Parallel Compression in ReaComp: Confirm/Clarify

[ShanPeyton]

Something i am at a loss for here but can someone please correct me if i am wrong.

When using reacomp, if my 'wet' and 'dry' signal coming out of that plug are the exactly the same, would that be considered Parallel Compression

 

[ashcat_lt]

If the wet and dry signals are exactly the same then ReaComp is doing anything.

If the dry control is not all the way down, then it's parallel compression.

 

[ShanPeyton]

If the wet and dry signals are exactly the same then ReaComp is doing anything.

If the dry control is not all the way down, then it's parallel compression.

Ok yea my wording may have been confusing. I think i meant controls not signal. So, if my wet and dry fader control knobs or whatever they are called in reacomp are both set to same say 0, nothing is happening?

If i bump the dry control fader thing down, it then become parallel?


I guess the question that needs to be asked is that Reacomp can do parallel compression within itself. I don't need to fiddle with separate tracks and stuff? I had a buddy telling me i need to have two different tracks set up to do Parallel compression.

 

[mjbphotos]

Parallel compression means you have your DRY signal running to the master PLUS that same signal is routed to the compressor whose WET output also runs to the master. So yes, if you insert ReaComp into a track and have both the Dry and Wet control sliders up to some point, this is parallel compression.

 

[ashcat_lt]

Ok yea my wording may have been confusing. I think i meant controls not signal. So, if my wet and dry fader control knobs or whatever they are called in reacomp are both set to same say 0, nothing is happening?

If i bump the dry control fader thing down, it then become parallel?


I guess the question that needs to be asked is that Reacomp can do parallel compression within itself. I don't need to fiddle with separate tracks and stuff? I had a buddy telling me i need to have two different tracks set up to do Parallel compression.

That's not at all what I said. What I said is that if both the wet and dry sound the same, then the compressor can't be doing anything. It was kind of a joke, don't let it confuse you.

The two sliders don't have to be at the same setting to be parallel. In fact, I don't think they would be set exactly the same (a 50/50 mix) in most contexts. Any mix of the wet with the dry counts as parallel, and the whole point is to mix them so that it sounds right and does what you want.

ReaComp (in Reaper) actually has two ways to get the parallel thing without extra routing. You can use the Wet and Dry sliders or the Wet knob that Reaper adds to the upper right of every plugin. The functions are essentially redundant, except that the knob is more of a crossfade between the two signals while the sliders are adding the two signals together. Both sliders at 0 with the knob at 100 will be louder than if the knob is set to 50% with Wet at 0 and Dry all the way down.

 

[ShanPeyton]

That's not at all what I said. What I said is that if both the wet and dry sound the same, then the compressor can't be doing anything. It was kind of a joke, don't let it confuse you.

HA! Ok. I see that now. Makes Sense.

Any mix of the wet with the dry counts as parallel

Beauty! O.k. this is what i needed to hear. It's basically exactly what i was thinking i was just sort of struggling with how to word it. O.k. Ashkat thats awesome man. Thanks so much. I know i wasn't entirely crazy.

ReaComp (in Reaper) actually has two ways to get the parallel thing without extra routing. You can use the Wet and Dry sliders or the Wet knob that Reaper adds to the upper right of every plugin. The functions are essentially redundant, except that the knob is more of a crossfade between the two signals while the sliders are adding the two signals together. Both sliders at 0 with the knob at 100 will be louder than if the knob is set to 50% with Wet at 0 and Dry all the way down.

I have looked at that knob 100 times and never even touched it. Good to know it's not useless.

Thanks a million.

 

[ashcat_lt]

I have looked at that knob 100 times and never even touched it. Good to know it's not useless.

There's lots of uses for that knob! If, for example, you had a compressor that didn't have its own wet/dry controls, you could get parallel compression out of that. Or, you know, get a wet/dry mix for any plugin that doesn't include it.

There's another way to do this with the routing pins on the plugins and multi-channel tracks, but it would require at least one plugin on either side of ReaComp, and is actually not really worth the trouble most of the time. It's not a bad idea to try it as a way of getting familiar with how the multi-channel routing pins, but not exactly practical for parallel compression most of the time.

 

[mixsit]

That's not at all what I said. What I said is that if both the wet and dry sound the same, then the compressor can't be doing anything. It was kind of a joke, don't let it confuse you.

The two sliders don't have to be at the same setting to be parallel. In fact, I don't think they would be set exactly the same (a 50/50 mix) in most contexts. Any mix of the wet with the dry counts as parallel, and the whole point is to mix them so that it sounds right and does what you want.

ReaComp (in Reaper) actually has two ways to get the parallel thing without extra routing. You can use the Wet and Dry sliders or the Wet knob that Reaper adds to the upper right of every plugin. The functions are essentially redundant, except that the knob is more of a crossfade between the two signals while the sliders are adding the two signals together. Both sliders at 0 with the knob at 100 will be louder than if the knob is set to 50% with Wet at 0 and Dry all the way down.

I haven't gotten around to using the ReaComp (intend to) but just wanted to add, much prefer the dry and wet fader approach- in that it is very much the same working method as having made a home rolled parallel bus; You have the dry level and you slip the wet' as needed up into it. As opposed to the PSP comps for example (which I like) but use 'mix knobs- I don't want the dry to change 'cause I dialed in some wet.