Which Elysia Alpha for group bus?

[chanjay]

Hello,

I am pretty new on mixing with group tracks. So I have grouped my instrument tracks (Drums Group, Main Synth Group, Pad Group, Bass Synth Group, etc.) and would like to insert the Elysia Alpha (I heard this plugin is awesome) on each group track. Should I use the Elysia Alpha mix or mastering version? Do you have recommended setting for me to start with?

Thanks much!

J.

[Azbest]

If you're new to this I'd suggest a more straightforward compressor. Maybe something like an SSL bus comp emulation.

Anyway, as the name suggests the mix version is made for mixing and the mastering one for mastering. I'm not familiar with Alpha, but my guess is that the main difference is in the CPU load (meaning the mastering version has all the quality settings set to max). For compressing a drum bus, I'd suggest a longer attack setting and fast release to add "punch" to the sound, or short attack with longer release to give the drums a bigger, more squashed sound. The latter works best in parallel (use the mix knob).

Bottom line is, just put the plugin on the track and twist some knobs, they won't bite. The best way to learn is to experiment by yourself.

[chanjay]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. Yes, all the knobs actually look a little overwhelming to me but from hearing the demo, it sounds really good. I think one of the main difference between master & mix, is the M/S function on the master version. I'm not sure if I need this feature for group bus compression. Looking at the SSL Native bus compressor, it doesn't have this feature.

J.

[legendCNCD]

Mix version. Learn it though first - this is a good way to hear https://hermetechmastering.com/compressors.html