Karaoke Forums

I have never used a compressor except for my finger on the slider when a screamer, or low singer gets up to sing.

I am thinking of adding an outboard compressor but before I do I wanted to find out if it was worth doing.

Is it worth it and if so can someone recommend a good one? I run 4 mics and would like to have compression for all 4.

It is only for karaoke and we all know that a large number of people that sing at our shows don't know how to use a mic properly.

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"Don't worry. It will feel better when it quits hurtin."

I won't run vocals without a compressor. For 4 mics i'd opt for the dbx 1046 quad. Not going to get much better than that. Behringer does make one as well, I had one - then a week later got something that actually worked.

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I own two Behringer MDX4600s and an MDX2600 and they are basically fine for entry-level live sound such as bar bands and karaoke. ~$130ea MAP for the 4 channel MDX4600 IIRC.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

I have never had a separate compressor unit that I could hook up to just the vocal channels, so I'm not an expert on that. There is compression on my DBX DriveRack unit, but it has to be applied to the entire mix, and it makes the music sound horrible, so I don't use that feature.

What I DO use is the limit feature of my mixer for the vocal channels and another limit threshold on the DBX DriveRack just in case, which protects my system from screamers and any other pops, like dropped mics, that might hurt the system. That serves my needs nicely.

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C Mc
KJ, FL

What mixer do you have that includes a limiter on mic channels? Interesting feature!

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

Too much compression on an entire mix will hurt the sound. I run a compressor on the final with just enough to barely light the lights. It can actually make a mix sound a little louder - more so in band situation, but can work with karaoke music as well.

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A multi-band compressor can be useful on a whole mix or recorded music. They can also sound like crap, depending on the program material and settings. The BBE Sonic Maximizer is an example of such a unit, and Behringer has an "Ultramizer" product both stand-alone and built into their DJ mixers. Personally, I don't like these. I have used the one in my DDM4000 enough to know it hurts as much as it helps.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

When you say you don't like these are you saying compressors in general?

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"Don't worry. It will feel better when it quits hurtin."

Sorry, I mean I don't like multi-band compressors (Sonic Maximizer, Behringer Ultramizer, etc.) on the full mix or recorded material. It makes some things sound better, some things worse.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

Compression is a valuable tool if used properly, unfortunately the fast majority are set up improperly causing more harm than good. Unless you want to spend a lot of time learning how to use a compressor or plan on doing more than just Karaoke in the future I would suggest something along the line of the inexpensive but effective TC Electronics C300. They are about as close to "easy to use" and "fool proof" as you can get. In my opinion they are at least as good as the DBX 266XL. Do a search and you can find a lot of good reviews on this unit. If you need four channels, buy two, a pair will still be only around $260.00. Are there better compressors? sure, do you need a better compressor for Karaoke? No, I don't think so.

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Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

To me the multi band compressor is one of the most useful tools in my arsenal, although certainly not essential for Karaoke IMO it is still one of the best inventions since sliced bread when it comes to fine tuning a PA.
Ok, now you have aroused my curiosity. By what definition do you consider a BBE Sonic Maximizer to be a multiband compressor?

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Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

Yamaha mixer (MG and the power ver) have one-knob comp built-in into the mic channels. It is easy to use and good enough for karaoke.

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

I use a Drawmer MX30 for live, I've had it for about 12 yeears. Its quite battered now, but its built like a tank and still works like new. It's a godsend, especially for those damn screetchers! The limiter is the more useful function for these guys, they can yell all they like, ain't gonna go any higher than 0db.

Here's a decent guide to using compression. http://www.harmony-central.com/Effects/ ... mpression/

Isn't that the truth! I still use & love my Symetrix 501's!

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

I was considering the MG mixer with built in compression but heard that it wasn't worth the $$$ if I just wanted it for the built in compressors. I got a screaming deal on a Mackie Onyx 1220 and an outboard Lexicon efx processor which is a much better set up. It doesn't have compression but I figured an outboard would be better anyway. Thanks all for the feedback and I will look into your suggestions.

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"Don't worry. It will feel better when it quits hurtin."

There is a difference between limiting and compressing. A peak limiter decreases the occasional peaks that would cause audio clipping or would necessitate turning the level down when recording. The rest is not compressed or affected. Compression decreases everything. Limiters are used on the overall mix but compression is not normally used but is used to balance or mix all channels or tracks.

The overall mix or bus is routed to the EQ. That is where sound procs such as the Bbe are inserted to separate and add harmonics to enrich or restore the sound to the original quality or richness. Actually they expand (where necessary) rather than compress anything.

It is not complicated but the biggest mistake is running too high of a level at critical stages or excessive adjustments on the compressors or procs. In fact I dont like unity gain until the mains fader but that is personal preference.

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I think that the Behringer Ultramizer uses some compression algorythms, though it is not technically a compressor, per se.

The Sonic Maximizers, however, are just a phase alligners and aural exciters if I'm not mistaken, not compressors. They actually increase bass and treble presence, whereas a compressor will kinda smoosh this presence within the compression settings to allow more power and headroom to the selected frequencies.

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C Mc
KJ, FL

Well sort of. A compressor is not frequency selective. It limits all freqs to a threshold level without clipping or distortion. Then when mixed with another track the level can be adjusted and the "quiets" can be heard in the overall mix. This is the main reason for compression. Peak limiting protects equiptment from spikes. Compression is used for mixing and mastering.

If it is adjusted into the compression range then it is distorting..

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A Sonic Maximizer / Behringer Ultramizer is a multi-band compressor that does good things for some program material, and bad things for others. They aren't adjustable like a professional unit, and even if they were, you'd want to use a variety of settings for different program material. For this reason, IMO, they are useless for karaoke. If you were mixing a band and had a set list you could dial in presets for, you could get some benefit from it; but that's not us. And if mixing a band, you have a lot more tools available for each track, and don't need a tool like that on the whole mix anyway. Move the faders, that's what they're for.

"Aural Exciter" is a marketing term. Apparently it means to "excite" the "aura" of the music. Whatever that means. Generate new harmonic content? I don't know.

I don't like these things with most program material. I hit the Ultramizer button on my DDM4000 once in a while on particular songs. I wish it was available as a channel insert so I could PFL it before the song starts.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ