The one creative use of compression I hear especially in techno music is what's commonly known as "sidechaining". Essentially, there are 2 sounds happening at the same time, and one of those sounds has a compressor assigned to it. When the first sound is played, it's signal is sent to the "sidechain input" on the compressor, which lowers the volume of the other sound. This allows that first sound to basically stand out more in the mix as apposed to trying to "compete" with the other sounds, if you know what I mean. So in the world of techno music, that first sound might be a bass drum and the second sound might be a long sustaining bass note. So every time the bass drum comes in, it reduces the volume of that bass note, and if you set the compressor settings correctly, you really can get a very rhythmic volume fluctuation effect that goes directly in time with the music and it sounds freaken awesome! :) I really like how you sort of over-simplified the concept of compression, because really, the concept is really pretty simple in reality. Even the "ratio" setting on a compressor, which can really put someone off when you explain it in a very "geeky" way (as I have seen in many compression tutorials), isn't that complicated to understand! You made it waaaay easier to understand than many tutorials seam to make it; it seams overcomplicated but that's where many tutorials just go wrong. Sorry, but if I want to understand how a concept works, explain it with the assumption that I've got practically zero knowledge of the concept in the first place! Start with the very very basics and really explain exactly what's going on in plain freaken real world English, then get a little more technical when needed :)
Justin, really really appreciate your words! This is lovely to hear. The sidechain stuff is totally true as well. I use it creatively often to give boring pads movemnt too, and usually sidechain a bunch of stuff to a 1/4 kick that's muted, while having a real kick pumping. Thanks for the comment!!!
@@AdamRowleygrowley You're welcome. Another thing people tend to find confusing (and it's not entirely compression related at all) is the difference between "gain" and "volume". People tend to think they're literally the same thing, and even on some electronic products, you'll sometimes see something that has the "gain" label slapped onto it, when really it's controlling something with volume and not "gain". Happens somewhat frequently :) perhaps that's another thing you could "over-simplify" in another video :). Even on a compressor, you'll see a control that's labeled make-up "gain", when it's actually not "gain" at all.
I’m in love, thank you so much Adam! I don’t feel like a stupid blond for the first time in a very long time since being on this production journey. Do you have some kind of a one on one program at all? Or some kind of a course ? I’m a singer songwriter and well wanna be producer .. I study it but not everything is covered and some things remain a mystery .
haha hey! This video is pretty old so sorry if it’s a little waffle-y! I haven’t got a course and i haven’t done one on one lessons in a while. I tour a lot these days and have a lot less time for videos. However if you hit me up on instagram, i’d love to talk music with you and any tips or tricks i can give i’d be more than happy to help. @agrowley
Great Info! But why didn't you use the actual la 2a legacy to demonstrate on how to use the la 2a legacy instead of using something else to describe it? Hard to follow that way. Thumbs up though.
Hey Shaun! Totally reasonable question. I used the Logic Default plug-ins because I wanted this video to be accessible to everyone with Logic (Or any DAW!). The original LA2a Models don't have the attack/release/ratio knobs in the same way, so if you didn't have a specific model of an LA2a, you wouldn't know how to replicate that sound. If you DO have an LA2a plug-in, then you're going to want to adjust the left knob until you're achieving 3db approx of reduction. That'll give you the same effect. The rest is decided by the unit itself!
Most so called HD music videos on You Tube are over compressed. You start to increase the volume to max and the distortion is so bad. Older recordings you can go from zero to max without distortion. If you want to hear the worst commercially produced CD, get a copy of REM Monster album. As soon as you increase to max volume it is very badly distorted. Hip Hop artists think the louder , the better, but they keep asking why the music isn't clear at loud volumes. You want to hear a good recording listen to Shopping Bag Lady by The Guess Who.
It's true! The loudness war was/is a real thing. The fact that most streaming platforms and players now include a "normalise" mode that is on by default has changed this though. Now artists are pushing for more width and energy in the production because everyone is being played at a consistent volume. Hip Hop artists are as guilty as pop/rock/dance artists! It was a great way to stand out, particularly on radio.
The one creative use of compression I hear especially in techno music is what's commonly known as "sidechaining". Essentially, there are 2 sounds happening at the same time, and one of those sounds has a compressor assigned to it. When the first sound is played, it's signal is sent to the "sidechain input" on the compressor, which lowers the volume of the other sound. This allows that first sound to basically stand out more in the mix as apposed to trying to "compete" with the other sounds, if you know what I mean. So in the world of techno music, that first sound might be a bass drum and the second sound might be a long sustaining bass note. So every time the bass drum comes in, it reduces the volume of that bass note, and if you set the compressor settings correctly, you really can get a very rhythmic volume fluctuation effect that goes directly in time with the music and it sounds freaken awesome! :)
I really like how you sort of over-simplified the concept of compression, because really, the concept is really pretty simple in reality. Even the "ratio" setting on a compressor, which can really put someone off when you explain it in a very "geeky" way (as I have seen in many compression tutorials), isn't that complicated to understand! You made it waaaay easier to understand than many tutorials seam to make it; it seams overcomplicated but that's where many tutorials just go wrong. Sorry, but if I want to understand how a concept works, explain it with the assumption that I've got practically zero knowledge of the concept in the first place! Start with the very very basics and really explain exactly what's going on in plain freaken real world English, then get a little more technical when needed :)
Justin, really really appreciate your words! This is lovely to hear. The sidechain stuff is totally true as well. I use it creatively often to give boring pads movemnt too, and usually sidechain a bunch of stuff to a 1/4 kick that's muted, while having a real kick pumping.
Thanks for the comment!!!
@@AdamRowleygrowley You're welcome.
Another thing people tend to find confusing (and it's not entirely compression related at all) is the difference between "gain" and "volume". People tend to think they're literally the same thing, and even on some electronic products, you'll sometimes see something that has the "gain" label slapped onto it, when really it's controlling something with volume and not "gain". Happens somewhat frequently :) perhaps that's another thing you could "over-simplify" in another video :). Even on a compressor, you'll see a control that's labeled make-up "gain", when it's actually not "gain" at all.
Big video. Smashed it! 🙏🏻
Thanks man! Hope it was helpful!
I’m in love, thank you so much Adam! I don’t feel like a stupid blond for the first time in a very long time since being on this production journey. Do you have some kind of a one on one program at all? Or some kind of a course ? I’m a singer songwriter and well wanna be producer .. I study it but not everything is covered and some things remain a mystery .
haha hey!
This video is pretty old so sorry if it’s a little waffle-y!
I haven’t got a course and i haven’t done one on one lessons in a while. I tour a lot these days and have a lot less time for videos. However if you hit me up on instagram, i’d love to talk music with you and any tips or tricks i can give i’d be more than happy to help. @agrowley
This is awsome. Thx alot.
No problem Joel! Hope you have a bit better grasp on compression now!
Great Info! But why didn't you use the actual la 2a legacy to demonstrate on how to use the la 2a legacy instead of using something else to describe it? Hard to follow that way. Thumbs up though.
Hey Shaun!
Totally reasonable question. I used the Logic Default plug-ins because I wanted this video to be accessible to everyone with Logic (Or any DAW!). The original LA2a Models don't have the attack/release/ratio knobs in the same way, so if you didn't have a specific model of an LA2a, you wouldn't know how to replicate that sound.
If you DO have an LA2a plug-in, then you're going to want to adjust the left knob until you're achieving 3db approx of reduction. That'll give you the same effect. The rest is decided by the unit itself!
@@AdamRowleygrowley I understand..Thanks
Most so called HD music videos on You Tube are over compressed. You start to increase the volume to max and the distortion is so bad. Older recordings you can go from zero to max without distortion. If you want to hear the worst commercially produced CD, get a copy of REM Monster album. As soon as you increase to max volume it is very badly distorted. Hip Hop artists think the louder , the better, but they keep asking why the music isn't clear at loud volumes. You want to hear a good recording listen to Shopping Bag Lady by The Guess Who.
It's true! The loudness war was/is a real thing. The fact that most streaming platforms and players now include a "normalise" mode that is on by default has changed this though. Now artists are pushing for more width and energy in the production because everyone is being played at a consistent volume.
Hip Hop artists are as guilty as pop/rock/dance artists! It was a great way to stand out, particularly on radio.
I hope my videos aren't OVER compressed! They are definitely compressed though. Get them vocals nice and juicy.