And it all starts with setting a crossover frequency. It has as much to do with the tone of the bass as it does with the dynamic control that you get with a properly dialed-in compressor. Today, I want to focus on something that’s relatively unique to the way we hear and feel bass. The approach that makes the most sense for your session is completely up to you and what you’re trying to accomplish.Įven still, that’s not the two-compressor approach that I want to talk about today… A chain of compressor plugins with 2 – 3 dB of peak reduction each is going to sound drastically different from a single compressor pinned at -20 dB. Many times, multiple compressors become a necessity if you want to apply multiple levels of subtle compression instead of taking one big leap by squashing something with a single compressor. This is about why more often than not, I find myself using two compressors when I’m mixing bass guitar. It’s not a “your way is wrong and my way is right” type of thing either.
