So now let’s talk about why parallel compression is different from standard compression. And you can hear that in the playback, as the drums don’t sound super compressed, just a little meatier. He uses the term “season to taste.”Īs CLA plays back the drums in the excerpt, first without and then with parallel compression, he says that he uses it fairly subtly. He explains that he likes to boost 3dB at 8kHz and 3dB at 60kHz to add a bit more emphasis to the compressed track.īecause the parallel drum bus is coming up on a separate fader (whether on a console or DAW mixer), he explains that he's able to blend in as much or as little of the effect as he wants. The final part of CLA’s parallel compression setup involves adding EQ to the compressor channel. He says that a linked stereo compressor makes the kit sound more mono, which he obviously thinks is more of a problem than a little bit of movement from the center elements. He brings up the argument that some have against unlinking a stereo compressor on drums, which is that it makes the center elements, like the kick and snare, appear to shift in the stereo spectrum when one side gets compressed more than the other. With CLA’s unlinked setup, a drum that’s off to one side triggers more compression on the side than on the other. Why? Because that causes any signal that exceeds the threshold, whether it’s coming from the left or the right, to trigger an equal amount of compression on both sides. Next, CLA explains that when he sets up parallel drum compression with a stereo compressor, he never links the left and right sides. Both parameters are equally consequential to the final result.ĬLA recommends using a Neve 33609-emulation (UAD Neve 33609 shown here) to get an equivalent sound via a plug-in. As with any compressor, it’s the combination of the Threshold and Ratio settings that govern how much compression you get. He sets the Ratio at 2:1, which means the compressor will attenuate by 1dB for every 2dB of signal that exceeds the Threshold. CLA sets the Gain to 8 but explains that's an arbitrary starting point and is session-dependent. The Gain knob on the 33609 controls makeup gain, which adjusts the compressor’ s output level to compensate for the attenuation that occurs. He puts the Threshold at 0, and the Recovery (is another term for “release”) at 100ms, which, on the 33609 is its fastest setting. The Unlinked setting makes it similar in configuration to the pair of mono compressors he’s using on the drums in the video.ĬLA goes on to talk about how he sets the compression parameters. It’s a stereo unit you can set to either Linked or Unlinked mode. Note that the 33609 has both a Limiter and Compressor section, but he’s using the latter. He's got a hardware 33609 in the same rack and demonstrates his settings on that.
#CLA 2A HOW MUCH COMPRESSION SOFTWARE#
He says that if you’re using software instead of hardware, he recommends a Neve 33609 plug-in to achieve a similar sound.ĬLA uses a pair of individual Neve compressors to create his parallel drum compression. He’s using a pair of mono Neve compressors on the drums, one for the left and one for the right. “You send a signal from your drums over to another set of channels, and you can have a stereo compressor there.” THE LEFT AND RIGHT OF IT The configuration is pretty simple, he explains. Chris Lord-Alge (CLA) begins the latest excerpt from the “Chris Lord-Alge Mixing Daughtry” video by talking about how he sets up parallel compression on the drums.