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Garageband Tutorial – The Definitive Guide To Using The Compressor In Garageband

Hey you. Yes, YOU. There’s an updated  version of this tutorial right here.

 

If you want to get your audio sounding anywhere close to professional, learning how to use the compressor needs to be pretty high on your to do list.

Initially not the most mind blowing effect in your plug in arsenal perhaps – when used properly the Compressor is definitely one of the most useful.

 

So what exactly is a compressor? How does it work in Garageband? What does it sound like?

 

In this Garageband tutorial we’ll answer all these questions, plus we’ll watch the compressor in action as well as listen to several audio samples so you can hear the effects for yourself.

 

 

 What Does It Do?

 

Put simply, applying compression to a track in Garageband lowers the volume of loud sounds to the same level as the quieter sounds.
You can then raise the overall gain of the track, having reduced any peaks or troughs in the volume.

 

How much compression you use depends on what type of audio you are applying it to and what genre your music is.
You wouldn’t want to use the same compressor settings on a dub-step synth track as you would on a jazz flute one for instance, or the same set up on a vocal track as you would on a snare drum track.

 

One of the main things to watch out for is that you don’t over compress and leave your audio sounding squashed or lifeless.

 

That said, let’s dive right in.

 

 

How it works in Garageband

 

In typical Garageband style, the built in compressor is intuitive and really simple to use.

 

Open it up and you’ll see four sliders:

 

Threshold

 

The threshold controls the point at which the compression kicks in. When you click on and move the slider it displays a decibel (db) level. Any sound above this db level will be compressed.

 

Do you only want the louder sounds to be compressed? Or do you really want to ‘level out’ your sound by setting the threshold at a lower volume?

 

Ratio

 

The ratio determines how much volume to reduce. The higher the ratio, the more volume is reduced and squished, while a lower ratio will reduce less volume.

 

So for example, if you select a ratio of 2:1 for every 1db that your audio goes over your threshold setting, it’s volume will be reduced by 2db.
If you select a ratio of 30:1, the volume will be reduced by 30db for every 1 db over your threshold setting (and sound majorly squashed)!

 

Attack

 

The Attack governs the speed at which compression kicks in.

 

How much attack you use depends entirely on what it is that you’re compressing. Snare drums, Kick drums and certain vocals (hip hop/rap) all traditionally have a fast attack setting, whereas pianos, guitars and other instruments where preserving the dynamics and the need to sound natural are important, generally have a slower attack speed.

 

Gain

 

Remember that compression reduces loud sounds down to the same volume as the quieter sounds. Once this has happened, you need to boost the output level to make up for the lost volume. You do this by –  you guessed it – increasing the gain.

 

 

Check out the video below. You’ll see the Garageband Compressor in action on a variety of different instruments.

 

 

 

How Do I Use It?

 

When I first started out with Garageband and discovered compression, I jumped in headfirst and compressed absolutely everything – whether it needed it or not.

 

“It doesn’t matter how clipped and sloppy that vocal track is – the compressor will fix it” I thought.

 

“As wonderful as that acoustic guitar part is that I’ve just recorded ( and taken 2 hours to play right….), it will sound even better when I squash the life out of it!”

 

Yeah right……

 

The result?

 

Everything sounded flat, lifeless and very UN-dynamic.

 

Also, I quickly found out that compression doesn’t actually fix anything in your audio.
Over compressing a less than stellar performance won’t magically make it sound great. You’ll end up with something that sounds lackluster and squashed – not good.

 

The best way to fix a bad take? – re-record a better one. Simple as that.

 

As I said earlier, the amount of compression required varies and depends largely on what instrument or sound you have recorded and what genre or style you are working in.

 

In pop music nowadays there is a lot of compression, on pretty much everything. Subtle dynamics simply aren’t as important as overall volume is.
With Jazz music however, dynamics are usually preserved as much as possible to capture and convey every nuance of a performance.

 

When it comes to your sounds, experimentation is key, but before you spend a lot of your time figuring out individual compressor settings from scratch check out the supplied Compression pre sets.
In Garageband the compressor comes with many contextual presets that can come close to sounding half decent and make for a great starting point to work from.

 

To show you how this works, I’ll break it down with some common instruments/audio – now with added audio clip amazingness!

 

 

Guitar

 

With guitars it all depends on the kind of part you’ve recorded. If it’s a lead guitar part, enough compression so that all the different notes maintain a consistent volume would be just fine.

 

Remember, you don’t want to overdo it – ruining your face melting solo by squashing it to death isn’t going to impress anyone.
If it’s a rhythm guitar part and you want it to kind of sit in the background and maintain the same volume throughout, you might not really be worried about the dynamic aspect of the performance.

 

This isn’t fixed remember, you need to experiment and find out what works best for YOU!

 

In the following clip you’ll hear a lead guitar in a mix without compression, then again with a preset applied.

 

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/78255352″ params=”auto_play=false&show_artwork=true&color=0079ff” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

 

Preset used – Electric Guitar Smoothen

 

Did you hear the difference?
Notice in the first example it’s harder to make the notes out clearly – it doesn’t stand out much in the mix.
In the second example the lead guitar is much more at the forefront of the mix and it’s much easier to make out the notes being played.

 

 

Drums

 

Hmmm. Drums are a bit trickier.

 

Usually, all the separate parts of the drum kit will have different amounts of compression added to each of them.
Kick drums and snare drums will usually (not always) have compression added in some form, whereas you would rarely see cymbals compressed.

 

If you’re using Garageband drum loops, you need to be extra careful that you don’t completely flatten the highs and lows while adding enough punch that it will sit well in your mix.

 

Again – Experiment. Experiment. Experiment!

 

As before, in this clip you’ll hear a drum loop in a mix without compression then again with a preset applied.

 

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/78268524″ params=”auto_play=false&show_artwork=true&color=0079ff” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

 

Preset used – Drum Kit Tighten

 

The drums are a lot quieter in the first example and sound a little buried in the mix. In the second example they really pop and add energy.

 

 

Vocals

 

With vocals, especially a lead or main vocal part, a little compression goes a long way.

In this situation, you really want to preserve as much of the natural dynamics of a performance as much as you can, while making sure the vocal sits front and centre in the mix.
Backing vocals can usually be compressed a bit more.

 

In this last clip, you’ll again hear the vocals without compression first, then again with a compressor preset applied.

 

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/78289898″ params=”auto_play=false&show_artwork=true&color=0079ff” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

 

Preset used – Vocal Compression Rap

 

You can really notice how much more well defined the vocal is in the second example. With the compression added, The vocals really come to the front of the mix, whereas without it added they struggle to be heard over the rest of the instruments.

 

 

I know I’ve said it a million times already, but EXPERIMENT. There is no right or wrong way to use the compressor, there’s only what works best for YOU!

 

Now that you’re equipped with the know how to bend the Garageband Compressor to your will, get out there and start squashing!

 

Still have questions? Did I leave anything out? What did you think of this Garageband tutorial?

 

Leave a comment below and let me know!

Patrick
I've been a musician for longer than I care to remember and though I don't make a living in a recording studio, I have spent the last decade getting to know everything worth knowing about Apple's GarageBand on Mac and iOS!
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Show Comments (35)

35 Comments

  1. I guess the vanilla compressor is ok, but there are so many better plug ins out there that I hardly use it anymore.

    Still, nice article. Like the accent 🙂

    Reply

    1. You’re right, there is a LOT of different Compressor plug ins to choose from – maybe TOO many…… I guess what I like most about the ‘vanilla’ one is how easy it is to get good results.

      Thanks for the kind words – i’m glad you’re into the Scottish accent!

      Reply

    2. Hi Patrick, a helpful article, thankyou.

      I’m still trying to 100% understand what’s going on with Compressor. What you write – “So for example, if you select a ratio of 2:1 for every 1db that your audio goes over your threshold setting, it’s volume will be reduced by 2db” – implies that sounds just above the threshold will, in some instances, be made quieter than sounds that are just below the threshold – the loudest sounds using certain settings won’t still be the loudest things you recorded (albeit much reduced in volume) but actually the sounds that are just below the threshold.

      So we’re not just “flattening” the dynamics, but giving them an altered hierarchy as it were (which isn’t what I thought compression did).

      Is this correct?

      Reply

  3. I agree that there may be too many compressors out there, and I am all for simplicity.

    Use what you have, master it, and make your recordings sound great.

    Mike

    Reply

  4. I recorded at a level that did not clip. If I move the slider for the track volume wide open, and the meter goes to red in spots, does this mean that the rendered mix will clip in spots? In other-words, can clipping only occur during recording or during mix-down as well? If during mix-down, then it seams that you should move all sliders lower so that they don’t light up in red at any point?

    Reply

    1. Hi Graham, yes, clipping can occur during mix down, though Garageband handles it in a strange way. If you over push the volume of your tracks you won’t hear much actual clipping when playing back your project. When you come to export it you’ll notice that your mixed down track sounds nothing like it did as a GB project.

      You can definitely get away with cranking the volume of your tracks a little, as long as they’re not constantly in the red. I would try and avoid too much red light in the master volume at the bottom of the project window too.

      Reply

      1. Thanks a bunch Patrick! Sounds like the best thing to do is to make sure that my initial recordings don’t clip, apply a small amount of compression, turn down the master volume slider to avoid going into the red, and apply the normalizing feature. If I do all of this I should avoid clipping? Thanks again!

        Reply

        1. You’ve got it! I’d say the most important of the steps you mentioned is making sure your initial recordings don’t clip.

      2. The peak limiter effect really ups the volume when you turn it up a little and export to itunes.. Just in case you didn’t know guys!

        Reply

  5. So, I had to scramble last minute to audio-record a 2-day cancer research network meeting that was due to be heavily attended by federal employees (who’re furloughed due to the federal government shutdown). I need to create audio recordings of the different presentations and discussions so that when they’re allowed back to work, the federal employees can listen to what they missed. (Yes, really.)

    I recorded in GarageBand using two (pro level) wireless microphones. In all my testing, there was no clipping, and there were no red clipping indicators showing up during recording. Yet, in the recording, there is a substantial amount of crackling/clipping. I cannot go back and re-record the tracks, I have to make do with what I have.

    Your guide to using the compressor looks really solid, but as a newbie to doing this (while I’m a techie, this was the first time I’d done any audio recording), I’d love any suggestions you can give about what settings and such to use specifically to reduce substantial crackling noises/clipping in an audio track that is just people speaking. I’m guessing “vocal compression rap” as suggested in the Vocals section above is a good place to start, but do you have any suggestions for other tweaks and tricks to get rid of the crackling in these tracks?

    Thanks!!

    Reply

    1. Hey Rebecca,

      Great question. Sounds like the audio you’ve recorded is ‘clipping’ (you might already know, but this means the sound was captured at a high volume, which results in the ‘crackly, and distorted sound you’re left with).

      There’s not a whole lot you can do about the actual distortion, unfortunately, but it would be a good idea to add some compression etc to get it sounding as good as possible.

      Bear in mind that using compression will increase the quieter sounds – so it’s a good idea to use the Lowpass Filter (it’s in the effects drop-down menu within Garageband) to control the top end EQ’s of your recording first.

      Turn the effect on and adjust the slider until you’ve got rid of a lot of the hiss, but still retained enough top end to make it sound ‘natural’.

      Then dive into the compressor. The Rap pre set might not be that great for your purposes – try the Podcasting and Vocal ones – they usually strike a good balance between volume and EQ.

      See how you get on. If you’re still having trouble, you can email me directly at patrick@thegaragebandguide.com

      Reply

      1. Thanks, this was helpful. It helped a BIT with making the clipping sound less awful, but I suspect nothing short of advanced sound engineering tools and/or a lot of time and audio editing know-how would be required to get rid of it sufficiently…

        But as the saying goes… “It’s good enough for government work!”

        Thanks again, Patrick!

        Reply

  6. So I often use an Apogee One at my practices to record the practice. We are a bluegrass group so it’s guitar, fiddle, mando, bass. As you can guess the guitar is the quietest instrument. I was thinking that compression would be a good way to bring everything down to hear the guitar more, is the right way to think about using compression?

    Reply

  7. This was so incrediably helpful and I am with you 100% garageband is an AWESOME program and it gets a bad rap…. I use it professionally and i’m a studio musician

    Reply

  8. If I compress a single track within GarageBand and then share to iTunes, does clicking the compress box when exporting create double compression of that track?

    Reply

  9. hi there I’m using garageband at the moment but when i record or playback I’m always hearing this annoying clicking noise when you hear my voice do you have any idea on how to sort this?

    Reply

  11. Dear Patrick,

    I´m a new in homerecording and have plenty of questions so I´ll ask some.

    These days I´m trying to do my best to make a good live performance record of our group.
    I use iMac with OS Maverick, i.e. Garage band. After mastering (using some effects as compressor, track reverb) I send the track to iTune and then from iTune I burn a track to CD.

    I found out that while comparing a track in Garageband (after mastering) to the same track in iTune (after importing) the track in Garageband is louder (a little), has more volume, more dynamic. Is it possible while importing to loose that?

    Moreover, when I increased gain in compressor (Garageband´s compressor) I significantly heard the volume increase in Garageband track but after importing that track to iTune the volume stayed same as before increasing. How it can be? How can I achieve the same dynamic as in Garageband?

    When I use any effect on audio track, for example compressor, I see no changes in a frequency graph of a track. I suposed that I should see some changes (no clipping).

    Any ideas are welcome.

    Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

    Best regards

    Lubomir

    Reply

    1. Garageband has a default setting (in preferences) that normalises the sound when you bounce it down to iTunes (i.e. share). Try removing this setting (it’s under ADVANCED, within PREFERENCES) and that should fix the problem.

      Reply

  12. I have a project with Acoustic Guitar, vocal, a tiny litte piano part (from the built in sounds), a wood block that is doubled and hard panned and an electric guitar solo.

    I know i had a good input signal while doing the vocal. I got around to messing with the Compressor on the vocal track and I wanted to turn it off to do some A/B testing. When i turn off the compressor I have almost no volume, yes the Gain is at about 20db. I swear that sometimes i get the proper volume when the comp is turned off, but that may be because it is all becoming a blur after about 20 hours in front of the Mac :^/

    So I am wondering, did i perhaps “trap” my compression gain by Saving the project with Compression turned on? I of course can just do a retake (which is a good idea), but this is just bugging me. I get no vocal volume unless the comp is turned on, or turn everything else way down, too far down to work right.

    Let me know your thoughts, and thanks!

    Reply

  13. I thought It was hard getting musicians to stop noodling and be quite during rehearsals, Its even hard to level my band as a novice with Garageband, But thanks for the useful tips and I can always mute them completely. Obviously my Big gob as Tina always needs a bit of compression (The guys would say Don’t bother using a mic).
    My main problem is levels. Once everything has a bit of effects EQ and compression. Is it just a case of your own taste what lies where the mix. Plus its even harder when leveling a click track with only a fraction of the sounds all panned right and a loud click left etc Any suggestions??

    Thanks Justine x

    Reply

  16. I am not seeing the compressor in my Garageband. Do I have to have the latest version? If I can’t get the compressor in Garageband, what are some good simple plug in compressors I can get? I’m fairly un-tech savvy and I have to record an audio book that needs compression. Any help gratefully received!

    Reply

  17. Dude………Please tell me you’ve completed that song…”Pick up the pieces”….it has the feel of an Evanescence song….sounds beautiful….what is the title and where can I buy the track bro?

    Reply

  18. Wonderful article thanks for posting. I am having the issue that changing equalizer and compression settings on one track changes it to the same setting on all tracks. How do you do separate settings for different tracks?? thanks

    Reply

  19. Patrick – hope you might be able to help me with this. I’m wondering if it is possible to take all notes on a midi track on garageband and to set them all to the same velocity/volume? I’ve done more than a thousand tracks and many hundreds of tunes on it but haven’t found a way to highlight notes and to make them all the same. I know how to adjust each individually and set them that way and of course know how to adjust volume of a track, but would like to be able to highlight a group of notes and adjust them together, not with the track volume.

    Thanks for your help:))

    Jamie

    Reply

  20. Hi Patrick
    I can’t find the preset compressors on my GB iPad . Am I missing something? I’ve searched the Help but no success
    Thanks !!!

    Reply

  21. Patrick, I think for what I’m doing I would benefit from having a multi band compressor and am wondering if I can achieve that effect in GB. I made a stereo recording of a woodwind ensemble using a Zoom H4N and the balance between instruments is quite a bit off in places. Suggestions appreciated. All options are open except re-recording the live event.

    Reply

  22. Thank you for the article. It took me a half dozen links to find something that answered my question. I might have overlooked the entry but I’m not clear on what the “mix” adjustment does. I’m using garage band for something fairly unorthodox and so have no idea how to adjust the settings to my particular application. If you find the opportunity to reply and are willing to elaborate further on how I should set these functions on my tracks, I will explain my project via email. Messenger is fine too. You can find me on FB via the provided email. Thanks for your service. IJ-Portland, OR

    Reply

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