The Gearbox has been closed up for a month but is about to reopen again. If you've been following along so far we've talked about digital multi-track recorders, microphones and outboard preamps and budgets. This edition we're going to discuss another type of outboard gear--compressors.

Compressors are used to take the peaks and valleys of sound levels out of your tracks, and give them a more consistent level. They are used during tracking, mixing and mastering, These units can work to your advantage and in the same breath destroy the hard work you've put into your recording. This now brings up the age-old question. Should I compress to tape (hard disc) or later in the mix down? This is the chance you'll have to take. If your going to compress while tracking make sure you know how your unit works inside and out and have your best ears on when setting it up. A little compression during tracking can be good, especially on drum tracks, but overdone it will destroy the track by taking out nuances and musicality. There is no way of saving over compressed tracks; you'll be starting from scratch rerecording the tracks over again. So may I suggest in the beginning when you start using a compressor give yourself the chance to figure it out.

This brings us to the second section of our topic-compressing during mix down. During mix down you have all the freedom of making changes to your compression levels and having them not being permanently etched onto tape. This, in my opinion, is the best way of doing it. The only thing that might get in your way is the fact you may not have an insert on each individual channel strip or you may not have enough compressors to fill your inserts. So you may end up making choices of what tracks need to be compressed. Or, you can rent extra units from your local music store to finish your mixes.

Last step; putting your mixes onto tape or CD. You want the overall sound to be consistent so add a little compression to your stereo mix it will be more pleasing to the ear so that certain tracks don't jump out of the mix too far.

Check out all the different manufacturers that have compressors on the retail market. Each one will have different variations to them. Links below.