compressor settings

[philen]

Do any of you use a compressor when recording an acoustic guitar and an upright bass? I was wondering what settings you start out with. I recorded a old-time music group a couple of weeks ago and they needed a lot of compression to keep the mix somewhat even.

[gbacklin]

I rarely add anything while recording, after the recording has been made, I may add if needed. Recording any instrument, will involve mic placement, so I will get all instruments as much in balance as possible.

There are no generic settings per say, it all depends on what I would have to work with. Tell me more, or send me a sample so I can hear what you are dealing with.

[Fingerplucked]

I either use none or very little. If I do use it, it's a 2:1 ratio, with the other settings (attack, release, etc.) at the default setting within Cubase.

The peaks aren't really a problem for what I'm doing though, because I normally have vocals way out in front of the guitar. If I was recording a solo acoustic guitar, it might be a different story.

[philen]

I guess I should have said "in mixing". I very seldom use any processing before the recorder and I use analog processing and an analog mixer to mix down.

I'm just not used to recording an upright bass. Someone had commented that it did not sound like an upright but sounded like an electric bass. I guess I processed the "acoustic" right out of it.

Luckily it was just a test mix down to let the group hear what they had done. When I get a chance I will have to play with it some more.

Thanks.