Parallel compression in classical music. What does it means?

[fabiolcati]

Gentlemen,
while looking at the features of a DAW, I've found this statement:

- - - - -
Another application [for the Parallel Effect plug-in] is parallel compression, which is popular in classical music.
By using a Compressor effect in one of the paths the dry and compressed signals can be mixed.
- - - - -

Can someone explain me what does it means?
Basic english, please. No lingo. No puns. ;)
Thank you.

[briff]

Gentlemen,
while looking at the features of a DAW, I've found this statement:

- - - - -
Another application [for the Parallel Effect plug-in] is parallel compression, which is popular in classical music.
By using a Compressor effect in one of the paths the dry and compressed signals can be mixed.
- - - - -

Can someone explain me what does it means?
Basic english, please. No lingo. No puns. ;)
Thank you.

Essentially boosts soft passages in a mix. See wikipedia.

[fabiolcati]

Thank you Briff. I surely will go for Wikipedia, although I trust more in the members of this community for things like this.
Anyway, why do they say this tecnique is so peculiar to classical music?
To my knowledge classical music is land of election for Do-not-compress-anything-at-all way of doing things.

Edit - -
Wikipedia states that engineers for Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and Coldplay - among others - uses parallel compression.
Pardon me for being a little bit conservative, but I still do not consider it "classical music".

[DPDAN]

Parallel compression can not be used for taming the wildy "out of control" signal for any particular track.
It is used almost as an effect to create more "punchiness" to the sound.

In classical music, I would completely stay away from any compressor. In a computer plugin compressor, many of them have a "look ahead" feature and can "duck" the volume when something is suddenly too loud or beyond the set threshold.

If a compressor is used in classical music it can be heard by some. I don't know about you, but I don't want something messing with my volume or dynamics in my recording. I have already delicately created the dynamics with my midi editing and audio mixing.

Don't ever expect to slap a compressor on something and have it magically fixed.

Don't get me wrong, I love compressors and use them all the time, but you usually won't find one in my mixes of classical music.

Compression is a very critical thing, and is just too cumbersome to discuss with any kind of clarity without the use of video and audio examples.
To each his own though :)

Dan

[Raymond62]

Playing an oboe.:p

Raymond

[fabiolcati]

In classical music, I would completely stay away from any compressor. In a computer plugin compressor, many of them have a "look ahead" feature and can "duck" the volume when something is suddenly too loud or beyond the set threshold.

Don't get me wrong, I love compressors and use them all the time, but you usually won't find one in my mixes of classical music.
Dan,
thank you for your answer.
I swear on the score of Beethoven's Nine Symphonies that I will never use a compressor - neither in a straight, parallel, diagonal or tangent way - mixing a piece of classical music.
Simply I was intrigued by the statement from the manual of the involved DAW, that sounds completely offbeat the vulgata of mixing classical music.
A typo? Maybe the word "rock" simply slipped away from between "classical" and "music" (in this case I'm with the author of the Wikipedia page: The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith ARE classics ;))?
Thank you again for your patience.


Playing an oboe.:p
Oh, Raymond... Please! :D:D:D

[SysExJohn]

Playing an oboe.:p

Raymond

Or a bassoon? ;)

SXJohn.

[Steve Johnson]

Or a bassoon? ;)

SXJohn.
I once knew a bassoonist who had to quit because he was constantly being Heckeled. Maybe his colleagues thought he was too bocal.

[Tom_Davis]

I once knew a bassoonist who had to quit because he was constantly being Heckeled. Maybe his colleagues thought he was too bocal.

God will get you for that, er those. :D

[RichR]

Good one Steve, I will have to remember that! :D:D

[Raymond62]

Oh, Raymond... Please! :D:D:D

It may have been seen as a joke, it was in fact, but with some truth in it. An oboe plays with a double reed. When squeezed the tones are different in pitch. With some smile on my face: an oboe is a professional kazoo with a pipe/tube.

Raymond

[SysExJohn]

It may have been seen as a joke, it was in fact, but with some truth in it. An oboe plays with a double reed. When squeezed the tones are different in pitch. With some smile on my face: an oboe is a professional kazoo with a pipe/tube.

Raymond

Back in the days when I had some breath, I used to play one of those things.

The oboe HAS to be played with a smile on one's face, it's part of the embouchure.

Lower lip folded back over the teeth, upper lip pressed down to squeeze the reeds partly together, gently, tongue against the reed, a slight spit and blow softly. And the keys? Ah, the keys. Ask Mr Boehm.

The queen of the orchestra.

SXJohn.