've only really seen tutorials for compression on vocals for music. Your method of using the sine wave is really helped make it clear for me.
I got a DBX 266xs compressor earlier this year. I still don't understand it fully but I couldn't live without it!! I picked up an RE320 it sounded great alone but the compressor REALLY makes it shine!!
Mike, I know this is an old post, but just reviewed it once again and you nailed it! Thanks for covering all the key adjustments regarding "compression". I've been playing with compression for a lot of years now, and you've covered pretty much all the things that we tend to mess up on (including me in the beginning) when trying to compress our VO tracks. The biggest being "Make-up gain". Don't know how many times I used to adjust threshold, ratio, attack & release, then couldn't figure out why my track was SO quiet... lol. Keep crankin' out the great tutorials! -Bobby Sheldon
Dude, I needed this video. I’ve been such a perfectionist trying to learn all the details of editing and compression, trying to control my audio to the point that I’ve been driving myself crazy. THAN YOU.
I've been looking for this kind of tutorial for months and I randomly stumble upon it, and the best parts are it's with BJ and using ReaPlugs! Lucky day for me! Thanks for the video!
This is the best and most clearly explained compressor video on RUclips - Thank you! As a beginner I feel you have covered every point perfectly. Such a great teacher!!!!!!
You’re an absolute legend. Thank you for the explanation. I’m just getting into editing with no formal training. There’s a lot of trial and error but I’m loving it.
Best explanation out there of compression basics. I'm a beginner French voice over artist and I've researched high and low, trying to understand what compression is but other videos are way above my head. Yours is to the point and very educational. Thank you for your time!
You are the only video I could find on RUclips who explained the mechanics of a compressor instead of telling me to input magic numbers in the compressor. I now understand how it's working and can tune it for myself as required. For voiceovers over games I keep compression on the game at a high ratio but almost none on my voice to allow passing that excitement that comes in my voice during certain moments. On the other hand during screen recordings and sharing instructions I have enough compression on my voice that i don't need to do multiple takes cause some part was very low in sound. Thanks a lot for explaining like you did.
This was the best overview of compression I've seen. Compression was a difficult one to get my head around at first. Its so important to understand the relationship between compression and gain. Its all about balance.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I'm currently learning how to record my own voice and have already gone through dozens of tutorials, yet your voice stands out exceptionally. It's rich and clear, without any unwanted booming or hissing. Listening to it feels like being enveloped in sound. It's truly intriguing. I need to listen to your other recordings to understand whether it's a unique characteristic of your voice or something that can be learned. 🤔
I cannot begin to express how grateful I am for your tutorials! I was actually able to track with you, and UNDERSTAND the concepts you were conveying. As a 'non-techy' voice over artist that is absolutely invaluable; thank you so much!!
The clarity of your explanations, with examples, is always so much more understandable than other people on You Tube. I love your content, it has saved me money and time. As well as being entertaining - I compress ads using my mute button, so i can never hear what they are saying.
thanks millions for your generosity in teaching me the real facts about compression.i'm a complete novice and learned almost everything i need to know about this.
This is the best description of audio compression I've found on RUclips so far! And I like that you used Reaper to show it. Here's a suggestion that I found helpful -- when you're getting started with compression and trying to understand it, add the "JS: Tone Generator" as the first plugin in your effect chain. Then double-click the Tone Generator to pop it out into its own window so you can control the frequency/amplitude of the tone while you're experimenting with the compression settings.
THANK YOU for this! I'm new and I have no idea what all of the terminology means. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain what compression is, not just how to adjust it.
Thanks so much. I'm about to clean up my first recorded samples... I'm getting some last-minute knowhow from your channel. I love the way you present the info and I just wanted to pop in and say thank you for all the helpful information.
I watched many of your youtube videos. All of them are very nice, thank you very much. I want to thank you especially, for this video. Because it is very difficult to tell the subject to those who have no knowledge about the subject, I know very well from my experiences in consultancy service periods. Choosing simple words, examples, even for someone like me who is unaware of the subject, was very useful. I am retired now, I have plenty of free time. I am playing a PC game, and I want to make youtube videos by voiceover the replays of the games I've played. I would like to thank you again for your youtube videos. Best regards, Pasha
I've been looking for this video for some time. I've been looking for someone to explain it in a way that I can understand it. Thank you so much for this video!
Just a beginner in the Audio world but have always been curious as to how to approach compression. Now I feel like I have some knowledge that I can apply yo my next project. Many thanks.
Came back to rewatch this to refresh on Reacomp. So funny to see videos from before we all got camera/lens with good eye detection AF. I use my hands on camera a lot and it's so good not to have focus shift like this anymore.
Bah! Where was RUclips when I was a baby dj? Thank you for a FANTASTIC explanation delivered with dulcet tones. Reminds me of VO heroes, Beau Weaver, John Wells, Doc Morgan. Nicely done!
Such a great cache of videos! Thank you for posting these tidbits for those of us just starting out. I've watched a ton of videos on compression and none of them ever bothered to put it into layman's terms FIRST before moving onto the technical aspects - and they were videos for beginners! Lynda let me down, what can I say. Ha ha. Anyhow, thank you! I'm busy watching many of your other videos as well. They're excellent!
Thanks Mike. I use two compressors one after a 120 hz high pass and one after some high end boost. I am a ham radio hobbyist and I have a man crush on your voice. ;)
Thank you for this excellent, clear explanation and demo! I'm going to start playing with a compressor between projects, using what I've learned here--much appreciated :)
Thank you so much! I got a rejection letter from Audible today on my first ever audiobook with issues and solutions. After I finished crying I had to look up words and acronyms. My sound engineer got sick. I now have to master myself. SCARY! But you made it sound possible. I see other videos with your face. I am going to check them out.
I don't understand what you're saying most of the time, but I keep coming back to your videos, they've helped me out with setting up my microphone in Reaper, for doing voice recordings and commentary stuff over the last year. Really appreciate it man. I would sound lesser in my videos without you. :) Thanks.
Thank you so much! I'm into audio production and found dozens of compression tutorials to be crazy confusing, as mixing engineers are still keeping the elitist mistery about compression. Even in a sound engineering school last year I couldn't understand it so well... Oh the soft knee means that it will start compressing at a slow ratio and increase it in a way that sounds natural, not abruptly as with hard knee when reaching the full ratio. You're a great teacher 🎶💜
Hey Mike, another great video! Slight stickler here: Im a pro mix engineer and broadcast engoneer. The knee gently increases the ratio as the audio approaces the threshold, so it is acting BELOW the threshold. For voiceover work knee is important and should not be at 0, it should be turned up a fair bit. This means there will be a gradual application of compression as you get louder. With no soft knee the compressor will do nothing until the threshold is hit and then it will jump into action. Compression is more transparent on VO woth soft knee! Hope this helps.
thank you so much for your clarification, much appreciated. so my passion for audio engineering started just few months ago, as my husband is a voice over actor, I started playing with his raw recordings on reaper , and he told me that I have some potentials at editing, processing and adding background music. that's got me excited to learn more bout audio engineering. i know it is not easy, and it is a big learning curve but I really want to get into it. any advice and resources? and can someone become an audio engineer without going to audio engineering school?
Thank you so much!! I know this is an old video but I just had to say it. Amazing information to the point and I was so easily able make the correct changes on my side. This has saved me so much time.... and money... in the audio learning process. Thank you, thank you! :)
This is simply an amazing video and should be basic watching for anyone with a crappy dynamic Mr.Microphone and limited editing skills making stunningly visual content with ear-raping audio. Happy New Year 2019!!
Hello, I'm just starting on this journey, thanks for the "language course" it feels like foreign language immersion at the moment, off to find the Jargon video. Thanks for all your help! Vicky
Yay! The black art of compression, de-mystified. Starting out, I worked with an analogue compressor front end. Not a great idea, as you can't uncompress the result if the client asks for something different, nor can you really judge what you are getting when you are yapping at the same time! So I went to software which lets me work on a copy of my track after recording. I was lucky to stumble upon the FabFilter plug-ins: excellent sound, helpful pre-sets and above all a really good dynamic visual interface which makes all the difference to speed and confidence if you are more a performer than a trained engineer! I have no kind of connection with the company or any other, but would urge a free trial.
Хобби
I think you are the nicest man in the industry!! Another awesome video - what would we do without you?! Massive love, C x
Thanks, Claire!
I agree 200%. You are so pleasant, professional and respectful of your viewers. Thanks your generosity as well. From Canada. 🙂
@Учим Английский Язык - Mr Wonderful из Нью-Йорка. Wow. So unkind. I can't imagine why you would think that comment applies or is appropriate.
Demonstrating just with a simple tone rather than actual voice recordings is great. Helps so much to understand the actual concept behind it. Thank you.
Thank you for a very understandable explanation of a very important part of VO work. And, 6 years later it's still fantastic, Kudos
This is incredible. You've done the best job at explaining these settings for what I need, especially when it comes to spoken voice while streaming. Thanks for making this!
A very well thought out tutorial. I'm glad you used the sine wave as an example. Keeping it simple. Thanks.
This is one of the best explanations on compression I've heard. You answered the specific questions I had on voiceovers too. Excellent video!
This is the very best explanation of compression I've ever heard. Although my English is so bad that I need google translate for this comment. That's what I call a professional who is really passionate about what they do. Just great!
I could listen to you for hours... :D
Thank you so much - your analogies make a lot of sense. I set up a tone gen in Cubase and replicated your test case and now compression makes more sense to me - great to have compression visually represented. How fortunate we are to have generous and may I say, very nice individuals such as yourself offering such wisdom! Cheers mate and thanks from Sydney, Oz - Dave :)
Wow, A voice-over guy who actually knows what he's talking about. Great!
Thanks for the thorough explanation on all the settings. All other videos I have seen essentially give you a preset to use and do nothing on explaining how to really go about truly using the compressor. I appreciate it
You sir, are a great educator! This video was very helpful. I’m trying to learn audio recording and editing techniques as an amateur podcaster, and I still have a lot to learn. Because of you, I now understand the compressor more and I’ll be using it a lot more. I hope to create a full audio story production someday.
This is without a doubt, the best explanation of compression I've ever heard. I've been struggling with the concept for so long. Thank you!
I just wanted to say thank you for making this video on compression on voice overs. Up until now I've only really seen tutorials for compression on vocals for music. Your method of using the sine wave is really helped make it clear for me.
Thanks Mike, great discussion!
The Boss is here :D
My favorite audio guy
One of the best Compressor explanation that I see! Thank you for this.
At last. Best explanation over hundred of compression tutorials. Great job!
using a sine wave for this makes you my favorite
I got a DBX 266xs compressor earlier this year. I still don't understand it fully but I couldn't live without it!! I picked up an RE320 it sounded great alone but the compressor REALLY makes it shine!!
This is some of the best and easiest-to-follow advice on compression that is out there. Thanks!
Mike, I know this is an old post, but just reviewed it once again and you nailed it!
Thanks for covering all the key adjustments regarding "compression". I've been playing with compression for a lot of years now, and you've covered pretty much all the things that we tend to mess up on (including me in the beginning) when trying to compress our VO tracks.
The biggest being "Make-up gain". Don't know how many times I used to adjust threshold, ratio, attack & release, then couldn't figure out why my track was SO quiet... lol.
Keep crankin' out the great tutorials!
-Bobby Sheldon
Thank you for a great video! It brings all of the technical stuff back to "basic terms", lets you know what they mean and makes sense!
THANK YOU!
Dude, I needed this video. I’ve been such a perfectionist trying to learn all the details of editing and compression, trying to control my audio to the point that I’ve been driving myself crazy. THAN YOU.
I've been looking for this kind of tutorial for months and I randomly stumble upon it, and the best parts are it's with BJ and using ReaPlugs! Lucky day for me! Thanks for the video!
one of the best explanations of a compressor I have ever seen...
This is the best and most clearly explained compressor video on RUclips - Thank you! As a beginner I feel you have covered every point perfectly. Such a great teacher!!!!!!
Your teachings are GOLD! Thanks a lot!
i wish i had found this years before finding out the hard long way.
best beginners explanation of the compressor. very slow and clear. hat off
I'm very happy to have found this channel the other day. Thanks for the great content!
You’re an absolute legend. Thank you for the explanation. I’m just getting into editing with no formal training. There’s a lot of trial and error but I’m loving it.
Thank you for your hard work. I really love the way you explain things. It helped me a lot to understand some basics for my project.
Best explanation out there of compression basics. I'm a beginner French voice over artist and I've researched high and low, trying to understand what compression is but other videos are way above my head. Yours is to the point and very educational. Thank you for your time!
The best explanation of a compressor I've seen on RUclips! Thank you for explaining all the settings well in plain English. Cheers
This is the best explanation I have ever heard!! Wow. Thank you.
You are the only video I could find on RUclips who explained the mechanics of a compressor instead of telling me to input magic numbers in the compressor. I now understand how it's working and can tune it for myself as required. For voiceovers over games I keep compression on the game at a high ratio but almost none on my voice to allow passing that excitement that comes in my voice during certain moments.
On the other hand during screen recordings and sharing instructions I have enough compression on my voice that i don't need to do multiple takes cause some part was very low in sound.
Thanks a lot for explaining like you did.
This was the best overview of compression I've seen. Compression was a difficult one to get my head around at first. Its so important to understand the relationship between compression and gain. Its all about balance.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I'm currently learning how to record my own voice and have already gone through dozens of tutorials, yet your voice stands out exceptionally. It's rich and clear, without any unwanted booming or hissing. Listening to it feels like being enveloped in sound. It's truly intriguing. I need to listen to your other recordings to understand whether it's a unique characteristic of your voice or something that can be learned. 🤔
Dude, you're awesome. Truly understanding compression has eluded me until now. Many thanks!
This guy just displayed knowledge worth a few hundred bucks, you would normally spend on a class about audio engineering, in a free YT video.
I cannot begin to express how grateful I am for your tutorials! I was actually able to track with you, and UNDERSTAND the concepts you were conveying. As a 'non-techy' voice over artist that is absolutely invaluable; thank you so much!!
The clarity of your explanations, with examples, is always so much more understandable than other people on You Tube. I love your content, it has saved me money and time. As well as being entertaining - I compress ads using my mute button, so i can never hear what they are saying.
thanks millions for your generosity in teaching me the real facts about compression.i'm a complete novice and learned almost everything i need to know about this.
Thanks for getting a newbie like me started in understanding how to get compression working for me!
Thank you for this - you've made it so simple and understandable! I feel like I finally understand it and the best way I can use it
This video made compression so clear. Using the tone was an excellent idea to demonstrate your points. Nice job. Thank you. 26:17
The TV Commercial audio level analogy is spot on! Helped reinforce my understanding of live sound use =)
Absolutely fantastic teaching explanation for non-techies. Your way of explaining should be the norm. THX a lot!
This is the best description of audio compression I've found on RUclips so far! And I like that you used Reaper to show it. Here's a suggestion that I found helpful -- when you're getting started with compression and trying to understand it, add the "JS: Tone Generator" as the first plugin in your effect chain. Then double-click the Tone Generator to pop it out into its own window so you can control the frequency/amplitude of the tone while you're experimenting with the compression settings.
THANK YOU for this! I'm new and I have no idea what all of the terminology means. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain what compression is, not just how to adjust it.
Thanks so much. I'm about to clean up my first recorded samples... I'm getting some last-minute knowhow from your channel. I love the way you present the info and I just wanted to pop in and say thank you for all the helpful information.
5:50 great explanation, you gave it relevance by giving a scenario and a reason to use this.
I just wanted to thank you for all the videos they have been a huge help in educating me about audio.
Thank Mike! I'm just trying to get into voice acting and there is so much that I am learning from this channel! Thank you Thank you!
You are the best... your videos never fail to teach me something new. Thank you.
you explained this in the best terms I have ever heard. thank you.
Such a great video. Thank you very much! :)
I watched many of your youtube videos. All of them are very nice, thank you very much. I want to thank you especially, for this video. Because it is very difficult to tell the subject to those who have no knowledge about the subject, I know very well from my experiences in consultancy service periods. Choosing simple words, examples, even for someone like me who is unaware of the subject, was very useful.
I am retired now, I have plenty of free time. I am playing a PC game, and I want to make youtube videos by voiceover the replays of the games I've played. I would like to thank you again for your youtube videos.
Best regards,
Pasha
I've been looking for this video for some time. I've been looking for someone to explain it in a way that I can understand it. Thank you so much for this video!
Love this channel, you are my favorite virtual instructor! Thanks for every video!
Thank you SO much!!! What an amazing explanation! I’m a total novice and I understood exactly what you are saying.
Thanks for your great advice! The fact that you are using Reaper was perfect for my needs!
Thanks Mike. Good video. I really appreciate your expertise.
I gotta say you have an awesome voice! Great explanation! Thank you so much, I owe you one brother!
HI, I am a musician, and singer, and your's explanation are so clear ! very good job ! From Paris, France : )
Best explanation of compression that I've found. Nutty sent me here. Thank you!
Just a beginner in the Audio world but have always been curious as to how to approach compression. Now I feel like I have some knowledge that I can apply yo my next project. Many thanks.
Thanks Mike, your videos are fantastically helpful. So great of you to make these.
I am sure that this video will be of great help to a lot of people.
Came back to rewatch this to refresh on Reacomp. So funny to see videos from before we all got camera/lens with good eye detection AF. I use my hands on camera a lot and it's so good not to have focus shift like this anymore.
Bah! Where was RUclips when I was a baby dj? Thank you for a FANTASTIC explanation delivered with dulcet tones. Reminds me of VO heroes, Beau Weaver, John Wells, Doc Morgan. Nicely done!
awesome explanation, now the settings I've used forever may need to be adjusted after watching this. lol, great video!
Very good technical explanation, this part is completely applicable to musicians.
Thank you for making this!! I just a a new preamp tube mp/c today so your video is greatly welcomed!!
Such a great cache of videos! Thank you for posting these tidbits for those of us just starting out. I've watched a ton of videos on compression and none of them ever bothered to put it into layman's terms FIRST before moving onto the technical aspects - and they were videos for beginners! Lynda let me down, what can I say. Ha ha. Anyhow, thank you! I'm busy watching many of your other videos as well. They're excellent!
Thank you Mike, for this very clear explanation!
Thanks Mike. I use two compressors one after a 120 hz high pass and one after some high end boost. I am a ham radio hobbyist and I have a man crush on your voice. ;)
Really helpful. Now I finally understand compression. Thank you.
Thank you for this excellent, clear explanation and demo! I'm going to start playing with a compressor between projects, using what I've learned here--much appreciated :)
wow, i watched several videos and yours is the only one that made it click! thanks so much.
I finally understand what compression is. Great video.
Thank you so much! I got a rejection letter from Audible today on my first ever audiobook with issues and solutions. After I finished crying I had to look up words and acronyms. My sound engineer got sick. I now have to master myself. SCARY! But you made it sound possible. I see other videos with your face. I am going to check them out.
Such a wonderful explanation, loved it! Love from India!!!
I don't understand what you're saying most of the time, but I keep coming back to your videos, they've helped me out with setting up my microphone in Reaper, for doing voice recordings and commentary stuff over the last year. Really appreciate it man. I would sound lesser in my videos without you. :) Thanks.
Very well explained, so helpful. I used to remember this stuff and this really helped jog my memory!
It really helps. Watched this before but I feel today that I’ve understood something.Thanks so much from Sydney
Watching in 2020, great explanation. Helped tremendously!
Perfectly explained. Thank you very, very much for the effort!
Thank you so much!
I'm into audio production and found dozens of compression tutorials to be crazy confusing, as mixing engineers are still keeping the elitist mistery about compression. Even in a sound engineering school last year I couldn't understand it so well...
Oh the soft knee means that it will start compressing at a slow ratio and increase it in a way that sounds natural, not abruptly as with hard knee when reaching the full ratio.
You're a great teacher 🎶💜
Hey Mike, another great video! Slight stickler here: Im a pro mix engineer and broadcast engoneer. The knee gently increases the ratio as the audio approaces the threshold, so it is acting BELOW the threshold. For voiceover work knee is important and should not be at 0, it should be turned up a fair bit. This means there will be a gradual application of compression as you get louder. With no soft knee the compressor will do nothing until the threshold is hit and then it will jump into action. Compression is more transparent on VO woth soft knee! Hope this helps.
thank you so much for your clarification, much appreciated. so my passion for audio engineering started just few months ago, as my husband is a voice over actor, I started playing with his raw recordings on reaper , and he told me that I have some potentials at editing, processing and adding background music. that's got me excited to learn more bout audio engineering. i know it is not easy, and it is a big learning curve but I really want to get into it. any advice and resources? and can someone become an audio engineer without going to audio engineering school?
Helpful to those of us who need to up our audio game. Thanks.
Wow, newbie here, I’ve been looking for a decent video to explain compression from the basics, this was incredible. Thanks for the great content!
Thanks for this clear explanation. Very helpful.
A job well done... Man you made the difference!
Thank you so much!! I know this is an old video but I just had to say it. Amazing information to the point and I was so easily able make the correct changes on my side. This has saved me so much time.... and money... in the audio learning process. Thank you, thank you! :)
This is simply an amazing video and should be basic watching for anyone with a crappy dynamic Mr.Microphone and limited editing skills making stunningly visual content with ear-raping audio. Happy New Year 2019!!
Hello, I'm just starting on this journey, thanks for the "language course" it feels like foreign language immersion at the moment, off to find the Jargon video. Thanks for all your help! Vicky
Great informative video! Still helpful 5 years later! Also reminded me to turn off auto focus when recording lol
Yay! The black art of compression, de-mystified. Starting out, I worked with an analogue compressor front end. Not a great idea, as you can't uncompress the result if the client asks for something different, nor can you really judge what you are getting when you are yapping at the same time!
So I went to software which lets me work on a copy of my track after recording.
I was lucky to stumble upon the FabFilter plug-ins: excellent sound, helpful pre-sets and above all a really good dynamic visual interface which makes all the difference to speed and confidence if you are more a performer than a trained engineer! I have no kind of connection with the company or any other, but would urge a free trial.
This was a spectacular class.