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Getting started with the Focusrite Red Plug-In Suite (continued)

10 Pull Threshold down to -30dB and the Ratio’s effect become much more obvious. Leave it at 5:1 when you’re done experimenting. When a signal crosses the threshold, the time it takes for the compressor to react is determined by the Attack control – fast settings will quickly react to transients, flattening them out; slow settings let transients pop through first, enhancing impact. 11 Release sets how long it takes for compression to end once the signal falls below the threshold (when Auto Release is Off). Fast settings mean the compressor recovers quickly – useful, for instance, for treating successive drum hits. Slow settings are useful for general level management. With Auto Release enabled, release time varies according to the dynamics of the signal. 12 Compression works by reducing signal level, so the output can end up quieter than the original sound. Use the Make Up Gain to compensate for this. Finally, the Dry/Wet knob lets you blend the original and compressed signals, which can be extremely useful. If you love the sound of the compression you’ve dialled in, but it’s too aggressive and extreme for the mix, simply pull back this control. 13 Now let’s put the Red Plug-in Suite to work on our drum mix. Remove the plugins from the Drum Bus, and unmute the Guitar and Bass tracks. Place a Red 2 Equalizer on the Kick channel. Set Low Mid to just above 300Hz and cut by -16dB to remove the boxy lower-mid tones. You can experiment with the Q – about 10 o’clock sounds good to us. Boost High Mid about +12dB and sweep it till you hear the slap of the beater coming through – 5kHz will do. 14 Add the Red 3 Compressor next in the chain. Set Ratio to 4:1, Threshold to -27dB, Auto Release off, and Release at minimum. Adjust Attack and hear what happens: a faster setting crushes the slappy transient, but slow settings let more of it pop through. For this mix, we like it around 3 o’clock, so the kick still sounds quite fat, but the compressor controls the low-end boom. Use Makeup Gain to make up the lost volume – about 2dB is all it needs. 15 Let’s focus on the snare next. Add a Red 2 Equalizer and solo the track to listen for any trouble spots. There’s some low end bleeding in from the kick drum track, so roll up the High Pass to about 150Hz to take care of it. The ringing of the snare is also a bit over-the-top, so boost the Low Mid control about +8dB and sweep it till you hear the ringing jump out – around 600Hz. Pull the Gain down to about -6dB, and increase Q to 2 o’clock. 16 Unsolo the snare so we can hear it in context with the mix. It sits well, but there’s space for some extra top-end. Boost High Mid around 2kHz to make the snare cut through – around +4dB works. Next, add a Red 3 Compressor – we’ll use it to even out the hit-to-hit volume differences and emphasise the snare’s front-end crack. 17 Set Ratio to 3:1, Auto Release off, Release to minimum, and Attack about halfway. Reduce the Threshold till you see about 3dB of gain reduction on each hit – around -17dB does it. Turn Make Up Gain up to about 3dB to compensate for the level reduction. The effect is a bit obvious in places, but we can use the Dry/ Wet control to blend the uncompressed signal back in for a more natural sound. 18 The Overheads has some kick drum leakage, so add a Red 2 and roll the High Pass up to 120Hz. To smooth the overheads, add a Red 3 and pull Threshold down to -30dB for about 7dB of gain reduction – raise Make Up Gain to 7dB to compensate. The track sounds good, but see us finish it off in the video tutorial!