Ok. I have an engineering question when it comes to vst compressors that have an input for dry signal for parallel compression. The traditional way of setting up two drum busses (for example) and having one squashed and and one not and blending the two, is one way. But now some compressors come with this input of dry signal so you can do it without a second buss. But, with two group track you squash one and and bring in the non compressed. So the question is what settings to you give a comp. when you are going to use 1 compressor to do both? How do you guys/gals do this? Specifically, I want to make the compressor pump with a 4/4.
Same thing, just start by compressing the heck out of the Drum Bus (although you still have to be careful here because there is still such a thing as too much compression even for this technique) and use the mix knob/wet knob (or whatever its called in your particular compressor)to adjust the blend of the two.
Thanks Jose.
Hmmmm…
That’s not REALLY parallel compression…
More of a ‘wet/dry’ control on a compressor…
Two bus (New York) compression is DEAD easy to set up and do… Excellent Video on Parallel Compression in Cubase 6.5 - Steinberg Lounge - Steinberg Forums
ALSO don’t forget to EQ your compression bus… it’ll most likely need it! I usually take a BIG scoop out at about 2khz, around -18db or so… that way the mids of the kit stay nice and dynamic but the lows and tops are well under control… and i generally NUKE the compressor too! Smash the bejeezus out of it! i usually use the UAD VU or the Rev E UAD 1176 and just the cubase channel EQ… once you balance and EQ you’ll be VERY pleasantly surprised!
And why do you think some developers have included this wet/dry control in their compressors? It’s exactly to achieve Parallel Compression (a.k.a. Motown or NY Compression), but without the routing that it’s often required. You only need the two bus technique shown in the Youtube video (in the thread you linked) when your compressor doesn’t have a wet/dry mix knob, and/or if you’re doing Two-Stage Compression (actually the routing for this technique has an extra layer of complexity, but it’s also simpler when using a compressor with a wet/dry knob), which is another pretty cool technique (also on Youtube if you want to look it up).
BTW, that BIG scoop you’re taking after the compressor is due to not using pre-compression EQ and also the reason why I was saying NOT to overly compress even with this technique. Doing so WILL bring up annoying frequencies to the foreground, as you have found out. Conventional practice is to use EQ first in order to remove annoying frequencies before compression, then compress and then use post-compression EQ to bring out the frequencies you do want. Doing so will make the compressor work less, and more evenly, which in turn achieves better results since you’re not boosting the harsh frequencies as much. Of course, as always, there are no set rules and this is certainly one that can be broken. But it is a good guideline nonetheless.
Take care!