i guess this is my introductory post. hobbyist with a focusrite 18i20 that i record guitar, bass guitar and a 4 pc drumset with using reaper
so, i'm not precisely a beginner but, i haven't done any pro level recording & started w/ a tascam that used cassette tapes back in the 90s.
not sure how to do automation for instance
anyway, i'm reading "the mixing engineer's hand book 4 ed" & i just read this thing about parallel compression ~ for kick, "...sending it to another channel that has a compressor inserted..."
i guess that's something like setting up a master buss? that stuff is beyond me.
maybe someone could point me in the right direction for what's probably fairly basic stuff?
i appreciate the response. my problem with the videos is twofold. it seems like they kind of breeze over the part i don't know like "everyone knows the basics" & then it's stuff i'd like to try but, idk what they did to get there. Also, & this is a problem right now. between my wife & her sister watching netflix & prime, i just don't have the bandwidth to watch videos except brief windows of opportunity.
perhaps my answer is there. i'll have to find out later
it looks like the video linked above is about sidechaining - i thought the original question was about parallel compression?
If so, this is just a method of aggressively compressing a signal (kick drum in your case?) and then mixing it with the uncompressed signal. Easily achieved in Reaper by using the mix knob of the Reaper plugin window.
It uses recomp and if you have an appropriate theme track layout, 2 dials should appear on the track control panel (tcp)
1 for audio threshold,1 for wet mix in.. you could add another for the ratio by choice,or not.
Simple+effective.
For automations- just click the little track envelopes/automation icon on tcp,or mcp.
Nice and easy.
so after all this, i'm thinking the way to do this is to duplicate the track, apply compression to the duplicate & then use the volume control to blend the tracks?
so far i'm not seeing a way to "send it to another channel" besides the above
i got that template loaded up & not really seeing how to make that happen
ETA: OK now i see how to use that track template.
that's cool. i set the threshold all the way up & i start hearing it w/ the wet mix at about -3dB can tuck it in there tight where it thickens it up w/o messing it up just like that section of the book
Last edited by normal ninja; 05-02-2020 at 11:04 AM.
now if i could figure out how to use the "tool" (cursor.) it's been my approach to get each take as a whole song ~like one would have to do pulling it off live (but multiplying myself)
while i like that, there's been times i could have punched in or looped. i've done that stuff in ableton & older versions of pro-tools but the cursor doesn't act like i expect in reaper. which is where i struggle to apply automation
i'm having a similar problem here ~like a missing building block. idk what the language means. so i look through cursor preferences & don't know how to translate that to what i want to accomplish
for instance, if i try to make a selection, it selects across all the tracks. idk how to choose just 1 track
sometimes i want to move a selection & it does the trim thing or the loop thing or, the selection moves in ways i don't understand (e.g. it moves a section of it but fills the space left behind with the chunk that section moved "over")
is there a key to press or way to only work on 1 track? (i figured this out now too)
where is the instruction set for how the cursor functions & what it's modes are? (i downloaded the manual) *i actually found that section; pg 133 of the manual
also, it's set up by default so it snaps to the grid. how can you make it just slip?
Last edited by normal ninja; 05-02-2020 at 03:33 PM.
OK i got to looking deeper in the manual (been reading it from the start ~lol) and found "managing & editing media items" it answers much of my last post
it looks like the video linked above is about sidechaining - i thought the original question was about parallel compression?
If so, this is just a method of aggressively compressing a signal (kick drum in your case?) and then mixing it with the uncompressed signal. Easily achieved in Reaper by using the mix knob of the Reaper plugin window.
Actually there are three links. Each Kenny vid was coming at the same issue from three directions.
I see I wasn't the only one suggesting the awesome resource that DOES in fact show all the little stuff that most other VIDS just assume you know.
The bummer is the OP's bandwidth issue.... OP's question does lead to a couple/few of the coolest things you can do in Reaper. Kenny sets you free!
The cool thing is that there are so many skilled users here. There is always many willing to help via threads.
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so, I'm looking at the Abby Rd reverb thing & i have no problem doing the hi-pass & the lo-pass because i use & like TAL reverb 4 & the hi-pass/lo-pass is built in.
but, what if i want to do a notch? or rather, how do you EQ the reverb w/o EQing the track itself?
how do you EQ the reverb w/o EQing the track itself?
What are you trying to separate? The output coming out of the reverb plugin on its bus track... is the output from the reverb. You can put an eq before or after it. Eq before affects what goes into the reverb and gets reverberated. Eq after alters what comes out of the reverb. Maybe you meant the first example - eq before? The solution would be to put the eq after the verb plugin then.
Or maybe you were inserting a reverb plugin directly on the source track? The solution is putting the verb on its own bus track in that case. You want this anyway for reverb and ambient elements that become additional mix elements. It's a PITA to adjust a wet/dry balance and then have to follow up readjusting the track volume to make up for that change. Reverb on a separate track is SOP and makes it easy to grab the fader to balance intuitively. And easy to plunk an eq on quickly! And of course you can send to it from other source tracks (as you often do).
so, in this image, which effect is before which? is that what you mean? or does there have to be more to it than just effects on the track e.g. a buss? cause idk how to do that
The fx route in order like you would guess.
If you drag them into a different order, the routing follows as expected.
I was asking what you meant in your last question. I wasn't sure what you were trying to differentiate between there.
It sounds like you might be a little fuzzy on how the track channels work? That will be your homework. These are the connections down the track. You can have more than 2 channels in a track (eg 6 for 5.1 surround). You can have extra channels for "control signals". etc etc
The output from a track with a reverb plugin on it is the output from the reverb. If you want to eq the reverb, insert an eq after the reverb on that track. The output from the reverb connects to the eq. The output from the eq is then the output from that track. The last plugin in the chain on a track is the output from that track.
Doing the abby road reverb thing, you hi-pass around 600hz & lo pass from 7k to 10k (for vox, the example given) i'm thinking you don't want the original track hi-pass/lo-passed that aggro, just the reverb. the TAL reverb 4 plugin has the hi & lo pass built in ~so the reverb is only on the "mids" the lows & highs are still intact ~not effected. but the tutorial suggested a notch on the mid (reverb) as well. i can't do a notch w/ the TAL plugin so, how do you eq the reverb but not the original signal? or, IOW have the reverb reverberate only specific cycles?
would i duplicate the track, hi-pass, notch, lo-pass & only apply the reverb to the duplicate track?
I use sends for all effects. Drag the routing button from the audio track to the reverb track. Then you can EQ or compress only the reverb and blend it in as much as you want with the audio. It really is that simple.
Doing the abby road reverb thing, you hi-pass around 600hz & lo pass from 7k to 10k (for vox, the example given) i'm thinking you don't want the original track hi-pass/lo-passed that aggro, just the reverb. the TAL reverb 4 plugin has the hi & lo pass built in ~so the reverb is only on the "mids" the lows & highs are still intact ~not effected. but the tutorial suggested a notch on the mid (reverb) as well. i can't do a notch w/ the TAL plugin so, how do you eq the reverb but not the original signal? or, IOW have the reverb reverberate only specific cycles?
would i duplicate the track, hi-pass, notch, lo-pass & only apply the reverb to the duplicate track?
There isn't any connection between the tracks unless you make one.
You have your source track. A vocal in this example.
You have your reverb track.
You make a send from the vocal track to the reverb.
You insert an eq plugin on the vocal track and adjust as needed.
You insert an eq on the reverb track and roll off the highs and lows and pull out whatever mids are sounding awful.
The eq on the reverb track has no effect over the vocal track. The sound coming off the vocal track doesn't change from how you dialed that up.
I recommend learning how the routing in Reaper works so it isn't a mystery to you. You follow a signal through different connections like playing connect the dots. A signal only goes where you connect it.
so after all this, i'm thinking the way to do this is to duplicate the track, apply compression to the duplicate & then use the volume control to blend the tracks?
It's a lot easier to just throw a compressor on the kick track, then adjust the wet/dry button to do this - fully clockwise = all compression, full ccw = all dry signal - in between = parallel compression, adjust to taste, start with 50%
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