Recently, I received a few drum tracks to mix to sound similar to "Can You Feel My Heart" by Bring Me The Horizon. Before getting into the mix, I read up on a couple of articles about using Bus Compression in a mix:
Compression Articles
The two compression articles that I read up on before the mix can be found here and here. The gist of both articles is that they explain what compression is, how to use it, and different types of compressors that are used in mixes. Both articles point out that over compression is a common mistake a lot of engineers face when mixing a track. To avoid this, you want a low ratio when compressing (preferably less that 10:1). Each article mentions that (bus) compression will flatten your signal's peaks and reduce the dynamic range of your track, so you must monitor the amount of compression you're using. They also give a short list of compressors that engineers will normally use, or compressors that they (the authors) use themselves. They also mention that you don't want to over compress the mix just for the fact that when sending the mix to the mastering engineer, that you don't want to send a lifeless, over compressed, mix for them to master because the dynamic range will be nonexistent.
I found both articles to be very informative and useful. My only little gripe about it was the compressors that they mentioned. I believe that in my mix I didn't use any of the compressors they mentioned, but I did take into account to watch for over compression and to keep a low ratio when compressing any of the tracks when mixing. Of course, I have my own go to compressors that I generally use whenever I mix in the first place, so I kept in mind some of the technical aspects of what the articles were telling me; fast attack, fast release, low ratio, make sure the sound isn't just loud (louder doesn't always mean better), etc. Overall, I would suggest that any beginning to intermediate mixing engineer should read these two articles as they have very useful information that could definitely save a mix.
I found both articles to be very informative and useful. My only little gripe about it was the compressors that they mentioned. I believe that in my mix I didn't use any of the compressors they mentioned, but I did take into account to watch for over compression and to keep a low ratio when compressing any of the tracks when mixing. Of course, I have my own go to compressors that I generally use whenever I mix in the first place, so I kept in mind some of the technical aspects of what the articles were telling me; fast attack, fast release, low ratio, make sure the sound isn't just loud (louder doesn't always mean better), etc. Overall, I would suggest that any beginning to intermediate mixing engineer should read these two articles as they have very useful information that could definitely save a mix.
Above: (From Left to Right) Pro Tools Edit and Mix windows for drum mix
Self Analysis
When comparing my drum mix to the one in "Can You Feel My Heart" by Bring Me The Horizon, I think I did a decent enough job. I wouldn't say I got it perfectly, but I feel like I was pretty close in getting a similar sound. The hardest part of the whole mix was definitely
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