I was wondering if there’s a way to adjust the output level of the standard Compressor plugin in Cubase? It doesn’t seem to have an output level control, unlike the other stock compressors in Cubase. Compressors need an output control because otherwise it’s hard to gain stage properly.
I was recording some vocals with the standard Compressor off and set my input levels so there were an average of -18dbFS. But when I played back the recording, I turned the Compressor on (using a rock vocal preset in it) and the gain on the vocal track was too high. The normal way to correct this is to turn down the output level of a compressor, but I can’t see that on the Compressor, so is it possible to do?
If not, is there a way to get round this problem? Or perhaps I’d be better off using another compressor instead (E.g. Vintage or Tube, which DO have output level adjustment).
I am still on Cubase 12 Pro, I haven’t upgraded to 13 or 14 yet, but I presume the standard Compressor hasn’t changed?
As you probably know the presets are there as starting points. If you are referring to the ‘Hard Rock Vocals’ preset this has 9dB boost on the Makeup Gain parameter. Try turning that down or try activating the ‘Auto Make-up Gain’ button. How you set the Dry Mix percentage will obviously also influence the result.
Second the things @stingray and @raino wrote.
In case you come across situations where you want to adjust your gain after a couple of inserts (like a Pultec EQ): There are free plugins like GGain or FreeGain to do exactly that.
Cubase 14 has its own new plugin called Volume. But the others will do just fine! Of course, you will find loads of fancy paid alternatives, too.
EDIT: A Pultec does not necessarily increase your gain. However, some emulations start with a decent boost of almost a couple dBs, not going to name them here…
Hi, yes it’s the ‘Hard Rock Vocals’ preset I’m using. I didn’t realise the Makeup Gain was the cause, so I will try your suggestions. In the online manual it says the Compressor’s Makeup Gain ‘compensates for output gain loss, caused by compression’.
Now in my case, I want to compensate for too much gain (caused by the compressor itself, or rather the Makeup Gain).
I was wondering if the turning down the ‘Pre gain’ on the vocal channel would produce the same result as turning down the Makeup Gain? I know some people use the Pre Gain to reduce the gain of signals that were recorded too hot…however my source vocal audio was not recorded too hot, it only went like that after I added the compressor.
As for Dry Mix percentage, I see with the Hard Rock Vocals preset, this is set to 0%. What does this mean, is 0% all dry or all wet? I really don’t know what this should be set to on a compressor, is more dry or more wet better?
You haven’t been doing it wrong. As stated in my reply above, the Cubase manual says that Make-Up compensates for output gain loss, caused by compression. If the Auto button is activated, the knob becomes dark and the output is automatically adjusted for gain loss.
Why not just use the Pre Gain control on the Cubase mixer to correct gain, or is that only for correcting audio without any plug ins that was recorded ‘too hot’?
That’s fairly simple right? Turn down the makeup gain.
Too much gain thereafter is likely to be due to the level going into the compressor and not caused by the compressor itself, barring the makeup gain. If you want to compensate for too much gain then consider turning down the level going into the compressor - you may then need to adjust the threshold accordingly.
So yes, try turning down the pre gain.
This whole process calls into question why you are applying compression in the first place. What result are you trying to achieve? If as you say you did not record the vocal too hot then why are you attempting to compress the signal?.. if, as you say, the compressor is applying gain then it can only be the makeup gain which is doing this, as I previously suggested.
If you are attempting to flatten the sound or keep it under control then you’re probably going to be juggling the threshold, attack, hold and release controls.
But, once you’re completely familiar with the controls, trust your ears above all else
The Dry Mix percentage parameter needs to be thoroughly understood - this is NOT a mix between the dry sound without compression and the sound with compression - it is instead the amount of dry signal which you mix together with the effect signal. This can be misleading. At the hard left position you are hearing the compressed signal only (all wet). As you move the dial to the right you mix more and more of the dry signal with the compressed signal, and it will thus usually sound louder.
Yes, that is the case.
Pre-Gain adjusts the gain of a signal before it reaches the inserts. Thus, pre-gain has an influence on how hard the signal hits the compressor which influences the overall sound of the compressed signal.
I probably misread your answer - so just for the sake of clarification for the OP:
There is a difference between recording a signal too hot and the need to adress it on the one side and the purpose of compressing a vocal on the other side. The latter aims at unwanted peaks/frequencies and adds colour and tone. A signal that is too hot on the other side may suffer from saturation/distortion (or profit from it - that depends on your signal chain and your goal) or needs adjusting to meet the hot spot of mostly analog emulations of certain plugins. Or to have a reasonable scalability on the meter.
I am not familiar with the Steinberg Standard Compressor, never used it. But from what I read - the dry/mix control appears to be confusing. Maybe it is just me but it seems to be counterintuitive compared to all dry/wet controls I usually deal with.
To be clear about what the goal is - yes, this is probably key.
Yes, it’s somewhat counter-intuitive. It’s NOT a dry / wet control at all - there is no slash mark between the two words. It’s a dry mix ‘blender’ control - you use it to add the dry signal to the wet signal. As succinctly stated in the user guide: Dry Mix Mixes the dry input signal to the compressed signal.
Now, what exactly is the difference between “the dry sound without compression” and “the amount of dry signal”? It is the same to me.
From what I can tell: The Steinberg Standard Compressor simply turned the common dry/wet knob functionality upside down. The all dry signal is on the right and the all wet signal is on the left. Why?? I have got NO clue whatsoever. If you look at almost any other dry/wet controls out there, no matter which 3rd party plugin you are looking at, be it a compressor, a reverb, you name it - it will be exactly the other way round. Even Steinberg’s later compressors follow this common dry/wet functionality.
To come to a conclusion: Seems to me some dev turned the dry/wet control into a wet/dry control configuring the Standard Compressor. Maybe he helt some sort of Bill Putnam vibe like with the 1176’s attack and release controls. We will never know.
Sorry that’s not strictly accurate. The wet signal is on the left and a mix of the dry signal and the wet signal is on the right.
I mentioned this above.
It’s NOT a dry / wet control at all - there is no slash mark between the two words. It’s a dry mix ‘blender’ control - you use it to add the dry signal to the wet signal. As succinctly stated in the user guide: Dry Mix Mixes the dry input signal to the compressed signal.
It’s a design decision.
As mentioned, it’s neither a dry/wet control or a wet dry control. It’s a dry signal mix control - there is no slash mark between ‘dry’ and ‘wet’. You can use the dry mix control to mix (add) an amount of the dry signal to the wet signal for parallel compression. This is nothing particularly new. It’s a design decision.
It’s just standard procedure to add compression to vocals )(and other instruments) in a mix. It helps iron out peaks, make them sound smoother and sit better in the mix.
How you use compression is going to have a major influence on the result, so it’s a good idea to have in mind what you want to achieve, before you start. For example, are you using broad brush strokes which effect the macro dynamics of the signal or are you wanting to effect the micro dynamics of the signal. The parallel compression idea is a good example - do you want to use that and if so why do you think the signal needs that? It’s worth thinking about. In the end though, of course, using your ears is the most important factor.
