proper parallel compression setup

[rivetheadsound]

so ive watched a handful of vids and tutorials on parallel compression with the digi boards and im still a bit lost. ive taken the drum group and sent the output to LR and to a BF76. the bf76 returns to a channel on the board and that outputs to LR. i do hear some phasing when i add it in...am i missing something? i know this is a dumb setup question but im scratching my head. thanks!

[albee1952]

You need to turn on latency compensation.

[digidesigner]

And don't forget that latency compensation does not work between input channels but on groups only. You should send your drums to a group and compress that.

[Roland Clarke]

Just for clarity, you need to double assign your drums to two groups. One with the compression on, one without. Both the groups are assigned to L+R output (or other output you might be using).

Now here is the important part, you need to get a spare channel, that you are not using (I usually name this drum align) and assign this to both those groups and the L+R. This basically makes sure that both busses are time aligned to the main output. Now the "phasiness" sound you were hearing should go away.

Obviously it's not as straight forward as it would be on an analogue desk, however it's quick enough to do once you get used to the principle.

[rivetheadsound]

thanks guys...

im pretty sure i have delay compensation on...i will double check today at the show.

[digidesigner]

You also might want to consider getting a comp like Waves H-Comp that has a mix button built in, so you would not need to waste resources, just run your drums thru one group and have your H-Comp sitting there and play with mix to add some squashing to your drums.

[rdobra]

Or to an extremely low latent plugin from Softube called FET Compressor - emulating the 1176 compressor - that comes with a DRY - WET parallel compression knob.

[rivetheadsound]

thanks everyone. i got it to work. had to assign the drums to LR and both sub groups. for my kind of show i dont use ALOT of drums...but when it comes time for the drum solos, i just up the compressed channel and it adds a nice thick sound. ive played with h-comp a lot in post production but never live. its a great compressor all around. and ive used the softube comp too.

[Danny Dagher]

I've heard that variable groups mode won't allow automatic delay compensation to work even if your using an "align channel". Can anyone confirm this?

[Audioartist]

Confirmed.