Inserting a compressor in the chain

[illuminationexcursion]

I'm currently setting up a home studio. It would not be used as a multi track recording studio, but a acoustic live-jam studio.

Currently, I only have guitars that are plugged into the mixer via DI and microphones.

I have two pairs of outs on my mixer. The main out (to my audio interface) and the C-R out (with volume control) to my monitors.

1. How can I add the compressor to the overall whole mix?

2. While compressors are generally used as insert effects, I've read articles about using compressors as bus effects, mixing the compressed signal with the original signal. However, aren't aux sends mono? Won't mixing the compressed signal (mono) with the original signal (stereo) distort the sound stage/panning of the instruments?

 

[hardpan]

1. Why would you want to do this?

2. Yes, typically a compressor is used as an insert. If you want to mix the original signal with another compressed form of that signal it's a method called parallel compression (also known as New York compression). Doing this on a DAW or digital console is easy, setting it up on an analog board takes a little more work.

In your case, you could send a particular channel out an aux bus into a compressor and hook up the output of the compressor back to an empty channel on your board (instead of the aux return in typical aux send/return hookups). This way you get the compressed signal on a separate channel and you can mix it in according to taste.

If your board has direct outs you can make use of those and save your aux sends for other uses.

 

[illuminationexcursion]

Thanks hardpan for your input.

1. I'm not sure about this but it seems that live pubs/venues don't usually have that many compressors which are inserted into all the channels. Rather they use a compressor at the end of the chain to compress the signal ever so slightly to prevent overloading and to increase overall signal volume of the overall mix. That's what I want to achieve. Does that make sense or am I confused?

2. Yes parallel compression. Thank you for the input. Now I realize to achieve the effect I want I would need a mixer with stereo bus sends. The idea is nice, but it might not really be that practical or feasible though.

My friends and I perform live at venues, so the main purpose of the studio is to simulate live performance situations as close as possible. So even if we record, we will not be multi tracking but rather recording the whole mix as it is to hear how we sound as a whole in the mix and to correct any mistakes accordingly.

However, we do write some originals and if I ever need to multi track, I would be sure to connect the compressor as an insert effect. Or parallel compress on the single track.

 

[squarehero]

1. To compress the whole mix, you need 2 mono compressors or 1 stereo compressor. Plug CR out of mixer to compressor ins and output of compressor to monitors.

 

[illuminationexcursion]

1. To compress the whole mix, you need 2 mono compressors or 1 stereo compressor. Plug CR out of mixer to compressor ins and output of compressor to monitors.

Yes, the only problem with this is that if I'm recording, only the output to the monitors will be compressed but the one to the audio interface will not be. And if so, then I would rather main out to compressor and compressor out to the audio interface.

What I'm trying to achieve is having the compressed signal sent both to the monitors and the audio interface during recording.

 

[l0u5y]

look for a dual-channel or 2 single channel compressor that has 2 pairs of output.