Parallel Compression in Mastering

[davidwilson]

How often is it used and how is it applied?

I notice that many Mastering Engineers use multiple compressors for some jobs. I am asking is this for Parallel or is it applied in a chain (one after the other)?

I have heard many suggest when in Parallel to use fastest attack / release around 800 ms and slamming it then bringing it up to taste.

Others in sessions've attended may have 3 comps going with the meter hardly moving. I guess the techniques vary.

[Lagerfeldt]

Originally Posted by davidwilson

How often is it used and how is it applied?

Whenever it can bring something to the table. Usually to thicken up the sound or bring up details without sacrificing transient information the same way as regular compression can do in some cases.

I notice that many Mastering Engineers use multiple compressors for some jobs. I am asking is this for Parallel or is it applied in a chain (one after the other)?

Usually in a chain.

I have heard many suggest when in Parallel to use fastest attack / release around 800 ms and slamming it then bringing it up to taste.

This is a common technique, yes. Although 800 ms is too specific.

Others in sessions've attended may have 3 comps going with the meter hardly moving. I guess the techniques vary.

Exactly.

[j-madd]

What are your thoughts on using a plug like the c4 (for upward compression) instead of creating a double of the track with compression applied to one (parrallel)? It's kind of a pain to have to duplicate tracks then mix down to a single track for every track on an album.

Justin

[Lagerfeldt]

I think the C4 sounds bad, and it easily distorts the wrong way.

For very easy parallel compression use Logic Pro with the new bundled compressor. It has a simple % slider of dry/processed, and it can emulate several types of compressor types quite well, e.g. the SSL 4000.

Do you have Logic Pro?

[Ged Leitch]

As always Holger, your the proverbial fountain of knowledge!!

Hope things are cool in Denmark!!

[j-madd]

Originally Posted by Lagerfeldt

I think the C4 sounds bad, and it easily distorts the wrong way.

For very easy parallel compression use Logic Pro with the new bundled compressor. It has a simple % slider of dry/processed, and it can emulate several types of compressor types quite well, e.g. the SSL 4000.

Do you have Logic Pro?

No, I have cubase sx3. Thanks for the info on the c4. I never tried it, but figured it would be easier than copying tracks. If it doesn't sound good as the other way, I'll stick with that.

Justin

[Lagerfeldt]

Originally Posted by Ged Leitch

As always Holger, your the proverbial fountain of knowledge!!

Hope things are cool in Denmark!!

Thanks! Hey mate things are great here, same for you I hope.

BTW, click the Extended Parameters triangle in the bottom of the compressor window to access sidechain filter eq, dry/processed, etc.

A very nice feature and actually usable now that the Logic comp works a lot better.

[DJBlueDrink]

Originally Posted by j-madd

No, I have cubase sx3. Thanks for the info on the c4. I never tried it, but figured it would be easier than copying tracks. If it doesn't sound good as the other way, I'll stick with that.

Justin

I use cubase and when I want to do a parallel compression, I just set up the comp as a send effect then you can set how much wet/dry comes through without copying to a new track. I never used sx3 tho so I don't know how sends work in that particular version.

[Lagerfeldt]

What about latency when doing that? No problem because of full PDC I suppose?

Did you check for phase?

[John Suitcase]

Latency was an issue in Cubase SX, but SX3 and 4 seem to do a great job at compensation.

Have to be a little careful which plug you use, though, some older ones will sum a stereo signal to mono, and some are stereo (with the compression ganged for both channels), while others are dual mono, quite often the documentation is lacking on these points!

[gregohb]

Originally Posted by Lagerfeldt

I think the C4 sounds bad, and it easily distorts the wrong way.

For very easy parallel compression use Logic Pro with the new bundled compressor. It has a simple % slider of dry/processed, and it can emulate several types of compressor types quite well, e.g. the SSL 4000.

Do you have Logic Pro?

the UA precision buss compressor has a wet/dry knob too.

[j-madd]

I once checked the latency compensation in SX3. I duplicated the track, applied the SSL masterbus comp to track 2 in bypass mode, reversed the polarity of track 1 and listened to both tracks playing. The volume did drop a lot, but did not null out. I think the way to fix this is to run the comp on both tracks bypassed on one.

Justin

[mdoelger]

Originally Posted by j-madd

I once checked the latency compensation in SX3. I duplicated the track, applied the SSL masterbus comp to track 2 in bypass mode, reversed the polarity of track 1 and listened to both tracks playing. The volume did drop a lot, but did not null out. I think the way to fix this is to run the comp on both tracks bypassed on one.

Justin

Did the remaining audio sound phasy?

Maybe the comp just adds/cuts a little gain by default.

Very good latency compensation over here.
But there are some plugs that dont report the correct latency to the host. I had that problem with vintage warmer
couldn't get that one to work in parallel

[j-madd]

Originally Posted by lunale

Did the remaining audio sound phasy?

Maybe the comp just adds/cuts a little gain by default.

Very good latency compensation over here.
But there are some plugs that dont report the correct latency to the host. I had that problem with vintage warmer
couldn't get that one to work in parallel

My bad, after thinking about this thread, I went down to the studio to try to null out the two tracks and got it to work. The latency compensation in cubase sx3 is working with my ssl waves compressor. When I originally did this, I must have forgot to bypass the compressor on the second track and that is why the volume dropped but didn't drop to nothing. IT WORKS!! Sorry for the confusion guys.

Justin

[DozerMayne]

Anyone checked out MaxxVolume by Waves.
It has a Low Level Compression section.

From the manual.
Low Level Compressor
The Low Level Compression function is controlled by a pair of faders: Threshold, which sets the threshold under which low level compression starts, and Gain, which sets the amount of gain applied to the compressed portion of the signal.
Low Level Compression can be explained in simple terms as the opposite of standard or high level compression. In a standard compression setting, any signal above the set threshold gets compressed and attenuated.
With a low level compressor, any signal that goes below the set
threshold gets compressed upward, resulting in increased gain. The dynamic range is thus compressed, pushing low levels up, while leaving high levels as they were.

Parameter descriptions for Low Level Compression:
Threshold
Sets the threshold below which low level soft-knee compression starts. The fader’s position is displayed by a hairline indicator on the Energy Meter. The fader supports an on/off button for low
level compression.
Range: 0 to -96dB
Gain
Controls the maximum amount of gain makeup and compression applied to the signal below the
Threshold. Note that applying gain values that are higher than the Threshold value will result in a
signal exceeding 0dB or clipping.
Range: 0 to +48dB

Gain Meter
Displays the amount of low-level makeup gain.
Range: 0 to +48d

[masteringhouse]

I've been using an Alta Moda Unicomp for parallel compression lately and getting very good results. Generally sounds "bigger" than anything (at least that I've heard) in the digital domain. This is then fed into another comp for usual overall compression duties. Each is generally used sparingly (no more than 2 db of reduction at most) depending on material.

[Cellotron]

On the contrary point of view - for the vast majority of cases to my ears parallel compression sounds like @ss. If I need to add density to a track (which isn't all that often with the mixes I've been receiving these days) I usually prefer to get it simply with some eq and if needed just downward broadband compression (set with very long attacks if I need to let the initial transients through). For adding some subtle density got to say the make up gain stage on my Focusrite Blue 330 mk1 (with transformers on the output) can do the trick nicely also.

I have multiple compressors in my rack - but it's not often that I use more than one per track - each of these unit's compression sounds very different so I like to have them as options, as what compressor will work best for a track varies with the material and the desired result. If transients are really sharp for a track I admit that sometimes having two comps subtly working can sometimes sound better than one trying to work on the whole load - but in general in mastering I much prefer to keep the chain and the processes direct and simple as I can get away with.

Obviously ommv.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[lucey]

I don't know anyone mastering for a living who is trying to make their chain more complicated. Parallel is all about the device doing it, and the mix, obviously. Analog devices where the dry signal is also going through the amp path seem to work best to my ear.

[24-96 Mastering]

I usually prefer downward compression in most pop/rock cases. It's hard to explain, but a lot of the times to my ears, parallel adds a sort of bland colour to the sound. Maybe that's just my perception. Or myabe I just really like the things the character downward compressors can add. Either way, I use parallel compression in pop/rock maybe in 1 of 10 sessions.
Where I do use parallel frequently is for gentle levelling with classical / jazz or in the form of parallel multiband for automatic "spectrum balancing" of very, very complex program material (audio stories / radio dramas, for example).

[alcopop]

In a mastering studio where I previously worked we used the Weiss Mk2 a lot for parallel compression over the mid range. It was used normally from around 500 hz up to 4 khz .
Heavy squashing of the mid range and then setting the mix control modestly ofter gave favourable results.It was subtle but more often than not brought out more detail in this area of the spectrum .

[Tarekith]

Originally Posted by lunale

I had that problem with vintage warmer
couldn't get that one to work in parallel

Vintage Warmer 2 has a wet dry knob, so you don't even need to worry about PDC now.