Unlike Side Chain Compression, parallel compression does not involve the original channels strip audio signal chain.
The advantage is that the signal is routed out in parallel to a secondary AUX channel, with a compressor instance.
The same basic compression principles apply as for single instance or side chain compression. The fundamental difference is, that it works additive and not ‘subtractive’. The original track is left at its level, or trimmed so that in combination with the parallel signal a total sum of desired volume is achieved.
In parallel compression the delicate parts of the original signal are left untouched, since they are reaching from the source track unfiltered to the master bus. The compressed section of the signal can further be ‘clamped’ or filtered by equalizers so that only certain portions are passing through.
Parallel compression can give much more dynamic control over the signal, preserving the original dynamic range without distortion or coloration.
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