sidechaining assistance

[bryan_kilco]

Ok, I've read of a few different ways to do this.

One way I tried and thought I had it right.

(In Reaper) I sent my kick to my bass track, 4 track channels on bass. audio from 1/2 -> 3/4. I had Comp on the bass track.

Then, I heard that you need to create a folder track and put the bass track in the folder, and send your kick to the folder with Comp in the folder.

I tried that, and the folder track plays the bass with the actual bass track muted. I'm not quite sure if one way or the other is correct. And is the idea to have JUST the comped folder "bass" playing, and mute the original? or leave the original in the mix as well?

sorry if it's a newb question. I think I can catch on to this fairly quickly with a bit of help....really want to try to utilize it in our next recording.

 

[slayer666metalica]

I do not have an answer to this--however, sidechaining bass and kick and reaper interests me very much as well--only i don't know how to go about it. [I've never sidechained anything before since i'm still a rookie x_x]--if anyone could explain the steps to this in greater detail it would be much appreciated...
i read the thread on relationship between bass and kick, and someone suggested this same method, but didn't go into great detail as to how it was done. I've watched a few tutorials--but most of the time it's for dance or rap music, where they get this extreme pumping effect. aka-> probably not gonna cut it for a heavy metal mix, haha...

 

[waltz mastering]

Your basically triggering a compressor on one instrument by keying the detection circuit of that compressor with another instrument.

Ie: bass gets compressed whenever the kick hits if your feeding the kick to the bass compressors key or side chain input.

 

[P-E]

In Reaper : on the bass's track, for example, create channels 3/4, then route a send to those channels, and then in reacomp use the auxiliary sends as the side chain input.

Pretty straightforward.

 

[narcossintese]

Put a ReaComp on your bass track
Press the "1/4 in 2 out" button.
Click on "+" and then check the "Aux In L" and "Aux In R" squares
Go back to ReaComp and set the "Detector Input" to "Auxiliary Input L+R"

You have set ReaComp to use the signal coming to the 3/4 in. Now let´s make the kick provides this 3/4 signal that ReaComp is waiting for.

Press the "io" button on the kick track
Click on send and select the bass track. It will create some options.
On the "audio" part select "1/2" on the first space and "3/4" on the second.

Now you´re sending the "1/2 out" signal from your kick to the "3/4 in" of the bass track.

Done.

 

[slayer666metalica]

Put a ReaComp on your bass track
Press the "1/4 in 2 out" button.
Click on "+" and then check the "Aux In L" and "Aux In R" squares
Go back to ReaComp and set the "Detector Input" to "Auxiliary Input L+R"

You have set ReaComp to use the signal coming to the 3/4 in. Now let´s make the kick provides this 3/4 signal that ReaComp is waiting for.

Press the "io" button on the kick track
Click on send and select the bass track. It will create some options.
On the "audio" part select "1/2" on the first space and "3/4" on the second.

Now you´re sending the "1/2 out" signal from your kick to the "3/4 in" of the bass track.

Done.

Hell yeah, this is EXACTLY what i was lookin' for--i tried this... can't say i really know how to use compressors [well, at least sparingly hehe.. ], but i definitely notice a difference in the relationship between the bass and the kick as opposed to before.

 

[P-E]

Usually, I'm pretty sure most people don't sidechain bass to kicks at all in metal though.

However, it's still a great technique to learn and is useful for more creative mixing.

 

[slayer666metalica]

Usually, I'm pretty sure most people don't sidechain bass to kicks at all in metal though.

However, it's still a great technique to learn and is useful for more creative mixing.

yeah--i read a thread specifically about this-- i think it's interesting to try, but i found some other techniques that seem like they would work much better in the thread i was reading.

My ears at first seemed to like it, but the more i hear it with fast heavy metal stuff it is overbearing.

 

[ahjteam]

well, there is a sticky on the subject...

 

[narcossintese]

Hell yeah, this is EXACTLY what i was lookin' for--i tried this... can't say i really know how to use compressors [well, at least sparingly hehe.. ], but i definitely notice a difference in the relationship between the bass and the kick as opposed to before.

If you want to notice more of the effect just raise the "ratio" (ammount of compression) and lower the "threshold" (how much of the kick signal is needed to activate the compressor on the bass). I don´t use it on metal unless it really needs. Actually I only remember using sidechain compression on electronic and voice-overs.

 

[bryan_kilco]

Put a ReaComp on your bass track
Press the "1/4 in 2 out" button.
Click on "+" and then check the "Aux In L" and "Aux In R" squares
Go back to ReaComp and set the "Detector Input" to "Auxiliary Input L+R"

You have set ReaComp to use the signal coming to the 3/4 in. Now let´s make the kick provides this 3/4 signal that ReaComp is waiting for.

Press the "io" button on the kick track
Click on send and select the bass track. It will create some options.
On the "audio" part select "1/2" on the first space and "3/4" on the second.

Now you´re sending the "1/2 out" signal from your kick to the "3/4 in" of the bass track.

Done.

This is basically what I've done. Except, one part sorta gets me confused.

When I click the "1/4 In 2 Out", it brings up "Plug-In Pin Connector" and the squares are blacked out going downwards from left to right....

so its Main Input L, Main Input Right, Aux Input L, Aux Input R

Main Input L is checked on track 1
Main Input R is checked on track 2
Aux In L is track 3
Aux In R is track 4

is that correct? if I press the "+" it creates 2 more track channels or whatever, 5 and 6, and so on.

 

[narcossintese]

This is basically what I've done. Except, one part sorta gets me confused.

When I click the "1/4 In 2 Out", it brings up "Plug-In Pin Connector" and the squares are blacked out going downwards from left to right....

so its Main Input L, Main Input Right, Aux Input L, Aux Input R

Main Input L is checked on track 1
Main Input R is checked on track 2
Aux In L is track 3
Aux In R is track 4

is that correct? if I press the "+" it creates 2 more track channels or whatever, 5 and 6, and so on.

Yep. You´re doing it right. It may look complicated but it is not. If you think about the logic behind it (ins and outs) it is very easy to understand, just get confusing because you have to deal with the tracks in pairs as it is stereo.

This is what it is happening:

You can create more tracks pressing the "+" buttons if you wish so, but then you´ll have to match the send of the triggering track (in this case, the Kick) to the corresponding channel, and also the "detection input" on ReaComp.

 

[bryan_kilco]

thanks guys!! I know there is a sticky thread about it, but it doesnt really tell you HOW to do sidechaining. I know, I know....."if you need to ask what it is, you probably dont need to use it" but I'm trying to get over the basic basics now and get into more deep shit.