Using compression as a send

[skiz]

Just wonderin if this could b done with good results. It would save me a lot of cpu power. Say if i set a compressor with good ratio and threshold and attack and release times for drums and then used the same send for the snare kick and all the tom mics, rather than putting a compressor on each channel. Valid technique or stupid newb idea?

 

[Robert D]

First, compressors are almost never set up on sends, they are connected as inserts so that the dynamics of the whole signal is controlled.
Next, you have to understand that when you apply a single compressor to multiple instruments, all of those instruments are affected by any one of them reaching threshold. Buss compression is used sometimes on drums (drums are routed to a sub buss, compressor is inserted on the sub buss), but not to save CPU power, and with a very different result than with a compressor for each drum.
It sounds like you may need to read up on what compressors do, and how they do it. Using compression without understanding it is a good way to screw up your tracks.

Good Luck

 

[elly-d]

a compressor over the whole of the drums is not a silly idea at all it is used all the time. it can really boost the kit and you can get some good effects going too. i am not sure what you mean with the sends? maybe send the kit from your pc through a compressor and record back in? yep it would save cpu as you wouldnt need a plug in on em. anywhere near?

 

[Cosmonaut]

Try bussing your drum track to a stereo master track and Compress the master drum track, it would work better i would think

 

[Massive Master]

Compressing a buss is not the same as compressing the individual components of that buss.

You *can* run a compressor on an aux send -- It's called "parallel compression" and it's done all the time. But it's compressing a parallel send of the original signal. You can send all the individual tracks to a buss and compress the buss, but that isn't compressing the original signals -- It's reacting holistically to the level on the buss.

If you need to compress individual tracks, the only way to really accomplish it is to compress individual tracks.

 

[carlosguardia]

I agree with Massive Master; and I've also heard this called New York Style Compression...I use it quite often!

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

The idea with NY compression and parallel compression in general is that the compression on the aux send is the returned and brought up "under" the uncompressed tracks in the mix in order to beef them up a bit. Hence the term "parallel"; the uncomp'd tracks and the comp'd tracks are mixed into the final mix together, or in parallel with each other.

G.

 

[skiz]

That sounds pretty awesome glenn, how could i go about doing this in cubase? Not sure how id get the original uncompressed tracks to play with the compressed ones

 

[RAMI]

Not sure how id get the original uncompressed tracks to play with the compressed ones

Press play and turn them both up???

 

[eraos]

how could i go about doing this in cubase? Not sure how id get the original uncompressed tracks to play with the compressed ones

You're confusing serial and parallel processing. If you're going to send out from an aux., the signal will STILL continue down through to the channel output, as well as go out to the aux bus.

In cubase, set up an aux bus with a compressor on it, and send some signal from each track to it. Play both.

 

[Fletcher]

That sounds pretty awesome glenn, how could i go about doing this in cubase? Not sure how id get the original uncompressed tracks to play with the compressed ones

You'll have to copy the tracks you're going to do with parallel compression and nudge them ahead a sample or two to allow for the processing delay of the plug in to not cause phasing issues with the original [dry] signal... then just set up an "aux" send in the mixer of the program to feed a compressor... then return that compressor to your mix buss.

Legend has it that Jack Douglas used this trick on the early Aerosmith albums he did... he used one mono send each for drums, guitars, etc. which were returned in mono to the console then would run a little of each "group" into it's assigned compressor and fold it into the mix. This would give an idea of why Aerosmith stuff really screamed on the radio [back when I was a kid and Aerosmith was good... and they played music in the morning on the radio instead of the "middle school" humor / Howard Stern wannabe morons that currently grace the "AM drive time" airwaves... but I digress].

Peace.

 

[legionserial]

That sounds pretty awesome glenn, how could i go about doing this in cubase? Not sure how id get the original uncompressed tracks to play with the compressed ones

I do this a fair bit in cubase. I create an FX track with a compressor in it, and send the relevant tracks to it. The rest is just a matter of getting a balance between the dry tracks and the FX track. This might not be the 'right' way to do it, but I've had some good results.