Cheers Vincent. Yes, it's one of those things that takes a while to sink in. Don't worry - for me it was maybe 2 years before I really started to understand what compression is all about.
Very relevant as I’m looking to record someone for vocal ( I’m a Pom he is Aussie and right the idea) So thank ing you so much for the focus on this........ it seems strange in some ways that the compression is increased right to left. Thanks Pete.
Nice one! Yes, it can be hard to follow this one. The main reason (and I SHOULD have mentioned this), is that GarageBand uses auto make-up gain, meaning when it starts "compressing", which is turning the peaks down, the actual overall volume goes up.
This is a good thing to be re-learning, what with my 17-minute song “Alive” still needing vocals. I got guide vocals on it - still dizzy af from that... And still need to do _main_ vocals. What have I done 😂
Your vids on mixing, mastering (within GarageBand), EQ, and AU plugins were essential to getting this to this level. Still so much work and learning to do but eternally grateful for your help.
Although I know the basics of compression it’s lovely to watch your tutorials, Pete! Did you record your vocals with a separate dedicated microphone or the built in? Best, Emiel.
Hey Emiel. Yes, I learn more about how to use compression every time I watch another video, or mix a song. This one was recorded with my MXL 550 large diaphragm condenser mic via my Steinberg UR12 interface.
Heaps more compression videos on the channel if you need more. A whole playlist of them here - ua-cam.com/play/PLc8Xg_23Wa546Bw_J0rRmVnMzkaBgLP05.html&si=tsWFeiZh-xpu5sT0
Hey Pete. Nice video, again. So, just to be clear.... Compression lifts the quieter bits, the ones quieter than the threshold? If so, can we do the opposite -compress down the higher peaks so that they don't clip or dominate? Is that what the ratio is about? Or does that just dictate the difference between the bottom and the top (quietest and loudest)? I've played with some vocals recently as I tend to end up with them being too dominant and loud (I'm a guitar player not a singer, and I want to hear the music and not drown it with the bad voice)😖😉. So I've made use of your vocal doubling move - I like the thickening and masking of the bum notes. And I've reduced the volume of the vocals, but the quieter bits can disappear. I also find referencing to be difficult. What sounds good on earphones or in the car sounds like the vocals are too loud, brash and too trebley when listening just on the iPhone or small speakers. Then the voice is jumping out too loud and harshly. Any comments? (Stop singing is my girlfriends advice🙄😬)!
Haha! So... definitely don't stop singing! Yes, compression can be a hard one to get right. It does actually reduce the peaks of your audio, and then pulls up everything else. So the threshold is where it will start looking for and reducing the peak, and the ratio is by how much. The missing part of the GarageBand compressor is that it doesn't specify the "make-up" gain. It automatically pulls the volume back up, which is why you instantly hear things louder. Just keep playing with the different combinations of ratio, threshold, attack and gain until it sits where you want it.
Clear, concise and helpful as always! I like what sounds like a violin counter-melody going on in this song. Is it a virtual instrument or a real fiddle and if the latter, did you record it via audio interface (rather than the iPad built in mic)?
Hey there Kevin. This was a real violin played by my friend and amazing musician Dan Baker. And believe it or not, he actually recorded it using the built in mic which is crazy! This video will let you know more - ua-cam.com/video/cCw-4PiYrmg/v-deo.html
@@PeteJohnsMusic Ha ha! How did I know you'd have a relevant video! You're a walking compendium of knowledge. Thank God you share it! I am close to finishing a mix of my first-ever GB song. Before now I've recorded all my songs and tunes on a digital recorder (TASCAM 2488) and done the mixing and mastering on that. But it's a beast and not in the least intuitive, nor particularly user-friendly. So with this song I'm working on (a tune I composed to set the words of a Gerard Manley Hopkins poem Spring and Fall), I mocked up the whole thing in GB and recorded my vocals on it. The big departure for me was I patiently created a drum track in GB - the first time I've added drums to any of my music. Great fun! Then I took each stem into the TASCAM and used the drums etc as metronomic guides to record the vocals and my wife playing three violin parts (each part recorded separately three times) and my bass part, via direct injection into the TASCAM. Then I exported all the tracks as WAV files back into GB to do the mixing. Absolutely everything I've done in GB has been on the back of several of your videos! I've loads to learn still and I believe firmly that I will improve with more experience. But the journey itself is rewarding and made all the easier by good folks such as you, so thanks again. PS For my next song, I'm going to try recording my wife playing violin on the built in mic. I'd assumed at the very least you'd need an expensive audio interface and a decent mic. When my TASCAM dies I shall go down that route.
I think I'm getting it. It's still kinda hard for me to hear the difference. Do you recommend leveling the volume first with automation before going to the compressor?
Yeah, the compression I use in a sign like this is pretty subtle. I tend to compress pretty early actually and then so automation at the end. I know a his sounds like the opposite of what I show here! It’s a personal thing really in the end. It’s all just volume but in slightly different ways.
Hey there Henry. So because there is no ability to use send/receive tracks in GarageBand iOS I don’t think parallel compression or side chaining is possible. You might need to use something like Cubasis or Auria for this. ua-cam.com/video/j4PJF1h975Y/v-deo.html
You should make a video about _listening_ to the mix - because I was just reviewing a future song called “Seasons” (which is thankfully only 4 minutes 😂) and I ran into a massive problem reviewing it: If I put the volume too low, I can’t hear the mix well enough to know that things are working “perfectly” (nothing is actually perfect but you know what I mean). But if I put the volume too high, I get this really annoying crackling sound in my left ear. And “too low” and “too high” are literally like one click apart. Something that has been an on and off problem since I was like 8 years old, but I was wondering if there was a way to mix a song without hearing it clearly, or do I just have to be controlled by my body and wait around for my ear to decide not to have that static problem?
Interesting one! Yes, mixing and different volumes can definitely bring out different things in the mix, which is something I might explore in a future video. Thanks as always for your support and insightful comments.
Hi! Would really love some help..... i'm recording children singing along to some backing tracks. I'm really struggling with certain points where they are (maybe too) loud & its crackling badly. How do i fix this?! Thanks so much!
Hey Lisa. This sounds like it may that they are “clipping” the signal. Unfortunately this can be really challenging to fix as once you get distortion or crackling. It can be hard to make this sound better. What you generally need to do is to reduce the input volume on the recording, but if it is already captured often this it hard. You can use some EQ to help Recife the crackling by cutting the higher frequencies. Let me know if you need some help with this or want to share the recording.
Hi there. I do offer custom mixing services for those creating in GarageBand. Shoot me an email (contact details in the description) if you would like to see if I can assist.
Hey there my friend. I’m happy to do a quick listen and provide some tips free of charges just send me an email. If you want more in-depth analysis or do me to do the mixing, there would be a cost involved.
I watch your channel for a couple months now. Please mention my name in a subliminal message on one of your songs. Also, you say there’s a way to do everything in garage been great, how do you make a vocoder voice sense?
I figured out a way to do a vocoder voice, but it costs a few dollars. It’s a plug-in called Voice Synth, the app icon looks like an evil robot eye. There is a *lot* to it, I haven’t spent much time figuring it out but I managed to figure enough out to do the vocoder voice I did in “Hypertoxic.” It’s really cool. There _is_ I think a way to do a vocoder voice for free with just GarageBand, but it wasn’t getting me anywhere near the sound I wanted.
Wait.... is this intended to be insulting? Wow. I’m really sorry. If that’s the case, you have some pretty bad things going on if this is the way you choose to spend your time. Hope you get some help soon. Peace.
No sir, I actually wasn’t meaning that to be an insult. Boys mess with each other, and maybe a little too far. I apologize, and I do really appreciate your channel. In fact, the quality of my songs have gotten much better because of you. I’m a pianist I’m 15 and you’ve helped me a lot because all I have is an iPhone to record and I need all the help I can get. Thank you, 🙏🏻 and I apologize.
![Mixing High Quality Vocals In GarageBand iOS [GarageBand iPad/iPhone Tutorial]](/img/n.gif)
Want to learn more about compression? - ua-cam.com/video/ojo68NtKskY/v-deo.html
having watched this 3 times now...Im starting to get the understanding of it! Great vid Pete 👍
Cheers Vincent. Yes, it's one of those things that takes a while to sink in. Don't worry - for me it was maybe 2 years before I really started to understand what compression is all about.
Pete you have helped me so much with my evolution in music and for that, I personally wanna thank you for helping me grow in my music career
Wonderful! Very glad to hear my friend.
Very relevant as I’m looking to record someone for vocal ( I’m a Pom he is Aussie and right the idea)
So thank ing you so much for the focus on this........ it seems strange in some ways that the compression is increased right to left.
Thanks Pete.
I meant he is right for the idea
Nice one! Yes, it can be hard to follow this one. The main reason (and I SHOULD have mentioned this), is that GarageBand uses auto make-up gain, meaning when it starts "compressing", which is turning the peaks down, the actual overall volume goes up.
Pete Johns ...thank you for the explanation.
This one might be entertaining at least and possibly impart a small amount of knowledge. 😄
ua-cam.com/video/g_cruKmnAmk/v-deo.html
Very underrated video, thank you
Thanks so much my friend. Really appreciate your kind words and support.
Worked really well on my vocal
Awesome! Glad to hear it my friend.
Thanks again Pete! Just what I needed! 👍
Very welcome. 👍
Hey, Pete! As always... Very helpful! Cheers, my friend! 👍
Cheers Thom. Always a pleasure!
This is a good thing to be re-learning, what with my 17-minute song “Alive” still needing vocals.
I got guide vocals on it - still dizzy af from that... And still need to do _main_ vocals. What have I done 😂
Haha! This is why my songs are 3-4 mins my friend! 😄
Awesome!
👍
Much love from Canada. Thank you so much for your videos.
Cheers Daniel. Appreciate your support! 👍🙏🤘
Pete Johns May I share what you helped me do?
Of course! Always happy to check out what people are creating.
www.bandlab.com/revisions/230dc065-a296-e911-abc4-28187831ee7a
Your vids on mixing, mastering (within GarageBand), EQ, and AU plugins were essential to getting this to this level. Still so much work and learning to do but eternally grateful for your help.
ONCE AGAIN Gr8 info MATE, KEEP IT UP.
Continued power to ya.
Cheers my friend.
Although I know the basics of compression it’s lovely to watch your tutorials, Pete! Did you record your vocals with a separate dedicated microphone or the built in? Best, Emiel.
Hey Emiel. Yes, I learn more about how to use compression every time I watch another video, or mix a song. This one was recorded with my MXL 550 large diaphragm condenser mic via my Steinberg UR12 interface.
Nice tune Pete, i like that👍👍
Thanks my friend! It's one of my favourites that I have written lately.
nice video overall man but i wish u'd have elaborated more the mix dial 🤓
Heaps more compression videos on the channel if you need more. A whole playlist of them here - ua-cam.com/play/PLc8Xg_23Wa546Bw_J0rRmVnMzkaBgLP05.html&si=tsWFeiZh-xpu5sT0
Hey Pete. Nice video, again.
So, just to be clear.... Compression lifts the quieter bits, the ones quieter than the threshold?
If so, can we do the opposite -compress down the higher peaks so that they don't clip or dominate? Is that what the ratio is about? Or does that just dictate the difference between the bottom and the top (quietest and loudest)?
I've played with some vocals recently as I tend to end up with them being too dominant and loud (I'm a guitar player not a singer, and I want to hear the music and not drown it with the bad voice)😖😉. So I've made use of your vocal doubling move - I like the thickening and masking of the bum notes. And I've reduced the volume of the vocals, but the quieter bits can disappear.
I also find referencing to be difficult. What sounds good on earphones or in the car sounds like the vocals are too loud, brash and too trebley when listening just on the iPhone or small speakers. Then the voice is jumping out too loud and harshly.
Any comments? (Stop singing is my girlfriends advice🙄😬)!
Haha! So... definitely don't stop singing!
Yes, compression can be a hard one to get right. It does actually reduce the peaks of your audio, and then pulls up everything else. So the threshold is where it will start looking for and reducing the peak, and the ratio is by how much. The missing part of the GarageBand compressor is that it doesn't specify the "make-up" gain. It automatically pulls the volume back up, which is why you instantly hear things louder.
Just keep playing with the different combinations of ratio, threshold, attack and gain until it sits where you want it.
Clear, concise and helpful as always! I like what sounds like a violin counter-melody going on in this song. Is it a virtual instrument or a real fiddle and if the latter, did you record it via audio interface (rather than the iPad built in mic)?
Hey there Kevin. This was a real violin played by my friend and amazing musician Dan Baker. And believe it or not, he actually recorded it using the built in mic which is crazy!
This video will let you know more - ua-cam.com/video/cCw-4PiYrmg/v-deo.html
@@PeteJohnsMusic Ha ha! How did I know you'd have a relevant video! You're a walking compendium of knowledge. Thank God you share it!
I am close to finishing a mix of my first-ever GB song. Before now I've recorded all my songs and tunes on a digital recorder (TASCAM 2488) and done the mixing and mastering on that. But it's a beast and not in the least intuitive, nor particularly user-friendly.
So with this song I'm working on (a tune I composed to set the words of a Gerard Manley Hopkins poem Spring and Fall), I mocked up the whole thing in GB and recorded my vocals on it.
The big departure for me was I patiently created a drum track in GB - the first time I've added drums to any of my music. Great fun!
Then I took each stem into the TASCAM and used the drums etc as metronomic guides to record the vocals and my wife playing three violin parts (each part recorded separately three times) and my bass part, via direct injection into the TASCAM.
Then I exported all the tracks as WAV files back into GB to do the mixing.
Absolutely everything I've done in GB has been on the back of several of your videos!
I've loads to learn still and I believe firmly that I will improve with more experience. But the journey itself is rewarding and made all the easier by good folks such as you, so thanks again.
PS For my next song, I'm going to try recording my wife playing violin on the built in mic. I'd assumed at the very least you'd need an expensive audio interface and a decent mic. When my TASCAM dies I shall go down that route.
I think I'm getting it. It's still kinda hard for me to hear the difference. Do you recommend leveling the volume first with automation before going to the compressor?
Yeah, the compression I use in a sign like this is pretty subtle. I tend to compress pretty early actually and then so automation at the end. I know a his sounds like the opposite of what I show here! It’s a personal thing really in the end. It’s all just volume but in slightly different ways.
Hi Pete, can u explain us how to do a parallel compression on iPad? I’m trying but I can’t find a good explanation for it. Greetings
Hey there Henry. So because there is no ability to use send/receive tracks in GarageBand iOS I don’t think parallel compression or side chaining is possible. You might need to use something like Cubasis or Auria for this. ua-cam.com/video/j4PJF1h975Y/v-deo.html
You should make a video about _listening_ to the mix - because I was just reviewing a future song called “Seasons” (which is thankfully only 4 minutes 😂) and I ran into a massive problem reviewing it:
If I put the volume too low, I can’t hear the mix well enough to know that things are working “perfectly” (nothing is actually perfect but you know what I mean). But if I put the volume too high, I get this really annoying crackling sound in my left ear. And “too low” and “too high” are literally like one click apart. Something that has been an on and off problem since I was like 8 years old, but I was wondering if there was a way to mix a song without hearing it clearly, or do I just have to be controlled by my body and wait around for my ear to decide not to have that static problem?
Interesting one! Yes, mixing and different volumes can definitely bring out different things in the mix, which is something I might explore in a future video. Thanks as always for your support and insightful comments.
Does this apply in fl studio also
Haven’t used FruityLoops in a while so not sure sorry
🙌🏾
👍🙏🤘
Hi! Would really love some help..... i'm recording children singing along to some backing tracks. I'm really struggling with certain points where they are (maybe too) loud & its crackling badly. How do i fix this?! Thanks so much!
Hey Lisa. This sounds like it may that they are “clipping” the signal. Unfortunately this can be really challenging to fix as once you get distortion or crackling. It can be hard to make this sound better.
What you generally need to do is to reduce the input volume on the recording, but if it is already captured often this it hard.
You can use some EQ to help Recife the crackling by cutting the higher frequencies. Let me know if you need some help with this or want to share the recording.
Will you mix someone music for them ?
Hi there. I do offer custom mixing services for those creating in GarageBand. Shoot me an email (contact details in the description) if you would like to see if I can assist.
Pete Johns if i was to ask u to review the mix on something i made and how to improve it would it cost me any money
Hey there my friend. I’m happy to do a quick listen and provide some tips free of charges just send me an email. If you want more in-depth analysis or do me to do the mixing, there would be a cost involved.
(Email address is in the description)
I watch your channel for a couple months now. Please mention my name in a subliminal message on one of your songs. Also, you say there’s a way to do everything in garage been great, how do you make a vocoder voice sense?
I figured out a way to do a vocoder voice, but it costs a few dollars. It’s a plug-in called Voice Synth, the app icon looks like an evil robot eye. There is a *lot* to it, I haven’t spent much time figuring it out but I managed to figure enough out to do the vocoder voice I did in “Hypertoxic.” It’s really cool.
There _is_ I think a way to do a vocoder voice for free with just GarageBand, but it wasn’t getting me anywhere near the sound I wanted.
Vocoder eh? That would be cool and I haven’t achieved this personally, but might have to check out Amaracea’s tip here!
The subliminal message part was just a joke you don’t have to mention my name.
Haha! Yes, I did get a chuckle and assumed you were having some fun. Makes me want to actually do it now. 😄
Hi my name ith Pete and thith ith thudio live today
Wait.... is this intended to be insulting? Wow. I’m really sorry. If that’s the case, you have some pretty bad things going on if this is the way you choose to spend your time. Hope you get some help soon. Peace.
No sir, I actually wasn’t meaning that to be an insult. Boys mess with each other, and maybe a little too far. I apologize, and I do really appreciate your channel. In fact, the quality of my songs have gotten much better because of you. I’m a pianist I’m 15 and you’ve helped me a lot because all I have is an iPhone to record and I need all the help I can get. Thank you, 🙏🏻 and I apologize.
INSTRUCTION NOISE MASTERING YOU CHANEL?
Hi there. Sorry, I’m not sure exactly what you are asking here?
@@PeteJohnsMusic YOU HAVE SPECIFICLY INSTRUCTIONS FOR NOISE NOTICE
Are you looking for information about reducing noise?