Rambunkcious Wrote:Hey guys,
I was wondering what you would sidechain the comp for, is it to get whatever you are side chaining out of the way of other sounds at a certain point in time?
if so would any of you be willing to explain with some examples, like would i sidechain the comp on the drum track with like the bass track or maybe even the vocal track.
Sidechaining always kinda confused me, partly i think because ive never really applied it in a mix.
Again i appreciate any help I can get.
Thanx
Rami
Rami,
The way a compressor works is it has two basic signal paths. One is the audio "in and out" that you hear. A copy of this signal is also sent to a detector circuit that tells the compressor what level it should look at when deciding to compress or not.
Generally these two signals are the same. But by manipulating the sidechain signal respective of the "heard" signal (what is actually being compressed) you can create some interesting results.
Some people also use it as a corrective measure for lowering their bassline everytime the kick hits so there isn't a big buildup of low frequencies when they are on top of each other.
It's also useful for make sustained parts like pads and effects groove along with the kick. It can be used very effectively on sweep sounds coming in and out of breakdowns as well. For instance during a breakdown where there is no kick the sweeps will be full volume, as soon as the kick comes in the sweeps will rock up and down along with the kick for a nice dramatic touch.
The 'sidechaining' effect is pretty popular at the moment especially after Eric Prydz "Call on Me" remix. In this case the strings of the track are being reduced everytime the kick hits to give it that nasueating wavy sound.
Sidechaining is also utilized in de-essing, in this case a certain frequency that one would like to attenuate is boosted in the signal going to the sidechain, say 8k. Then everytime the singer has some sibelance, it will trigger the sidechain which then triggers the compressor at these particular moments where there is a buildup of "ess's".
Another application is when compressing a whole mix. You can send a version with stereo mix with the lows filtered out to the sidechain (around 100hz) so the compressor isn't working so hard on the low end (which is generally the dominant signal source) which results in less 'pumping and breathing'. Then again sometimes this pumping and breathing is what you want, especially with dance mixes.
Jesse
