Ratz, just when I thought I was getting it.
Ok  the side chain switch is only used in a buss situation where tracks are sending a signal to it?
Why have the switch at all then?
Because ANY "Send" sent to the buss, is affected by the comp on it no?.
I thought the switch was a way to get a send/return happening within a track.
IOW how does one use the side chain switch?
 

The purpose of the side-chain is to allow one signal to trigger an effect on another. It has nothing to do with whether a plug-in is on a track or a bus. There is a video on this page that has a couple of examples of how to use a side-chain.

Regardless of the name of the plug-in, PC modules all work in tracks or buses.

Right thanks
Forget the side chain idea.
I was confusing it with the send return/blend NY Comp idea
Sorry. I do know how to do the ducking thing but the two got related in my confusion.

It's a compression/balance/clarity thing.
My tracks are sounding over compressed.
This is due to compression on the original track, often several times, in order to get the quieter passages up.
EG mumbling, level differences, dropped endings and lack of sibilance. IOW a word like "Noose" comes out like "New".
With heavier compression the "S" and other quieter passages come out fine but the rest of the track is hammered.
In theory, with NY or parallel comp, this should work out with the the best of both.
Yes, I can also do volume automation or gain automation on the individual parts, but I'm working on getting on top of my bad compression habits first and then saving automation for the end.
Does this make sense?

Hmmm. Is that not what the magic (PC76-U) Dry/Wet knob is doing?
(I'm determined to "get" this)
Making an extra signal and adding the effect back in depending on wet?

Glenn,
 
yep.  Get extreme compression going using all wet and then back off into dry and see if that works for you.  It may take a couple of tries to get the right comp sound.
 
@

Beepster
Sorry for incessant posting (it's hot and I guess I'm bored) but I just had a cool idea. I think I'm going to try using a parallel type set up with TH2. Like for example have a cleanish guitar tone and sends to a bus with a distorted tone and maybe another with some freaky phaser or harmonizers going on and automate the sends to blend in and out of the effects. Might be cool. I think if I put the sends pre fader too then I could raise and lower the clean track as well and still get the effected sounds.
 
hmmm...

Try it with bass guitar. Send a little of the clean bass into a bus with distortion on it. Really fattens it up and brings it out of the mix. 

Lol,  we do what we can.

sharke

Beepster
Sorry for incessant posting (it's hot and I guess I'm bored) but I just had a cool idea. I think I'm going to try using a parallel type set up with TH2. Like for example have a cleanish guitar tone and sends to a bus with a distorted tone and maybe another with some freaky phaser or harmonizers going on and automate the sends to blend in and out of the effects. Might be cool. I think if I put the sends pre fader too then I could raise and lower the clean track as well and still get the effected sounds.
 
hmmm...

Try it with bass guitar. Send a little of the clean bass into a bus with distortion on it. Really fattens it up and brings it out of the mix. 
 
 

I've been using the triple cloned bass track method (with one overdriven) but I will give that a try. Thanks.

Spencer
just throwing that out there, since we're on the subject and it could help some- if you can't seem to get the result you want with standard NY compression using the wet-dry knob, it's quite likely that your material is too mid-heavy for it to work properly and you could try using the bus method and inserting a notch filter or eq before the NY comp and taking out some of those mids until it sounds more balanced.

Oh yeah... I seem to recall seeing that in a tut. I guess you put the EQ before the compressor on the buss? For some reason I think the guy was using it as a desser though. I forget. Might be in my notes. Cheers.

For drums, using BFD makes it super easy to set up parallel compression.
I use the oft-neglected amb3 stereo outs and route whatever parts of the kit I want compressed to it, and then insert the  compressor of choice in it's Fx bin (or Pro channel)
 
Smash it to death, then blend it back in with the rest of the kit - job done

M_Glenn_M
It's a compression/balance/clarity thing.
My tracks are sounding over compressed.
This is due to compression on the original track, often several times, in order to get the quieter passages up.
 

 
You want to automatically raise the level of a signal when it drops below a threshold.
 
What you may want to try, is an "Expander" such as the PC4K S Type Expander Gate Module instead of, or before, a compressor.
 
An expander brings the level up when it drops below a certain point (threshold) where a compressor reduces the level when it exceeds a certain point (threshold).  This makes an expander the opposite of a compressor.
 
 

oops, I was thinking in terms of how I use it and fumbled the explanation Sorry. :)
 
Just to make sure I remember correctly. The PCK4 is not a unity type expander, correct?
Now that I think about it, maybe I used the percussion strip's expander instead of the PCK4 to help out bringing up soft passages before a compressor to keep things from sounding overly compressed. Gah, I think my middle age brain is getting a bit rusty. :/
 
Note: A unity gain expander will not affect levels above the threshold. Where as a non-unity gain type does.
 
 The idea is that instead of raising the over all level of the single with the fader which will also bring up the normally inaudible parts (noises from dampening the strings with your pick hand when your not playing for instance), you would use a non-unity gain type expander to selectively bring up the louder portions of a low level signal without dragging up the noise with it.
 
Optionally, follow the expander with two or more parallel compressors that are mostly dry signal. The cumulative dry+wet sums of both compressors (with the expander controlling the feed into the first compressor) would bring up the levels in a more natural manner.
 
I am assuming that the peak levels of the quieter potions of the recorded track are low, which is why I suggested the expander (i.e. not transients to cause clipping issues). The Op can use the expander via automation to bring it in and out during the quite portions . A compressor may make the track sound too different, and bring it in and out will sound too obvious and unnatural.

a simple way I used is
1:export mix dry / without any compression on masterbus.
2:new project, import mix and clone track, add Concrete Limiter to cloned track.
then set 2 to 3 db compression on Concrete Limiter.
3: sometimes a 3rd track with just Vintage Channel 64, grab 'M&S Air' preset to add space.
then blend together, maybe 35% dry track, 55 Concrete Limiter & 15% Vintage Channel.
I'll stay well under 0.0db, export without limiter
1 more new project to limit with Boost 11  (Boost 11 don't work well if I have more plugins in project sometimes).
 
just an idea of fellow Caker, good luck