It also works wonders on making drums fatter! In other words, this simple parallel compression arrangement raises the level of quiet signals by 6dB. There is one very obvious difference, though, which is that the parallel compression slope reverts to a linear gain shift (similar to make-up gain) below the threshold. Our blog is a place for inspired musicians to read up on music & culture, and advice on production& mastering. The settings below are a rough guide for a punchy sound but feel free to adapt them if you want a more subtle sound. This is discussed in detail in a Q&A response published in the June 2013 issue: www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/q-parallel-compression-revisited. I've just mentioned upwards compression again, so perhaps it's time to look at some real test measurements. The idea is to find that spot where the very edge of the signal’s sustain is where the compressor starts to release. All rights reserved. In other words a rise of 10dB at the input results in a rise of only 5dB at the output — which is half as much, and hence a compression ratio of 2:1. Web site designed & maintained by PB Associates & SOS. As this plot clearly illustrates, low-level signals below the compressor's threshold exhibit a fixed level increase of 6dB — exactly as you would expect from combining two identical signals. Try parallel compression on percussion and experiment with high ratios and low thresholds as you’re dialling in the settings of the compressor on the wet channel. The result is then blended together. To make sure you don’t mess up your compression settings, put a gain plugin at the end of your plugin chain. Useful though this form of compression is, often we want to reduce the dynamic range without reducing the peak level. This is a technique I've known about for quite some time, and have been using to varying degrees for the past five years, but have only recently fallen in love with. In a parallel setup, the compression is much heavier than what you would normally use as an insert effect on a track. Great care has been taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of this article but neither Sound On Sound Limited nor the publishers can be held responsible for its contents. In other words, its aim is to leave the delicate loud transients intact while raising the level of low-level signals — but to do so employing only the standard downward compressors found in conventional studios. Parallel compression, commonly called New York compression, is a method of dynamic range compression used in audio mixing and sound recording to provide a more consistent volume while preserving aspects of the natural dynamic range of a sound. The contents of this article are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction in whole or part, whether mechanical or electronic, is expressly forbidden without the prior written consent of the Publishers. Get the ideas, tools and tips you need to grow your sound straight to your inbox. var abkw = window.abkw || ''; Compressors are available in myriad different forms, using feed-forward or feedback control paths, with RMS- or peak-weighted side-chains, and even more variations of audio-attenuation device, such as opto attenuators, diode rings, vari-mu valves, solid-state VCAs… and the list goes on! You can use this technique on ANY instrument including vocals, bass, electric guitars, whatever! You can deliberately create pumping effects with fast release times for rhythmic emphasis, or bring out the room sound and sustain of the cymbals with longer ones. There's no active gain manipulation going on, as there would be in a genuine upwards compressor: it's a straight make-up gain effect. To help reinforce the point further, Figure 8 illustrates exactly the same parallel compression setup, still with the threshold set to -40dBFS, but with yet more parallel compression paths. Normal downward compression — whether it's used on its own or with make-up gain — inherently changes the character of loud signals to some extent by squashing them. Figure 2: In this plot, you can see the effect of different ratios (the light blue is 2:1, the light green 40:1) of downward compression at the same threshold. if (!window.AdButler){(function(){var s = document.createElement("script"); s.async = true; s.type = "text/javascript";s.src = 'https://servedbyadbutler.com/app.js';var n = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; n.parentNode.insertBefore(s, n);}());} In terms of dynamic-range reduction, as this simple form of parallel compression leaves the loud bits unaffected and raises the quiet bits by 6dB, the total reduction in dynamic range is only 6dB. PreSonus StudioLive 32SC Series III Mixing Console, Inside Track: Machine Gun Kelly 'Concert For Aliens'. You’ll also want to make sure your send is set to “pre-fader.” This means the aux channel’s volume isn’t affected by any changes you make to the original channel’s fader. It's interesting to note that this raising of quiet signals is completely benign. Figure 4: As you can see, true upward compression, shown on these plots, has a very different effect from downward compression, in that the loudest parts of the signal are left alone, and the quiet ones raised. The real-world result of doing that can be seen in the measured plot in Figure 3. However, the action of turning the level down (and back up again afterwards) isn't instantaneous; it takes place over a timescale that is governed by the compressor's attack and release time constants. Figure 5: The way parallel compression is implemented is conceptually very simple — one merely splits a signal and passes one half through the compressor, and the other half remains uncompressed.