Electronic Music Producer’s Guide: Sidechain Compression
Adam Pollard aka Multiplier, brings you another series designed for the electronic music producer, this time focused on the highly important technique of creating and using sidechain compression.
Videos
• Introduction (01:01) - Multiplier welcomes you and goes over what the series is all about.
• Introduction to Sidechain Compression (08:05) - What is sidechain compression, and why do it?
• Basic Controls & Principles (07:05) - Learn how sidechain compression works, the basic controls (attack, release, threshold), and something I call "hold down".
• Ghost Kicks (07:14) - Sidechaining with no kicks, different kicks, cleaner kicks. and creating the "perfect" dummy/ghost kick.
• Clicks (07:00) - What they are, why they exist, and how to fix them. Also see how to fix unwanted distortions.
• Lookahead (04:32) - This video explores compressor "lookahead", and explains the famous "FF1 Mode". I also show how to do it manually.
• Compression Modes (06:06) - Compressors don't work as you'd expect, I prove this, and then demonstrate how different modes give different sidechain shapes.
• Input EQ (03:09) - Input EQ can sometimes be used as a quicker workflow than ghost kicks.
• Knee & Other Less Common Parameters (03:03) - Learn how to use compressor knee and envelope type to further shape the volume modulation.
• 3rd Party Compressors (02:13) - How to and why you might want to use a 3rd party compressor plug-in for sidechain compression.
• Multiple Compressors (02:02) - The video explores the two ways multiple compressors are used: different inputs vs same kick inputs.
• LFO Tool, VolumeShaper, etc.. (06:26) - Discover what these plug-ins do, and also understand some serious potential problems with using them.
• Manual Sidechain (01:57) - This is another option, and I give the reasons for and against this.
• Reasons to Sidechain on a Group/Bus (01:35) - Two reasons why it's best to apply sidechain compression on a group or bus.