Rack compressor for live gigs

[ytse_jam]

How do you use it? Having to compress the entire mix I suppose the compression has to be very soft, just to "smooth out" things a bit... or can you use some more "extreme" settings with an auto-adjusting attack control (i.e. just not to make cymbals sound so crappy)? My band plays hard-rock/heavy-metal and I would like to have a tighter and fuller, more direct overall sound, but I'm quite at the beginning with compression (have read a pair of really good articles but have no experience). Thanks

 

[Dead Moon Rising]

I personally hate compression on the main buss. it's good for idiots to protect the system but can destroy mixes in a flash. When i do gigs at other venues i bypass the main buss comp. if you going to do it i'd recommend a very light ratio then experiment with the attack and release times. Good gear and good tones, will help the most. it's better to mix well tuned drums and good amp tones from the beginning.