Can you bus compress L and R one at a time?

Thinking about getting some kind of quality compressor like a Distressor or Purple Audio MC77.
If I used it on the mix bus can I compress L and R separately, one at a time? I can't afford to get two of these things stereo-linked.

Decide what your needs are, and then decide on a budget.

Rather than I want this, but I cant afford it.

blackeye wrote:Thinking about getting some kind of quality compressor like a Distressor or Purple Audio MC77.
If I used it on the mix bus can I compress L and R separately, one at a time? I can't afford to get two of these things stereo-linked.

You can, but you probably wouldn't want to.

You should compress a stereo signal in stereo, so it compresses both sides of the stereo signal by the same amount at the same time, otherwise it is going to mess with the stereo image, by compressing the two sides by different amounts at different times through the track.

Maybe, if you mix the stereo track to an additional mono track, and use that to key the compressor, if it has a sidechain key input, as you run the L and R sides of the stereo signal through it separately, it might work OK.

Maybe you can use the stereo link input to send the opposite channel of the stereo image, to what you are compressing, into the compressor, so it works as if it is stereo linked, but you would have to work out how to set the level going to the stereo link input, to match what would be coming out of a second compressor stereo link output, so it works the way it should.

Clint wrote:Decide what your needs are, and then decide on a budget.

Rather than I want this, but I cant afford it.

Reduce your sights or get on your grind.

SimonInAustralia wrote:You can, but you probably wouldn't want to.

Can add a lot more than just problems with compression levels, can mess with the phase and other factors.

If you can't afford 2 Distressors then you can't use 2 Distressors.

Lots of other units you can do that sound good but won't break the bank.

I like the sidechain idea. If it saves me £1400 that's a lot of weekend work I don't have to do.
It's got me thinking about possible ways of using the sidechain as an effect on the whole mix by altering the mono track you use to key the sidechain.

Eg if you had a big kick drum that makes everything pump maybe you could turn it down in the key track so the bus compressor didn't react to it so much allowing you to have the kick even bigger.

I have an FMR RNC I use now for stereo bus so if it doesn't work. It's ok.

Whats wrong with a stereo compressor on the mix bus?

There's nothing wrong with a stereo compressor on the mix bus
It's the ideal way of doing it
But I want the sound of a 1176 for tracking and compressing samples etc
I'd like to use it on the mixbus as well but
I can't afford 2
So if I can find a way of compressing my mixbus with one mc77 that would be good.

If you can't afford it, build it:

http://www.gyraf.dk/gy_pd/1176/1176.htm

OK I gave up on the stereo bus idea as I understand the 1176 isn't the best for that. Also I found you can get a Warm Audio WA76 for half the price of a MC77, quarter the price of a UA1176 reissue.

I found out about a way of bus compressing with a mono compressor. You convert your track into mid and side tracks instead of L and R. Then you can compress each one separately without messing up the stereo image etc.

Voxengo do a free M/S plugin MSED that can convert stereo to mid side.

I just tried compressing L and R separately with the wa76. This and the mid side thing is a **** load better than my FMR RNC in stereo. Maybe the stereo image moves about a little, I don't think so. That would be minor compared to the improvement in the sound.