Youre probably already familiar with basic controls like your threshold, which allows you to set the point at which a compressor kicks in, and your ratio, which allows you to adjust the amount of compression youll get. This will trigger the compressor when the output reaches a specific threshold. Sidechain compression in ableton live is neat enough just on its own, but we can get really inventive by combining what weve already done with effects placed before a compressor in an audio chain. Maybe there isnt one, but there is a lot of science and math involved in music after all. Sidechain compression is most often triggered by the kick, as we can hear very clearly in make you feel. You can choose to sidechain any effect on any tracks. And while most compressors work independentlyfocused on a single audio signal with no outside influencea sidechain compressor makes sure that a particular instrument is compressed relative to other instruments in a mix. Cubasis or aum acclaimed reason synths, instruments, players and effects now. In essence, a side chain is where you use the output of one track to control the output on another track. The ultimate guide to sidechain compression in ableton. And only then, your kick drum and bass will stand out. Nicky romero kickstart instant sidechain compression.
In this piece, david abravanel provides some examples of sidechaining applications in live 10 from recreating classic pumping house chords to head. First, find a track that you think could use some sidechain compression. The finished patch, with the kick drum split off and routed back into the mix. There are ducking presets in the synchronous patch bank. This is accomplished by routing the signal from the radio personalitys microphone to the sidechain input of a compressor. Audio did of their plug ins multiband sidechain and philta are aax 64 bit. Sidechain compressionmodern pop music just wouldnt be the same without it. Part 2 common and uncommon uses now that weve learned about sidechain compression and its origins in part 1 of this series, its time to get our hands dirty. This way, when the kick drum sounds, the bass is compressed and ducks out of the mix.
If youre looking for this vintage flavor in your compression, live 10 features the glue compressor, a componentlevel model of a legendary analog bus compressor from solid state logic. Kickstart is the fastest way to get that signature sidechain effect in your own tracks. Since the pad and the piano will then gain full strength again. The concept of sidechain compression can be difficult for new engineers to understand. The audio mod device lets you modulate any parameter within bitwig devices and vsts, using the amplitude of an audio source anywhere in your project, as a modulation source. The sidechain compression effect youtube propellerhead reason quick tips.
Of course you can use the ssl compressor for this by using the sidechain inputs. The main mixer of reason 7 sidechain compression reason. Compression is an extremely popular effect in both studio recordings and live musical performances. With sidechain compression i cant see a good reason to have it switched on so set the dial to 0db and have the auto gain set to off.
It just gets the body and mind moving and creates an energy. So youve developed a thirst for sidechain compression, but which plugin should you use to create the perfect pump. Reason is a powerful collection of virtual instruments, effects and music production tools where musical ideas and amazing sounds comes to life. Voiceover now, were gonna take a look atsome advanced techniquesworking with sidechain compression. Sidechain compression has become something of a dirty word in recent years, but it doesnt necessarily have to imply heavilypumped french house or inyourface edm. Ableton sidechain compression ableton sidechain compression. Having it on seems counter intuitive and some compressors lives native compressor for example will automatically disable the feature when sidechain mode is engaged. Basslines sidechained to the kick drum are a ubiquitous sound in contemporary dance music. In the next 2 parts i will bring up the method called sidechain compression and also explain the bits and pieces about multiband compression inside propellerhead reason 4. Hi guys ive just upgraded from reason 4 to 10 and have never really done. A sidechain compressor will only effect the sound being sidechained when the source audio plays in this example, whenever the kick hits, so if you want to apply regular compression to the bass as well, you will need to put another nonsidechain compressor on the bass.
For a video version of this story on sidechain compression, click here. Today, were going to learn how to create sidechain compression and my 5 most powerful tricks to make your. Sidechain compression works by using another sound to trigger, or key, a compressor rather than the signal on which the compressor itself is inserted. Ten tips for better basslines page 4 of 10 attack magazine. How to use sidechain compression in ableton live mmmmaven. Here are few examples of sidechain compression in action. Rewire is simply a software patch that allows reason to be. Sidechain compression simplified the recording solution. Common uses 1 i think the most common use for this technique is when you need that pumping effect like you hear in edm music, or any style similar to that. Look at most relevant using swarplug in garageband websites out of 5.
If you havent watched the how to use a compressor video, please watch that first. If you read sonicscoop, chances are you already know a thing or two about compressors. Sidechaining compression in sonar platinum cakewalk forums. In dance music, its common to sidechain the kick drum to a bass line, pads andor a lead section to create that pumping effect. I use sidechain expansion all the time watch the video above to learn more about this sidechain compression is actually pretty simple once you get the grasp of it. This allows us to add effects that would usually completely wash out our sound at high levels, without actually washing out the sound. A common use is to sidechain bass, pads or samples to the kick for a pumping effect. I have been working on clearing up a mix, so i just stripped it down and went through with eq and compression where necessary. In fact, the process has been around for many years, though it was more often referred to as ducking, where the level of.
It download was released for sale on carrying a host of upgrades to the famous music software line. But, most of my students seem to understand it when i use examples involving ducking. Sidechain compression in propellerhead reason youtube. When you would drop the volume of the first redrum, you will definitly notice the difference compared with the original mix. So for example your podcast intro music is ducked when you start speaking. Home the forums music computers daw talk cockos reaper sidechain compression in reaper. Sidechaining in reason 10 tutorial two easy ways youtube. But the twist is that well use kong, instead of redrum, to compress a thor bassline. Kickstart has a big mix control, 16 handcrafted modulation curves, a precise oscilloscope, and can run synced or retriggered via midi, with loop and oneshot modes all available. With some simple instrumentation in place, were ready to experiment with this months production technique. At one point i wished that i could apply an eq cut but only when vocals came in.
The ultimate guide to sidechain compression in ableton live 9. Ducking or gating this is a basic concept that everyone should know. Make sure sidechain is enabled on the compressor, so. Load a compressor to your track, click the sidechain. Forget complicated compressor routings, simply drop kickstart on your channelsa big mix control and handcrafted. There is a second input on the device where the signal to be processed is sent, in this case the music. Sidechain compression deliberately uses another sound source to tell the compressor. With some simple instrumentation in place, were ready to experiment with this months production technique sidechain compression. Different ways to do sidechain compression in reason duration. Sidechaining compression in sonar platinum i have the kick drum and bass guitar issue going on right now and thought i would use sidechain compression to bring out the kick drum more.
Comment if you have any requests on a tutorial in reason and ill do what i can to help. You could use sidechaining if you want to have your background music on one track automatically lowered in volume, or ducked, when there is speech on another track. Its an incredible tool for creativity im looking at you, edm and a secret trick for creating space in your mixes. Six sidechain compression alternative plugins dubspot.
Sidechain compression is an extremely confusing but powerful tool that every producer has at their fingertips. The subject of this article is pretty techy and for this reason there is almost no chance to go informal and easy still ill do my best not to make you driving up the wall or nailbiting or both. Heres how to use sidechain compression in ableton live. Super sidechain compression take note by berklee online. I really need to do this asap so if anyone can help i would appreciate it. It may shock you to learn that the initial applications for sidechain compression in the 1930s were not directed at making french filter house. Starting with the thor, i chose a preset fsb patch called 3stepper bass. This control circuit is known generically as the sidechain. Your control over the sound using the channel on the mixer will remain the same during this process. Early on into their training, most new engineers will also understand the. When youve done this youll notice that reason automatically routes the new compressor and essentially creates an insert effect set up. Learn the best way to set up this essential effect in ableton live.
A lot of people use sidechain compression for the infamous pumping effect that can be heard among many dance music tracks, but there are far more uses for sidechain compression than that. In this roundup, we look at six alternative sidechain compression plugins that offer immediate results without the need to set. In this article i want to share a nifty trick for using midi as the source input for sidechain compression and filtering, working with loops and their midi equivalents as theyre found in all modeaudio loop packs. In the video tutorial, i will show you how you can easily create sidechain compression in fl studio. The compressor is inserted on the bass channel, but the kick drum keys the bass compression. For example, you could set up a bass line to be compressed each time the kick drum plays. Im trying to find the math behind sidechaincompression for best ratio and release values on my kickbass. While we now usually apply sidechain compression to individual elements or busses, the gallic disco robots achieved the effect by setting up a hardware compressor on the master output of their mixer, routing the kick drum to the key input, then. In that context a second output source is plugged directly in to an mclass compressor. Sidechain compression aka ducking is used to create the pumping effects in dance music, or more subtly to allow one instrument to be heard over another.
I understand i could do it by ear and see what sounds the best, but im wondering if theres a mathematical way to determine what values to use. Nicky romero and cableguys got it all laid out for you. Sidechain compression is used to rhythmically change the volume of audio channels to provide space and definition. Sidechain compression in propellerhead reason musikklab. Sidechain compression tutorial knowledge base presonus. Bitwigs unique audio mod device widely enhances the classic sidechain functionality found in dynamics processors. Years pass and now and i need to track out some old old beats from reason 5 to be re masteredreleased. The reason a lot of dynamics processors provide access to the sidechain signal is to allow additional external signal processing to modify the signal that the sidechain is working with, and the usual process is an equaliser. But its often done with compression, so thats what we will discuss here. If cubase elements has the normal compression, do the following. While there is a sidechain compressor in the main mixer, it requires the reason rack to make. Propellerhead software reason and record duo list price.
Sidechaining with reacomp reaper accessibility wiki. The cakewalk table of contents indicates that the pc4k s type bus compressor can be used to do this but only in sonar producer. Welcome back to my tutorial series exploring all the power and flexibility of the humble midi file. The output from the compressor will be the music, but at varying. Im going to show you how to apply it to your tracks,to use as a mixing,as well as creative sound design tool.
This sidechain compression is sometimes handy when pieces become a bit crowded in a way, yet you want to push certain elements forward in my example i am using a drum but gently push the other instrument back in my case i am going to. Below is the link to my combinator patch for this tutorial. A lot of people have heard of sidechain compression,but arent sure how to apply it. In ableton live sidechain compression is very easy. Learn how to capture the french house sound, and add an extra little twist. The dynamic section offers a compressor, gate, and expander as well as a side chain input. Tips for using sidechain compression in a mix pro audio. Sidechain compression is a production technique which is probably most commonly associated with dance music, although it is also used more discretely in other genres, either way this process is a very useful technique to make specific instruments more definitive within a mix. This is only very 2 easy ways, there is a bunch of other ways and even a rack extension for sidechaining. Sidechain compression can be the difference between a flat, lifeless mix and an adrenalised floorfiller.
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