Online I found a second hand Audient Mico Mic pre-amp for sale. I already have the Drawmer 231 Compressor/limiter and the Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 3rd gen.

I could be right or wrong but at present I don't blame Soundcloud or any mp3 for that matter for swirly transients and spacial corruption (stereo compression artifacts) we hear. I think Soundcloud compression (possible any MP3 compression simply exposes (the bad in a mix) more.

Disclaimer: I am fully aware of how broad the scope of this question is, and how each specific track calls for individual techniques.

That being said, can we discuss when you would want to use serial compression vs parallel compression?

i don't think it's any secret as to how Bruce Swedien feels about using compression:
"Compression is for kids."
"Compression is a crutch. "
And finally, if that doesn't give you an idea about how he feels:
"I hate compression."

Hi guys and girls,
Hope you're having a good week.
I think this is a pretty straightforward question.
I can understand that you would want to track a sweet sounding outboard compressor on a vocal or acoustic guitar, or get a more focused sound with an outboard EQ coming in.
The thing is, would you do this with plugins?

Ok so I've been learning a lot about this whole mixing game. I've done some mixes for some university projects and I'm starting to get somewhat of a hang of it. However, there's one thing that I can't quite decide on.

Here's a song I've always liked; I think it's a well-written song to begin with, but I'm also intrigued by the mix.
The vocal is very forward in the mix, and with audible compression, and normally, I don't care for "that" sound, but on this track, it really works.

Hey everyone,
Hope your mix week is well.

I found this article on subject and thought I would share:
http://brownbagazine.blogspot.com/2010/11/compressor-history.html

Hello, new to the forum and I seek wisdom and prosperity.

I'm thinking about the way to mix e.g. a guitar.

First you filter out frequencies, then at some stage you compress.

Hi Peeps,

I have a question and not sure what the approach of the pro-mixers are.

If I have a track (any type - lets say Kick as an example) which I process with Eq, Gate, Basic Compression etc on the inserts. and I also send this to a Parallel Compression Aux track and now want to add FX (Reverb etc.)