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I've searched high and low, and I can't seem to find a frequency agile compressor with a side chain function... I often use side chain comp on guitars to duck them a bit when the vox come in, and I want to experiment with whether this might be more transparent if I were just compressing the frequency ranges of the guiat most heavily occupied by the vocals... I can make it transparent now, but basically I'm wondering if I can squeeze a few more dB of ducking out of the guitars if it was just the high-mids being comp'd for example.

If anyone happens to know of a plugin that would have that feature I'd very much appreciate it.

The other way I could try to do this is with trickery... If I'm tracking guitars with SM57+MD421, maybe only applying the sidechain comp to the 57 might work better, since that's the mic that's more mid-heavy. Or, when I'm reamping the guitars I could have 1 of the layers be a more mid-heavy sound, and only sidechaincomp that track...

Sorry, thinking out loud here!

Comments

IIRs Sun, 08/21/2011 - 11:48

Mo Facta, post: 375362 wrote: IIRs! I love your dynamic EQ plugin, dude(IQ4gui, I think). Great work! I find it nicer sounding than a standard multiband compressor.

Thanks!

Have you tried 5ORCERY yet? More like a multi-band in operation, but still a dynamic EQ under the hood. Link in my post above.

RemyRAD Sun, 08/21/2011 - 23:53

Has anybody tried using a De-Esser on the guitar track yet? Of course those don't have side chain inputs. So are you looking for frequency dependent compression or duckers or, both? Any compressor/limiter with side chain inputs can function as duckers. What frequencies it will begin to duck will be dependent upon an equalizer at the detector input. I've even done this sort of thing with downward expander's such as KEPEX 1's with key input capability which is already a ducker. Spectral processors, in this vague instance, I wouldn't waste my time with.

You have to know whether you want a supermarket or a delicatessen?
Mx. Remy Ann David

AToE Mon, 08/22/2011 - 10:34

RemyRAD, post: 375381 wrote: Has anybody tried using a De-Esser on the guitar track yet? Of course those don't have side chain inputs. So are you looking for frequency dependent compression or duckers or, both? Any compressor/limiter with side chain inputs can function as duckers. What frequencies it will begin to duck will be dependent upon an equalizer at the detector input. I've even done this sort of thing with downward expander's such as KEPEX 1's with key input capability which is already a ducker. Spectral processors, in this vague instance, I wouldn't waste my time with.

You have to know whether you want a supermarket or a delicatessen?
Mx. Remy Ann David

I've used de-essers on guitars (especially acoustic) to combat string squeek/scratch/whateveronecallsit.

I'd like ducking on the guitars, but I'd like to not duck the entire bandwidth of the guitar when the vox come in, just certain mid-to-highmid frequencies. An EQ at the detector input isn't something I've considered, I'll have to play around with that and do some research to see how that would function - I might be mistaken, but unless the compressor is freq-agile wouldn't this just result in still full-range compression of the guitar track, but simply triggered more heavily by a certain freq range of the vocals? I might be missing something, but I'm not quite grasping how an EQ would result in the comp'd track having only a certain freq-range ducked?

RemyRAD Mon, 08/22/2011 - 12:20

You are correct in all of your assumptions. Basically, all compressors/limiters are full wide bandwidth devices. However, if you insert an equalizer into the detector circuit, the frequencies that you boost and/or cut will dictate to the gain reduction device what frequencies will have the most effects at causing full bandwidth gain reduction with your selected equalizer frequencies dictating the greatest change in overall level. De-Essers (designed to take the overabundant sibilance out of a bunch of S heads) is simply a wideband, full bandwidth limiter with basically an equalizer that has 4000-7000 Hz boosted. This equalizer boost causes the compressor to work more aggressively only on those frequencies between 4000 and 7000 to help knock the S OUT of your stuff. On the other hand, if you wanted a dynamic presence equalizer, you would cut 4000-7000 Hz. This way, the compressor will not work as aggressively on reducing the gain at those frequencies. That would increase your presence dynamically while retaining full 20-20,000 Hz bandwidth.

In spectral processing, you have a device that is passing full 20-20,000 Hz bandwidth. The difference there is that each equalizer (of which there are usually 3 or a few more) has connected with each equalizer a separate compressor circuit. And depending upon how you adjust these, the same effect of using a side chain compressor with an equalizer can still be obtained to either enhance or reduce certain portions of the entire full bandwidth signal.

Sometimes, you want your signal to be bandwidth limited with either upward or downward dynamics processing. But that's not necessarily a side chain function. You're either equalizing going into the gain reduction element or you're equalizing coming out of the gain reduction element. These elements can then be added back in to a multed version of the full bandwidth signal to create whatever kind of acoustical menagerie you want. For instance, a lot of people dig that telephone effect like sound on vocals. That's not just equalization but compression with equalization or equalization with compression or both. Add in some odd or even harmonics by utilizing " creative clipping" commonly also referred to as overload for that specific harmonic rich tonality. Of course you cannot leave it at those levels which do not translate well out of digital to analog converters. No. You take that newly processed and purposefully saturated distorted signal any reduce it to a proper operating level that will not tax or clip the digital to analog converters. I could go on? I usually do. But I'm moving and have a lot more crap to contend with.

I love loading good preamps. I don't love loading China.
Mx. Remy Ann David