Thread: Alan Parsons - NO Compression?

Originally Posted by Alan Parsons

I'll always limit bass and vocals at the time they are recorded. I do not use any compression on mixes. I like dynamics.

While there may be other ways to interpret this, the way I take it is that:

1. He limits bass and vocals while tracking .

2. I think "no compression on mixes" means "no compression on the 2-bus" or "no compression on the overall mix."

If that is correct, it leaves a lot of room for compression and limiting on individual tracks during the mix. Maybe I am interpreting him this way because that's pretty much what I do. I usually use the DVC with the electro-optical limiter when tracking vocals and recently have been using the 4-710d (which has an 1176 (sorta-kinda) circuit) as a bass DI. If you have the gear and the experience I'm all for it. (AP...has both.) When my children get rich and give me lots of money I'll buy great outboard gear and use it just that way. Alice - an LA2A for Christmas. George - an 1176 for my birthday. The only time I put a compressor or limiter on the 2-bus is when I'm doing a "too cheap to send out for mastering" mix.

Hey, that's what I do! But then I "master" it in Wavelab with compression, etc.

Am I doing it AP's way, or am I missing what he is saying?

John - I'm guessing that none of us here is doing it exactly like AP.

On the other hand, I think the point is that if you compress the source right, and compress each track (or stem) right, and then mix them right, there is no need to compress the mix (and in fact it is damaging).

I agree Bob. But, don't we think that is dependent too? Using something at the end of a mix, something with vibe might be just the thing no matter what was used or not.

Dave, chatting with Bruce Swedien and seeing his studio would have been a great experience! Just seeing his grouse would have been fun.

Here a really cool Video featuring him:
Pensado's Place , favorite show?

It all about preserving the transients, which I can't agree more. And when you know how important they are, or aren't, you get the bigger picture when or why you would use compression or not, including for vibe in a cold digital mix.
But, if they aren't using a compressor, the mastering has got to be using compression or a limiter somewhere in an album.

To add, either of these engineer/producers may not like the sound of compression too, so they have an opinion but this doesn't mean its right for the next guy.
For example, I just love the sound of a snare through a Transient Designer. In fact, I don't like the sound of the transients on a snare most all the time, especially in Electronic music, Metal, most Rock and most Pop. I don't like the sound of a natural snare in a lot of music. These guys are awesome but they are also pretty old school.
Trusting they are right on this subject is pretty ridiculous IMO. Music is music. Now if we were talking about when to use compression, that would make more sense to me.

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I typically don't put any compression across my stereo bus when mixing. Only if the client requests it because I prefer not to. Just like those other guys, we grew up in the analog world where we would compress and/or limit while recording to the multitrack machine. You wanted to pack the tape with as much signal as you could put on it and you wanted to prevent as much noise as possible. Dolby and dbx were not an option for lots of us. Others couldn't live without it such as George Massenburg. And even though things are different today, I'm still compressing to the digital multitrack. I don't need to change what works for me. I don't need to follow trends or the pack or the other lemmings. I stand apart and do things like Mr. Sinatra did, my way.

I'm also sure that Alan Parsons didn't need to use any compression on his mix because he already knew the disc cutter was going to use some anyhow. And who needs double trouble? Just because we have all of these toys doesn't mean we have to play with all of these toys all of the time.

Gimme back my Barbie
Mx. Remy Ann David

I very recently had the pleasure of assisting Alan on an upcoming release. I can confirm the except for bass guitar during tracking, no compression was used anywhere. This was an instrumental record with both solo instrumental, rhythm section and symphonic pieces. Also, Alan mixed everything by hand at Blackbird studio F on an SSL 9000k. NO automation. We did punch in on some mixes to catch moves or tweaks. No compression on individual tracks, busses, or anywhere. I sat there being schooled by a master while tons of beautiful vintage comps languished at arms reach. As a matter of fact, almost no eq was used during the mix either, maybe two channels total. The man at the board records what he wants, the way he wants it (mic choice, mic placement, mic placement, mic placement) and mixes it the way he wants it. In mastering, no limiting and just the slightest touch of compression was applied: -.5 to -1.5 dB on big peaks. Talk about depth & dynamic range. I'm still reeling thinking about those sessions.

wow, great to have you with us and to hear this from you, thanks for sharing! When the song is available, I would love to hear it?