Ducking frequencies vs sidechaining vst?

[Caine123]

With the recently discovered trackspacer i think about getting it but wonder what technique is better for which situations.

Kick/bass i always sidechained so far. Otherwise i just manually eq'ed the other elements and thats it. But with the trackspacer technique i wonder if this isnt better in mixing as it detects auomatically the frequencies and adjusts the whole range.

What is ur opinion? Stay with standard comp sidechaining or is ducking with trackspacer more coherent/transparent?

[Vortifex]

..

[audiosabre]

What is ur opinion? Stay with standard comp sidechaining or is ducking with trackspacer more coherent/transparent?

Never tried Trackspacer, but my answer is 'both and more'.

I use MSpectralDynamics for the same technique. Got it during one of their 50% off deals. It also has other tricks up it's sleeve, so not a one trick pony like Trackspacer.

To be honest, it's rarely needed. Prevention is better than cure, so sound choice & clever mixing can prevent having to resort to this sort of technique in the first place. But, having said that, it can pull you out a tight spot, if you really have to make 2 clashing instruments fit: guitar/vox, kick/bass, etc. Always amazed by how well MSpectralDynamics does it when I need it, but it comes at a cost, both literally and in CPU/latency.

[Keith99]

I use trackspacer a lot, it is especially good in mid side mode so you can mainly duck central frequencies for example, which is often what you need when making room for a lead or vocal