Members moody Posted April 30, 2005 Members Share Posted April 30, 2005 I'm working on getting a duo together. I have spent months downloading, editing and recording midi files to the best of my ability for backing tracks. I am recording them to audio then recording them onto mini disk for easy playback on stage. I was wondering if I could use a compressor to level the backing track signal and if so how do I set it. I know it wouldn't be able to do miracles. I have gotten the audio tracks to be as close in volume to each other as I could: A very hot signal but not quite clipping. However, it isn't perfect. I'll be using a DBX-166xl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moody Posted May 1, 2005 Author Members Share Posted May 1, 2005 Bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B. Adams Posted May 1, 2005 Members Share Posted May 1, 2005 OK, probably the first thing you're going to realize when you first try to do this is that the music you're playing back is already highly compressed. There's only so much compression you can give it before it won't do anything except suck all the life out of your tracks. The best thing to do would be to get all the tracks at the same level. Try the "normalize" feature in your audio program, and set them all to the same level. Then go through and listen to each one, and see if they're the same relative level. Rehearse with them a few times, just to make sure, and adjust any tracks that aren't quite right. Try to set things up so it's easy to swap tracks out. Using a minidisc recorder will definitely help in that regard. I think that'll work a lot better than a compressor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moody Posted May 1, 2005 Author Members Share Posted May 1, 2005 Originally posted by B. Adams OK, probably the first thing you're going to realize when you first try to do this is that the music you're playing back is already highly compressed. .... etc......I think that'll work a lot better than a compressor. I'm already doing a lot of that. I'm not expecting miracles from compression (I know some people do). My leveling is limited by what I'm able to see on the VU meter, on the song wave form and listening on little computer speakers. I'm having to mix at a lot lower volume than I would be playing live. The highest volume in the mix is the kick and snare (the vocals, bass and most guitar is live) and I try to keep them at the same level from track to track. I have my mix levels saved so If I return from rehearsal needing to fix something in a mix - I've only got to tweak what I already had. I have been running of burnt CD's for rehearsals but I'm just about ready to sit down and copy it all to minidisk - watching the VU meters like a hawk (would compression be usable there?). I'll be running a couple of full PA dress rehearsal type situations (probably friends parties) to make sure it all sounds right before I hire out. Would a light compression be of any use at all once everything above has been done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 For what you are doing, compression is probably not the answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moody Posted May 2, 2005 Author Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 Originally posted by agedhorse For what you are doing, compression is probably not the answer. Thanks. It's actually getting easier than I expected. We rehearsed the first (45 minute) set tonight (where previously we have only been doing a song at a time to work it out). All the levels were approximately equal except for one song - and that's easy to fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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