Tracks interact 3: Ableton Live Upward Bus Compression

http://www.berkleemusic.com/school/course/advanced-music-production-with-able...

In this series, Berkleemusic.com facilitator Loudon Stearns covers five ways tracks can interact with audio effects using Ableton Live.

The Third installment, Upward Bus Compression, shows how Multiband Dynamics, in single band mode can be used to give an automatic interaction between two or more tracks.

You can study with Loudon Stearns at Berkleemusic.com in the Advanced Production with Ableton Live, and Composing and Producing Electronic Music courses.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Ableton
• Live
• Ableton Live
• Compression
• upward compression
• bus compression
• loudon
• berklee
• berkleemusic
• Dynamic Range Compression
• Electronic
• Software Tutorial

[xmfdibujito]

Hi, I really like your tutorials! I will send you some money if I become famous : )).

Im reading the comments, and Im not an expert, but I was also reading about parallel compression and its seems another thing. Why the results are the same (parallel and upward)?, in upward compression youar killing the dynamics, and in the other you can mix a uncompressed signal with the new one, choosing the dynamics you want to preserve.

[LoudonYukon]

@xmfdibujito "killing dynamics" is just a matter of how far you go with it. Upward compression with a low ratio will just emphasize the tails of your sounds, doesn't kill the dynamics at all. With parallel compression, if you don't configure it perfectly, you will kill your dynamics. Just a matter of extent, how far you push the techniques. Try both techniques for yourself, I think you will find that they have much the same sound.

[LoudonYukon]

@scottiedo85 I disagree, the audible results of parallel compression, as you have described very well, and upward compression are basically the same, and it is very likely that the underlying algorithm used in upward compression devices is actually parallel compression.

[LoudonYukon]

@nativeimaging tell that to Glitch Mob, software compression and upward compression are all over contemporary music. It may not be your taste, or mine for that matter, but you can't disregard an excellent set of signal processing outright like that.

[MrRidisc]

super well explained... you know when you sometimes are just trying so hard to learn something without result.. and suddently it just clicks and you say 'maaaaan i finnaly i got it!!' that just happend to me! really didnt know this! thanks

[HarmonicInventions]

Nice explanation. Thanks!

[officialDasoTV]

@LoudonYukon nope

[nativeimaging]

This is the quickest way to destroy a mix. throw away your software dynamics processors kiddies. all a bad idea. This is a complete unprofessional big time NO NO for a mastering production techniques. the audio is officially trashed after you kill it like this.

[scottiedo85]

@FTropper Upward compression has nothing to do with NY compression. New York Compression is also known as parallel compression. Lets use a drum bus as an example. You have you dry drums with all it's dynamic range. Then you send it to a second channel where you squash the mess out of it. Maybe adding distortion. You take away all the dynamic range. Now you blend the two together. The original keeping dynamics and the second channel adding in beef.

[djm3k]

Thank you for this tutorial! GREAT WORK!!!