Sidechain compression

what actually is sidechain compression? and why does it always get sidechained to the kick?

normally compressor responds to the signal of the track that it is inserted on



sidechain means that compressor responds to audio from another source, so while you have your compressor on for example the bass line it’s triggered by the kick,

every time the kick hits, the bass line is reduced in volume.



It helps the kick stand out a bit more, also helps with ‘gelling’ two together sonically, and when pushed it produces that ‘pumping’ effect…



and why the kick…well it’s the most important element in dance music, so you want everything else to work with it, and reinforce the rhythm



but it doesn’t have to be the kick, you can use any source for different effects…in radio broadcasts for example you get ‘voice ducking’ effect by triggering compressor with…the voice :slight_smile:



there is also another side of sidechain :P, where you feed your compressors ‘sidechain’ with EQed version of the signal that is being compressed, to tame the ‘ssSssss’ in vocals for example



hope this makes some sense :wink:


youre probably not getting replies because many people on here have answered that question mannnny times lol. have a quick google im sure youll find a wealth of info about it. or just search this forum, its been asked and answered lots of times.

[quote]jpgetty2win (03/04/2010)[hr]youre probably not getting replies because many people on here have answered that question mannnny times lol. have a quick google im sure youll find a wealth of info about it. or just search this forum, its been asked and answered lots of times.[/quote]



lol :smiley: obviously I’m not here for long enough :stuck_out_tongue:

Maybe these threads should be made sticky if they are constantly getting asked bout by noobs? :slight_smile:

[quote]seanl (03/04/2010)[hr]so while you have your compressor on for example the bass line it’s triggered by the kick,

every time the kick hits, the bass line is reduced in volume.



and why the kick…well it’s the most important element in dance music, so you want everything else to work with it, and reinforce the rhythm



[/quote]



Everything you said was right. I just wanted to add to what you said.



Side chain compression gives that “pumping” effect in dance music. The kick IS the heart of a dance song and it is always the most prominent. So you can sidechain anything to the kick (or any sound for that matter…something to play around with to get cool effects). However, when you sidechain a white noise sweep for example, it is pretty much only for an effect. When you sidechain the bassline to the kick, its not for effect. Its to make room.



The kick and the bassline share the same fundamental frequency. This is a problem. When your kick and your bass clash, you get whats commonly known as a “muddy” low end. The bass will fight for space and there could be some bad phasing issues. This is why you sidechain the bassline to the kick. This way, the kick shines and doesnt interfere with the bass and they can life happily together in the same space. :smiley:

thanks for your extremely uselful info. but the 1st reply was good enough

what dya mean noob. who do you think ya are? am tryin to ask a simple beginners question and all ya get on here is attitude of people like you

[quote]georgekadar (03/04/2010)[hr]what dya mean noob. who do you think ya are? am tryin to ask a simple beginners question and all ya get on here is attitude of people like you[/quote]



Don’t worry George, I don’t think he meant it in a derogatory sense. Noob is just short for ‘newbie’.

It’s just a shame that in the online gaming community people use ‘n00b’ to be offensive.

it sounds really offensive. i was furious

[quote]georgekadar (03/04/2010)[hr]what dya mean noob. who do you think ya are? am tryin to ask a simple beginners question and all ya get on here is attitude of people like you[/quote]a typical noob responce…  :smiley:

:wink: haha just kidding, im sure he didnt mean anythign by it dude. youre very welcome here, ask away.

Nothing but love here on SA mate, feel free to ask any question you have, no matter how silly you may think it is, in the end of the day, we arn’t born knowing everything and if we don’t ask, we don’t get :slight_smile:

snap…i thought i offended someone again! Glad it wasn’t me this time!



But yeah, it wasn’t meant to be derogatory. We were all noobs at one point or another.

It may be an idea to have a noob corner that way members who don’t have so much experince (I fall into that cat. too) can ask basic questions.

yeah make a noob corner for all us sad beginners lol

[quote]georgekadar (03/04/2010)[hr]yeah make a noob corner for all us sad beginners lol[/quote]



No such thing dude. We were all beginners at one time. The good thing is that we arent assholes and want to help others out. Ive been doing this for a while and I like to help others out.

i would say that we’re all noobs in one area or another :P…i’m a total noob with music theory, common SA another tutorial pls :smiley:

Quick question - what tips do people have on here regarding getting your ‘pump’ sound created by a sidechain to fall in time with your track? Do you start with minimum attack and release then slowly increase both? Or do you tend to concentrate mainly on one over the other? In which case, what’s the best one to do? Attack or release? This is something I struggle with - sometimes I get it sounding OK but its more a case of good luck than anything else…

[quote]howiegroove (03/04/2010)[hr][quote]georgekadar (03/04/2010)[hr]yeah make a noob corner for all us sad beginners lol[/quote]

No such thing dude. We were all beginners at one time. The good thing is that we arent assholes and want to help others out. Ive been doing this for a while and I like to help others out.[/quote]

:cool::wink:

ive been playing about with music for a short time and i still feel like i know nothing :laugh: thats the good thing about music in a way,allways something new to learn/try

[quote]wickedged (03/04/2010)[hr]Quick question - what tips do people have on here regarding getting your ‘pump’ sound created by a sidechain to fall in time with your track? Do you start with minimum attack and release then slowly increase both? Or do you tend to concentrate mainly on one over the other? In which case, what’s the best one to do? Attack or release? This is something I struggle with - sometimes I get it sounding OK but its more a case of good luck than anything else…[/quote]on the sc comp set the attack to 0ms (or closest thing to it) and then play with the release. the release time will depend on your track tempo and what “feel” youre going for. i usually set it about 130ms. :wink: