Quite confused about Sidechaining.

D

Daián Schvind

New member
Can somebody please explain what sidechaining actually is and how it actually works? What's it's purpose? I'm just so darn confused about it. Somebody please explain from scratch lol. No matter how much I Google about it I still can't get the hang of it...

I really haven't found any use for it so I'm sure I'm doing something wrong.
Help would be really appreciated!
 
Are you talking about side chaining say a compressor so that it only works on select frequencies? If that is so,

Plug a eq (maybe a graphic) into the side chain of the compressor, fully cut all the frequencies. Not fully boost only the frequencies that you want to compressor to act on, in the case of using the compressor as a de-esser boost the high frequencies that are where the ess sound is, like 4k 6k etc, you will then set the threshold so that the compressor works during the esses, notice that when there is no ess the compressor does nothing. The same thing can be set up so that the compressor acts on an annoying peaking frequency in the sound (to smooth it out) or maybe the bass frequencies only.

You can also side chain a noise gate so that it only triggers on particular frequencies.

If you are asking about parallel compression that is a different story.

Alan.
 
Side chaining in compression or gating is basically a loop in the circuit right before the detector of the processor. By inserting a signal (not necessarily an EQ) into the sidechain you can cause the compressor to react to an external signal. The concept is similar to an insert on a console or an effects loop on a guitar amp although the sidechained signal is not heard. The processor will REACT to the sidechain and AFFECT the signal passing through it based on what it hears at the sidechain.

In the case of witzendoz's example, the sidechain should have send and receive terminals to send the signal through the EQ and to return it to the unit, thus completing the "chain". A "key" input is slightly different in that it only requires a single external input to engage the detector. Once again, in both cases, the detector reacts to the sidechain or key input and applies processing to the signal passing through it's main inputs based on what it "hears" at the sidechain.

Another use for a sidechain that is commonly used in dance music is to insert a sidechain compressor on the pads or even the entire mix (except the drums) and key the sidechain with the kick drum. With the correct ratio, attack and release, you can cause the music to "pump" in relation to the kick drum and supply that syncopated rhythm on the "and". Know what I mean? It's been done for yonks.

Cheers :)
 
Side-chaining is basically anything done by making a copy of a signal and sending it somewhere else, typically to do processing on the copied signal (distortion, compression, etc).

For example, Reverbs are used as a "side-chain" instead of "in-line." If it were in-line, it's used DIRECTLY on the channel (through an insert, for example).

By side-chaining it, you're sending a signal copy (usually via an aux send) to the reverb unit, and then blending in the reverb sound with the original.
 
MrWrenchy, I have never in over 20 years heard anybody use the term "side chain" for what you describe. You're talking about the difference between an "insert" and a "send".

MoFacta's got the right answer.

It's used for de-essing, for that pumping thing. A less extreme version of the pumping thing can be used to duck one instrument out of the way of another. If you're having trouble getting the kick and bass to play nicely, for example, or to force backing tracks to fall back a bit when the lead instrument (vocals usually) comes in. Can abe used in radio or voice over type stuff to make background music or environment noise "duck" behind the voice.

Keyed gates, expanders, or compressors have also been used to create more complex or extreme versions of tremelo type effects by sending a percussive, rhythmic thing to the key input and a pad or guitar or whatever to the input.
 
Side chaining is when you cause a compressor to react to something different from the input, such as a filtered version of the input or an entirely different signal.

You use the side chain input or loop. Usually there's a TRS jack set up like an insert with an out and an in that are normalled together when no plug is inserted. If you eq the side chain you won't hear the eq directly, you'll hear the compressor reacting differently. If you filter out everything but 3-10kHz the compressor will only react to things in that range, such as sibilants. You can also use a totally different signal to affect the one being compressed, like using the kick to duck the bass guitar for an interesting dynamic effect.
 
ashcat_lt said:
MrWrenchy, I have never in over 20 years heard anybody use the term "side chain" for what you describe. You're talking about the difference between an "insert" and a "send"..
Click to expand...
OK good. It's not just me. Read it this morning and it was so not what I've always known side-chining to be, that I thought I must just be totally mis-understanding what anyone's typing. :eek:
 
MrWrenchey said:
It's what my professors refer to it as... As far as I know, it made sense to me.
Click to expand...

Where the problem lies is that some people refer to paralleling as side chain. They are 2 different things, it also seems to be referred to different things in different countries.

Alan.
 
witzendoz said:
Where the problem lies is that some people refer to paralleling as side chain. They are 2 different things, it also seems to be referred to different things in different countries.

Alan.
Click to expand...

I think the reason it made sense to me is that Side-Chain compression is basically used the same way as reverb (they call reverb using a send side-chain and using an insert in-line at my college), and they compared it to how when you use side-chain compression (AKA Parallel compression, as we've brought up on the thread), you're using an aux send, sending that aux to a compressor, and mixing back in the signal just as you would with reverb.

But I think it might just be what wtizendoz was saying. Frick, even East/West coast America has a million different terms for audio lingo that mean the same thing. Maybe where my professor studied (I don't know the exact studio, but he worked on some old stuff for Reel Big Fish and Usher and a few people like that), they used terminology like that. My Live Sound professor used side-chaining today in the same way I explained it, so maybe it's just a different areas terminology.
 
"Side chain compression" is used by a small number of engineers for what most of us call parallel compression, but I've never heard side chain used to describe an effects loop (which is parallel routing). It's technically correct as a synonym for parallel, but it's just not something I've heard in two decades of doing this stuff. I think your professors are out of touch with real working engineers. If someone told me there was howlround in the foldbacks I would understand it as feedback in the monitors, but side chain instead of effects loop would throw me.
 
I agree. That's just goofy. Nobody in this thread was describing parallel compression. That's a whole other animal. How do your professors refer to the type of side-chain that we've been describing?
 
ashcat_lt said:
MrWrenchy, I have never in over 20 years heard anybody use the term "side chain" for what you describe. You're talking about the difference between an "insert" and a "send".
Click to expand...

Before I got to this post I read MrWrenchy's post like 6 times over and over and tried my best to make sense of it lol thinking...maybe this is just something new I dont know bout...:laughings: I was wrong, Thank god! lol
 
MrWrenchey said:
I think the reason it made sense to me is that Side-Chain compression is basically used the same way as reverb (they call reverb using a send side-chain and using an insert in-line at my college), and they compared it to how when you use side-chain compression (AKA Parallel compression, as we've brought up on the thread), you're using an aux send, sending that aux to a compressor, and mixing back in the signal just as you would with reverb.
Click to expand...

I know I have been over seas and they have different terms than we do. Also with the side/parallel...Thing is if setup properly Side-Chain Compression and Parallel Compression is not the same thing. Side Chain attenuation is effected by an external signal like mentioned before. Parallel compression is a signal routed to another output and comp and additional effects applied really just a copy of the original signal.
 
I feel like most of these posts are going to confuse the OP more lol. The first couple posts were pretty well explained atleast xD
 
I think some comp diagrams refer to even the internal detector path as the 'side chain. So in that sense perhaps the term is likened to a (any?) parallel split off.
 
Daián Schvind said:
Can somebody please explain what sidechaining actually is and how it actually works? What's it's purpose? I'm just so darn confused about it. Somebody please explain from scratch lol. No matter how much I Google about it I still can't get the hang of it...

I really haven't found any use for it so I'm sure I'm doing something wrong.
Help would be really appreciated!
Click to expand...
So.. in the end, did it get cleared up for ya :)
 
jaynm26 said:
I know I have been over seas and they have different terms than we do. Also with the side/parallel...Thing is if setup properly Side-Chain Compression and Parallel Compression is not the same thing. Side Chain attenuation is effected by an external signal like mentioned before. Parallel compression is a signal routed to another output and comp and additional effects applied really just a copy of the original signal.
Click to expand...

This right here just made me understand the difference between side-chain/parallel compression, and how you're all telling me side-chain isn't what I'm talking about. xD

If I'm correct in understanding, side-chain in the way we're talking about is LITERALLY the output (for example, on a compressor) that says "side-chain." If you had that on say, a bass guitar and linked it to the kick drum channel, you're compressing the bass guitar based on the side-chain input, which is the kick drum.

Of course, PARALLEL compression is when you do as I've been talking about, and using a send. Running something in parallel uses a send, running something in side-chain means you're using a different input to trigger something, such as compression.

Yeah?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top