- Tom Kelly
27. Compression for Color, Tone, and Depth

Compression is a topic I've covered extensively (but also not nearly enough) on my YouTube channel. Even with all the hours of teaching I've done on the topic, I've barely touched on the other incredible effects and benefits of learning proper compression techniques.
While a perfectly dialed in compressor will certainly help level out your dynamic range and save your listeners ears from being blown out by sudden changes in loudness, it will also impart a beautiful tone and character to your voice that can otherwise sound bland and lifeless. Not even mentioning the sonic characteristics of hardware and analog emulated plugins, compression can add warmth and body to your voice that is otherwise unattainable, leaving your listeners with a more pleasing and intimate experience.
In this episode we go over the basics of compression, why it can add so much life to a podcast, and we listen to several examples of different intensities of compression to analyze the life it will give to a recording, and we'll learn to identify how much is too much.
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Basic YouTube Video on Compression
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LA-2A Compressor Classic Optical Compressor
My Signal Chain
Hardware:
Audio Interface: Apogee Ensemble
Microphone: Shure SM7b
Headphones: Audio-Technia ATH-M50x
Earbuds: Klipsch R6i II
Studio Monitors: Yamaha HS7
Mic Stand: Rode PS1A Boom Arm
Software:
IzoTope RX6 Mouth De-Click
IzoTope RX6 Voice De-Noise
FabFilter ProQ3
Waves Vocal Rider
Waves CLA-2A
oeksound Soothe2
Waves LinMB
Waves WLM Meter
Waves Durrough Meter
Waves Abbey Road Studio3
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Midroll Song: Road Trip by Joakim Karud
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