Compression on effects send

[highonthesound]

I’ve been using Adobe Audition for the last couple years and all of my mixing experience has been on a computer screen. So, less familiar with signal routing in the analog realm, I was slow to pick up on ‘effects sends’. Frustrated with horrendous sounding reverbs, I finally read a few articles and learned to apply reverb to Bus A and use the send control to dial in the perfect amount (or turn up the send control and use the Bus fader). So having seen the light with reverb, I’ve been experimenting with a compressor send (not too far off of what Bob Katz refers to as ‘Parallel Compression’?). I leave the original signal dry, and lightly blend in an aggressive compressor or heavily blend in a lighter compressor. I’ve come up with some fat, pleasing sounds on vocals and acoustic guitar – my question: is this a common technique? Anyone have any tips or tricks they like to use?

 

[Massive Mastering]

It's a very common technique. Experimentation is key until you get "the ear" for it - But when you're experimenting, EXPERIMENT. Pan, reduce the stereo image to mono, cut and boost EQ on the parallel - Don't limit yourself.

Heh... "Limit" yourself... :lol:

 

[pandamonkey]

Parrellel Compression? I like the idea but haven't tried it myself. would you still limit the non compressed stream? or just ride the two channels with the non-compressed slightly higher volume (generally speaking) to maintain some peak dynamics? Is a low budget or medium quality plug-in compressor going to create potential artifacts in the compressed signal and will that have an effect of the parrallel signals played together? Of course, if it did and it created a pleasing sound then great too!
Regards..

 

[Massive Mastering]

The sky's the limit there... You can level, you can crush - Whatever you need.

*Generally* speaking, the "popular" technique is to go a little overboard and mix it in at 25 or30dB under the rest.

 

[RemyRAD]

In the good old days of EMT plates..... The EMT electronics would add a preemphasis high frequency boost to the excitation transducers and one could choose normal dynamics or switch on the 2: 1 internal compressor. We used it both ways but eventually we mostly opted for no compression on the send side of the electronics. We never used any on the return.

My plate was clean
Ms. Remy Ann David

 

[highonthesound]

EMT plates? over my head on that one.

 

[RemyRAD]

EMT plates, you get from your dentist after you lose your own teeth. Or is that cut your teeth??

Queen reverberator
Ms. Remy Ann David

 

[moonbaby]

DUDE!!!
Ever see "Plate" as a preset on a digtal reverb? That's referring to the vintage EMT (and some other brands, but they were the king) plate reverb units from Germany. Really. The predecessor to the digital age.
Big stainless steel or gold foil sheet of metal suspended in a box. Sound hits sheet via speaker. Sheet ratttles (kinda). Pick-up senses rattling
sheet. Pick-up gets pre-amped, EQ'd, "squeezed" (sometimes). Signal goes back to desk. Out comes reverb....big, dense, temporamental(downright ornery at times) reverb. Maybe delay the send to the sheet
via tape echo. Make it pretty. I was a fan. Until the sheet hit the fan....

 

[highonthesound]

right on. thanks for the explanation.

 

[swiss]

hey... this is my first post...

I love parallel compression. Depending on the source, you can manipulate the attack and release controls to really beef up the sound without taking away any "punch." i use this especially for really beefy drums. the initial attack transient from the non compressed drums comes through. Then on your compressor, you set the attack to almost 0 so that it doesn't let attack through, and set the release for the average time between transients, and and set the threshhold pretty low and the ratio pretty high, just really smash the signal. When you mix the compressed signal back in ith the uncompressed, you get the transient attack from the plus the beef from a compressor. This works well with bass too, since it retains the attack and character of the sound, but keeps the level high all the time.

K