When choosing a vocal compressor, listen for the curves

Hi from tour! I’m thinking about compressors. You can take the boy out of the studio, etc.

When I’m choosing a vocal compressor for a certain singer / song / etc, I always listen for the way the compressor grabs the vocal.

Yes, you can vary the attack and release times on most compressors, and you should definitely do that to find the optimal spot.

But not all compressors are the same! In fact, most of them are very different from each other in the way their circuitry clamps down when the threshold has been breached. There’s a curvature to it.

These curves are not unlike a fade-in that you can choose at the beginning of a waveform. Is the curve linear? Is it concave? Is it convex? Is there an S-curve aspect to it? Compressors are all different under the hood. Two different compressors with the controls set the same can approach their job in vastly different ways.

As always, use your ears. But hopefully this thought will help guide your ears as you listen!

Staying ahead of the curve — jamie