Sidechain in Traction?

[Dr. Feelgood]

Hi

I'm tired of the fact that a "supposed-to-be-pro-application" like Cubase doesn't support a common pro feature like sidechaining.

I've been looking a bit at Tracktion and it looks interesting. Is sidechaining possible in Traction using the rack or any other way?

And if so, does it work with all vst compressor or must it be special designed to support sidechaining?

Thanks in advance.

[cellular]

a compressor must be programmed to support sidechaining. sidechaining would be possible in racks, but i haven't found a vst compressor with sidechaining capabilities yet. i think there might be one from BGtech or something like that. WaveArts also told me it will probably be implemented in TrackPlug sooner or later.

i can't really understand why it takes people so long to implement this, with all these hosts supporting modular routings available.

[valley]

sidechaining can be implemented just fine with racks.

There aren't many side chain compressor plugins though because so few hosts support it.

If you can find a sidechain compressor vsti then just place it in a rack, add the required inputs, and place the rack on two tracks.

One track will contain your signal and the other will contain the signal you are using to control the compression (ie the side chain).

On the sidechain rack you will want to allow dry signal to pass over the rack, but on the compressed track you will obviously want only wet signal.

[valley]

why it takes people so long to implement this, with all these hosts supporting modular routings available.

I guess because the majority of the market still doesn't use hosts with modular routing. FX don't make a tonne of money at the best of times from what I've heard. A narrow focus fx plugin is probably never going to pay for development time.

[AD80]

Hi

I'm tired of the fact that a "supposed-to-be-pro-application" like Cubase doesn't support a common pro feature like sidechaining.

Since when does Cubase support side-chaining???

[valley]

I don't think it does[1]. Wasn't that the point Dr. Feelgood was making though?

[1] although wasn't SX2 supposed to have more flecixble routing of some kind?

[AD80]

It sure WAS the point. I was cross eyed at the time from too much design work and read it wrong. I thought he sayd Cubase DID have sidechaining, which was news to me.

[unlinked]

Cubase can theoretically support sidechaining. Any VST effect (even in the current implementation) can support more than 2 channels usually for surround processing.

One of the surround channels can be used to carry a sidechain, and the routing options in Cubase support sends to any channel on another track.

So, in SX, it's fairly straightforward to program up a side chain compressor in (say) Reaktor, and sit it on a Quadro (4-channel) bus. Works a treat for me .

Of course, the same is true with the rack filters in Tracktion, and it's a lot more obvious how everything hangs together.

Now, if only some more plug-in producers would pick up on this and build some more multi-channel sidechain-enabled plugs.

Steve.

[cbit]

thanks for the explanation unlinked, its news to me that cubase allows sidechaining!

i agree, more sidechain capable plugins will make the world a much more interesting place.

[.jon]

Hmmm..? Sidechaining IMO really is a plug-in issue, unrelated to hosts. Any system with inserts and sends can do it, you just need a plug that is capable of outputting the signal.

We used to sidechain kicks and basslines in VST 5... My friend has Waves, which has a sidechain compressor and I know at least TC Native pack had a Sidechainer plug.

Too bad I can't afford either I wish Torben of Kjaerhus audio or ddummer of TBT did a comp with sidechain.

[unlinked]

True, but I think the issue is plug-in developers have been unwilling to build sidechain enabled plugs, because they believe they have to develop their own workarounds outside the VST framework or work with horrible mono solutions (sidechain on L, signal on R).

If the developers see that it's straightforward to build stereo-capable sidechain plugins within the current VST framework, and that such a solution is usuable within Tracktion & Cubase & EnergyXT, then they might be more inclined to build some.

So, you're right it's a plug-in rather than a host issue, but the more hosts that can cope with a standard VST solution, the more likely we'll see plugs emerge at a more affordable price than the Waves stuff - which would be good for pretty much all of us

Steve.

[AD80]

All I wanna do with sidechaining is to duck the kick under the bass or the opposite. I want the volume of the kick to lower when the bass hits automatically.

[sss]

Hi.
I released "Side Chain Compressor version 1.0.0".
http://www.ismusic.ne.jp/slim_slow_slid ... tml#sidech
They for mono or stereo are available.
And it's free ware. Please try!

thanks.
sss

[chagzuki]

Very interesting. I'm trying it in Tracktion but it's not working for me. I can't read the help file either.

[chagzuki]

Ah, I get it now. OK, it's working in eXT, but not without problems. Basically the compression seems to produce an odd distortion, especially with short attack times. The shortest release is 10ms, but this isn't really short enough. The kick finishes, or has just some quiet sub left, but the bass is still compressed - perhaps introduce a highpass filter before the compression, or find a way to get shorter releases without distortion.

If this was working well it would be absolutely fantastic - a godsend.