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Friday, July 30, 2010

In the Studio / ??!! Is Sidechain Compression the new Autotune?

Posted by on Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 6:54 PM

Feels like we’re all on the tail end of this big autotune kick, no? What was once merely a tool used for subtle (and sometimes less subtle) studio trickery at some point became the favored flourish of major hip-hop artists and sincere folkies alike. It’s been inescapable for years now—sometimes the autotune use was self-aware (more often, however, it wasn’t), and there was a surplus of hi-larious autotuned web junk.


Subtract the mainstream FM-dial oversaturation, and you have the same exact circumstances which surround the recent explosion of sidechain compression in blogworld buzz acts. Sidechain compression, in layman’s terms, is a method by which parts of a given song are ducked around a drum hit, effectively warping the sound, creating a “sucking,” washy quality. Sidechaining is all over Toro Y Moi’s stuff, not to mention the majority of so-called chillwave acts, from Neon Indian to Teen Daze. I’ve been detecting more and more of it lately, and—as with autotune—there’s no shortage of ballsy artists willing to take the effect about as far as they can, sidechaining their tracks until they’re nothing but a big, washy pulse.

So: is sidechain compression the new autotune?

Discuss.

 

Comments (8) RSS

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Terry Miller 1
It certainly isn't new. The French house artists have been doing it since the late 90's...
Posted by Terry Miller on July 30, 2010 at 9:53 PM
Jason Baxter 2
Right! Part of my point. The use of it now is so exaggerated and deliberate.
Posted by Jason Baxter on July 30, 2010 at 10:11 PM
3
Sometimes it's just aggressive application of multiband compression at the mastering stage. So i think it's as much a product of the loudness wars that's especially noticeable when you have sparse drum patterns with synth pads.
Posted by Kevin Erickson on July 31, 2010 at 12:20 AM
ryjan 4
your about two years too late, the side chain compression came before the auto tune........the real shit is the side chained gate.... that's the magic....Gate a synth pad off of a 16th note Hi-pattern, adjust the attack and release times accordingly
Posted by ryjan on July 31, 2010 at 2:41 AM
5
Would a side-chain gate be the thing that is present on the guitar at about 1:38 on the XX song "Fantasy"?
Posted by WOCKABOCKA on July 31, 2010 at 2:07 PM
6
i too have noticed the exaggerated compression in the "chill wave" acts... sometimes it seems like the only thing consistent with the genre. gives me a headache.
Posted by kdiddy on August 2, 2010 at 7:15 AM
blip 7
this is like clipping, yes? no? i *think* i know what you're talking about, but i can't imagine anyone would do that to their music on purpose. it sounds like hell.
Posted by blip on August 2, 2010 at 4:15 PM
8
For those of you who may not know what side-chain compression is, or how it is used....

(Most) Commonly in dance music (and other styles)... The audio signal from the kick will be used to turn down the volume of chosen sounds within a mix (so when the kick plays, sounds turn down and between each kick, sounds are turning up in volume. )

A device called a compressor is used to achieve this..

Side-chaining can not only create more room in an overall mix, but create a nice tight pumping effect.... so when the kick plays, its nice and clear because other sounds are quickly turning down.. and when the kicks not playing.. the other sounds turn up in volume.

Its is often used in much of todays dance music... as you may well know.

When side-chain compression is used to the extreme which tends to happen within poorly produced tracks it can create so much of a dynamic change within such a short period of time continuously that it wears the fuck out of your ears pretty quickly...

BUT

For many styles of well produced dance music a lot of side-chain compression and is needed to create the overall sound.

I know what you mean about how auto tune has being used.... started off very subtle... and now its commonly right in your face... same as side-chaining... however they are two completely different effects used for two completely purposes.

Maybe you will grow to like it....? But I agree.. I have defiantly heard a few things with way too much side chaining, but anything worth listening to has sounded fine to my ears.

When I first heard white noise being used in dance music it sounded really weird to me..... now it sounds right in place... We do adapt to different sounds.

Whatever you do... if your producing.. learn how to use a compressor before you start side-chain compressing sounds... its really easy to over do all this kinda stuff...

Personally when I side chain stuff I wouldn't tend to set the ratio any higher that 4:4:1
I usually set it to around 2:2:1...... I always start off at 1:4:1 so I don't over do it.
It all really does depend on the sound your processing, and the result you are trying to achieve..
The attack I never set much higher that 20 milliseconds.. The release can be as short as 40 milliseconds.. or as high as 160... really depends what sound you want to achieve.. and the tempo of your track.. As a rule.. i tend never to set the threshold any higher than around -40 db. For a more subtle effect... a threshold of around -18 db should be suitable.

If your using logic check out the Class A_R & FET circuits on the compressor for side-chaining.. their nice and responsive.

Phil, London

More...
Posted by Bootz on September 21, 2010 at 7:40 PM

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