Using 'Groups'

[Bee Dub]

I am using Full Live version 8 and recently discovered 'groups' and am curious how some of you use this feature. Is it wise to group up your drums? Also, if you do any pointers as to how I should run my sidechain channel? Should I double the Kick channel and mute the one channel and use that as my Sidechain channel or is it possible to just copy your drum group and then mute that and then use that as my sidechain channel??

Any help would be greatly appreciated..

[mescalinebanana]

I'm no expert, but...

I usually group all my drum tracks together. That way I can easily mute, solo or adjust all the drums at once. I also usually apply a compressor to the drum group. I find this helps gel the different sounds together into one coherent beat.

Sometimes I will also have a group for "atmospheric" sounds like distant crashes, various noises, etc. So I can adjust all their levels or apply a single sidechain to all of them.

As for the sidechaining: there is no need to duplicate the kick channel. You can select any existing channel, or even an individual drum rack sound, as your input for sidechaining. Personally, I keep my drums on separate channels, so it's as simple as choosing the kick channel.

Hope that helps.