Side chaining and ducking...

[RSMITH123]

I know compression is like ice cream... everyone likes diffeent flavors but, I was wonder if SlipperMan and others would care to share how(if) you use sidechaining in your mixes. ie kick/bass, vox/gtrs, etc. Also, is it something you ALWAYS do or do you listen for signs of neccessity?

[thethrillfactor]

Originally posted by RSMITH123
I know compression is like ice cream... everyone likes diffeent flavors but, I was wonder if SlipperMan and others would care to share how(if) you use sidechaining in your mixes. ie kick/bass, vox/gtrs, etc. Also, is it something you ALWAYS do or do you listen for signs of neccessity?

The answer is yes.

I don't do it in the usual fashion though(EQ into comp sidechain), I create seperate mults or submixes thay either accentuate or suck out the freq's I don't want in the tracks.

I am not big fan of compression on dynamic instruments such as kick,bass and snare(either eats away at the bass info or takes away some of the clarity). I prefer to mix in my subs with the original(combo of EQ and comp and anything else). It makes the tracks bigger and more present in the mix.

I will do it on vocals though. In most cases though the comp is more like an EQ than a comp. I prefer the EQ before the comp in these cases(it makes the comp more freq dependent).