Compressor Questions

[Decebal]

Hey guys, I am trying to really hone my mixing skills so I have two questions about compressors. (btw keep in mind that I use ableton)1. If I am using the sidechain feature on the compressor, I have heard that my attack should be set to 0.1 so that the sidechain starts immediately but I also heard that my release should be set to however many ms it takes for a bar (1 kick) to finish based on my tempo. So at 135 BPM that would be like 111 ms, would that be a set release I should always use then?2. My friend created a "sidechain ghost kick" for me which is basically an incredibly simple looking kick waveform, its generic and has no real resemblance to any kicks I use but he said to use it every time for my sidchaining since a lot of kicks have weird delay and sustain that could mess with the sidechaining. I have also heard sean tyas say this but I've seen other big artist like Mike Koglin just duplicate their kicks, what do you guys suggest?Thanks!P.S.: Is there any way I can make it so that I don't have to manually subscribe to every thread I write in?

[MosscoMusic]

For 2 - I usually just duplicate the kick channel. I have watched the Tyas in the studio with, and he has a ton of good tips. But duplicating the kick means you get the perfect match to your kick for your sidechain.

For 1 - Just do it by ear. Get some good speakers or headphones, and listen to what sounds best. There is no formula (in my opinion) to what settings are best. Tweak, listen, tweak again.