Compressor Options

[neesley]

I never seem to get the level I would like out of my mixing. Can anybody suggest a good compressor/limiter that can help slam my tracks?

Thanks.

[abcdaniel]

Hmm, if you use that kind of ratio you should get good levels; I mean, there probably wouldn't be many peaks there... Lower the threshhold to squash more of the material, maybe, if that 10:1 ratio doesn't give you the desired level.

Maybe you should experiment some with the attack. Too fast attack will take the edge out of percussive sounds, since the *bam* in any drum will not stand out so much from the tone of the drum anymore, nor will it stand out in the mix.

I must say that hardware compressors seem quite a bit sharper. Having been mixing exclusive in a plug-in environment for a couple of years, i went to a friend of mine who had some 90s DBX compressor, and I couldn't believe my ears! It was so mean to my vocals, nowhere near what any plug-in could do.