hi
how doest technically work this on harware?
plus
i would like to know if some of you use physical compressor like those to make sidechain fx:
FMR Audio RNC1773, dbx 166xl, Alesis 3630, Behringer Composer Pro MDX 2200
they're not expensive, but how they sound?
i got a joemeek 3q bought it for vocals years ago, but it copress too, but not sidechain,(it has an unbalanced insert but how to make sidechain with this?), so...

thanx in advance

ps
HD if you're around you're wellcome...

I have used a 3630 for sidechaining and ...it works. Really software is the best thing ever to happen to sidechaining. Makes it so damn easy and all itb. You will need something with mults to copy the signal you want to use to duck the other signal. Like you have your kick but you need to make a copy of that. I used this in a big studio and the mixing board has these things called "mults" where you put in a signal and that all the other jacks in that set of mults outputs the signal you put in (makes copys). You then put a copy into the "key in" of the compressor that you have on the track you want to duck. now it will only reduce gain when the kick hits. I have been working with extreme sidechain in ableton recently, I'll try and post something soon.

thanx



i don't know anything about "mults". what i know is that to do hardware sidechain not in a big studio, you have just to have 2 tracks (the one to sidechain goes to the "normal" imput of the compressor, the other goes to the sidechain imput), or, sampler speaking, 2 outs (or more, like mpc)...





i used sidechain with free vst compressors in ableton too.
but i would like to give hardware a sort of "last possibility" ...





anyway i read different opinion on the 3630, some says is good other says that it colours too much the sound...
daft punk used it on early works...

You just have to know that the sound that you put into the key in is only used to trigger the compressor, you can't actually hear it. That's why you need a copy, the original you can hear and the copy to tell the key in when to activate the compressor. Sound quality wise a 3630 is just going to work. It doesn't have any kind of mojo, it is pretty vanilla.

bridge, i know what you wanted to say man, but i want to use sidechain like just midi sync a digital recorder+sampler(mpc) and duckin samples with drum loops or whatever...so sometimes it's not necessary to me to listen to the track (or sample) that triggs the compressor...




hope this is really true 'cause here is very cheap...
but have you tried/read about/listen etc the others? the dbx 166xl seems interesting...

bridge, i know what you wanted to say man, but i want to use sidechain like just midi sync a digital recorder+sampler(mpc) and duckin samples with drum loops or whatever...so sometimes it's not necessary to me to listen to the track (or sample) that triggs the compressor...


Ah ok got it man. Personal opinion aside, i think for what you want the 3630 is a good buy. I just prefer software for eq,compression etc., unless it's a really high end unit like an Api 2500 or a Distressor or whatever.

also Im pretty sure most comps can take an insert cable as the sidechain signal, which is basically a stereo plug so the tip goes one way and the ring goes the other way - it sends back the signal after it's been used for sidechaining..

The RNC does, and i would assume the rest.

if you dont have a mixer with inserts, you can get an insert cable that has 2 separate plugs on one end instead of the stereo plug on each end.. (so one plug will take signal into the insert and the other plug gets the signal out after its been used for sidechain/whatever

I have FMR RNC but I've never tryed sidechaining because there's a wierd cable in the manual that I don't have. Probably I can feed sidechain input simply with AUX send (bass) from my mixer. Must say I've been thinking to try SC but I've never really needed that pumping sound... and since RNC is the only HW compressor in my arsenal I use it for all but compressing on final stage... but I will give it a try and get that cable
tomorrow.
Otherwise RNC is okay compressor, maybe too transparent for my taste but it does the job very well.

my joemeek 3q got an insert jack but sidechain is not mentioned in the manual. i tried with an "y" cable (insert cable) and when i put it on it stops music on the imput (line) jack...or maybe i have to try "y" cables both on insert imput and line imput?
no mention on the net about sidechain on the 3q, anyway...

for the techinical info: on the manual says that the insert jack is just an unbalanced "send & return" jack to use "with any other pieces of equipment into the signal path such as an effects processor or noise gate".
the line imput is balanced.




i got the yamaha mg102c mixer; it got inserts. is it the Y cable the one you mention? how technically this SC mixer thing could works?




thanx for this rapid review!

Hey, yes the Y cable is the insert cable... although if you go from the yamaha mixer insert straight to the compressor it will have just 1 plug on each end (stereo plug though)

It sounds like the joemeek doesn't have sidechain - I think that plug is just for sending the signal out to an effect, then back to the sidechain - so plug the 1 end of the y cable into the joe meek, then the 2 plugs on the other end go on the in and out of and effect .. so the signal goes out to the effect, then back to the joemeek again. (which is why you hear nothing when its in)

thanx cartesia
this means that very probably the joemeek doesn't make sidechain.

the roland ef 303 has a compressor and you can adjust the beat of it, like 16, 8, 4 etc.... not true sidechain compression but if you have a steady beat flowing thru it, it creates a similar 'effect'

thanx
strange machine this...
however i didnt find manuals on the net...i downloaded some but there were nothing inside...no manuals on roalnd site anyway..,

at last i ordered this...
i will see...

i just read a thread about people using the "accent" part on the esx along with compression to sidechain... i dont know even really what side chain is but everyone is talking about it..