Parallel processing is a simple yet extremely effective way to thicken and ultimately improve virtually any track in your mix. The beauty of this trick is that you don’t need a second unique track to accomplish this and it can all be done in your DAW. Let’s identify what is parallel processing and specifically talk about how to do it (and why do it).
What is Parallel Processing
Parallel processing is the act of duplicating* an existing track in your mix and applying extreme processing to that duplicate via any number of plugins.
Note the asterisk as there is another way to use parallel processing which I’ll mention in a bit, but on its most basic level, you can simply duplicate a track to begin the concept of parallel processing.
The idea is to then turn the fader position of that duplicate track down low until you can barely hear it in the mix well underneath the relatively clean sounding original track.
This allows you to get a taste of that effect while keeping the clean sound on top. While you can’t necessarily hear the parallel processed track, you can feel its absence when you turn it off.
Note that this is a different effect and feel as opposed to simply turning the wet/dry of the plugin of your choosing to very low which creates a different kind of blend.
The most famous and popular effect to use with parallel processing is compression, also known as parallel compression.
Sometimes referred to as “New York Compression” because its roots date back to producers in the 90’s using this to get more energetic, fatter sounding drums and vocals.
Here is a snapshot of example parallel compression settings.
As you can see, the main parameter or “sauce” with parallel compression is the “Ratio Setting” – the parameter on a compressor which dictates to what degree compression is applied.
With parallel compression, we’re almost always turning that ratio to the max, essentially an infinite ratio. We also turn the threshold down to ensure it compresses every sample of the track, and set the compressor’s attack to be instant, meaning that compression happens instantly.
The effect is that every single sample of that audio plays at the same volume, completely squishing/removing the dynamic range of that track.
Admittedly this swallows up the transients, but your comparatively “dry” audio of the original track still has its transients intact to cut through the mix.
The parallel compression thickens up everything AFTER the transients, giving your audio more energy, not to mention sustain.
When blended in underneath the dry audio of the original track, the combination of the two sounds thicker, fuller, and more energetic.
Parallel compression sounds great on virtually any track in your mix, particularly drums and vocals. I actually did a specific tutorial on how to parallel compress vocals because it works so well to give your vocals some very satisfying added life.
Types of Parallel Processing
Note that while compression is the most popular form of parallel processing it’s far from the only one.
I recently did a tutorial on how to mix bass, and I mentioned the usefulness of cranking the gain and distortion on the plugin, albeit on a duplicated track and blending it in quietly to blend in a little excitement and added transients to your overall bass by way of that parallel bass amp modeler processing.
Parallel processing is really just great for any effect which significantly changes the sound of your audio, not to mention of course any plugin you use which doesn’t have a dedicated wet/dry dial, though admittedly again it’s a different flavor than simply inserting an audio effect on your dry track and keeping that wet/dry percentage low.
How to Add Parallel Processing
As I mentioned earlier, the most direct way to add parallel processing to a track is to simply duplicate the track you want to add parallel processing to, drop the audio effect on that track, dial in the settings you want, then blend it in low alongside the dry track.
Another and potentially superior way to add parallel processing to your mix is to use aux/return tracks and send knobs.
In this case you would simply create an aux/return track in your DAW and drop the type of audio effect you want on it.
Now you simply adjust the send dial accordingly for the corresponding track you want to use the parallel processing on.
In keeping with the parallel compression example I just mentioned, you’d simply turn the dial until you could barely hear it to find that corresponding balance, just as you would with the fader on a duplicated track you have that compressor on as an insert.
Note that as I mentioned in my overview of sends vs returns, when you’re using any effect as a send, you want to make sure to set the wet/dry knob on that audio effect/plugin to 100% (when applicable). This ensures that you’re exclusively sending the fully “wet” or processed version of that effect to the audio.
This is an important distinction to make, because the track you’re sending that audio effect to is effectively the dry version, so you don’t want that aux/return track that you’re blending in via that send dial to be a blend in itself; set it to 100% so it’s purely the fully processed version of that audio.
The added benefit of applying parallel processing via aux/return sends is that you can apply the exact same instance of that audio effect to as many tracks in your DAW as you like. With the same settings applied to multiple tracks, this brings a sense of cohesion to all of these tracks in your mix, plus it saves you time and eases the burden on your CPU, making it more conducive for mixing.
Parallel Processing Reviewed
- Parallel processing involves blending in an extremely processed version of a track with the “dry” or untouched version of that track.
- The net result is that (depending on the effect) you generally get a fuller, thicker, and more energetic sounding result from that audio.
- While compression is the most common form of parallel processing, conceivably any audio effect can be blended in such as forms of saturation/distortion or modulation.
- Parallel processing typically works best when the blended in/parallel processed version of your track is subtle so you “feel” it more than you “hear” it.
- A more efficient way to use parallel processing to blend audio effect treated audio alongside the dry version of that audio is via aux/return tracks in your DAW, blending in the amount you want via a send dial. This allows you to apply the same type of effect with the same settings to multiple tracks all at once, bringing a sense of cohesion to your mix, not to mention saving you time and CPU processing power.
