Can someone remind me what ducking is?

[sean k]

I've jst been reading the ol' tape op book on recording and ducking is mentioned here and there.

I knew what is was but I've forgotten and I think it might be pertinent to this forum. I could go research it but I think it might be best to get the ball rolling here, if it is indeed worth rolling.

[Joe Hart]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ducking

Google is my friend!
-Joe Hart

[B Tremblay]

I knew that sooner or later, someone would take a quack at explaining ducking...

[Mark Hammer]

Ducking is the bread and butter of commercial radio.  It is what allows a DJ to gab on and on and on over the intro to a hit song, knowing that you will not allow your attention to wander because you can still hear the song in the background.

[frank_p]

Ducting 

[Filament]

Ducking is what you do when someone throws something heavy at you. 

[sean k]

Oh, you guys are funny,    left myself wide open on that one didn't I?

I did google and got  the wiki thing straight after I posted and I know why I asked. If I'm going to built parallel effects chains then it makes sense that I do something to have them working as side chains to each other. You know, so that certain things that happen in one chain will "duck" , or make the other chain duck, and I'm thinking that it was the kinds of stuff I was thinking about when I stopped doing this, electronics, a few years ago.

I'm pretty sure it was about compressors but instead of using them as they are, signal squashed by detection and implimentation within one box, so much as using the detection and implemention outside the box.

So if an oscillator is set up as a drone I could use the signal from guitar to squash the oscillator. or use the signal from a phaser in one chain to squash the outs on a delay in the other chain. Maybe even some crossover type stuff so things only happen within certain frequency areas.Stuff like that.

I'm thinking that slower attacks and faster decays are what I'm after and then some compressor schematic that will adjust easily to these kinds of requirements. Any ideas?