Bus compressor pre or post fader?

So you have a compressor across one or more buses. Would you want this to be pre the bus fader or post? I am guessing pre so the compressor continues to work as expected when you do a fade.

Cheers

Ian

yes if you have it post you will change gain structure and ralationship with the threshold everytime you touch the fader.
keeping the fader after processing keeps everything in the way you set it up even when you attenuate/boost the channel.

Hi

Definitively pre fader for dynamics, whatever position, channel, bus, or master bus...
I insert comp post fader less than 5% of the time, and usually it's with external SC if I do it

Best
Zam

5v333 said:

yes if you have it post you will change gain structure and ralationship with the threshold everytime you touch the fader.

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And that may be what you want...
I would say both have their use. Recently read about a renowned SE who mixes with something like four different bus comps, some pre-fader, some post. FWIW...

abbey road d enfer said:

And that may be what you want...
I would say both have their use. Recently read about a renowned SE who mixes with something like four different bus comps, some pre-fader, some post. FWIW...

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Yes indeed ! but having 4 comp/lim eligible (and all in) for bus/master,  is not reality for 99% of us  :-\

I guess Ian want to integrate a non patchable comp in his MKIII tube desk, if there is no choice prefader is the most common use.
A pre-post switch at master comp can be a good option if possible. Still a second one ca be inserted (if there is insert) or wired between master line out and 2T

Best
Zam

zamproject said:

Yes indeed ! but having 4 comp/lim eligible (and all in) for bus/master,  is not reality for 99% of us  :-\

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Agreed, although two of them at least were plug-ins.

I guess Ian want to integrate a non patchable comp in his MKIII tube desk, if there is no choice prefader is the most common use.
A pre-post switch at master comp can be a good option if possible.

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That is probably the most efficient solution; minimal cost.

ruffrecords said:

So you have a compressor across one or more buses. Would you want this to be pre the bus fader or post? I am guessing pre so the compressor continues to work as expected when you do a fade.

Cheers

Ian

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It really depends from mixing approach. BTW, most fades today were done in mastering , in digital domain.

zamproject said:

or wired between master line out and 2T

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+1

Thanks for all the replies. If everyone fades in the digital domain it probably does not matter if it is pre or post fader (or for that matter if there is a bus fader at all).  A  pre/post switch is not going to be hard to do. To make the comps more versatile I think I will include a bypass switch that, at the same time, makes the compressor available on  couple of jacks so it can be inserted in a channel.

Cheers

Ian

ruffrecords said:

A  pre/post switch is not going to be hard to do. To make the comps more versatile I think I will include a bypass switch that, at the same time, makes the compressor available on  couple of jacks so it can be inserted in a channel.

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Perfect !

Best
Zam

ruffrecords said:

Thanks for all the replies. If everyone fades in the digital domain it probably does not matter if it is pre or post fader (or for that matter if there is a bus fader at all).  A  pre/post switch is not going to be hard to do. To make the comps more versatile I think I will include a bypass switch that, at the same time, makes the compressor available on  couple of jacks so it can be inserted in a channel.

Cheers

Ian

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  I'd keep my master fader, kind of odd working without it, sometimes you want a hotter mix (lower noise, higher dynamic range, live with a bit more distortion) and sometimes you want a cooler mix, where dynamic range isn't an issue and you want the extra headroom to get a cleaner signal. This is archived starting with hotter or cooler signals and leveling to desired level in master bus.
  Quite noticeable working live with cheap desks trying to deal with their weakness, for yamaha you want a cooooool mix and master all the way up, as they have little noise but distortion is a bitch, behringer is somewhere in the middle, where you put the master at 0 and you are good to go, if you need to work with a phonic, channels as high as you can as noise floor is awful, makie VLZ add some nice grit if used hottish, for some music, like a hard rock power trio sometimes ask for that.

  Coming back to the topic, compressor pre fader would be my first approach, I'd use a brick wall limiter post fader so when I need more level I can trade with it without clipping anything you are going to.
  In some cases post fader might come useful so you don't fight against slow compressors compressing a lot, using a low ratio, low threshold, slow compressor for glueing the mix is the case, so might be suitable in this case. Usually I do some rough processing in the master while mixing but take it out at the end so leave the crude mix to the next guy doing mastering, I prefer to be a different person and leave him as much dynamic range as I can to work with, if I have to skip mastering then I put some more attention to the bus processing.

JS