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[Brayden Cohen]

I have a question and i hope it doesnt sound to silly

Right now i have EQ(Alesis meq230)>Compressor(Alesis 3630)>AFS(DBX)>Ashly 4.24c>Amp in my FOH signal chain it's a inline setup. I was watching a video(link posted below)and was wondering should i be doing this signal chain as a insert rather than inline?



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5jfMH7UDvs

[Jeff Carter]

To sum up a 10 minute video in 10 seconds: the signal at the insert point is pre-fade, while the signal at the console output is post-fade.

Unlike the poster of the video, I wouldn't expect to be able to hear any difference between inserted and inline EQ, as long as the gain structure is reasonable in both cases (i.e., signal above the noise floor but below clip at the EQ). The EQ does the same thing no matter the signal level coming in.

However... the compressor is a different story. When the compressor is inline, the master fader is on the *input* side of the compressor--as you bring up the level, the compressor kicks in harder and the dynamic ranged is reduced. When the compressor is inserted, the master fader is on the *output* side, so fader changes have no effect on the dynamic range.

Which way's better? In that situation I'd probably say neither--instead of compressing the main mix I prefer to compress submixes and/or individual inputs instead. There's less chance of a huge bass riff or tom roll stomping on the vocals that way.

[Jonathan Kok]

I don't think I'd ever insert a compressor/limiter on a main output, assuming it's in place as a pre-limiting device (I don't know why else you'd have a compressor on your main output...). If it's inserted, you risk unintentionally driving your output into compression.

The EQ could go either way, but definitely before the compressor.

The AFS should be post-EQ, pre-compression. Your AFS has a very narrow bandwidth. The way you've currently got it configured, an instance of feedback could cause your compression to kick in  (and affect the entire band) before the AFS has a chance to fix it. If your AFS can kill the feedback before it hits the compressor, all the better.

[John L Nobile]

I don't think I'd ever insert a compressor/limiter on a main output, assuming it's in place as a pre-limiting device (I don't know why else you'd have a compressor on your main output...). If it's inserted, you risk unintentionally driving your output into compression.

The EQ could go either way, but definitely before the compressor.

The AFS should be post-EQ, pre-compression. Your AFS has a very narrow bandwidth. The way you've currently got it configured, an instance of feedback could cause your compression to kick in  (and affect the entire band) before the AFS has a chance to fix it. If your AFS can kill the feedback before it hits the compressor, all the better.

I've used a comp inserted on the mains for very live rooms with good effect. Very mild ratio, 1.5:1. With analog boards I always insert EQ's as well.

[Jonathan Johnson]

I don't think I'd ever insert a compressor/limiter on a main output, assuming it's in place as a pre-limiting device (I don't know why else you'd have a compressor on your main output...). If it's inserted, you risk unintentionally driving your output into compression.

In most cases, yes. There is little utility for post-mix compression in live audio, except possibly as a limiter for speaker protection. In broadcast or recording setups, it is sometimes useful to have post-mix compression to compensate for playback or recording equipment that has limited dynamic range. For example, if you are feeding a phone patch or an AM broadcast, you may need a pretty strong compression ratio as telephones and AM radios don't have a wide dynamic range.

Another application where I put post-mix compression to use was during a competition where there was to be prerecorded music played pretty loud, but there was also an announcer/MC that would break in every so often (without warning) to give commentary. That meant that the music would have to come down while he was speaking, and go back up when he was done. To accomplish this, I set the mix ratio so that the music was "low" and the announcer mic was "high." The compressor was set at a high compression ratio. When the announcer would come on, the signal would be so much hotter that the compressor would drive the total mix down, bringing the music way below the announcer. The compressor was set with a very fast attack and a very slow release. The effect was that the perceived loudness of the announcer was relatively similar to the perceived loudness of the music, and I didn't have to ride the faders.

[g'bye, Dick Rees]

Dump the 3630 and the AFS.  Set up your Ashley properly and leave it in the amp rack.  You can keep the Rane EQ in line.

[Brayden Cohen]

So a better signal chain would be (insert)EQ>ASHLY>AMPS?


I do plan on dumping the 3630 and replace it with a Rane C4 and take Jeff's advice on compressing key components in the mix(subgroups,principals vocal's). As for the AFS that thing is going to become a paperweight.

[g'bye, Dick Rees]

So a better signal chain would be (insert)EQ>ASHLY>AMPS?


I do plan on dumping the 3630 and replace it with a Rane C4 and take Jeff's advice on compressing key components in the mix(subgroups,principals vocal's). As for the AFS that thing is going to become a paperweight.

Any practical compression desired beyond compression of the individual channels can be taken care of in the Ashley processor

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