Creating Headroom for Dialogue (Tip)
Published Feb 17, 2014
Tricks of the Mix: Find out how to bring that extra something to your mix using Waves plugins, brought to you by Waves Artists, Product Specialists and enthusiasts like yourself.
"One of my quick mix favorites is the C6 Multiband Compressor. When I’m facing extreme time crunch, I sometimes have to resort to mixing aids. For this I use the C6. I double it up, running the two instances in sequence and turning them into a 10-to-12-band sidechain. Then, by feeding the dialogue into the key input, I gently use the C6 to compress the music and the effects in the offending bands only. This automatically opens up 3 dB of extra room for the dialogue, already creating a bit of an auto-mix."
![CLA Vocals]()
[{"nodeGUID":"fd0ee51f-6f6a-4148-accf-70d5160d32d9","nodeID":115,"documentName":"C6 Multiband Compressor","documentID":115,"documentUrlPath":"/plugins/c6-multiband-compressor","thumb":"https://media.wavescdn.com/images/products/plugins/600/c6-multiband-compressor.png","msrp":149.000000000,"skuPrice":39.990000000,"discount":73,"mainOrder":10013,"includedInSBS":0,"skuid":81,"skuName":"","skuParentSKUID":0,"skuEnabled":true,"skuNumber":"C6TDM","note":"","documentPageDescription":"Ideal for one-stop vocal and instrument shaping, the C6 Multiband Compressor plugin includes four crossover bands and two floating bands plus a sidechain feature.","tagline":"6 bands of multi-function dynamics and focused EQ","departmentID":2,"gsfCategory":"Compressors","fixedPosition":false,"expectedShipping":"","productID":0,"upgrades":false,"demoType":0,"isInventory":false,"manualPDF":"","sbsIncludedIn":1,"addToCartStatus":0,"isWishlist":true,"soldMsg":"300\u002B bought in past month","freeForWCA":false,"couponCode":"","couponCampaignID":0,"couponPrice":0.00,"couponStripeHTML":"","numberOfLessons":0,"courseDurationHours":0.00,"numberOfPlugins":0,"upgradeTargetID":0,"parentSKUNumber":"","categoryDisplayName":"","isProductOptions":false,"variantsMinimalPrice":0.000000000,"isVariantsPriceSame":false,"isPreorder":false,"optionOrder":0,"optionName":"","reviewsTotal":664,"rating":4.822289,"saleEndDate":"0001-01-01T00:00:00","badgeClass":"","badgeText":""}]
More Mixing & Production Tips
false
false
This content is not available in your country.
PRODUCTION
de98826b-692d-4ee8-86ed-309537031f71
https://media.wavescdn.com
public
https://register.waves.com
b705eb6e-5be8-46d1-a9e3-8fbf47be7a04
y
<div class="msg-box text-left mb-12">You may find this content helpful: To be able to view it, <a href="/legal/cookie-notice-and-privacy-choices#customize" target="_top" title="">enable Functional Technologies</a>.</div>
True
False
24952022-da61-4c04-8787-6008e073fccb
True
Start Free
true
true
false
voTekqO2wEJBRRQbsEWTHeJEaV5FbTWvet3JZATG
652445
6LeG-IcUAAAAAIb42eguHdUztlZNcrLPhuk81WSM
6LftoDMUAAAAAC9QpaYXNehGHSu__XxRJyFAIgkJ
6LeIxAcTAAAAAJcZVRqyHh71UMIEGNQ_MXjiZKhI
13
7
2026
10
59
28
80
30
#000000
#fff
#fff
#000
#e8e8e8
[{"bannerGUID":"2e76fc8a-3a6d-4461-8d47-240c619ea29b","bannerDisplayName":"Vocal Plugin Sale - July 2026","bannerTypeGUID":"dd5f8368-6b03-465f-b570-48baddb35b08","typeName":"OfferFooter","bannerImage":"/images/footer-offer/2026/july/vocal-sale-july-2026.jpg","bannerURL":"/plugins/vocal","bannerPriority":1,"bannerTitle":"Vocal Plugin Sale: Shop Plugins","gaValue":"vocal-sale-july-2026"},{"bannerGUID":"a04448ca-692d-465a-94b9-b9c04bcfd552","bannerDisplayName":"Free Plugin Bonus - July 2026","bannerTypeGUID":"dd5f8368-6b03-465f-b570-48baddb35b08","typeName":"OfferFooter","bannerImage":"/images/footer-offer/2026/july/50-80-free-plugins-vocal-sale-july-2026.jpg","bannerURL":"/free-plugins-spend-50-spend-80-july-2026","bannerPriority":2,"bannerTitle":"Free Plugin Bonus","gaValue":"50-80-free-plugins-vocal-sale-july-2026"},{"bannerGUID":"d4286ff5-e6de-4b2f-8bc9-e96a46843f09","bannerDisplayName":"V17 - June 2026","bannerTypeGUID":"dd5f8368-6b03-465f-b570-48baddb35b08","typeName":"OfferFooter","bannerImage":"/images/footer-offer/2026/june/v17-offer-june-2026.jpg","bannerURL":"/v17","bannerPriority":3,"bannerTitle":"New! V17","gaValue":"v17-offer-june-2026"},{"bannerGUID":"445bb4b8-a985-4e4d-88b2-5b44cc9b3e9f","bannerDisplayName":"ILLUGEN 2.0 - April 2026","bannerTypeGUID":"dd5f8368-6b03-465f-b570-48baddb35b08","typeName":"OfferFooter","bannerImage":"/images/footer-offer/2026/april/illugen-april-2026.jpg","bannerURL":"/illugen","bannerPriority":5,"bannerTitle":"New! ILLUGEN 2.0","gaValue":"illugen-april-2026"},{"bannerGUID":"e9238c9a-ec9b-4669-b6c9-12a38974902a","bannerDisplayName":"My Recommended Products","bannerTypeGUID":"dd5f8368-6b03-465f-b570-48baddb35b08","typeName":"OfferFooter","bannerImage":"/images/footer-offer/2023/november/my-recommended-products-bf.jpg","bannerURL":"/my-recommended-products","bannerPriority":6,"bannerTitle":"Personal Product Recommendations: See Products","gaValue":"my-recommended-products"},{"bannerGUID":"e6b77202-75d8-4086-b586-af00dc3c289a","bannerDisplayName":"Upgrades","bannerTypeGUID":"dd5f8368-6b03-465f-b570-48baddb35b08","typeName":"OfferFooter","bannerImage":"/images/footer-offer/2023/september/upgrades.jpg","bannerURL":"/account/upgrades","bannerPriority":7,"bannerTitle":"Upgrade to a Bigger Bundle: See Upgrades","gaValue":"upgrade-to-a-bigger-bundle"}]
0
[{"itemOrder":1,"tierName":"Ultimate"},{"itemOrder":2,"tierName":"Essential"}]
{"itemID":3876928,"userID":65,"wcaVisitCount":0,"wcaVisitDayCount":0,"orderCount":0,"pluginCount":0,"hadWCA":false,"hasActiveWCA":false,"hasFreePack":false,"hasSBSPaymentIssue":false,"wcaRecurring":false,"persona":"wca-prospect","wcaTier":"","wcaPeriod":"","ltv":0,"cacheVersion":0}
0
True
True
bp-checkout.waves.com
[{"slot":7,"codeName":"CartWupMsgRenew2","testType":0,"variations":"wup-link:50, no-support:50","isActive":true,"masterSlotID":0},{"slot":9,"codeName":"ListThumbSize","testType":0,"variations":"small:50, big:50","isActive":true,"masterSlotID":0},{"slot":10,"codeName":"HPHeroWCA","testType":0,"variations":"creative-access:25, one-subscription:25, test-drive:25,access-240:25","isActive":true,"masterSlotID":0},{"slot":21,"codeName":"CancelWCAPositive","testType":0,"variations":"old:50, positive:50","isActive":true,"masterSlotID":0},{"slot":23,"codeName":"CartOnSale","testType":0,"variations":"yes:50, no:50","isActive":true,"masterSlotID":0}]