Pass The Car Test Every Time!

Summary

In this informative audio production tutorial, the speaker shares a technique known as the 'compressor cocktail' to achieve a tight and impactful low end in music production. The process begins with a low cut at 20 Hertz to eliminate unnecessary low frequencies, followed by the use of the FabFilter Pro MB for compression settings that enhance the bass without making it flabby. The speaker emphasizes the importance of using ears and visual cues to find the right crossover point and compression settings. The cocktail continues with an old-school compressor like the Fairchild for a warm, gluey sound that brings the entire mix together. The tutorial also covers side chain filtering and the use of a gain reduction plugin for accurate A/B testing. The speaker provides links for downloading project settings and further learning resources, promising a follow-up video on mastering with Ozone 10.

Takeaways

• 🎚️ **Room Acoustics Impact**: Achieving a tight low end can be difficult in a room that isn't well-treated acoustically.
• 🚗 **Car Test Reference**: A mix that sounds good in your space might not translate well elsewhere, like in a car.
• 🍹 **Compressor Cocktail**: A set of go-to compressor settings can help fix low-end issues and improve translation across different listening environments.
• 🔊 **Low Cut Application**: Using a low cut filter at 20 Hertz can remove unnecessary low frequencies without losing the essential low end.
• 📊 **Visual and Auditory Adjustment**: Set the crossover point on the compressor by using both visual cues from the screen and auditory feedback from your speakers.
• 🔧 **Compression Settings**: A 4:1 ratio, medium knee, midway attack, and fast release are suggested settings for controlling the bass.
• 🎶 **Mono Summing**: Slightly monoing the bass can help tighten it up without going fully mono, which is often unnecessary.
• 📈 **Gain Reduction**: Add a small amount of gain reduction to the low mids to add weight and smack to the low end, but be cautious of muddiness.
• 🔉 **Threshold Adjustment**: Adjust the threshold so the compressor moves quickly to give a nice smack to the low end without losing the kick.
• 🎛️ **Vintage Compressor Use**: An old-sounding compressor like the Fairchild can be used for its warmth and gluey sound without heavy gain reduction.
• ⚙️ **Side Chain Filter**: Use a side chain filter to prevent low-end frequencies from triggering the compressor too much, allowing the mix to come together.
• 📉 **Subtle Compression**: Barely touching the threshold on the Fairchild compressor can add character without significant gain reduction.
• 🔇 **Gain Matching**: Use a gain matching plugin to compare the pre- and post-compression audio levels to ensure a fair comparison.
• 🔗 **Resources for Learning**: Links are provided to download project files and settings, as well as to learn more about mastering and mixing.

Q & A

Why is achieving a tight low end difficult in a room that's not well-treated?

A tight low end can be challenging to achieve in a room that's not well-treated because the room's acoustics can distort the sound, making it sound good in that space but failing to translate well to other environments, such as a car audio system.

What is the term used in the industry to describe a set of go-to settings that fix bass issues?

The term used in the industry for a set of go-to settings that address bass issues is the 'compressor cocktail'.

What is the purpose of using a low cut at 20 Hertz?

Using a low cut at 20 Hertz helps to remove unnecessary low-frequency 'waffle' or rumble that may not be needed and can muddy the sound. It also prepares the sound for the addition of more controlled low-end frequencies.

How does the FabFilter Pro MB contribute to the 'compressor cocktail'?

The FabFilter Pro MB is used in the 'compressor cocktail' to add compression to the low end, making it tighter and more defined. It also helps to translate well across different listening environments.

What is the significance of setting the crossover point on the compressor?

The crossover point on the compressor is set to identify where the low end of the kick drum occurs. This helps to focus the compression on the correct frequency range, ensuring that the kick and bass are separate and punchy without being overly compressed.

Why is it important to use your ears when adjusting the gain reduction and threshold on the compressor?

Using your ears is crucial because it allows you to make subjective judgments about how the compression is affecting the sound. This ensures that the low end is not overly compressed, maintaining a natural and dynamic sound.

What is the role of the Fairchild compressor in the 'compressor cocktail'?

The Fairchild compressor is used in the 'compressor cocktail' to add warmth and glue to the overall sound. It compresses the top end slightly and brings the entire signal together, resulting in a more cohesive and punchy mix.

How does the side chain filter, or detection filter, affect the compression process?

The side chain filter allows the compressor to react only to frequencies above a certain threshold, ignoring those below it. This helps to prevent the low end from dominating the compression and ensures that the entire mix is compressed cohesively.

Why is it recommended not to have the Fairchild compressor's output needles moving significantly?

Not having the output needles move significantly on the Fairchild compressor indicates that the compression is subtle and not overly aggressive. This preserves the vibe and warmth of the sound without over-compressing the signal.

What is the purpose of using a gain matching plugin like iZotope's Insight?

A gain matching plugin ensures that when comparing different settings (A/B testing), the gain is consistent. This allows for an accurate comparison of the audio without being misled by differences in volume.

How does the 'compressor cocktail' help with achieving a balanced low end in music production?

The 'compressor cocktail' helps by using a combination of low cut filters, precise compressor settings, and additional compression with a vintage compressor like the Fairchild to achieve a tight, punchy, and well-defined low end that translates well across various listening environments.

What is the next step recommended for those who want to learn more about mastering or mixing?

The next step for those interested in mastering or mixing is to visit streaky.com, which is suggested in the script as a resource for further learning.

Outlines

00:00

🎚️ Achieving a Tight Low End with Compressor Cocktail

The paragraph discusses the challenge of achieving a tight low end in a recording environment without the benefit of a well-treated room. The speaker introduces the concept of a 'compressor cocktail,' a set of go-to settings that can fix common low-end issues. The focus is on using a compressor to address flabby bass sounds and ensure they translate well across different audio systems. The speaker provides a step-by-step guide, starting with a low cut at 20 Hertz to eliminate unnecessary low frequencies and then using the FabFilter Pro MB for dynamic compression to tighten the low end. The settings include a 4:1 ratio, a medium knee, a midway attack, and a fast release, with adjustments made to mono the bass slightly and add some level in the low mids for weight and impact. The paragraph concludes with a demonstration of the improved sound and an introduction to the next part of the compressor cocktail.

05:00

🎛️ Adding Warmth and Punch with an Old-School Compressor

This paragraph continues the discussion on enhancing the low end of a mix by introducing an old-school compressor, specifically a Fairchild compressor from UA, to the 'compressor cocktail'. The speaker emphasizes that the goal is not to compress heavily but to achieve a warm, gluey sound that adds vibe to the mix. The Fairchild is set up with a side chain filter to ignore frequencies below 150 Hertz, focusing on the higher frequencies to maintain the low-end control achieved previously. The settings include a quick attack and a threshold that barely engages to avoid significant needle movement, aiming for a subtle effect. The speaker demonstrates the difference the Fairchild makes in the mix, highlighting the tighter bass and cleaner sound. The paragraph ends with a mention of using a gain reduction plugin for A/B testing and a teaser for the next video on mastering in Ozone 10.

Keywords

💡Low End

The 'low end' refers to the lower frequency range of sound, typically below 500 Hz. In the context of the video, achieving a tight low end means having a well-defined and impactful bass sound. The script discusses the importance of managing the low end to ensure that the bass frequencies are clear and do not cause muddiness in the mix.

💡Compressor Cocktail

The term 'compressor cocktail' is used in the audio industry to describe a combination of compression settings or a chain of compressor plugins used to achieve a specific effect. In the video, this cocktail is used to fix bass issues and improve the overall sound quality, making it more suitable for various listening environments.

💡Fabfilter Pro MB

Fabfilter Pro MB is a dynamic range compressor plugin used in audio production. It is mentioned in the script as a part of the compressor cocktail settings. The plugin is known for its high-quality sound processing and is used to tighten up the low end and make it more defined.

💡Crossover Point

The 'crossover point' refers to the frequency at which a filter starts to significantly affect the sound. In the video, the crossover point is set to focus on the low end of the kick drum, ensuring that the compression settings are applied effectively to the desired frequencies.

💡Compression Ratio

A 'compression ratio' is a setting on a compressor that determines how much the output level is reduced once the input level exceeds the threshold. A 4:1 ratio, as mentioned in the script, means that for every 4 dB the input signal increases above the threshold, the output increases by 1 dB.

💡Attack and Release

The 'attack' and 'release' settings on a compressor control how quickly the compressor starts to reduce gain after the input level exceeds the threshold (attack), and how quickly it stops reducing gain once the input level drops below the threshold (release). In the video, a medium attack and fast release are chosen to achieve a specific tightness in the sound.

💡Monoing the Bass

When the script refers to 'monoing the bass', it means adjusting the bass frequencies to behave in a mono-compatible way, which can help to tighten up the low end and prevent issues with phase cancellation in various playback systems. This is part of the process to make the bass sound more defined and less 'flabby'.

💡Gain Reduction

Gain reduction is the amount by which the output level of a signal is reduced by a compressor. In the video, the presenter is careful not to over-compress the signal, aiming for a balance where the bass is tightened without losing its impact or causing the mix to become overly compressed.

💡Threshold

The 'threshold' on a compressor is the level at which the compressor starts to work. In the context of the video, adjusting the threshold is crucial to achieving the desired effect on the low end, ensuring that the compressor engages at the right levels to tighten the bass.

💡Fairchild Compressor

The Fairchild compressor is a classic piece of audio equipment known for its warm and gluey sound. In the video, a Fairchild compressor from UA's plugin line is used not for heavy compression, but for its coloration and to add a vintage vibe to the overall sound, contributing to the 'compressor cocktail'.

💡Side Chain Filter

A 'side chain filter', also known as a detection filter, is used on a compressor to determine which frequencies trigger the compression. In the script, the side chain filter is set to ignore frequencies below a certain point, allowing the compressor to react primarily to the kick drum and bass frequencies, thus enhancing their impact.

💡Gain Matching

Gain matching is the process of ensuring that two audio signals have the same level, which is important when comparing different settings or mixes (A/B testing). In the video, a plugin is used to match the gain of the audio before and after applying the compressor settings, allowing for a fair comparison of the effects.

Highlights

Achieving a tight low end can be difficult without a well-treated room.

The 'compressor cocktail' is a go-to setting to fix low-end issues.

The Fabfilter Pro MB is used with specific settings to enhance the low end.

A low cut at 20 Hertz is recommended to remove unnecessary low frequencies.

The low cut should be gradual, not a straight brick wall cut.

The crossover point on the compressor helps to isolate the low end kick.

Settings include a 4:1 ratio, medium knee, midway attack, and fast release.

Monoing the bass slightly can tighten the low end.

Adding 1 dB of gain at a specific range can enhance the low end without muddiness.

Threshold adjustment is crucial for fast movement and a tight low end.

Using an old-type sounding compressor like the Fairchild can add warmth and vibe.

The Fairchild is used more for its sound than actual compression.

A side chain filter is used to avoid the low end from controlling the compression.

The threshold on the Fairchild should be set to barely affect the gain reduction.

The use of a gain reduction plugin allows for accurate A/B testing.

The final result is a tighter bass sound without losing the kick.

Project files and settings can be downloaded for personal experimentation.

An upcoming video will cover mastering in Ozone 10.

Transcripts

we all crave a really tight low end but

if you're not in a well-treated room to

achieve this it's near impossible it

sounds great in your space but instantly

fails the car test wouldn't it be great

if you had some go-to settings that fix

this issue once and for all well I'm

about to give you those settings and in

the industry we call this the compressor

cocktail so you're at your studio you

don't know what the bass is sounding

like because you haven't got massive

speakers like I've got so I've got some

settings I use them all the time on

tracks where the bass is a bit flabby I

can hear what's going on so I know that

these work and I know these translate to

any other speakers this is going to save

your low end so I'm going to show you

today with a dance track how to do it

then you'll be able to do this on any

type of music it also works for band

music where you've got a sort of flabby

kick and stuff like that so let's have a

quick listen to what we're dealing with

foreign

but it's not very well defined so we

want to get that so that we can hear the

kick and the bass separate and we want

them to be really Punchy so first thing

we do is we are going to get a low cut

now I'm just using logic's standard low

cut we want to do a cut at 20 Hertz now

I can hear loads of dance music people

crying at the moment saying but there's

stuff going on at 20 Hertz I don't want

to cut it off but the fact is it doesn't

matter that you're cutting that off

because we're going to add some again

what is this going to do all the waffle

that's hanging around under 20 Hertz

it's going to move that away now when

you're counting 20 Hertz you're not just

doing a straight down brick wall cut

you're doing a cut so it's like that 20

Hertz is here so you are still getting

some of this low end down to zero it's

not just straight down like that let's

have a listen to the low car and you can

hear what's going on

foreign

when you're in a nightclub I know that

you want it to be smacking through and

that's why I'm going to show you the

next thing that we're going to add to

this this is the fabfilter pro MB this

is the streaky compressor cocktail

setting which you can download from the

link in the description but for the

moment let me just tell you exactly how

this is set up and why I've set it up

this way so what we do is the crossover

point on here when the track is playing

we can see on the um screen whereabouts

the low end kick is happening because

it's like always going to be a duck like

that let me just show you

foreign

so you can see it was around that area

here so that's where we put the

crossover point so you need to use your

ears but you can also use your eyes

because you can roughly see where the

main bit of the kick and stuff is

happening and it's usually you know

around the hundred points so I won't go

any lower than 80 Hertz won't go any

higher than 120. the next thing we want

to do is go through these settings here

we've got it in Dynamic phase ratios

four to one sort of medium knee then

we're going Midway attack and a fast

release we're obviously in compression

mode now this output here what we're

doing is I'm just bringing this outside

down halfway everything that this is

affecting it's Mont taking away level

from the side so this is just monoing

the base a little bit I'm not going to

go four mono just knit a little bit

because then it'll get it a little bit

tighter a lot of the times a lot of the

bass is mono anyway but this is just to

make sure and now the settings up here

now we want to add about 1 DB of game

pain this range so the amount it will

come down is around 3 DB when it comes

to this curve here you need to use your

ears because what we're doing we're

adding some level here so in effect

we're EQ in the low end we're bringing

up a DB of level in the low end and then

we use our ears here because if you can

see this curve is going all the way up

to about 500 Hertz so there's a lot of

other things that are going to get

affected by the level coming up but the

great thing about this is when you're

adding a bit of level in the low mids

that's where it adds some good weight to

the low end and you get a nice smack

going on but it can also start sounding

a little bit muddy so that's why I'm

saying you need to use your ears to like

bring it in a little bit don't go too

tight but don't go Ultra wide because if

you've got vocals if it's a guitar track

and you're going to start getting all

the kind of low end of that coming in

and then you're going to start eq'ing in

other places to kind of get rid of that

so what we're going to do we're just

going to then play with the threshold

until we get it so that this is giving

it some really good fast movement let me

show you that

foreign

so what's going on here is we've lifted

the level in the low end which

counteracts what we did with the cut at

20 Hertz so we've got the cut happening

we're also lifting the level so it's

kind of counteracting a bit of that cut

but that Cut's still there just to get

rid of any kind of waffle that's going

on and because we've got this compressor

moving quite quickly then what that does

it just gives it a really nice smack to

the low end it's not being sort of moved

by the stuff that's happening low down

but it's important to keep the movement

going in the low end we don't want to

just have the compressor just ducking

only we want it to be moving up to so

that we get some movement and we don't

lose all of the kick but this is what

makes it nice and tight and punch

through the speakers which leads me on

to the reason why this is called the

compressor cocktail because the next

thing in our chain is we want an old

type sounding compressor I'm using a

fair child from uad I just want the

sound of it I'm not going to be doing

any compression necessarily with this

I'm just running through it and what

this is doing it's going to be

compressing the top a touch but not

hardly any because I'm hardly touching

it because I've already got the base

under control with the previous

compressor this here is just going to be

compressing all of the signal which

means that it brings it back together as

a whole piece but it does make it really

Punchy but the sound of the compressor

of the Fairchild gives this really warm

gluey sound which just adds so much Vibe

it's insane and it works a peach every

time so for all the people that have had

a go at me in the past when I've said if

your needles are moving on your

compressor you're compressing too much

this is the reason why I say that by

just having the sound of the compressor

and not using it to like do massive gain

reduction we don't want it for that we

just want it for the vibe so first thing

I'm going to do on here is I'm setting

up the side chain filter now another

word for side chain filter is the

detection filter so if I have this at

about 100 150 it's not going to react

from the frequencies below 150 or

whatever I set it to it reacts on the

frequencies above the reason why I'm

doing this is because there's so much

energy in the low end normally the low

end will be the thing that gets detected

first by the compressor and then that's

doing all the kind of hard work we're

already controlling that low end with

the previous compressor so this is

joining it together in effect which is

kind of making the cocktail I've got the

time constraint to one which is quick

and then I've got the threshold I'm just

going to get it so that it's tickling it

and then pull it back so the needles

aren't moving at all I've got these set

on game reductions so you can see and

I'm not touching the input gain at all I

just want to run through it and I'll

show you the difference between it on

and off now let's listen to these

settings on the Fairchild I'll adjust as

we go shouldn't need too much just a bit

of threshold let's hear how it sounds

oh

my God

[Music]

so you can hear that cleans things up

nicely but I can also hear everybody out

there screaming what about the game

difference so this is the next plugin

you should always use this when you're

doing a b testing against stuff so that

you're not fooled by any gain that's

going on on the output bus of here I

have metric a b if I press match when

the track's playing it will then match

the gain of the before so that when we

flick a b I'll be able to hear the exact

difference without any game problems so

let's listen to how it sounds with the

gain exactly the same

mother

s

so now you can hear the bass is much

tighter if you want to try this out for

yourself the links are below where you

can download the project you can

download my settings for the Fab filter

and if you want to learn exactly how to

master or mix go to streaky.com the next

video coming up is me mastering in Ozone

10. so check that out if you have ozone

10 or even ozone 9.