compressing virtual drums?

[johnlewitt]

Andy,

That's fascinating (well, at least to me). For one, I'd always sent through my bus, I'd never thought of routing it. It makes complete sense!

How do you like the UA 1176 plugin? Are you using it a lot? I've got a $25 credit to spend.

And Cass (it's John, not Gavin! ) The not always sending everything to the group is another thing I wouldn't have thought of unless someone mentioned it!

John

[cassmcentee]

Oops, Sorry John!

[andygabrys]

How do you like the UA 1176 plugin? Are you using it a lot? I've got a $25 credit to spend.

the 1176 is from the Classic Limiter collection which is extra $$ but if you already have the 1176 LN Legacy version (the black one) you can get the bundle for $150 or something. Yes I use this all the time. And the blue stripe on vocals.

All three of the models of the 1176 that are included in the classic limiter collection sound good and they offer a few different colors. Worth it for me.

[JAMRecording]

I treat virtual drums (EZ drummer) the same way I treat live drums. I send all of the EZ tracks to individual tracks in PT. the amount of or lack of compression completely depends on the rest of the instrumentation and vibe of the song. I tend to always use compression of some kind on the OH channels. Tape saturation plug ins as well. I EQ where needed, then add a touch of Comp...if needed.

[PaulBergren]

I am also an EZD2 user and use a similar technique as many of you by separating the drums to separate channels and then routing them to a drum bus, as well as sending to a parallel drum bus. On each DAW channel, I add EQ and compression. Nothing too aggressive, but it's noticeable. I haven't tried adding compression to the Drum Bus though (I basically just use it as master fader for the drum kit). For my next mix I will try the idea of first putting compression on the drum bus and then adding it to the individual tracks as needed.

On the parallel compression bus I usually just use the Studio One's stock compression, though once in a while I will insert a Fairchild 670. Next time I will experiment with my legacy 1176.

Thanks for the insights everyone!