Two Stage Compression

lotusstudio · Post by **lotusstudio** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:53 pm

Hey, thanks! By the way, I really enjoyed the article.

lysander · Post by **lysander** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:13 pm

The regular compressor plugin that comes in Logic 8 has a variable wet-dry setting.

Woodeye · Post by **Woodeye** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:42 am

Finally getting back to this project - Roygbiv, thanks for the input, I've installed the Reaper plugins, and hope to spend some time on it this week. I'll also mess with routing again, but I'm totally in the box (Cubase SX), and find myself having to fudge it just a bit, as I don't think I can assign to multiple busses (currently experimenting with a variation on mcaff's aux busses to route to multiple mix busses).

Cheers!

mcaff · Post by **mcaff** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 11:58 am

Woodeye wrote:Finally getting back to this project - Roygbiv, thanks for the input, I've installed the Reaper plugins, and hope to spend some time on it this week. I'll also mess with routing again, but I'm totally in the box (Cubase SX), and find myself having to fudge it just a bit, as I don't think I can assign to multiple busses (currently experimenting with a variation on mcaff's aux busses to route to multiple mix busses).

Cheers!

You don't need to assign to multiple busses. Assing to one and then creat muitplie auxes that look at the same buss.

Woodeye · Post by **Woodeye** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 5:15 pm

I'm sure you said that in your original reply to me, but I didn't get it until you put it like this.

And 'Assing to one' may just go on my headstone now...

btswire · Post by **btswire** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 8:59 pm

Just watched the two videos on Monster Island TV. At the end of the second, the following is stated:

1. Buss the drums to a stereo compressor.

2. Buss the drums again, to another stereo compressor and buss the returns of the first compressor to this second one as well.

3. Use the returns of the compressor as the final drum sound.

In this setup, as far as I understand:

- The sound coming from the first compressor is being used as the main compressor for the quiet verse section. During the verses, the sound on this buss overpowers the sound on the buss with the second compressor.

- In the loud chorus section, the first compressor gets completely squashed, and the buss with the second compressor now overpowers the first. The second compressor is the main compressor that is being used for the chorus.

- Okay, so here is my question, assuming that I got this right. If the first compressor gets totally squashed and the sound coming from the second compressor totally overpowers it, does it matter whether or not the output from the first compressor gets sent to the second one? Couldn't it just get sent to the master stereo buss (along with the output of the second compressor going to the master stereo buss) and the sound would be the same?

rwc · Post by **rwc** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 12:50 pm

fossiltooth wrote:If you're having trouble with the routing, first ask yourself "Do I understand the concept of parallel compression?"

Parallel compression is pretty simple really: Take a signal and split it in two. Compress the new "duplicate" signal and leave the other one alone.

If you have trouble with that, take a step back and ask yourself: "do I know how to split a signal?" There are a half-dozen ways to do this, on a console or in a daw. If you don't yet understand the recording basics of bussing, sending, multing etc., then perhaps this trick isn't for you.

If you understand the concept of parallel compression, then the next step is really simple.... instead of assigning your clean and compressed tracks to the stereo bus, combine them and send them to another compressor. The output of that compressor goes to the stereo bus.

Have fun!

Simplicity. This should be moved to be the second post in the thread!

Once again you've hit the nail on the head.

mcaff · Post by **mcaff** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:05 pm

btswire wrote:Just watched the two videos on Monster Island TV. At the end of the second, the following is stated:

1. Buss the drums to a stereo compressor.

2. Buss the drums again, to another stereo compressor and buss the returns of the first compressor to this second one as well.

3. Use the returns of the compressor as the final drum sound.

In this setup, as far as I understand:

- The sound coming from the first compressor is being used as the main compressor for the quiet verse section. During the verses, the sound on this buss overpowers the sound on the buss with the second compressor.

- In the loud chorus section, the first compressor gets completely squashed, and the buss with the second compressor now overpowers the first. The second compressor is the main compressor that is being used for the chorus.

- Okay, so here is my question, assuming that I got this right. If the first compressor gets totally squashed and the sound coming from the second compressor totally overpowers it, does it matter whether or not the output from the first compressor gets sent to the second one? Couldn't it just get sent to the master stereo buss (along with the output of the second compressor going to the master
stereo buss) and the sound would be the same?

You're looking at it wrong.

Look at that first compression in your description as compression the some of a dry and compression signal.

There are two reasons you can't send both outputs to the stereo buss.

Ons is that one compressor doesn't over power the other, it's teh dry signal that overpowers the compressed signal.

And two, the compressor that they both go to will not be triggered with out the increased gain from summing the wet and dry.

If if you changed the setting of that compressor it would compress, but they'd you'd loose your dry signal.

The idea is to have the dry and compressed signal mask and duck each other. That won't happen of you don't send the second compressor to the first along with the "dry" drums.

JWL · Post by **JWL** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 11:33 am

Was just re-reading this old thread out of interest. I've been using the 2-stage technique in highly dynamic songs, and it works fantastically well. Took a while to wrap my head around it, but it's slowly starting to happen.

Also, the Stillwell Rocket, besides being a great and incredibly cost-effective compressor plugin, has a wet/dry control. I've used it many times with this technique.

alkooloid · Post by **alkooloid** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 10:21 pm

Don't forget the PSP stuff.
All with mix control.

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Two Stage Compression

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