blech.. pop punk has a bad enough reputation for creepers without also covering R. Kelly..

(I realize that video is old)

penningtron wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 10:02 am

losthighway wrote: Sun Feb 27, 2022 7:55 pm

Mickey242 wrote: Sun Feb 27, 2022 7:03 pm Edit: Parallel compression on everything.

You watch your mouth.

huh.. yeah, parallel compression is pretty subtle compared to the seasick-inducing squashing you hear so much of these days. Unless OP means 'a bunch of squashed busses ran in parallel'?

I'd actually never heard of parallel compression until the other day when I was looking at Mac Demarco's equipboard https://equipboard.com/pros/mac-demarco and I think he mentions using the Alesis Micro Limiter on everything. So correct me if I'm wrong, if you split signal and record dry and say, through that Alesis Micro Limiter, then blend the two... that's parallel compression, no? I guess if you did that with every single track/instrument in your mix it could sound kinda wonky...

indiegrab_360 wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 8:08 pm I'd actually never heard of parallel compression until the other day when I was looking at Mac Demarco's equipboard https://equipboard.com/pros/mac-demarco and I think he mentions using the Alesis Micro Limiter on everything. So correct me if I'm wrong, if you split signal and record dry and say, through that Alesis Micro Limiter, then blend the two... that's parallel compression, no? I guess if you did that with every single track/instrument in your mix it could sound kinda wonky...

You get it.

It's pretty much a way to make compression less obvious. By aggressively compressing something you make it have a more even presence in the mix, by blending that with an uncompressed signal you still have some movement. It's mainly a popular technique for mixing drums, but some people use it for vocals.

Compression makes mixes awesome. Compression ruins mixes. Use discerningly.

losthighway wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 10:15 pm

indiegrab_360 wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 8:08 pm I'd actually never heard of parallel compression until the other day when I was looking at Mac Demarco's equipboard https://equipboard.com/pros/mac-demarco and I think he mentions using the Alesis Micro Limiter on everything. So correct me if I'm wrong, if you split signal and record dry and say, through that Alesis Micro Limiter, then blend the two... that's parallel compression, no? I guess if you did that with every single track/instrument in your mix it could sound kinda wonky...

You get it.

It's pretty much a way to make compression less obvious. By aggressively compressing something you make it have a more even presence in the mix, by blending that with an uncompressed signal you still have some movement. It's mainly a popular technique for mixing drums, but some people use it for vocals.

Compression makes mixes awesome. Compression ruins mixes. Use discerningly.

I was trying to listen for it on his recordings while driving home, but I guess it's kinda tricky because the stereo image of the drums seemed pretty wide. I was listening to cuts from maybe two different albums from him. ...And when I think of compression I think of something that's kinda squashed in the center in terms of panning.

Is it possible to have a compressed stereo drum sound (perhaps by parallel compression) that also has a wide stereo image?

I have been noticing some different drum sounds on albums that seem kinda squashed. Was listening to "Breeders - Last Splash" and kinda thought the drums were a bit squished sounding. Funny what you'll hear when you're looking for it.

indiegrab_360 wrote: Tue Mar 01, 2022 12:49 am Is it possible to have a compressed stereo drum sound (perhaps by parallel compression) that also has a wide stereo image?

I think so, yeah. Cymbals swooshing across the mix might become an issue, which may be a reason a lot of squished drum sounds are panned in or recorded with 1 mic. And yeah compression may make it seem more mono anyway.. I'm not completely sure why, maybe due to boosting mids?

There are also stereo widening effects but I haven't messed around with those much. Beware of mono compatibility issues.

indiegrab_360 wrote: Tue Mar 01, 2022 12:49 am Is it possible to have a compressed stereo drum sound (perhaps by parallel compression) that also has a wide stereo image?

Easily possible. If the drums have a wide stereo image, they're going to have a wide stereo image unless you specifically do something to narrow it, like put it into M/S and boost the M or lower the S. If you compress it, parallel or otherwise, it's just going to be compressed, it won't alter the stereo image in any drastic way.

IMO any of the stereo-widening stuff is best avoided. If you want things wide, just pan them hard l and r.

If you don't watch television much, next time there's a baseball game on, watch it. Listen to the newer music played during the commercials, especially for things like beer/whiskey, aftershave, steakhouse chains, rugged men's wear, and shaving gels.

If your music sounds like THAT...it's probably cheesy.

i didnt read the rest of the thread. apologies if my bitching has been covered already.

i would say...

- filtered vocals while the rest of the band 'drops out' for 2-4 beats before coming back in (ala ministry 'hero', 'just one fix', NIN/manson, bleh)
- gated/over-reverberated drums
- obvious synthesizer presets
- fake audience noise (especially during guitar solos)
- harpsichords, anytime (type o negative *puke*)
- string sections in 'heavy' ballads
- anything metallica post 1985 (see directly above)
- digital robot puking autotune (ala Future)
- "producer tags" (every modern rap song has these. imagine if steve screamed his name on every song he engineered, lmao)

i have a lot more to complain about, but i've already got a headache.

stompy wrote: Wed Mar 02, 2022 1:22 pm - "producer tags" (every modern rap song has these. imagine if steve screamed his name on every song he engineered, lmao)

i have a lot more to complain about, but i've already got a headache.

Man, having Steve do a Funkmaster Flex on every In Utero song would really have made it.

Krev wrote:Man, having Steve do a Funkmaster Flex on every In Utero song would really have made it.

You could snag Wesley Willis' voice during the chorus of "Steve Albini" on the Fiasco LP and add it to the beginning of every song if you'd like.

I'd enjoy it.