Mix Bus Compression — A Step-by-Step Recipe

Mix bus compression is one of those things that sounds like nothing on its own and changes everything when it's right. Work through these steps in order and you'll land in a useful place every time.

1. Start with the ratio at 3:1. It's enough to feel without being aggressive.
2. Pull the threshold down until you're slamming the meter — around 10 dB of gain reduction. You're not keeping it here; you just need something obvious to tune against.
3. Set the attack as slow as it goes (around 100 ms) and the release as fast as it goes (around 5 ms). Everything will sound wrong. That's fine.
4. Speed up the attack until the kick and snare start to lose their punch and feel dull. Back off a touch — you want to feel the transients again.
5. Slow the release until the compressor breathes in time with the song. Solo the kick and snare and watch the gain-reduction meter recover fully between hits.
6. Bring the threshold back up. Stop when you're only seeing 1–2 dB of gain reduction on the loudest moments. That tiny amount is doing all the work.
7. Re-check the ratio. 2:1 will feel like glue; 4:1 will feel like a deliberate sound. Trust your ears, not the number.
8. Apply makeup gain so the output matches the input. Without level-matching, louder will always sound "better."
9. Bypass and engage. If it sounds tighter and more cohesive engaged, leave it. If it just sounds different, take it off.