I’ve found that one of the lesser understood bits of production and mixing in general is the whole issue of compression. What it does, when to use it, when to leave it alone. In this short tutorial I’ll cover the basics of what each of the parameters of the MClass compressor in reason do and give some examples of settings for different types of compression.

In actuality there are 3 devices in reason which can be used for compression/limiting the MClass Compressor the COMP-01 compressor and the MClass Maximiser. In this tutorial we’ll be using the MClass Compressor as its the most versatile and most generally useful of the 3. It can be used for a wide variety of effects from subtle loudness increases to hard and unnatural sounding side chain pumping effects.

M Class Compressor - Click for Close up

Parameters of the MClass Compressor and what they do

First a quick explanation of what each of the front panel controls actually do.

Input gain: A +/-12dB input level adjuster.

Threshold: Sets the level at which compression will actually start to occur. When the loudness of a signal is below the threshold level then the signal is left unaffected. Any signal above the threshold level is pulled down by an amount determined by the compression ratio. What this tends to mean in reality is that the lower the threshold is set the more obvious the compression will be.

Ratio: This control sets the amount of compression to be applied to the signal above the threshold level it can be set form 1:1 (no effect at all) to infinity:1. For example with a 4:1 compression ratio, if the input increases by 8dB, the output increases by only 2dB. Most practical day to day uses set this somewhere between 2:1 and 10:1

Soft Knee: When engaged this make the compression effcet come in more subtly and thus makes the effect more natural. This is of course not always what you want in modern dance styles or electronica.

Sidechain Solo: Allows you to hear an isolated version of the signal being input through the back panel side chain input.

Attack: Determines how quickly the compression effect is applied to a signal that goes over the threshold. A low value makes the effect come in quickly, a higher value brings the effcet in more slowly. This is useful for stopping the compressor from quietening the hard front edge of snares, high hats, etc.

Release: This determines how long compression is left applied after a signal drops down below the threshold. Lower settings will tend to sound less natural and “Pump” more. Higher settings tend to be used for more natural sounding compression.

Adapt Release: When set this automatically increases the length of the compressors release time for signals with longer peaks.

Output Gain: This is a final make up gain control to allow the final compressed signal to be made up to a level that will fit with the rest of the mix if compression has significantly lowered the overall level of a signal.

SC Solo, Attack, Release, Output Gain

General Settings for Drums

You have to listen to how aggressive the initial transient (or click/impact) at the start of the drum hit is and then lower its volume to be closer to the rest of the drum hits volume level. The more aggressive the initial hit the more less time you should give it before bringing in the compressor. Essentially you want to lower the initial impact which is much heavier than the rest of the hit and then use the make up gain to make the overall level of the drum sound louder throughout the drum hit.

Kick – Ratio: 3:1 Attack: 4ms, Release: 45ms. Soft Knee off. Adjust input gain, Threshold level and output gain to suit.

Snare – Ratio: 4:1 Attack: 4ms or less dependant on how aggressive the initial hit of the original sound is, Release: 45ms. Soft Knee off. Adjust input gain, Threshold level and output gain to suit.

General Settings for Other sounds

Vocals – Ratio: From 3:1 to 8:1 dependant on loudness, Attack: 50ms, Release: 100ms, Soft Knee On. Adjust input gain, Threshold level and output gain to suit. This is simply to take the top peaks off the vocal track so the vocals overall level can be mixed up without clipping and so sit nice and up front in the mix.

Acoustic Guitar - Ratio: 5:1 – 10:1, Attack: 5-10 ms Decay: 0.5secs. Soft Knee may be on or off dependant on playing style.

Electric Guitar – ratio 8:1 – 10:1, Attack: 5ms, Decay: 0.5 secs. Soft Knee off.

Bass – Ratio: 4:1 – 12:1, Attack: 1-10ms, Decay 05 secs. Soft Knee off.

Overall Mix Compression – Ratio: 2:1 – 6:1, Attack: 1-5ms, Decay 0.3-0.4 Seconds. Soft Knee on.

Sidechain Compression

Side chain compression is where an external signal is used to trigger the on off of the compressor rather than the threshold level. It is commonly used for House and Dance music “pumping” kick drum effects where the overall level of the general mix is pulled back while letting the Kick drum through at its normal level. We will this use in a future tutorial.

EQ before or after compression?

One question that is asked a lot is “should I EQ before or after compression”. The general consensus seems to be that you should EQ before compression in order to have a more predictable and controllable output volume of a sound in your mix. But (there’s always a but) this is not a written in stone hard rule. In some more experimental cases you can EQ after but the results tend to be less predictable.

One thing many beginners have problems with in reason is mixing. While mixing is a very deep subject and in fact many entire books have been written on the subject in this article we’ll attempt to cover the first of the fundamental aspects of mixing, EQ. What devices to use, how to use them and for what.

First of all in Reason there are 3 different devices used to EQ audio signals, and each one has a slightly different sound. Personally I use the devices in the following ways others methods may vary, the thing about EQ being its a very personal and everyone will have variations on how they do things.

M Class Equalizer – I use this for most of my EQ, it can be used for everything from subtle frequency boosts and cuts on single tracks to overall mix EQing. It also gets used a lot to cut the below 30Hz rumble from individual tracks. Sometimes the very low frequencies in a track cannot be heard but can be felt and can in actuality force a track to be quieter as you need to move the fader down to avoid distortion /clipping on the track.

MClass EQ

PEQ-2 2 band Parametric EQ – Although this has been superseded by the M Class Equaliser I still think it has its uses, I feel it has a slightly different sound and “feel” to the M Class. I tend to use this for less subtle EQing and for “effect like” EQing, I also use it to do automated EQ to bring out individual sounds for small sections of a mix.

PEQ2 Parametric EQ

Finally the Reason Mixer EQ – These are pretty much unsubtle “Tone Controls” much like you would see on a stereo amplifier, the mixer EQ is not frequency or Q adjustable and so is really only for fairly brutal or “Quick and Dirty” sound sculpting. In general I would steer clear of using it in mixing as its pretty much impossible to use it for proper EQing. Lets hope this is changed in new versions of reason.

Reason Mixer EQ

Ok so what is the purpose of EQ in mixing? Well ask 10 producers and you’ll get 10 different answers. The explanation I like best is “EQ is a way of sculpting sounds so they play nicely with each other in a mix”.

Many beginners with mixing think “I want this sound to be massively bassy and loud, Ill boost the low frequencies as much as I can!”. Unfortunately the world is not that simple, all you end up with is a muddy messy bass end that over powers other sounds in the mix and in actuality probably ends up making the track sound quieter as you have to lower it in the mix to get it to work.

No, to do effective EQing we have to look at where each instrument fits into the mix and EQ accordingly. Sometimes in fact you may find you will have to cut “Feature frequencies” of a sound in order to get it to sit with another part of your mix. I know this may sound overwhelming and perhaps a little counter intuitive but don’t worry about it, like I said EQ is an art form and it takes time to develop the sound you want.

One of the most useful things I’ve ever been told about EQ is “In mixing you should spend more time cutting frequencies when you EQ than you should boosting them”, this is solid practical advice and will definitely help improve your mixes no end. EQing out frequencies that clash with other instruments will help you fit things into the mix in a tighter way and will also help your mix feel louder and more powerful over all.

Practicalities – What frequencies do what?

General:
20 Hz and below – impossible to detect, remove as it only adds unnecessary energy to the total sound, thereby most probably holding down the overall volume of the track

60 Hz and below – sub bass (feel only)

80(-100) Hz – feel AND hear bass

100-120 Hz – the “club sound system punch” resides here

200 Hz and below – bottom

250 Hz – notch filter here can add thump to a kick drum

150-400 Hz – boxiness

200 Hz-1.5 KHz – punch, fatness, impact

800 Hz-4 KHz – edge, clarity, harshness, defines timbre

4500 Hz – exteremly tiring to the ears, add a slight notch here

5-7 KHz – de-essing is done here

4-9 KHz – brightness, presence, definition, sibilance, high frequency distortion

6-15 KHz – air and presence

9-15 KHz – adding will give sparkle, shimmer, bring out details – cutting will smooth out harshness and darken the mix

EQ Reference: Frequencies

50Hz
Boost: To thicken up bass drums and sub-bass parts.
Cut: Below this frequency on all vocal tracks. This should reduce the effect of any microphone ‘pops’.

70-100Hz
Boost: For bass lines and bass drums.
Cut: For vocals.

General: Be wary of boosting the bass of too many tracks. Low frequency sounds are particularly vulnerable to phase cancellation between sounds of similar frequency. This can result in a net ‘cut of the bass frequencies.

200-400Hz
Boost: To add warmth to vocals or to thicken a guitar sound.
Cut: To bring more clarity to vocals or to thin cymbals and higher frequency percussion.
Boost or Cut: to control the ‘woody’ sound of a snare.

400-800Hz
Boost: To add warmth to toms.
Boost or Cut: To control bass clarity, or to thicken or thin guitar sounds.
General: In can be worthwhile applying cut to some of the instruments in the mix to bring more clarity to the bass within the overall mix.

800Hz-1KHz
Boost: To thicken vocal tracks. At 1 KHz apply boost to add a knock to a bass drum.

1-3KHz
Boost: To make a piano more aggressive. Applying boost between 1KHz and 5KHz will also make guitars and basslines more cutting.
Cut: Apply cut between 2 KHz and 3KHz to smooth a harsh sounding vocal part.
General: This frequency range is often used to make instruments stand out in a mix.

3-6KHz
Boost: For a more ‘plucked’ sounding bass part. Apply boost at around 6KHz to add some definition to vocal parts and distorted guitars.
Cut: Apply cut at about 3KHz to remove the hard edge of piercing vocals. Apply cut between 5KHZ and 6KHz to dull down some parts in a mix.

6-10KHz
Boost: To sweeten vocals. The higher the frequency you boost the more ‘airy/breathy’ the result will be. Also boost to add definition to the sound of acoustic guitars or to add edge to synth sounds or strings or to enhance the sound of a variety of percussion sounds. For example boost this range to:
Bring out cymbals. Add ring to a snare. Add edge to a bass drum.

10-16KHz
Boost: To make vocals more ‘airy’ or for crisp cymbals and percussion. Also boost this frequency to add sparkle to pads, but only if the frequency is present in the original sound, otherwise you will just be adding hiss to the recording.

Individual Instruments, what frequencies do what.

Kicks:
60Hz with a Q of 1.4 — Add fullness to kicks.

5Khz with a Q of 2.8 — Adds attack to Kicks

bottom (60 – 80 Hz),

slap (4 kHz)

EQ – Cut below 80Hz to remove rumble
Boost between 80 -125 Hz for bass
Boost between 3 – 5kHz to get the slap

Processing – Compression 4:1/6:1 slow attack med release.

Reverb:Tight room reverb (0.1-0.2ms)

Snares:

200Hz – 250Hz with a Q of 1.4 — Adds wood to snares

3Khz with a Q of 1.4 — Adds attack to snare.

7Khz with a Q of 2.8 — Adds Sharpness to snares and percussion

fatness at 120-240Hz

boing at 400Hz

crispness at 5kHz

snap at 10kHz

fatness (240 Hz), crispness (5 kHz)

EQ – Boost above 2kHz for that crisp edge
Cut at 1kHz to get rid of the sharp peak
Boost at 125Hz for a full snare sound
Cut at 80Hz to remove rumble

Processing – Compression 4:1 slow attack med release.
Reverb: Tight room reverb (0.1-0.2ms)

Vocals

Fullness at 120 Hz, boominess at 200 – 240 Hz, presence at 5 kHz, sibilance at 7.5 – 10 kHz

General: Roll off below 60Hz using a High Pass Filter. This range is unlikely to contain anything useful, so you may as well reduce the noise the track contributes to the mix.

Treat Harsh Vocals: To soften vocals apply cut in a narrow bandwidth somewhere in the 2.5KHz to 4KHz range.

Get An Open Sound: Apply a gentle boost above 6KHz using a shelving filter.

Get Brightness, Not Harshness: Apply a gentle boost using a wide-band Bandpass Filter above 6KHz. Use the Sweep control to sweep the frequencies to get it right.

Get Smoothness: Apply some cut in a narrow band in the 1KHz to 2KHz range.

Bring Out The Bass: Apply some boost in a reasonably narrow band somewhere in the 200Hz to 600Hz range.

Radio Vocal Effect: Apply some cut at the High Frequencies, lots of boost about 1.5KHz and lots of cut below 700Hz.

Telephone Effect: Apply lots of compression pre EQ, and a little analogue distortion by turning up the input gain. Apply some cut at the High Frequencies, lots of boost about 1.5KHz and lots of cut below 700Hz.

Hats:
10Khz with a Q of 1.0 — Adds brightness to hats and cymbals

Hi Hat & Cymbals: sizzle (7.5 – 10 kHz), clank (200 Hz)

EQ – Boost above 5kHz for sharp sparkle

Cut at 1kHz to remove jangling

Processing – Compression use high ratio for high energy feel
Reverb: Looser than Bass n Snare allow the hats and especially the Rides to ring a little
Get Definition: Roll off everything below 600Hz using a High Pass Filter.
Get Sizzle: Apply boost at 10KHz using a Band Pass Filter. Adjust the bandwidth to get the sound right.
Treat Clangy Hats: Apply some cut between 1KHz and 4KHz.
Hi hats/cymbals – clank or gong sound at 200 Hz, shimmer at 7.5 kHz – 12 kHz

Toms:

Toms – attack (5 kHz), fullness (120 – 240 Hz)

rack toms – fullness at 240 Hz, attack at 5 kHz

floor toms – fullness at 80 – 120 Hz, attack at 5 kHz

Percussion:

conga/bongo – resonance at 200 – 240 Hz, slap at 5 kHz

Guitar:
Treat Unclear Vocals: Apply some cut to the guitar between 1KHz and 5KHz to bring the vocals to the front of the mix.
General: Apply a little boost between 100Hz and 250Hz and again between 10KHz and 12KHz.

fullness (240 Hz), bite (2.5 kHz), air / sizzle (8 kHz)

Acoustic Guitar:

Add Sparkle: Try some gentle boost at 10KHz using a Band Pass Filter with a medium bandwidth.

General: Try applying some mid-range cut to the rhythm section to make vocals and other instruments more clearly heard.

harshness / bite (2 kHz), boominess (120 – 200 Hz), cut (7 – 10 kHz)

Bass Guitar:

bottom (60 – 80 Hz), attack (700 – 1000 Hz), string noise (2.5 kHz)

Horns

fullness at 120 – 240 Hz, shrill at 5 – 7.5 kHz

Strings

fullness at 240 Hz, scratchiness at 7.5 – 10 kHz

Here is the first reason tutorial that covers one of the very basic things that I always get surprised people are always asking about on various reason boards, how to record and edit device automation and specifically in this case how to record and edit effect device automation.

The first thing you have to understand is that if you are going to record automation for a device in reason then it must have a track to send the automation to. Most sound creation devices (EG: NN-XT, Subtractor, etc) automatically have a new track created and assigned to them when they are first created. This is not the case with effects devices such as the RV-7000 or the Scream 4.

With effects devices first right click on the rack and create the device then right click on whichever knob or button you wish to automate on the device itself and you should see one of the options available is “Edit Automation”. Click on this and a new track that will store automation will appear for the device. You should also notice that the knob being automated now has a green box around it to indicate that it is now assigned to an automation track.

Now to the recording of the automation. First click on the “record” button in the transport controls section, the sequencer should start to record as you would expect. Now start to twiddle the knob you have decided to record automation for and hey presto you will see a new clip box begin to appear in the sequencer track, this clip is where the automation is being stored. Once you have finished recording your automation simply press the stop button on the transport control (or alternately press the space bar).

Finally we can edit our recorded automation with the sequencer editing tools. Sometimes you will wish to make minor adjustments to your automation or perhaps even write the automation completely by hand. In this case you need to double click on the automation clip you have recorded.

Once inside the clip you will see a number of points in the clip. Any of these points can be moved using the selection Tool (The arrow), deleted using the eraser tool or new points can be drawn using the pencil tool.

You can now watch your devices knob move in prefect synchronization with your automation clip during playback.