Compressed Drum Submix in Protools.

[SelectSound]

When I mix through my analog console I like to bring up a super-compressed stereo submix of my drums and blend it with my normal drum mix for some added punch. I like to use analog compressors for this, especially something that will color the sound, like an old DBX unit. I know that this is a fairly common approach in the analog world but how can I do this with an analog compressor in Protools without phase problems? I tried inserting an analog compressor on my stereo master fader, bounced to disk and imported the sub mix after the bounce. This would not phase align when brought up under my mix. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Howardk]

It works great in ProTools as well. . .
1) route the drums to a stereo bus
2) create two separate stereo Aux returns and route this bus into the inputs.
3) put the exact same stereo compressor plugin on each Aux.
4) adjust one compressor to provide the compressed drums, and set the other comp with the thresold at max so there is no compression.
5) adjust the Aux return volumes to taste.

Using the exact same plugins on each return eliminates the comb filtering problem.

[SelectSound]

Thanks I'll try this method. But what if I want to use analog compression? Is there a way to do that?

[Jeff D.]

Use ProTools HD with automatic delay compensation turned on. Works great!

Jeff D.

[Howardk]

I am not sure that ADC can not compensate completely for this? . I don't bother with analog compression for this kind of thing. . . there are many Plugin compressors that do a great job and the instant repeatability when opening the session outweighs any perceived advantage of going out to the analog word. I was a long time analog guy (started engineering in the mid 80s) but I have basically resigned to the convenience and repeatability of digital world with no regrets.

[tripit]

This topic has been greatly covered in past posts. Do a search and you should find all kinds of info. The easiest way is just do what the posts above recommend - use digital compressors. You can use analog gear, but you'll have to figure out the how much delay is induced by going out and back to an analog unit. The manuals have some basic suggestions, but I've found that it's really more of a ball park figure that varies with the gear and routing setups. The phase problem can be tricky when you get analog gear involved.

[Drew Mazurek]

ADC absolutely compensates for this whether it's buss compression or parallel compression!!! Don't throw away those analog comps yet!!


drew

[brinaddison]

Record the analog compression to a stereo track and nudge it back in time. Either mathematically or visually by zooming in to the sample level and lineing up the kick drum and the compressed drum track. This way you have instant recall but you won't be able to change the comp settings. Do a few passes on different playlists and different comp settings, and just chose the one you like the most in the mix.

or USE DIGITAL COMPRESSION........waves C1 or BombFactory bf76 work well. I prefer the waves C1.

[Howardk]

dmazurek - ADC may compensate for buss latency, but I don't think it compensates for I/O latency when going out to the interface D/A and back thru A/D etc. . . hopefully I am wrong.

[Drew Mazurek]

of course it does, i use it all the time. ADC would have been a horrible failure had it not.