ProSoundFormula Compression Made Simple [TUTORiAL]

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Welcome to Compression Made Simple.



I was a little bit hesitant to create a program called Compression Made Simple when probably one of the most confusing and complicated and pretty much opposite of simple things that we have is the compressor.



And Im sure you know this first hand which is probably why youre here right now.



But Ive spent a lot of time to make this program as simple as possible and Im going to be showing you a lot of different concepts in a lot of different ways.



Im going to show you visually, some different diagrams and illustrations and show you the kind of theory and then Im going to take you practically into a session and show you exactly how those things apply.



So youre going to hear me repeating a lot of the same ideas over and over again and this is all intentional.



And the reason is, is that as humans, were kind of a little bit strange.



We dont tend to learn things the first time that we hear them.



Weve got to hear things a couple of different times and then eventually, you know, the 11th time that we hear something, suddenly we go, okay, thats how that works.



Its so simple.



Meanwhile, weve heard it a whole bunch of times before.



So by the end of this program, youre gonna know exactly what compression is, where it came from, why we use this stuff called compression, and youre gonna understand exactly how to use it to transform your tracks.



Youre gonna understand how to use the different controls.



In fact, Im actually gonna take you through a session called the Compressor Setup Guide, where Im gonna show you exactly how to figure out how to set up each control on a compressor, no matter what you compress it.



Im also going to show you some practical sessions where Ill take you through how I approach compressing all the major instrument groups, drums, vocals, bass, guitars, that kind of stuff and not only that, but Im even going to give you the same session files that Im working on that Im showing these demonstrations on so that you can put these same methods, these same techniques into practice yourself.



Prove to yourself that you can do this.



Its really not that difficult.



So let me just give you a quick tour around the program, show you whats inside and how were going to go about this and then well dive into the first video on compression essentials.



Alright, so here we are inside the Compression Made Simple program, and Im just using the downloaded version over here, but if youre watching this online, its exactly the same thing, the same structure, the same everything.



Its just a bit quicker for me to jump around this one.



So, you should find a couple of key things, whether youre in the main menu or the main folder.



First up, youll find the Compression Made Simple summary, which is a summary of the overall program, all the key ideas, techniques, and explanations on there so that you can refer back to it.



Then weve got the welcome and orientation video, which is the one that youre watching right now.



And then in part one, weve got the compression essentials and basics.



So weve got to start out with a good foundation so that everything that we build on from here, youre going to understand, youre going to be able to put it into practice.



So in the first video, weve got the compression essentials where Im going to be showing you what compressors are, where they come from, why we use compression, all the different reasons.



how they work, what theyre doing, all that kind of stuff Im going to be showing you in that video.



Then in the compression basics video, Im just going to show you a compressor practically in a session and show you how the different controls affect the sound and show you what theyre all doing kind of practically.



So were really going to cover the absolute basics over there so that I know were on the same page moving forward.



And then Ive got this compressor setup guide for you, which is a video and a PDF that goes along with it over here, which is gonna help you ask the key questions to figure out how to set up each control on a compressor, because thats often the challenge, isnt it?



You get to this compressor and its got these different controls like ratio and threshold and tack and release, and its like, well, where should these things even be set?



Well, this is gonna guide you through that practically, and Im gonna show you that in this video over here.



So by the time youve gone through part one, youll already have a pretty solid foundational understanding of what compression is, how it works, and how we go about using it.



Then in part two, weve got the compression mindsets and principles.



And here Ill be sharing with you my eight laws of compression, which are kind of like principles, theyre mindsets, theyre ways of approaching compression that just go beyond any type of technique.



Techniques are great and youre going to get a ton of them in this program but I also wanted to give you some kind of high level thinking which are going to make those techniques even more powerful.



Then in part 3 well be putting all this stuff into practice and Ill be giving you actual examples and youre going to be able to put this into practice as well.



So Ill show you how I approach compressing all the major instruments, bass, drums, guitars, keys, vocals.



And then theres also this video here called 7 Step Mix Master Compression.



I didnt actually shoot this one specifically for this program, but I realized that its by far the best, most powerful training that I have on this.



So instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, Ive just included this one for you and this will show you how to set up



a mix bus compressor, whether youre putting it on an overall mix or whether you are using it for mastering, its the same difference.



Itll show you exactly how to set up a compressor on an overall track.



So if youve downloaded the practice sessions, youll be able to follow along with some of these.



So Ive just got them in over here, and here youll find compressed bass, drums, guitars, keys, vocals, and theres even a practice session that goes along with the basics video



where you can put into practice the same things that Im going to show you.



Then in part four, weve got using compression in a mix.



And here Im just going to take you through an actual mix and show you how I use compression and how I approach and think about using it on all the different tracks and show you how a whole mix comes together using compression.



So its kind of just going to bring together all the ideas that weve covered so far.



And then finally, you have your resources folder, which just has a whole bunch of good stuff which Ive included for you.



So first, theres the 7-step mix master compressor setup.



This is the one that I told you about just now.



I know it says mix bus compressor, but whether youre putting it on the overall mix or whether youre putting it on a stereo track and mastering, its the same thing.



So this is just the kind of guide that goes along with that.



Then youll find this attack and release advanced training over here.



Now, if you want a better explanation of attack and release, and if you feel ready for it, if you kind of feel like you understand the basics, but you wanna understand that a bit better, then this sessions for you.



If youre still a little bit new to it all and youre a bit confused, then I recommend staying away from this one until the end.



Thats why I put it in the resources folder here instead of in the essentials.



So its not absolutely essential, but this is just gonna help you to really understand whats going on when it comes to attack and release settings.



Then Ive got these compression cheat sheets for you, which are basically just some of my main recommended settings for the different instrument groups.



Now its impossible to give exact settings, but these are the type of settings that I find myself using and Ill be showing you throughout the session.



Sometimes Ive given a couple of different examples like the vocals over here.



Theres a general vocal, a more aggressive one, and a more subtle one.



These are really just to get you started.



If youre not sure where to begin, you dont know what to dial in the compressor, this is a great starting point.



And theres also some printer-friendly versions over here if you want those.



Then the practice sessions, Ive already told you about those.



Then Ive got this compressor comparison video over here, where Im going to be showing you a whole bunch of different compressors.



Theres a lot here.



Whats this? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 different compressors.



And Im going to show you how they sound in comparison to each other.



Because you see all these different compressors, and they all look different, and they all claim to do different things.



But what do they actually sound like?



So Im going to show you firsthand so you can hear for yourself.



Then Ive got this compressor controls diagram over here, just showing you the main key controls and what they are, just a really nice brief explanation of them.



Then the compressor setup guide, you already saw this earlier, theres just a printer friendly version of that if you wanted.



And then finally theres just this sound terms glossary, which will help you to understand some of the terms that I might use throughout the program.



Some of these things like airy and blurry and boomy and all these things can be a bit confusing, so if youre not sure what I mean,



Just take a look in here and you should find an explanation.



And thats it.



Im going to be giving you a lot of different ideas, techniques, concepts.



Im going to be dumping a lot of stuff on you in this program.



So, I encourage you to take notes, whether thats in written form, so youre writing it down, or youre using something like Evernote on your computer and youre taking notes in there.



Something happens when you write something down that just helps you to remember it better.



So, I cant recommend that enough.



You dont have to write down every single thing you hear.



In fact, I dont recommend that at all.



Just the things that really stand out to you.



You know, when you get that light bulb moment, you go, oh, thats how that thing works over there.



Write it down.



Itll just help you remember it much better, and youll just learn the stuff even faster.



With that said, I hope you enjoy the program.



I hope you get a ton of value out of it, and Ill catch you in part one, in session one, the compression essentials.