I hope this is helpful! Take part in the Remix Contest here: discord.com/invite/inthemix All the details are over on my Discord server. There are thousands of dollars worth of prizes to be won! Some time-stamps: 0:00 - Introduction 0:15 - Sidechain Process 2:55 - Before and After 3:35 - Useful Tips 4:20 - This vs Multiband Compression 5:12 - Other Compressors 6:40 - Important Information 🌍 My Website / Contact / Hire me - michaelwynneaudio.com 🎧 Become a member of this channel: ru-vid.com/show-UCIcC... 🎧 Support Me On Patreon: www.patreon.com/inthemix 🎧 My Sound Banks / Preset Packs - inthemix.store 📱 Join My Free Discord - discord.com/invite/inthemix 💸 Save money on DistroKid if you sign up through my custom link - distrokid.com/vip/inthemix
Shorter tutorials that tackle one thing and are explained very well (as in this one) are so much more digestible and accessible for many producers who are short on time. Much appreciate this format. Keep it going and thanks. :D
i actually have to agree, and putting all the effort to go down to comments and say something about it really should stand out for your amazing shorter tutorial, really good thank you
@@aldenfarias4873 Im not quite sure but i think the ammount of compression now depends on the loudness of things inside the filter. Compression is still applied to everything outside the filter too.
@@aldenfarias4873 the frequencies outside the range are still compressed but to a lesser degree. As these frequencies are not triggering any extra compression they will end up being compressed less
I will confess that coming from area where we don't have music schools, niether access to banks that we could pay fees to learn music online you've been of too much help to some of us. I almost gave up for music production but your channel have give healings to my life. Thanks so much 🙏
4:23 That was my exact question. I've never heard anyone explain that so clearly. Great examples too. I really learned something new and important here. Thank you! Subbed.
@@azymval207 I'll give it a go man. 1:28 is key. The sidechain or detection circuit tells the compressor what part of the frequency spectrum to listen to in order to apply its compression, the other frequencies are ignored (but still compressed, remember that). Another way of thinking of this is, if you don't tell the compressor what part of the frequency spectrum to listen to, it will just listen to everything as equally important. Is that what you want? That may be good sometimes right; other times it can be bad, especially if you've a bass heavy track which has other instruments in mid-to-upper frequencies, like here: 1:08 There's such high peaks/transients in the bass the compressor deals with them first right before it gets to the other parts of the track which also hold importance but are at lower dbs, like the high-hat. It squashes the hell out of it. You can barely hear the high-hat. So tell the compressor through sidechain compression not to listen to the bass so much. Problem solved. Listen to from 2:58 in headphones if you can, the difference, as he toggles between the different states. How is this different from multiband compression? In multiband compression, you can select which parts of the frequency spectrum for the compressor to listen to and apply/not apply compression to for mutiple sections of the frequency range you've defined. With the use of the sidechain compression, everything is still going to be compressed whether you like it or not, but you've the ability to control what parts of the spectrum that the compressor listens to. I hope that helps.
I was always wondering what this sidechain extension was exactly doing. Thanks for covering it. And as always, your videos are incredibly helpful and I simply love everything about how you explain it - your calm voice, precise explanations, comparisons etc. Thanks for another amazing video, Michael!
I think it's important to point out that by doing this, you're allowing more of the bass energy level to come out of the compressor. Not only will the overall volume be higher (which makes A/B comparisons tricky), but you'll also have greater dynamic range remaining and higher peak levels. This could matter a lot depending on what happens next in your processing chain. For instance, if you're running into a saturator after this, you'll get a lot more peak saturation, which could make it harder to get that sound dialed in. Or, worst case, if this was at the end of your processing chain, you could introduce clipping in the mixdown. In other words: Use this technique for coloring and gluing the mix without affecting the frequency distribution so much. But probably don't use this technique if you're using the compressor for actual dynamic range compression, to keep levels in check, or especially when limiting.
Sir I want my low end super load and punchy,but when I mastering whole mix bus and apply limiter just sake of loudness then my low is sacrifices, what I should do, please explain if you can ,
@@gurindersingh7933 I suggest you try decreasing your dynamic range before applying the compression, in your case that would mean decrease the volume or gain of your kick and bass. Also, try increasing the attack value. The punchiness will be less affected by the compressor
Just to add a little bit, Ableton's native compressor ALSO have this feature and you can choose the filter type as well as the freq and Q. Excellent video, it's always good to remember this feature.
Helpfull, you say. This is a revelation for me. You have a way to explain thing like no other, cause I vision many vidéos from great audio engineer, you're one of the best. Never got a grasp of compression side-chaining like I do today. It's like a bright light has just open up. This will definitely change the way I do thing, from now on. Thanks a million.
I really like the shorter version for getting into that for the first time. Doesnt overload me with information that arent that important for beginners. If i get familiar with the technique i am sure thankful for the longer versions.
Huh, the penny just dropped. I've been messing around with this for a while without really knowing what I was doing. You've described it really well. Subscribed.
Oh my WORD!! I’ve been conflicted about using the side chain for way too long for the same reasons everyone else already stated. I can’t thank you enough for clearing this up. If I could subscribe and hit the notification bell again I would do that. Cheers!
It's been a while since I've watched any of the videos in this channel as I've been away from music production, but now that I'm getting back I am once again amazed by the quality of these tutorials. Short, succinct, straight to the point, and delivered in a very pleasant way. Well done man, I wish more tutorials on YT were of that high a quality. I'll be frequenting this channel in the coming months that's for sure.
I LOVE the Kotelnikov compressor. I didn't even know it was doing side-chain compression! Your video probably explains why I love it so much. Great explanation on multi-band compressors too 👍
For this specific video, it is great that you have covered. It is indeed a misleading concept for so many people. Yes, even manuals dont clarify this. For the concepts overall, everything you do is all welcome. We can have short or in depth videos :) It is all fine as long as coming from you
i like how you answered the question i was thinking about as i was watching you initially explain all this about how it is different from multiband compression.
I’m absolutely fascinated. A dear friend of mine, who is a music producer, sent me to your channel to better understand ‘the workings’ .. !! Wow ! So many details, beautifully presented. 👌🏼
You just clarified a whole lot about that sidechain compression, this whole time i thought the selected freq was the only thing being compressed. salute!
That's pretty smart! Filtering out low frequencies so the compressor doesn't get instantly overloaded is something I've never thought about. Not every compressor has this feature, though. But I guess we can sidechain it by putting a compressor with a high pass filter on a buss. Or in Presonu Studio One just use the splitter tool and put a high pass filter on one side with a compressor. Or I'll just use the Kotelnikov compressor. I'll have to experiment with this ASAP! Great stuff!
Jesus christ, man. You're the most helpful person in the entire internet. Not only because you share stuff that nobody else takes the time to explain, but because it is amazingly comfortable to watch you explaining it. You already have a spot in heaven, dude.
this was actually very helpful and yes shorter videos helps motivate me to stay focused on the content i can say i learned something from a youtube video with absolute ease and im saying all this coz i dont know why but i struggle with longer videos and all the bla bla and im sure alot of people are like me so ty you sir this was very helpful.
I can definitely see this work in EDM as well even though the nature of a lot of that is to be heavily compressed. still have that bass and kick, but it doesn't just crush the entirety of the mix
ableton's in-house compressor hs this feature, slightly simplified - you can only choose hp-bp-lp filter type and eq-frequency + slope + gain - so not multipoint eq but does the trick pretty well
Pro-C is probably the most advanced in this regard because it allows you to full on EQ your internal sidechain (not that you'd want to go overboard with that...). But even using simplistic and/or stock plugins, this can be easily recreated: either send your audio pre-FX onto another track, apply the EQ there, and send it back on channels 3 and 4 which you then use as the external sidechain for your compressor. Or even (this is at least possible in REAPER), just duplicate channels 1 and 2 on the same track with the stock channel mapper plugin, then put on an EQ and make sure your pinout for the EQ (button in the top right corner) goes 3->3 and 4->4, so it's eq-ing only these copies, and finally throw on your compressor and use 3/4 as the sidechain (the REAPER stock VST comp has high and low pass filters though anyway, but this can still come in handy with something third party)
This was extremely clearly explained. Thank you! I do like the shorter format (I really don't like "shorts" with vertical video, though, just so you know).
Top notch video! I didn't know about this method, will definitely use this in Pro-C going forward and will look for implementations of this in other compressors.
Great video, really good explanation of internal sidechains in compressors. Pro-C is great because not only does it give you more control, but gives you a solid visual reputation of what is going on.
Thank you for all your helpful videos! I'm just getting reacquainted with this stuff after a long break from it and they've been a Godsend. Cute dog as well!
This is exactly how traditional De-Essers work, it is a fast compressor with a highpass filter in the detection circuit. Obviously the cutoff frequency is at 6kHz or so and not at 200 Hz, but it is basically the same thing as a traditional (!) De-Esser.
Like your videos anyway 👍 the short ones as well as the longer ones! But I tend to love the longer ones a bit more, because of the amount of detailed knowledge. Thanks anyway for sharing such great content!
