Just a dumb Q: What is a side chain?

  • Thread starter Thread starter MiXit-G
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Never having used a sidechain, my answer's just a stopgap till the smart money shows up, but it's basically a way of adding in a piece of gear like a reverb unit for example to a signal chain. If you've got a mixer, you can sidechain a signal through a reverb unit or a compressor to avail yourself of that process before the signal leaves the mixer. My guess is the Aux ins and outs on the mixer are what does the job.

I've been known to be wrong before though... :D
 
Well... while you're not incorrect technically, that's not what sidechain usually refers to....

A Sidechain is an alternate input on a piece of gear (say a compressor), that allows you to pass a different control signal to the gear to work of off. When nothing is connected to the sidechain, the normal input signal is simply rerouted thru it.
 
Well, in it's most practical use. Side chaining allows you to do what is known as 'ducking'.

An example would be this; your listening to a radio ad and music is playing, then when the announcer comes on, the music 'ducks' down in volume a bit, say a few db, so that the announcer is the prominant audio with the music just below him. Then when he stops or pauses, the music volume comes back up. Then if he (or she) speaks again the music ducks again.

There are many more uses for it but that is the most widely used application of a side chain.
 
Right!

Can you give a practical expample of its real world application? I never have had to use it for that personally and I think it would help to have an example.
 
De-essing is used anytime you want to remove excessive sibilance in a vocal track.... frequency-dependent level reduction is used to control the SSS transients without affecting the rest of the vocals.

(Connect a parametric EQ to the side-chain and boost the frequency of the most sibilant transients. Fast attack, and fast release, high ratio; adjust threshold so that only the sibilant transients get limited.)

Bruce
 
Excellent example!

But this makes it very scenario dependant right? If for example you have several voices on the same track, you would not be able to control every one independantly unless you could chain the side chains or you used multiple compressors with side chains to process that track.

It can make yer head spin!:rolleyes:
 
you guys are all friggin wrong.... a sidechain is the thing bikers wear, that compliment the natural color of black chaps.

ducking in radio stations....very popular.

de-essing with para EQ's....all the time.
 
Every piece of gear is scenario-dependent! There are no universal settings for anything from EQ to compression to reverb that will work everytime on each and every track!
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
Every piece of gear is scenario-dependent! There are no universal settings for anything from EQ to compression to reverb that will work everytime on each and every track!
Click to expand...

aaahh...but you're wrong Moose-breath (you watched Johnny Carson, didn't you?)

A Marshall 50 watt head on 10...every other knob up too. I don't know why those things even have knobs.
 
Well, yeah... but I was talking about outboard gear, ticket-boy....

:D :D
 
Side Chain?

Yo Bruce, et. al.:]

A side chain? Well, back in the days of Cab Calloway and my high school career, it was a long cool chain I wore on the right side of my drape slacks and Billy Ekstein collar shirt.

Heh, heh

Green Hornet

I'll bet Buck 62 knows about side chains too.
 
Hey Hey Bruce:

I'm not old. I'm am well-preserved by martinis, etc. But, as a child, I had the chance to go to two stage shows, per week, plus a movie, in downtown Chicago. I saw so much great talent as a kid.

It has an influence on my music for sure.

By the way, I don't wear those shirts anymore and I don't have any drape pants left.

Green Hornet
 
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