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SPECIAL ISSUE 47 EFFECTS

cm lcontents
TUTORIALS & TECHNIQUES

l4 DELAY zo REVERB
Get to grips with one of music production's most vital, yet Master the art of using this studio staple to the max...
under-appreciated processors without letting it get out of control

28_ DISTORTION 36 FILTERS

grimel Try these techniques for
We just can't resist a bit of Get stuck in to some serious sound-shaping with the new
getting down and dirty with all kinds of sounds mainstays of music production

5A
)

4r+ MODULATION PITCH

Bring new life to your tracks with top tricks for making Vocalgimmickry aside, pitch manipulation tools can yield
evocative sounds that really move a wealth of other ear-catching effects, as we discover

4 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL

 '9
mu3fr'radar.com"
The No.l website for musicians

SA-DYNAMICS
Compressors, limiters and gates - prime up your
front line weapons in the battle for a pro sound

ON THE DISC
A euperb collectlon of 44 software effect+ including
four excluslve plug-lns! Full details gtart on p93

7G_EQ 07 EFFECTS TIMELINE

Test your knowledge of music technology past and
It's a lifesaver, both for sonic correction and dramatic
present as we take a flying tour of a century of effects
effect. Join us as we delve into the mysterious art

89 THE FX CHAIN
Getting all your individual
effects to complement one
iffiitrF,s
another is crucial to your
finished sound

43 SUBSCRIBE
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subscription to cm Specials -
you'll save money and never
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8S-STEREO EFFECTS
Try some fresh methods of adding a completely new
dimension to your sounds and mixes

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL i 5

a

The

I i::::ii[:]*i,'fi..
EQandthe useot
I

musl
reverb as an effect.
Oh,andhewasalso
the man behlnd the
UREIcompany,who
were responsible lor
several classlc bits ol
klt, lncluding the
tl76LN compr6sor.

Over the past century,

effects have quite literally
shaped the sound of
popular music. Join us as
we take a whirlwind tour
of ground-breaking
technology, famous
(and infamous) devices,
and the innovators that
brought them to the fore
COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 7
a

> the effects that changed music

rere
!iii
j Laurens Hammond
i lntroducthe
i Hammondorganlnto
i Amerlcan homes, but
i afterhearingtheorgan
Notlce how a pollce
cart siren changes tone
as it speeds past you?
Thatlthe Dopplel
effect, utillsed by tton
Bell Labsenglneer
Homer W. Dudley had
been conductlng
voiceenclyptlon
experlments since 1928,
Fffiffi
I otherenglneersmay
have ploneered the use
oftape delay - send a
slgnal tothe record
head of a tape machlne,
$ffik%ffi
t*'*
i{
I
J
stockhausenstarts
workonGesangder
i Jungrrnge,nowhalled
! astheffrstmasterplece
i ofelecronlcmuslc.lt's
i
i
!
i
I
; soundlngllkeHank
iMarvlntromthe
i Shadorvsonketamlne,
i Dlck Dale unleashshls
! furlouslytwanged,
j phyed ln church halls, and his vocoder (volce
j owners are left
Leslie in his lngenlous,
rotatlng Leslle Cabinet. encoder) formed the
and mllllseconds latel
it's sent back to the
! alsooneoftheearllest
: muslcalusesofan
j
t
*,sprlng reverb-soaked
{ turned-up-to-ten,

dlsappolnted by itsdry Its warm tremolo, basls ot the US desk from the playback i extremeeflectcatled t verslon ofthe
sound. Uslng a deslgn vibrato and chorus governmentl attempts h€ad - but Sun RecordJ i rlngmodulatlon,whlch I
tradltlonal Greek tune
developed by B€ll effects are much loved to secure lts SamPhllllpstook I lscausedby i Mrsrrroa - later used, of
Laboratories, byHammondorgan communlcatlons slapback to the mass€s, ; multlplylngtwoslgnals j course, ln Tarantlnol
Hammond addsan owners, but Jlml durlng World War ll. wlth the help ot Trrat3 i -oneofthemaslnple i P u tp F kt I on. Surl gultat
electrome€hanlcal Hendrix wlll lateruse lt Eight massive SIGSALY Alt Rlghttromsome i waveform, llke a slne i rules the (alr)waves,
lprlng'reverb to the for gultar, and John - a made-upword - spotty olk called EIvls, ; wave - vla a rlng-style t drlven by Dale's trusty
organ's tone cabinet. l€nnon will sing last spotted worklng ln ldlodeclrcultand... i Fender Dual Showman
Itl four teet tall and through a Leslle onthe some supermafket ln
i cleasenavattentlonat ! amp. Now the amp lsnt
fllledwltholll plone€rlng forrorrow Vlcksburg, Mlsslsslppl. I theback. lust there to makethe
Never Knows, titl i
gultar louder - lt can
add etf€cts, tool
j
L___ __ _ __ __*

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8/ COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL


Taklngtheguitarto
newand nastler
i
i
i
Ever heard of Glen
Snoddy? After a faulty
heights,theKlnks' : desk sent the guitaE a
chan-topper YouRearry i bit'fuzry'on Marty
Gottteleaturesheaps i Robbins'1960 hlt DotT
ofteenageattltude, wofiy,recordlng
powerchordsand
i
engineerSnoddy
distortlon-asound
:
lnvents a devlce to
i :
createdbylT-year-old rellably recreatethe
i
DaveDavieswhenhe sound. Say hello to the
i
sllcesand punctures hls : Maestro Fuzz-Tone, the
speaker cone. ls this the : llrst transistorised
songthatinventsheaw i gultareflects pedal,
a
metal? Answers on i
used by Kelth Rlchards
studdedleather I on the t965 Numb€r
postcard,please. Onesat sfacttorr.
j
ii
i_-i
the effects that changed music <
; E tects,electronlcsand
! studlotrlckeryarenow
ffi
Country plcker Chet
Atkinsemployeda
; Walter/WendycarlG-
! dependlngonthe
Roland releasethe
RE-2O1, otherwis€
i beginningtoshapethe wah-wah-style sound i lengthof thesldeburns known astheSpace
sound of popular music. on his exotlc 1961 hit i -andBobMoogfurthel Echo. Like Sam Phllllps
As ever, pushing the Boo Boostick Beat,bul i developthevocoder, slapback, it relies on a
q
envelope a Ilttle blt the flrst Vox wah-wah i whichpopsupon loop of tape, whlch
turther are The Beatles, pedal - whlch tweaked : carlos'soundtrackto constantlyrecord., n*4 #
wlth help from white- the peak frequency of : Stanley Kubrick's playsbackanderas€s' 1 #4P
the lnput slgnal, ...^,^'-
coated Abbey Road its lnputsignal - isn't i contreverslal movle but it's
twlddlers like Ken releas€d for another six !j eooc*worxonnge. completely portable!
Townsend. Tape-based yeaE. Hendrlx latches lt's followed in t974 by Nowadays the space
llanglng (a name made on to the new toy and i electJonlcalmost Echo ls a highly prlzed
upbyTowns€ndand blows a tew six-string i famousvocodertune, and unpredlctably
l€nnon, accordingto minds when hecomes Kraftwerk'sAuaoratt. gorgeous plece ol klt...
Beatles hlstorlans) and up wlth the ground- Get a vocoder rlght and lustasklans like
automatic double- breaklng lntro to It'll sound amazlng - Underworld, Radiohead
tracked vocals are used VoodooChile. i getltwrongandall and FatboySllm.
extensively on the i yourtrlendswlll laugh
bandl Revorveralbum. i atyout
I
1." ._, .," ..."_ . "".._" .i,...,-,-. .-"-._,-"*"_-_..**_.".,-.___i
COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL /9
a
'd;,,.;;A:a
First demos ot the
Eventide Harmonizer
H91O, offering pitch
shift, delay and a whole
lot more. Frank Zappa
and producer Tony
Visconti - check the
snare sound on Bowie's
Young Americans - are
early customers. Over
2() years later, Goldie
will use it to help him
sculpt fineress - and
almost 20 years after
that, the Harmonizer is
still on sale and still
much sought atten A
genuine classic!
IO COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
The Aphex Electronics
comPanY's newAural
Exciter - stop giggling! - Frampton Comes Alive
adds synthesised
harmonic sparkle to
productions and proves
ludicrously popular.
The original design is
licensed byeveryone
from Yamaha to E-MU
and will eventually
provide a certain Mr
Twin with one half of his
stage name - used only
with the klnd
permission of the
GOmpany, of course.
Peter Frampton sells a Advanced Music Joy Division's Talking of the 8Os, it
zillion copies of his System (AMS) come up low-slung, beardy you're looking for one
with the world! first bassist, Peter Hook, is sound that defines the
album, thanks in part tomputer-controlled partial to a bit of whole decade, you
to the use of his dlgital delay', the DMX Electro-Harmonix could do a lot worse
mysterious talk box. 15-8O. Later models Clone Theory, sounding than the drums on Phil
lmagine a vocodel included delays ol up to wonderfully doleful Collins' ln The Ait
made by John Noakes 32 seconds (dub-tastic! and disconcerting forigtt. The effect in
on EruePeten a speaker No wonder Adrian sounds on tracks like question - invented by
sends sound up a Sherwood's a tan) and Love Will Tear Us Apart. Hugh Padgham - is
plastic tube and you put loop triggering, which, Sadly, bythe 8Os, it! called gated reverb and,
the tube in your mouth, of course, led to everYwhere, From goth as you d expect, is
allowing you to alter sampling. Designed and and hair metal to new created with a
the harmonic content built in that rock and romantic and pure pop, combination of big
ofthesound,which is roll capital ofthe a bassjust isn't a bass reverb and harsh
subsequently picked up world... Burnley! unless it's been gating, plus plenty of
by the mic. chorused to f***! compression and, er,
chocolate-loving apes.
,
t
lf,f,lw
*6,
I **m6
ffi
TheEbow-an
electronlc alternatlve to
playing your guitar wlth
avlollnbow-had
actuallybeeninvented
ln the late 5Os, but lt's
BlgCountry's Stuart
Adamsonwhodoes
mosttoboostsalesof
thls nifty little device. ls
theEBowreally
responslbletorthose
bagpipe walls on the
band's debut album, or
isthatjusturbanmyth?
who cares? lt makes
yourgultarsound
weird, and we love lt!
the effects that changed music <
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Ah,thearrlvalofthe
Akaisgso,withan
amazlngnewfeature
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Betore ProTools,there
wassound Tools, an
i early DAW available lor
ffi $Ea$i+-H'.4F;+,+s;f
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::
I Arguaotytheguitarlst!
: ultimatedlstodlon
i pedal,theTech2l
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i lt".o *o ;-- iJt$+fit i $.,., +: " j -'r.ff.fffii'
The affordability of
podastudlos drlves the
demand for decent,
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@
E-MU'S remarkable
: Z-planeflltersfirst
j appearonthe
i
i bedroom muso i SansAmpintroduces affordable outboard i company's rackmount
. calledtlmestretchthat : i
, Morpheussynth,
; enablesyoutospe€duP i i computers like the Aiari :theldeaofamp j etfects. The one that
every home studlo ! tavouredbythelikesof i @
; orslow down samples iandMac.lts : modelllng.Whyspend :
and loops. Stretch a i rudlmentary tffects' i thousandsonavintage i producer wants ls the OrbltalandLTJBukem. -F
l
: onlyrepllcatewhatl ] Marshallheadwhen Alesis Quadraverb. Butwhen E-MU aald *'
two-second loop over :
four seconds and... r availableonthe : youcan(sortof) i Why? Cos ltl ultra- r thesehlghlytweakabb ;
a
, hello rhythmic I averagemixlngdesk, i rsreate the sound wlth l controllable, sounds i fllterstothelrpopular i
mayhem! Can be used i butnobodycaresabout ;afewknobsand j aceand is reasonably . lange of samplers- like ;
i
: to maaasssssslllivwe , that-lt'saDAW!lt : switches? Lateramp l
priced. Flve grand's the Emulator lV - lt l
i allowsyou toturn your : modellers include Llne worth of reverb for a : introducesawholenew i
effect on vocal samples, :
too. Reaches a cultural : humblebedrodm :6'sPodrangeand,of j few hundred quld... no I dlmensiontoloon/beat i
: course,softwarelikelK wonder lt goesonto : processlng.Without
l peak almost 1O years , computerintoadigltal i i
: laterwlth Double-99's i recordingstudio!Andlt , Multlmedia's i become one of the ! Z-planesynthesis,it's i
r AmpliTubeandNatlve best-s€lling effects :unllkelyweuhavehad
i 1997 garage anthem : onlycosts,er,$4,OOO! : i
i RtPGroove. : lnstruments'GultarRig. I units of all tlme. i drum'n'bassolfshoots i
'likeneurofunk. :
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COMPUTER MUSICSPECIAL I
a
> the effects that changed music
$w#;ffi
i
I lntheearlydays,Pro
I Tooljonlyconcern was
I recordlng and mlxlng
i effects processlng was
I verymuchanoutboard
i experlence. Butwlth
Ilhereleasof PrcTmls
i tll, olgloeslgn ffnatty
I decldetolncludethe
all-importantTDM bus -
the bltthat contrcls Pre
Tools'use of DsP-based
elfects - as standard.
Hand overyour penni€s
- about slx hundred
thousand of bm - and
what you now get ls an
entlrestudio ln a box.
&,. ,usmff#
12 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
j tt's July and there's
i muslcal revolution in
- the alras Steinberg
launch theh ground-
breaklng Cubase VST 3.
You get MlDl, you get
audio... but, you also get
bullt-ln elfectsand
processing. And you
can use lour eftects at
once. Four! Wow! The
age ot the plug-in has
arrived and the
bedroom studlo wlll
never be the same.
I
I f
,
s
#
Cher celebrates her
losth blrthday, but that
do€sn't stop her
investlgatlng
cuttlng-edge plug.in
technology llke
i Sherman Fllterbank Auto-Tune. Deslgnedto
; (atongsldethe makecrapsingers
Mutronics Mutator and sound half-decent, lt
Waldorf Mlnlworks) also provldes the
adds retro oomph to startllng, step-Yocal
any sound you stick j effectsthattake Believe
through it - a key plece I tonumberone.Does
of kit for Daft Punk and ! anyonerememberthat
anyone involved in the i vlctorlaBeckhamuseo
I itonherdebutsoto
i slngle,too?No,we
i dldn"tthinkso.
iiti
}*"*"*'*. "*,---,*.--,"*-J
b eLidve
i handsonaShermanbut
i you're stlll looklng fora
; bltofretrotweakery,
I BobMoog!BigBdar
I olfshoot hastheanswer
i -theMoogerfoogel
; pedals,Designedfor
I guitaristsbutbeloved
I ofthesyntheslser
! brlgade,they'reabitot
1
i aMooginabox!What!
I lnottollke?
I
I
I amuscdwhlleyou
j i
j I
t
i {
I
Dlgltal €ffects get set to
manual - llterally!
Korgb KPI Kaoss Pad
stlcks 60 preset ettects
and a ffve-second
looplng sampler lnside
a tlny bo)q all controlled
by a finger-frlendly,
glow-ln-the-dark,
real-tlme X/Y ribbon
pad. Draw a crazy
pattern, make a crazy
nois€ - guaranteed to
keepdrummers
digitally replace all
thelr out-ot-time ff lls!
a

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l=ahht6n.:s
s*l(kibrd.Me@{.9
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ll- bb[b&@tcs, ]
.teeeeE:91t

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Still not got enough

plug-lns? what you
Plug-insare
everywhere, glvlng
muslclans complete
Rapper T-Pain breathes
multl-platlnum llfe lnto
(now) old plug-ln and
ffi
i xo* l-nt"tt
i "t*"
round up our whlrlwlnd
I tourof FX milestones
i

need ls Unlversal what everyone wants ls a

Audlo's UAD-!. This 'real'or convolutlon control overthelr even clalms that any j with the release of
developmentAtthe I hetty DSP card adds reverb - the dlgltal sound - but after other rappers who us€ i UAD'sstuderASoo
h€adoftheclassls i lmpresslve-soundlng slmulatlon of reverb control comes chaos. It need to glve hlm i Emulator. A year ln
Waves,whose effects to any from any physlcal The llkes of Kleran credlt, No wonder hel j development,lt's
Renalssancebundle
:
vsT-compatible system space.Thefirst punch - Fosterl Glltch and the even got hls own j apparentlyoneolthe
i
wlthouteatlng lnto and lt remalnedthe recent BT-lnsplred Auto-Tune-esque most complex plug-lns
your computerl only convolutlon plug- Stutter break sound lPhoneapp, I Am T-Paln. ever released, and its
preclous proce$lng ln for the next three down lnto randomly In lts ffrst three weeks, only job ls to recreate
power. Leading years - ls thrown by generated slices of... it ls downloaded thesoundofan
hardware companles lirJIoil*;lritv.'t. i noise. Forsome early 3OO,OOOtlmes! old-fashloned analogue
seem to like what they !wfthallstof'rear i glltch/stutter actlon, reel-to-reel tape
hear, allowlng Unlversal i spacesthatlncludes ; llstento BTl2OO3tune machlne.Themore
Audlo to develop
plug-ln verslons of
i sydneyoperaHouse
i andtherearofaFord
:
i
SomrramDurrst, whlch
j featuresaGuinness ;
lffi;H#"::-=
classlc aear from the i Transltvan! i record-breaklng6ilTS i i

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llkes of Neve and SSL.
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COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 13

 the most common effect out there, but if you aren't
It's
using it, your tracks aren't going to sound like big-label
productions. So what is it that makes delay so essential?

\/ Isthere an echo in here? lf you happen to
be sitting in a recording studio, chances are
there ls lndeed an echo (or two) slttlng ln the
rack or on the hard drlve. By far the most
common functlon of the delay effect, echoes
makean appearance onJust about any mix
you can name.
ln the earliest days of rock'n'roll, slapback
echo adorned the vocal recordings of Elvis
Presley, Buddy Holly and others. lt was an easy
sound to create, by simply feeding a tape back to
the record head without erasing the material that
already existed on the tape. This was often
achieved using a pair of tape machines, but it
wasn't long before dedicated echo boxes were
introduced to gratef ul musicians, particularly
those of a psychedelic bent.
Needless to say, these tape-based units were
quickly overtaken by their digital descendants,
and the initials DDL (for'digital delay line')
became common parlance among musicians and
studio engineers. These units worked by
sampling the incoming audio and replaying it
alongside the dry signal. They would serve as the
templates for modern software delays, even if
they were quite simple by comparison.
Today's delay effects are as diverse as the
producers who use them. They run the gamut
from simple digital echo boxes that play back
exactly what you put into them, to much more
elaborate devices that provide synchronised
echoes and a bevy of modulation options. Some
developers go to great lengths to provide
dead-on accurate emulations of the gritty, grainy
digital and tape delays of decades past.
With all this variety, deciding which delay is
right for the job can be a real head-scratcher. ln
this section, we'll tell you what you need to know
to find the ideal delay for the task at hand.

14 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL

a

delay <

I
So what elactly is a delay, and how does it
work? At the simplest level, a delay does just
what the name implies: it delays an incoming
signal. Old-school units used tape or digital
samBling technology, whereas modern plug-ins
operate by recording the incoming data and
{s @.
storing it in a buffer. Normally, the length of delay
is determined by the user and the buffer will spit
out the signal after the specified length of time.
Some plug-ins provide a number of interesting
ways to manipulate the buffer's output, however,
I resulting in backwards signals or any number of
odd, glitchy effects.
Delayed playback is fine, but it means very
I
little if it is not paired with the dry signal. That
isn't to say that it has no use at all - in fact, a
I delayed signal can be used to adjust timing or
phase discrepancies. For the classic echo effect,
though, the dry signal needs to be present. Like
I most effects, delay units usually provide a means
by which the original signal and the processed E

signal are mixed together.

I
g

Feedback
I ln addition to the basic delay effect, there is
usually some form of 'feedback'or
'regen(eration)' on offer. This f unctign
I
determines how much of the effected signal is
fed back through the effect, providing multiple
I
repetitions of the processed signal. Each one of
these repetitions will gradually fade out as new
ones are created, unless you have the feedback
: cranked up full, in which case the signal will keep
compounding until it reaches a deafening squall.
I
Just about any delay is going to provide some
method of control over the delay time. Some will
I
be of the free-spinning variety, displaying their
values in milliseconds, while others will be lashed
to the host's tempo and provide their timing
I
values as beat divisions. Choosing the
appropriate delay time is crucial. Short delays
I (5Oms or less) can be used to simulate
double-tracking, while delay times of 'lOOms or
I
longer will provide the classic slapback echo.
I Longer still will put you into space-rock territory.
ln addition to the bog-standard delays
described above, you might encounter variations
The legendary Roland Space Echo., shown at the bottom of thls photo, b a vlntage delay unlt that has been around
slnce 1973. The best modern delay plug-lns often comblne the eltect wlth fllters, modulatlon or other processlng
on the theme. Ping-pong delays are quite
common, providing a stereo output wherein
alternating echoes are hard-panned in the stereo
sound field. Multi-tap delays are also a popular
choice - these behave the same as those
described above, with the exception that multiple
delay lines are provided, each with independent
times and levels.
After effects
Many of the best delays are those that combine
delay effects with other processing, particularly
filter or modulation effects. Both of these are
present in retro-style tape delay or early digital
delay emulations. You see, the echoes of a
vintage delay unit degraded over time, losing
frequency content and timing stability. Likewise,
it is fairly common to find an LFO on board their
modern-day counterparts. This is provided as a
means by which the pitch and timing of the
u
echoes can be altered over time. Such effects can
be used to simulate chorusing or flanging, as well
as wacky, seasickness-inducing wobbling.
Needless to say, the above applications are
just the beginning. There are loads of clever
delay designs out there, ranging from reverse
echo generation to wild, crunchy dub-echo
devices. Often a delay will be built in to an
instrument, even becoming an integral part of its
architecture. Modular synthesisers often come
with a delay module in tow, and great fun can be
had modulating the delay parameters with
various other bits in a complex patch.
As we've suggested, delay is a vital element in
any production, even when you don't consciously
hear it. Delay lines are crucial in chorusing,
reverb and other effects processors. ln fact,
they're so ubiquitous that you probably already
have a number of them to hand, so open them up
and get to know them!

Check out these top-notch detays

@eeg
Now in its second incarnation, Timeless
is maxed out with all manner of
modulation. At its heart it s a classic
stereo tape delay, but FabFilter have
added filtering, time-stretching and its
magnificent modulation matrix. Tap
tempo is supported, or Timeless can
sync to the host.
www.fabfilter.com
@egg
A wonderfully advanced multi-effect
built around a spectral delay. lncoming
audio is separated into multiple
frequency bands which are treated
independently. LFOs, spectral filter and
gate are included to warp your sound,
and modulation can be'drawn' into the
Analyzer Point View. Neat!
www.artlf lclalaudio.com
@sr*s
One of a trio of delays built around
their classic hardware units, the PSP 42
adheres to Lexicon's design and is
approved by Lexicon themselves. A
stereo unit with a very retro sound, it
has allthe original's modulation
options plus the ability to invert the
feedback and delay channels.
www.pspaudloware.com
Togu Audio Line have provided yet
another brilliant freebie with this
vintage-style delay effect. There's a
12dB filter on board, along with the
ability to set independent delay times
and feedback for each channel (though
these can be linked if you want). lt can
be used as a plain ol'filter too.
kunzrorrupt.ch

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 15

,

> delay

More is less
'When
worklng with effectq re hane
a general tendency to think in terms
of what we want to add to a sound or
part Thls mentallty lsnt helped by
the common use of such phrases as
'addlng effects'or'adding a llttle
something extrd. But sometimes the
maglc lsrt't in whatyou add - ltt ln
whatyoutak€away.
Thls may seem to go against
€onvertional logk, particularly if
you'w spent lots of money on a
folder full of wonderful ellects
plug-lns. You mlght be feellng ae
ru
*** For this effect we want a sound that
/ \I Add a delay effect to a send channel
isn't constant - something that and adjustthedefaultsettings so
though youte being deprlved ol the
ffi comes in and out, such as a vocal, that the Delay amount is set to10096
opportunlty to use them. So let's arpeggio, or stabby synth sound. The wet, and the Feedback to around 2096.
thlnk about lt anotfter way - one that gaps in between are what makes this lf your delay is wide in stereo range,
wlll enable us to feel more llke we technique work. Load the sound into lower this to about 2O-3O% using a
are gainlng sornetlring by taklng your DAW and add a drumbeat to give mono utility if needed.
somethlng way. And what ls it that the loop some context. We've used some
we'll be galnlng? An interestlng and sounds from Sample Magic in our
dynamlcmlxl example (SCdelayorlg.mp3).
After all, one of the besil eflects
you can own ls on€ that money can"t .

buy: lmpact. You can crank up the

"You can crank up the

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.tt
volume and compress
the life out of things, but ffi SM
I,
gtrl
ifif
lB [.

it won't be long before @gwE

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you reach the ceiling"
€)rJ
volurn€ and compress the tife out of
things, but it woft be long betorc
-- On the send channel, add a r- Send the lead sound to the bus/send
you rcach theceillng and are left
1" lms
compressor. Set the Attack to -- with the delay on it. The compressor
and the Release to around tooms. now has a signal to work with. Ensure
with nowhere to go. By taking things Sidechain the compressor, setting the that the original signal also goes straight
away even fflust momentarily, lead sound chosen in Step 1 as the to the master channel. Now if you play
paradoxically you €nd up actuelly trigger. Start the sound playing and everything together you should have
adding somethlng very lmportant, adjust the compressor's Threshold to 1O the drums, plus the lead and the delay
namely,space. or 2OdB below the signal level, with a popping up only when the original isn't
Our walkthrough demonstretes Ratio of 6:1. sounding (SCdelayflnal.mp3). Normally
thls concept ln practlce. Maklng the delay would run right over the
original, muddying things.
extra space allows theelements we
alr€ady havcto cut through and
shine. Thls le partlculafly useful wlth
delayed and rcvert€d parts - both of
these classk effects brlng more
sound to a mlx, and by shlfting
something else out of the way, we
make space for them to be fully
heard and enloyed.

**- Resample the audio from the send
" channel and audition it on its own. ln
doing you'll understand how it
so,
sounds in isolation. Now you can adjust
the delay and compression settings
more accurately and fine-tune the effect.
lf you get it right, you'll end up with a
new rhythm that works against the
oriqinal (SCdelaysolo.mp3).
%- Now the delay signal should only be
/ audible when the original signal isn't.
This is not iust good for your mix, it's
good for effect too. You can automate
the delay's feedback amount over time,
as well as adding further effects - such
as distortion - that should follow the
delay, as in our example on the cover
d isc (SCdelaydlstort.mp3).

16 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL

 delay <

Master delay
Traditionally, delays have been used in
production as an effect on individual channels.
They can create interest, impart a sense of size or
just make a part sound thicker. Ever since the
advent of affordable DJ effects, however, delays
have also been used on complete tracks. And
while studio delays could always have been
placed on a master bus, generally speaking, it is
the ability to easily place a delay plug-in on a
channel and then automate it that has
encouraged electronic musicians to apply this DJ
technique in the studio.
And apply it they have, in a couple of
particularly interesting ways. The first of these is
to generate a huge build-up in a track. Early
dance music brought us the machine-gun snare
roll, which created a rhythmic build that could
take a breakdown to a crescendo. This technique
is still in use, but by using a building tempo-delay
signal we can now create something
much richer and fuller.
The second is to generate exciting
edits in a track, such as stuttering
effects. These can be used as subtle
features in an arrangement in a more
mainstream track, as defining
features in more underground or
glitch-heavy tracks, and even to
generate the sense of a live DJ
performance, thus imparting a sense
of spontaneity, in otherwise
obviously programmed dance music.
But whether you're trying to A decade of genre-deffnlng DJ eftects has glven electronlc muslc
achieve the former or the latter, it's producers a taste for somethlng slmilar on thelr master outputs
important to remember that when
using delays you always run the risk of one part. To avoid this, there are a few simple but
overpowering the dry signal, particularly when crucial things to put into practice, which we'll
that dry signal is a complete track rather than just show you in our walkthroughs below.

q
When adding delays as an edit
f eftect, it's important to use the right
1 tools. They must be tempo-synced, and
they should ideally have one control that
is fast and effective. We like glitch tools
such as Sugar Bytes' renowned Effectrix,
which we place into our chain here
(Master delay edit example (dry
verslon).wav).
Ir-
The trick now is to decide what kind
of delay effect you want. lt could be a
doubling/stutter effect or a traditional
delay that trails off, but it's important to
remember that repeat/stutter effects
work best with very little bass removed
from the delays, whereas traditional
tempo delays need to have some bass
removed from the delay signal.
n
Now it's a case of running through
r the track and adding the effect to the
master out wherever you think it helps,
usually for a half-bar to a bar at a time.
Good choices are between consecutive
sections, before key new elements come
in or anywhere you would traditionally
have a drum roll or a little one-bar drop
(Master delay edit example.wav).

? n Our favourite master delay effect is
/ used in build-ups. We f irst insert a
I tempo-synced delay into our master
output chain - we use Logic's Tape Delay
as it has independent wet and dry
controls and we want our original signal
to stay loud throughout (Masterdelay
bulld example (dry version).wav).
1, We set our delay speed to quarter- or
/ eighth-notes and remove some of
the bass end using the delay's low-cut
filter. As our breakdown builds we raise
the level of the delays, generating a
drum-roll effect. Then at the peak we
quickly drop the delays (and almost all
the other track elements).
q We want to avoid making the end of
F the build more powerfulthan the
main track, so we use another curved
low-cut filter sweep at the peak of the
crescendo, following the automation
path of the wet delay signal (Master
delay build example.wav). A similar
effect can be achieved with reverb.

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 17

> delay
Detay-verb
One of the most frustrating things about the
irocesses involved in music production is that
they inherently make things sound unnatural.
lndeed, most of the basic effects we use today
came about as a way to counter the limitations of
recording and reproduction.
Among the most obvious of these is reverb. ln
the real world, sounds naturally bounce off things
in their environment, and these reflections hit
our ears at different times, creating natural
reverb and giving us a hugely accurate and
ry a First we need the right delay.
/ Naturally, to generate a nearly
fi transparent signal, we don't want
anything that sounds jarring, so we
insert a tempo-based delay. You can use
a manually set delay too, of course, but
we generally find that the more funk and
swing on the delay, the more it sounds
like delay and less like the subtle
ambience we're after.
\.' Another important element is the
Feedback amount. We tweak this so
that the delays don't carry on long
enough to muddy the waters. You could
put the delays on a separate bus and use
sidechain ducking (taking the dry signal
as the sidechain source), but we find
short delay tails usually work best.
18 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
detailed sonic picture of our surroundings. Even
if blindfolded, most of us could tell if we were in a
cathedral, a hallway, a stairwell or a bathroom.
When we try to record a sound in one of these
spaces, however, we encounter endless difficulty
in balancing the sound we want with the
reflections from the environment we're in. The
problem comes about because reverb can really
swamp and mask sounds, particularly when it
has been compressed and limited by recording
hardware and software.
\/ The timing is up to you and depends
on the source material. but as we're
applying the signal to a vocal (No Delay
verb.wav), we want something that suits
the pace of that vocal. lf you're using a
vocal with few spaces you can get away
with shorter settings, but nothing less
than a 16th.
1
/
Finally, we try using dotted values on
our delay time. Whether or notthis
works is entirely down to the vocal itself.
On funky vocals the effect is more
transparent, and on straighter tracks it
can stand out - there's no way to be sure
until you've tried it, so we always give it
a shot, just in case (Delayverb.wav)!
We therefore tend to record the sound we
want dry and add the space afterwards using
artificial reverb - but just as real reflections can
swamp and obscure a sound, so too can artificial
reverb. Reverb is a solid wall of sound, and when
applied, this solid sound continues in the
background, even when it's being largely
obscured by louder dry sounds in the mix.
So why not use something that has a similar
effect, but without the mess? That's right, we
mean delay. Let's see how it's done...
Lexicon are famous lol
theh rerrerb algorlthms,
but even they would adnlt
that sometimes delay
works Just as well (or
better). PSP would agreel
q- Reverb is usually a little duller than
I the main signal, so we use the
EQ/filters on our delay to remove some
of the top and bottom end. This helps to
ensure that the signal is subtle and quiet.
Try to avoid placing compression after
the delays in this situation, as it can
make them too distinct.
>Not just for vocals
The reason delay works so well in
place of reverb on vocals is
largely down to the softer
transients of spoken and sung
words - unlike a drum hit or a
piano strike, the voice has few
sharp transients, so delays used
on vocals sound softer and more
subtle. There is a way to use delay
subtly on other sounds too,
however. lf your chosen delay
provides a reverse button, try
engaging that; alternatively,
you could try placing the delays
on a bus and using an
envelope-generating plug-in to
soften the attack of the delays
independently of the dry signal.
a
-E 1 Using a short delay on one side of a
g / signal - also known asthe Hass
fi technique - is an easy way to widen the
stereo field of a track, and can be used to
turn a mono track into a stereo one, after
a fashion. First we copy Mono Pad.wav
(in Tutorial files/Delay) onto our hard
drive, and then onto a stereo audio track
in our DAW.
t*. Next, deactivating the Sync button
/ on the right-hand side allows us to
set the delay time in milliseconds rather
than by divisions of the tempo, and gives
us a much greater level of control when
dealing with short delay times.
Using delay to funk up basslines A la
ru '*
F Donna Summet's I Feel Love is a
ffi useful technique, but it's important to
get the basics right. Start by creating a
bouncy disco bassline, using a MlDl part
like the one pictured above and a
suitable bass sound such as the
SubTractor Bass Gultar patch in Reason.
e* Here we're using Cubase - this has a
r' range of delay effects, but the one
most suited to this task is Stereo Delay.
We add this effect as an insert on the
audio track. We leave the left-hand side
of the stereo field unaltered, and add a
slight delay to the right-hand side. We
set the Mix control on the left hand side
of the effect to O.
q Times between O and soms work
/ well to create this effect, so let's go
for 25ms. Now on playback we hear the
mono signal has become stereo -
clicking the Bypass button on the stereo
delay effect highlights the difference
(Stereo Pad.wav).
q /q
Using a delay effect on a send will
/ enable us to achieve this effect. We
use it as a send because we need to
process the delayed signal separately to
the main, dry bassline. We route the
mixer to a DDL-I delay effect and run
that through an MClass equaliser before
it's routed back into the mixer's returns.
delay <
u Nextwe setthe Mixcontrol on the
J right hand side to 1OO, which means
we hear only the delayed signal. We turn
the Feedback down to O, and deactivate
the low and high filters. This stops the
signal from being affected in any other
way apart from being delayed slightly.
a The disadvantage of this effect is
/ that it can result in comb filtering
effects on the sound if your track is
summed to mono. To check out how the
effect will sound in mono, we add
Cubase's Stereo Enhancer effect and set
the Width control to O.
We set the delay's number of steps to
or 3, with Feedback set to O and a
1
Dry/Wet level of 127. We set the Mclass
Equaliser up as shown to take out the
low end of the delay, then turn the send
up in the mixer. Boosting the mids is
another option that will give the delayed
signal a different feel (Dlsco Bass.wav).
COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 19
 ON THE CD

II
All the fil6 y@ n@d to
fol,ow the walKhrcughs
are ln the Tub.lal filer/
R*rblolder

Reverb is all around us in the natural world, and it's a staple

in the recording studio as well. As a subtle sweetener or
over-the-top special treatment, reverb has a wealth of uses

1 Reverberation (or'reverb') effects are
/ omnipresent, both in the real world and in
music production. Judicious use of reverb can
make the difference between a professional
recording and something that sounds like it
was recorded in a bedroom, adding depth and
fullness to the sound.
So what exactly is reverb? Simply put, it's the
sound of a space. You see, every space has a
sonic signature. Think about the sound of
footsteps inside a huge cathedral, for example.
Now, imagine your footsteps in a tiled bathroom.
These are two very different sounds, and the
thing that makes them different is reverb.
When you make a sound in any space, the
sound waves travel around that space, bouncing
off the walls before returning back to your ears as
a series of delayed echoes. These echoes will
have different characteristics, depending on the
size of the room, the surface materials within it
and all sorts of other variables. This produces a
sound far more complex than a simple echo
(which is why a plain ol'delay line makes for a
poor substitute for reverb).
When we say every space has a unique sonic
signature, we mean it - even the smallest room
has some reverb. This is why studio designers
spend so much money on acoustic treatments.
There are, of course, purpose-built reverb-free
rooms (called anechoic chambers), but pretty
much any environment you encounter in the real
world will have its own'sound'. Many recordings
are made in exotic locations to exploit the sound
of the space, and some recording studios
(especially older ones) have dedicated reverb
chambers into which audio signals are piped to
impart a bit of ambience to the recording.
Obviously, such luxury is not available to most
musicians and producers. Fortunately, there are
plenty of artificial solutions, and you'll need to
explore some of them if you want your tracks to
sound like those of the pros.

2() ,,, COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL

 reverb <

Various'verbs
Studio reverbs tend to come in one of four
flavours. There are the aforementioned reverb
chambers, and there are also massive devices
called 'plate' reverbs that emulate the sound of a
space by bouncing the signal off a suspended
metal plate. Plate reverbs don't sound terribly
natural, but they have been employed on a lot of
classic recordings and as such are considered a
'classic'studio sound. Most modern reverb units
will offer patches that imitate the sound of a plate
reverb. They are especially useful for vocal
tracks, since they do not wash the vocal in syrupy
ambience but instead allow it to maintain some
of its clarity.
lf you're a guitarist, you will already know
about'spring'reverbs - in fact, many combo
amps come with them built in. Like a plate reverb,
a spring reverb is an electromechanical device,
but instead of using a metal plate, it pumps the
signalthrough a box filled with loosely
suspended metal springs. This produces a
characteristically metallic sound that is even less
natural than that of a plate reverb. Still, spring
reverbs remain a popular choice for certain Every space has a sound, as you'll know It you've ever set toot ln one of these. Lucklly tor muslc producers, today's
instruments and musical styles. lndeed, they convolution reverb processors can l€create the sound of anY physical space ln soltware
have been making something of a comeback in
recent years, riding the current wave of nostalgia software-based, though a few companies have the most common failings of the bedroom
for all things retro. produced hardware variations. producer is the overuse or misuse of reverb. lf
The most popular source of reverb in modern you want your main vocal line to stand out, don't
studios is undoubtedly the digital reverb Anatomy of a reverb slather it in 'verb. Any reverb will make a signal
processor. These units might be standalone Reverbs come in a wide variety of guises. Some sound as if it were coming from a distance. You
reverb boxes, or might include reverb among are dead simple, with only a few controls, while can, of course, use this to your advantage to
many other common effects. Most of them are others are populated with a bewildering create imaginary three-dimensional sonic
'algorithmic' in nature, using delay, pitchshifting selection of knobs and sliders. Most of them will spaces. We'll look at some examples of how to
and filtering techniques to simulate real-world provide a handful of common parameters. You'll use reverb creatively over the next few pages.
spaces. You might recognise the name Lexicon, likely find a decay parameter for adjusting the Before we begin, though, we'll offer these
by far the most famous purveyor of algorithmic length of the reverb tail, and there may also be words of caution: applying reverb is a bit like
reverb devices. some sort of filtering or diffusion applied to that pouring HP Sauce on your food. A little can
Not all modern reverbs are algorithmic. tail. You may have a'room size' parameter. You enhance the flavour and make for a more
Recent advances in computing power have led to will likely also find a 'pre-delay', which allows you enjoyable experience, but too much can
the introduction of 'convolution' or'impulse' to adjust the time between the original signal and overwhelm the meal and leave a bad aftertaste.
processors. These devices use recordings of the reverb itself. This particular function is That's not to say that reverb can't be used for
natural spaces (or even other effects processors) essential if you want to maintain any sort of special effects - think Phil Collins' snare or the
to mathematically recreate the response of that clarity in the original signal. huge dubstep soundscapes of artists such as
space and apply it to an audio signal, and they Obviously, there's a lot to explore here, and it Nero - but when used in a mix, discretion is the
can be uncannily realistic. Most of them are takes a bit of practice to make it all work. One of key to a professional sound.

Check out these versatile'verbs

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Audio Damage are experts at wringing
a classic hardware sound from a
plug-in, and Eos does the trick with not
only a pair of awesome plate
algorithms, but also a dense, rich
'Superhall'algorithm that sounds for all
the world like Brian Eno giving an
Eventide what for. This sort of rich,
moving texture is not available when
using convolution'verbs.
www.audiodamage.com
lf you like your effects to fall into the
'set it and forget it'category, you can
rule out Rob Papen's awesomely
interactive RP-Verb - but if you like
effects that can be teased, tweaked,
modulated and manipulated, this
baby's for you. MlDl controllers are
supported, and there are some unusual
inclusions such as distortion and
ensemble effects. Clever stuff.
www.robpapen.com
plug-in
This is a dead-simple reverb
culled from KR's commercial
KR-Space. You get control over early
and late reflection sizes, diffusion,
decay and a whole lot more, and it'll
support host sample rates up to
96KHz. KR-Reverb FS is cross-platform
- there's even a Linux version. And be
sure to try out the cm version, which
you'll find on the CD.
kresearchrom/Free-Series.htm
Nebula3 is a convolution-based
multi-effects processor that can
emulate a wide range of natural spaces
and classic hardware devices. There
are three versions, including a free one.
Many impulses are bundled with the
plug, along with N.AT.3, which allows
you to build multi-sampled impulse
collections into Nebula3 patches.
www.acustlca-audio.com

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 2I

a

> reverb

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',i . ,
Getting your snare sounds polished
," is an important part of many styles
+ of music, especially in dance genres.
Reverb can be incredibly handy when
working with snares, and can be used to
give even mono snare sounds a wide
stereo panorama, as we'll demonstrate
here. First we drop Simple Snare.wav
from the Tutorial files/Reverb folder
onto an audio track in Ableton Live.
*"- By zooming into the sample we can
,+ ,'r see that even though this is a stereo
,+ sample, the left and right channels
appear identical - what we're dealing
with here is in effect a mono snare
sound. We can quickly give it stereo
width by adding Live's Reverb effect to
the audio track-
rii,i,i! .. The default settings of this reverb
are a bit much. For starters, the
Dry/Wet level is set to 55%, which
means the'wet'reverb is louder than the
'dry' sound of the snare. We remedy this
by setting the Dry/Wet level to 25%.

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:,, , . The balance of the dry and wet i+illt'.., WebringtheThresholdofthe ',.' lf we want to get our dubstep on, we
,,t, ,,,
-rir'rrr1a
signals is now at a more sensible compressor down to -28d8. The '1,r-'.1' ili
i'tl1;r.,,,i"
'' can turn the Reverb's Decay Time up
level for the effect we're after, but at a transients and body of the snare won't to 2.5s for that big dub feel (Reverb
cost: the reverb is now quite quiet. We be impaired by this level of compression, Snare.wav). The only problem with this
can get the best of both worlds by using but it brings up the volume of the reverb is that such a long tail can eat up
a little dynamics processing. We add tail nicely. We can make it even louder by precious space in a mix. Automating the
Live's Compressor after the reverb. turning the Ratio up to 5. gain parameter of a utility effect or using
sidechain compression can combat this,
or alternatively, you can use a gate.

>Controlfreak
When working with big, obvious
reverb effects such as this one, it
can help to have the greatest
gE lok 69
possible control over the reverb.
A good way to achieve this is to
place the reverb on a send
I
I* "'"9
'l: 'l 6
ffi$-t
channel, which means you can l(t)
ffi
ri9
it' ilo
process the wet reverb signal
independently of the dry sound -
-9c) "'.;
ll,
ffi; rt\
i-ffit
handy if you want to take the lows
out of the reverb or apply other
effects such as additional stereo
widening or more extreme '".,.. We place Live's Gate effect after the ' ,
On playback, we hear that we still
dynamics processing. F -" reverb. The reverb-and-gate chain ''' have the initial part of the large
Alternatively, in Live, you can use
H was used heavily in big 8Os rock
productions, but it works just as well in
ffi:$ reverb sound, but as soon as the level
drops below the threshold, the reverb
an audio effect rack, where you
other genres where you want a tail is silenced. Essentially, the threshold
can split the audio signal into
big-sounding snare. We set the Gate's now controls the length of the reverb
separate chains without having to
use send channels-
Threshold to -25d8. tail, so you'll want to tweak it depending
on how long you want the reverb to last.

22 ,, COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL

t-

iltilr A Ann
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Processing ls cssentlal for modern sound

As you might guess from our title,
' 'the main ingredient here - other
than reverb, of course - is a good meaty
kick drum. Each different type of kick
will produce a different result, so you
can come back later and try a few
different ones, but for now use one with
a little bit of click, or top end, and a
medium tail.
q*r
lwl
1;l;:i',:: Add a reverb to the same channel
,,;ii' and set the Decay right up to about
8s. At this point things may already
sound like they're heading in the right
direction, like someone bouncing a
basketball inside a warehouse
(kickverb.mp3). Turn the DryMet
balance up to 10ooz6.
effects, lncludlng beellng up those
ublqultous Hollywood expl,oslons
Special effects
As the accompanylng walkthrough
suggests, even the most ordlnary
effects plug-lns can be called into
actlon as vercatile resources for
clnema-style sound effects. As a
matter of fact, nearly any sound
effect you hear ln the movie theatre
is boundto b€slathered in some sort
of eflects processing. Foley artlsts
geta lotol mlleagefrom renerb
effects - the audlo ln a film would
sound unnatural wlthout them. Of
course,theycan be used quite

HH(} o dramatlcally as well.lt has become

common practice to exaggerate and
emphasise a booming, cavernous
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,ii,.,'!i ,, lf your reverb has an Early
,.,,'il '" Reflectlons setting, turn it down to
, .;i create the sound of tha bomb 'landing'
nearby, or raise it to make the effect
sound further away. This sense of
distance can also be achieved or
emphasised if your reverb has a low-
pass (or high-cut) filter. The more high
frequencies you cut, the further away it
sou nds (bomb-near-then-far.mp3).
iriinri . further beef up the sound, add EQ
To
:r1, .
f;r boosts around the 2OOHz and
,.."-,,i;! 5OOHz marks. This should give the
sound a lot more body, but thanks to the
reverb and compression, will still keep it
within the green on your levels. lf you
are clipping or just want to play it safe,
throw in a limiter.
:ri' . Nowthatyou haveyourbasic bomb
{*,,c'' Add
'"'' effect, let's add a little more impact.
ii a compressor, keeping the Attack
at about 1ms and the Release at about
tOms. Drag the Threshold well below
the signal level and keep the Ratio at
about 4:1. lf your compressor has a
Makeup Gain feature, switch this on, or
manually boost the volume back up.
.j:i: ,. By now you should have a pleasantly
f;,'* explosive bomb sound and be able
.1.j to make it sound near or far away. lf you
want to take things to the next level
there are a number of extra things you
can do, notably adding overdrive or
distortion for serious'oomph'or even a
flanger to create the sound of missiles in
between (bomblinal.mp3 and
bombmissiles.mp3).
reverb on dialogue or sounds for
dramatlc effect.
There are other lnstances where
effects play a slgnificant role in the
sound design itself. For example,the
famous hisslng rattle of the Martian
war machlnes in George PalS
version of HG Wells' The Wat ol the
Worl ds w as created using a tape
delay feeding backonto itself. The
death rays from the same fllm were
made with reversed recordingsof
guitar chords, heavlly reverberated.
We'vealready pointed out that
the voices of DoctorWho's Daleks
were achleved with the use of a ring
modulator. The observant llstener
can hear ring modulatorsall over
classic Docfor ffro eplsodes, and
they're stlll being used in the
retooled version of the show.
Some sounds are almost entlrely
created with run-of-the-mill effects.
It's easy to mimic the extremely
eerie spectral volces from the movie
Poltergelst wilh little more than
reversed reverb. More reverSed echo
effects can be heard when listenlng
closelyto the Tardis materlalislng in
anyeplsode ol Doctor Who.
One of the most etfective sounds
in recentyears came when bounty
hunter Jango Fett sel off his seismic
charges in Star Wars: At'tack ol the
Crones. You can recreate the sound
uslng a comb lilter effect, such as
Ohmygod! trom the CM Studio.
a
> reverb
Reverse reverb
We've already spoken about reverb being used to
generate the impression of real-world physical
spaces (see Delay-verb, p18), but ever since
engineers and producers started creating this
effect artificially, we have developed many new
and creative ways to harness it. One such
technique is reverse reverb.
Put simply, this is a method that flips the
envelope of a reverb signal around. By its very
nature, reverb starts loud and gets quieter, as it is
generated in response to a sound and is designed
to mimic the reflections of this initial sound dying
away. With modern music technology, however,
there are various ways to change this.
One of the most obvious is to simply hit the
reverse button that you'llfind on some reverb
units. This willflip either the impulse response or
rE q The simplest way of generating
/ reverse reverb is to use a reverb unit
I that offers it. We're using Logic's Space
Designer, as it does just that. We place it
on a kick drum here (Klck drum - no
reverb,wav) - it's worth noting that
reverse reverb is an extreme effect that
works best when applied to just one
element of a track.
13 < What if your favourite reverb has no
,,/ additional
reversebutton,oryouwant
I power and control, orjust a
different sound? Either way, take the
un-reversed reverb signal from Step 1 in
our previous walkthrough, remove the
dry signal and render just the reverb as
an audio file - we've done it over eight
bars (Only wet klck reverb.wav).
24 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
the envelope generator on your reverb unit,
creating a swelling effect that can be carefully
timed and matched to your track's tempo.
Another method involves manually recording a
reverb signal and then reversing this recorded
signal, in much the same way as drum sounds or
'q To get the best effect, we make sure
I our reverb is quite loud and powerful
but not overly long. We want it to sound
like it decays almost in time with the
tempo (it should sound like it makes it to
the next kick and then seems to drop out
with the following kick). We then engage
the Reverse button.
1 We reverse the new file on another
/ channel and place it alongsidethe
kick drum channel or other channel to
be affected, then line them up.
Remember that even tiny tolerances can
make a difference, so once we've set the
main position, we use milliseconds of
pre-delay/delay to finish things off.
notes can be recorded, reversed and played
alongside the original sound.
It's also worth remembering that not all
reverse reverb needs to sound unnatural. Even in
some natural spaces, the reflections might take a
while to come back, which can create a similar
kind of rhythmic effect that seems to swell after
the initial sound. The pre-delay function on most
reverb units can generate this kind of effect.
We'll be demonstrating two reverse reverb
techniques below but there are a number of
other methods you can use. For example, you
can generate similar effects by placing a
sidechain-ducking compressor on a reverb bus -
this allows you to use much louder and stronger
reverb settings to generate a powerful effect
without swamping the mix.
5prerd
lin
L,)
end leuel
&
rnstt,t i' ! roE,
\S/
1 Now we reach for the Pre-Delay
/ control, which will generate the
rhythmic element of our reverse reverb.
The best setting depends entirely on the
tempo of the track, the timing of the
effect desired and the reverb setting
you're using, so you'll need to
experiment to find the right length
(Klck drum with reverse reverb.wav).
1 Now we can apply all manner of
/ additional processing. Here we've
used a gate, some bass boost and strong
compression to show how a form of
offbeat bassline can be generated, but
you could remove some bottom end and
add stereo widening to generate a more
atmospheric rhythmic effect (Kickwlth
manually created reverse reyerb.wav).
a
> reverb

Gated reverb
To those of a certain generation, gated reverb
conjures up some pretty maligned aural images
of Phil Collins-style snares and the 8Os horror of a
thousand soft rock ballads and Hollywood action
movie soundtracks.
History willjudge whether or not these were
as bad as they're generally made out to be, but
the fact of the matter is, taken out of the songs
we love to hate, the actual sound of gated reverb
is very powerful and very usable.
The idea is that the reverb has a gate acting on
it, rather than just being allowed to fade
gradually out. The ways of achieving this are
numerous, ranging from the classic technique of
placing a gate on the signal to using a
sidechained gate. Modern equipment even
enables the combined signal to be bounced and
subsequently shaped by hand with an envelope
generator or loaded into a sampler to utilise its
envelope controls.
But why bother? Well, as we've already
pointed out, the gating generates a distinct and
powerful effect. As with sidechaining a reverb
channel, gating the signal allows much louder
and more powerful reverb settings, without the
risk of completely swamping the mix.
Another of the great advantages of gated
reverb effects (which applies, incidentally, to
reverse reverb too) is that unlike regular reverb,
which tails out over the next sound, gating it
imparts a definite end point to the reverb
envelope, which can be timed to become part of
the groove without interfering with the actual Gated reverb has butlook
initial sound. past them and you'll flnd a powerful and usetul effect

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o* For the classic way to achieve gated
1I / reverb, start by insertinq a reverb
onto a channel after the sound you want
to apply it to. Here we want it on the
snare of a kick-snare pattern, so that's
where we insert the plug-in. Hard dance
and trance producers often place it on
the kick drum too (Klck snare dry.wav).
q Now we add a compressor. This isn't
'" essential, but it can be a good way to
thicken the overall sound and give a
stronger and more distinct reverb signal
for the gate to act upon. Next, we insert
our gate - if yours has a Peak or RMS
control, set it to Peak to ensure a fast,
powerful response.
\/ We set the Attack and Release to
fast, the Hold to O and the
Reduction to 10096. Now we tweak the
Threshold and Hold controls untilthe
gate closes exactly when we want it to.
We then tweak the Reductlon amount
and the Release until we get a smoother
ending. For a really full effect, try
another compressor at this point (Kick
snare gated verb - tradltlonal.wav).

4D

s co
O
ffi* *#'3tf
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q uF There are a number of more creative
t ways to get a gated reverb effect,
ft and here we're going to look at one that
allows for lots of easy but exciting
modulation later on. We start by picking
up the previous walkthrough at the start
of Step 2, where we've just added a
compressor after our reverb-heavy
snare drum.
r4h "o. We bounce this signal as an audio '%
# r just
file. Whether you do a whole section 4
dK* or one drum depends entirely on # could use the filter envelope, but we opt
whether you have a simple pregrammed
pattern or something complex. For live
drums, this is very tricky, and often not
worth it! You can now either slice your
loop ahd add it to a sampler, or load the
single hit.
** We use our sampler's envelopes to
'r control the sampled reverb tail. We
for the amplitude envelope as this allows
us to modulate the length with
automation. We could also use the MlDl
note length, but this makes real-time
modulation harder (Kick snare gated -
sampler method.wav).

26 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL

 reverb <

Ducked reverb
Reverb is an essential process used on a whole
range of sounds in production work, but when
your track is in need of a particularly long reverb
effect, you'll need to take extra care to make sure
the sound works in the context of the track.
Long reverbs can render even the best ideas a
soupy mess, and this is particularly true if you're
trying to create a big, atmospheric effect. But you
needn't immediately reach for the reverb length
dial within your plug-in of choice to start curbing
how long your reverbs will stick around, as there
are other ways to tame those long tails.
One neat method is to put a compressor
plug-in after your reverb. Rather than leaving it to
function in its own, normal way, however, the
trick is to send the dry sound (that is, the one
you're about to add reverb to) as a sidechain
source to the compressor.
For example, if you're adding reverb to a vocal
part, you send the audio channel that your vocal
is sitting on to a compressor, which is in turn
inserted into the auxiliary channel after your
reverb. Then you carefully tweak the
compressor's settings so that its effect is
lessened dramatically while the vocal part is
sounding. This in turn means that the level of the
reverb will drop.
ln the gaps between vocal phrases, the
sidechain source won't have anything to monitor,
so the compressor will recover, bringing up the
level of the reverb with it and nicely filling in the
gaps between phrases. This is called ducking,
and while it's not always applied to reverb, it can
be very effective when used this way. lf this
sounds slightly confusing, it'll all become clear if The 8Os revlval mlght be ln tull fow but there's no need
you follow along with our walkthrough below. to mask your vocals wlth too much reverb

I/ We place Logic's Compressor plug-in

'l /\
We start with a dry Apple LooP as
our vocal part and surround this
with atmosphere and texture - a spacey
pad, a bubbling bassline and a quiet
synth sequence - to which we add delay.
All elements apart from the vocal are
awash with reverb, so the vocal sounds
much too dry at the moment (t Ducked
Reverb start.mp3).
1
r'
We add a long, bright reverb to the
vocal sound, using the Lexicon
Vintage Plate. We set the Reverb Tlme
to 5s to create a long, ethereal tail. The
effect also contains echoes, which we
clock to the tempo of the track. lt sounds
pretty atmospheric, if a little
overwhelming (2 Vocal Reverb.mp3).
in the auxiliary channel after the
reverb. This actually makes the problem
worse, as the compressor flattens the
reverbs dynamics, slightly bringing up
the level as the reverb decays. You can
hear this most prominently on the
vocal's brightest f requencies
(3 Reverb Compresslon.mp3).

a u The final tweak is to stop the reverb

/1
We send Audiol,the vocal channel,
to the compressor plug-in as a
sidechain source. This means that the
compressor isn't'listening' to the reverb
as its input source any more but to the
dry vocal instead, meaning that gain
reduction is applied according to the
envelope of the vocal whenever it plays
(4 SC Compresslon.mp3).
This drops the level of the reverb
r' dramatically during the vocal
phrases but allows the compressor to
recover (and therefore the reverb level
to come up) in the gaps between
phrases. We accentuate the effect by
increasing the compressor's Ratlo and
dropping the Threshold f urther (5 Hlgh
Ratlo, Low Thresh.mp3).
/ 'rushing in' in the gaps between
phrases to quite this extent. We increase
the compressor's Release time to
78oms so that recovery from the
compressed signaltakes a little over
three-quarters of a second. The benefit
is heard most prominently after the last
note (6 Compress Release.mp3).

COMPUTER MUSIC S,PEC'AL / 27

ln an age where technology allows us to tweak every note
to perfection, it seems we still can't deny the enduring
appeal of a dirtied-up, distorted sound
1
/
lt does seem strange that the very same
audiophile engineers that spout platltudes
about the purest preamps and most
meticulous riricrophone techniques wlll wax
long (and longlngly) over the subtleties of
tape saturation and the'warmth'of tube
dlstortion. Yet that they do, and they are
willing to shell out blg bucks to acqulre the
merest hint of the acoustlc fairy dust
attributed to some crusty old outboard device.
Battered old Telefunken tube mics and
decrepit Fairchild compressors are fetching
prices on the secondhand market that one would
expect to pay for a new car. Some engineers
28 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
swear that they will only record to tape, and are
happy to pay the price to maintain their massive
reel-to-reel recorders. So just what is the magical
mojo that's imbued by these golden oldies?
ln a word, distortion. Well, there's a little more
to it than that, but not much. lt's all about the way
that old equipment distorts the signal. Whether
it's because we have grown accustomed to
hearing so much music recorded with it over the
years, or because it really does provide a more
ear-pleasing experience, we cannot say. The fact
remains that we clamour to achieve these
ever-so-slightly iompromised recordings, even
as we pound the pulpit of purity and fidelity.
Guitarists, of course, are particularly
susceptible - it goes without saying that power
(chord)-hungry plank spankers know their
distortion and can tell you which amps provide
the warmest tones and which fuzzboxes pack the
most wallop. But these six-stringed shooters are
joined (though they may shudder at the thought)
by the modern synthesist - weaned on a steady
diet of squelchy, screaming TB-3O3 basslines
pumped through sundry stomp boxes and
having no fear of bitcrushing, brain-bashing
sample manipulation, today's keyboardist is just
as likely to see distortion as an integral part of
their instrument's signal path.
 distortion <

Overdrive and clipping

The various forms of distortion can lead to some
confusion, and many musicians, engineers and
producers use the terms'overdrive','distortion'
and 'clipping' interchangeably, though they may
also be used to describe very ditferent
characteristics, as we'll discuss now
To better understand, let's first get an idea of
how a signal might be distorted. lmagine that you
are recording a sine wave through your mixer or
some other bit of studio equipment. A clean
recording will result in a proper sine wave when
played back. lf you zoomed in on its waveform,
you d see the familiar sideways'S'shape
repeated over and over. Now imagine that you
applied too much gain before recording. The top
and bottom of that waveform would be 'squared
off'or'clipped', and you d have a sound with
added upper harmonics that were not present in
the original signal. This effect is the basis for
many types of distortion.
Different types of circuits produce different lf you want to capture the
types of distortion. There is a clear ditference vlntage sound ofon€ of
between, say, tube distortion and that produced these,you need lookno
by transistor-based equipment. Tube (or valve) further than your own
plug-ln foldel
distortion is often called'overdrive', though this
term could be used to describe any overdriven
circuit. Tube distortion tends to subtly compress will have on the signal. Tape can handle a lot of are some forms of digital distortion that can be
and add lower harmonics to the signal, resulting level. lf you hit tape too hard, it'll distort a bit and quite useful, however; take, for instance, the
in a characteristically'warm' sound. Transistor even reduce the dynamic level. This is known as harsh, gritty sound of ancient 8-bit samplers.
clipping, on the other hand, adds odd, higher 'tape saturation', and it's particularly etfective These instruments played an important role in
harmonics without compression, resulting in a when recording drums, whether real, synthesised the evolution of hip-hop and other forms of
harsher, grittier tone. or sampled. Drums have very short, powerful electronic music, and many musicians and
attack transients. When these transients hit the producers seek to recreate that sound today. As a
Tape saturation tape, they distort quite a lot, but very briefly. Also, result, there are a number of bitcrushing effects
It was clear from the get-go that digital recording anything beyond the level that the tape can available, and many software instruments
was a superior medium to analogue tape. Given a handle is compressed, and some harmonics (especially those designed for rhythm) include
high enough resolution, digital recordings suffer might be added. lf it's handled with care we won't some sort of bit-reduction effect.
from virtually no artefacts, increased dynamic perceive this as clipping or distortion, but the The proliferation of distortion devices means
range and little noise. What you record is what drums will sound more powerful. most common parameters will only scratch the
you hear. Such fidelity came as a shock to many surface, but you can expect to find gain stages of
tape-based engineers, who quickly came to Digitat distortion some sort on all of them. You may be provided
realise just how important a role tape played in Digital distortion is another thing altogether. with a choice between valve and transistor-based
their recordings. We're not talking about digital clipping here - distortion, and bitcrushers may offer a selectable
See, using tape never was a case of'what you unlike analogue equipment, which, when bit-rate and sample resolution. The variety of
record is what you hear'. With tape, the engineer overdriven can produce an agreeably distorted devices and options is as diverse as the uses to
must take into account the effects that the tape tone, digital clipping is not musical at all. There which you can apply them!

Check out these devastating distortion tools

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fiN@E@ffifiil@eerg EEffiIGE@EMp'o iEE@I@lF@r'."

AmpliTube is lK's name for a
technology applied to a wide range of
products, from bundled freebies to
iPhone apps. All these gadgets have
one thing in common, though: they
provide world-class amplif ier
simulation and distortion etfects
designed with the guitarist in mind.
There's even an optional pedal board
controller. Neat stuff.
www.lkmultlmedla.com
From€t79
Like Amplitube, this is an entire suite of
tools aimed at guitarists. Again, there is
a lot more here than distortions and
amp sims, but there are shedloads of
both. And yeah, there's a hardware foot
pedal controller. The emulations are
top-notch, and we can't imagine that
you d be runnihg out of distortion
options any time soon.
www.natlve-instruments.com
This one may look like a plain Jane, but
it can dole up the most delighfful
digital distortion. You can dial in bit
depths ranging from O.O1 to 32 bits, EQ
is available on both the input and the
output, and there s a drive function to
pump up your signals. You can also
crank the sample rate all the way down
to 5OHz, making this your go-to plug
for urban and chip-tune styles.
meatsclence.net
Togu Audio Line seem to make a habit
of creating awesome analogue
emulations and setting them loose at
no charge, and you've gotta love'em
for that. TAL-Tube, as you will no doubt
have guessed, is a tube saturation
simulator, and with its controls boiled
down to four self-explanatory knobs
and a pair of buttons, it's about as
user-friendly as you're going to get.
kunz.corruptch

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 29

a
> distortion
Bitcrush to brightness
Modern digital production has ushered in an era
of extreme sonic brightness that producers of
yesteryear couldn't possibly have imagined. Part
of this is down to the increased fidelity and
dynamic range of modern equipment, coupled
with the tools to boost frequencies with far more
precision and power than ever before.
The other reason is sonic one-upmanship,
whereby as one track gets brighter, the next has
to at least match it or risk sounding dull by
comparison. The effect on the industry has been
a veritable snowballing of top end as each track
is mixed to stand out from the crowd, and making
the track brighter is an easy and obvious way to
achieve this. And in an era where more people
are mixing more tunes for release, with more
powerful tools than ever before, some of the
more subtle craft of the best mixing engineers
has been shouted down.
1 We have a simple mix, and we want
/ to get our guitar and vocal to stand
1 out a little more without brightening
them too much. We turn to our guitar
first, leaving the vocal until last - as we
want the vocal to cut through
everything, we need to know how the
guitar will sound first (Loop wlthout
dlstortion and blt-crushlng.wav).
t q Nowweturnourattentiontothe l- 1 Thereisalsoawhitenoisegenerator
I I / vocal, and for that we're adding the
rrf, f\ / on TAL-Bitcrusher, which is another
freeplug-in,TAl-BitcrusherfromTogu 13f useful waytogiveedgetoasound,but
Audio Line. The default setting is almost on this vocal channel we will use very
what we're after - it's just a little bit too
strong, so we pull down the dry/wet
balance, allowing just enough wet signal
to make the vocal stand out.
30 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
But among those at the top end of the
profession there is the realisation that brightness
can be taken too far, and that you can't just make
every part in a mix brighter without making the
overall mix much more harsh. Fortunately there
are various other ways to give a channel that
sonic edge that cuts through a mix but which
doesn't necessarily add huge amounts of bright
and harsh top end.
One of the oldest, and the best, is our old
friend distortion, which is of course most
commonly associated with guitar parts. The
distinct harmonics of distortion give these
sounds an edge (subtle or obvious) that sets
them apart from others - and in this age of
technological marvels, digital bitcrushers can
impart a similar edge without producing that
tell-tale thrasher sound. Let's have a look at the
best ways of getting this done...
q q Nextweaddanoverdriveeffectto rh lNowwesimplytweaktheoverdrive
.i /ourguitar.Wedon'twantittobe rd /signal until itaddsalittlesubtlebite,
& very strong, as we aren't after a distorted >)
metal-style sound. Other options here
would include valve-style overdrive
effects, whether as stand-alone plug-ins
or included in another plug, such as
preamp or EQ. These can also add a nice
harmonic edge.
little (if any) as it doesn't sound as
natural. On a snare or other percussive
sound, on the other hand, we d probably
use much more (Loopwlth distortlon
and bit-crushlng.wav).
Bltcrushlng takcs lts lnsplratlon from early dlgltal slde
effects, but lt can be a great mlx effect ln its own rlght
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allowing the guitar to retain most of its
original character but with enough edge
that it makes its presence in the mix
known. We might also consider adding a
tape-emulating plug-in at this point to
remove any digital harshness that may
have crept in.
>Setective
apptication
Using bitcrushing to give sounds
an edge can be great, but there
are certain sounds it doesn't work
as well on- namely, any kind of
prolonged, busy and consistent
sounds, such as reverb signals,
delay signals or very busy synth
riffs with long release times. The
reason is that on isolated sounds,
bitcrushing gives bite and edge,
but when applied on longer
sounds it can sound like what it is:
an old-style low-res digital signal,
with associated squeaking and
artefacts at the top end. lt's great
if you're looking for a lo-fi effect,
but otherwise best avoided.

Saturated leads for maxima[/industrial sounds
Maximal is the new minimal - if you've heard the
latest trend in electro-dubstep from people like
Skrillex, you'll know what we're talking about. So
how can you go about incorporating this type of
sound into your own productions? lf you've tried
adding saturation, distortion and overdrive to
everything but always ended up with a horrible
noise, you'll know how frustrating it can be trying
to get a usable result.
The problem with distortion-based effects is
that they can get out of hand pretty easily,
quickly immolating both the sound you have
been working on and the whole mix and leaving
you with nothing left but a crumpled heap of
burning acoustic embers. But don't worry -
keeping a tight rein on your effects doesn't mean
you have to settle for something softer. Less may
be more, but that doesn't mean that you can't
then have. well. more of it.
ffi ^* Start with a clean, un-distorted bass
$ / sound. This is very important, as if
# the sound has already been processed in
this way, it probably won't withstand
much more. We're using the sample
OverdrivelndustrialOrlg.mp3, which
has been provided by Prime Loops. On
the same channel, add either an
overdrive or distortion unit - the
principles are the same.
q
y' After four or five takes you should
start to hear the sound transforming
dramatically yet steadily. lt's always
worth keeping a copy of each take as
you might get to a point where you've
overdone it, and this will allow you to
undo that quickly - these backups can
also be useful for exploring variations on
your composition.
This may sound confusing, but hopefully the
principle will soon become clear. lt might be
easier to think of it as'little and often'. By
distorting just a little bit and then distorting the
result just a little bit again, you can soon build up
a thick and devastating effect that doesn't have
*", Set the Amount or Wet/Dry control
d to a lowsetting,depending on how
aggressive your particular effect is. A
good approach is to turn the Amount all
the way to the left and then gently bring
the distortion in until you start hearing it
have an audible effect. lf there is a
Dynamics control, set it to 5O%.
q By using your overdrive's f ilter (if it
/ has one built in), you can increase
the intensity and colour of this effect
much further in certain frequencies
without destroying the signal any more
than you need to. Another approach that
you could take would be to use the filter
to add overdrive to the bass, mid and
ireble at different amounts
(OverdrivelndustrlalFlnal.mp3).
distortion <
your speakers and your listeners'ears begging
for mercy. Adding a little more each time allows
the effect to organically build upon itself, rather
than crushing the whole signal all in one go.
It also gives you the option to take sounds in a
multitude of directions. Why not make three
copies of the same audio and take each of them
on its own path, with different amounts of
distortion layered with other effects to add
colour. You d be surprised how different the end
results can be, even though they come from the
exact same source audio.
Building up effects like this might take a little
bit more time than simply dragging on your
favourite saturator, turning it all the way up and
letting it do its damage, but it is definitely worth
the investment as the results are much meatier
and, more importantly, much more usable. So
with sleeves rolled up, let's get to work...
q Next, set a new audio channel to
/ receive the outputfrom the
overdrive channel. Record a couple of
bars and then stop. Repeat this process,
but using the new recording as the
source each time and running that
through the overdrive. You can do this a
number of ways, but one audio channel
with the new sample and overdrive
recorded by another is the easiest
(OverdrivelndustrlalResamp.mp3).
1 Onceyou havean industrial lead
/ sound you're happy with, try
applying the same principle to drums
and even vocals. You'll soon see how
much more control this'little and often'
approach offers, giving you the
confidence to use distortion on all sorts
of sounds that you might never have
been comfortable with before.
COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 3I
l-
> distortion
/r
Clipping is usually undesirable, but if
you only clip the signal so much that
T it's not obviously distorted, you can
retain most of the dynamlcs of the signal
while achieving a considerable volume
boost. This can work especially well on
busses, particularly drum busses. Open
your DAW and put Klcktrack.wav,
Snare track.wav and Highs track.wav
on separate audio tracks.
/1
Camel Crusher has four different
sections: Filter, Distortion,
Compression and Master. We're only
interested in the Master section, so turn
the Distortion and Compression effects
off - the Filter section is already off in the
default settings. Turn the Volume level
in the Master section up to full.
q Saturation adds extra harmonics to a
T / signal, so it's perfect for roughing up
I low-end bass noises such as 8O8 kick
sounds, as we'll demonstrate. First we
drag Long 8o8.wav onto an audio track
in our DAW - we're using Ableton Live.
32/ COMPUTER MUSICSPECIAL
q
Route these three audio tracks to a
d bus - how you do this will depend on
your particular DAW, so if you're unsure,
consult your software s documentation.
Different software uses different
terminology, so try searching for the
term'group'as well as'bus'in your
DAW's manual. ln Cubase, which we're
using here, busses are known as Group
Channel Tracks.
Now for the un part: in the mixer, p
r turntheVolumelevelsof eachofthe lflb q
ffi "*
f No mater how much you boost the
*ft
*-4F drum tracks up to +6d8. lf you keep an fuf exceed
eye on the group bus's Volume level
you'll notice that it doesn't ever peak
over OdB. Thls is because the signal is
being clipped by Camel Crusher. To hear
how this sounds, check out Bussed
Drums.wav on the CD.
q* Live has an excellent built-in
/ saturation effect called, sensibly
enough, Saturator. We turn the Drive up
to l8.3dB to get a healthy overdriven
sound. We can change the shape of the
saturation by clicking the Analog Cllp
dropdown menu. We change it to Hard
Curve for a bigger, beefier sound.
1
Your DAW may have its own clipper
/ plug-in, but we're going to use a
plug-in that will work in any AU or VST
host: Camel Audio's excellent free Camel
Crusher, which you'llfind on the CD. Add
the effect to the bus channel,
r' groupbus'sinputsignals,itwill never
OdB. The only negative side
effect of boosting the input will be that
eventually the bus will distort in an
undesirable manner. You can use any
plug-in with a gain stage to boost the
signal on the group channel too.
a We right-click the Saturator effect
I and select Group, then click the
ShodHlde Chaln LIst button to bring
up the chain list. Finally we right-click
the list and select CreateChaln, then
use the Volume level controls to
balance the saturated and unsaturated
bass noises (Dlstorted Bass.wav).
t-

distortion <

q Distortion can be used in a variety of
/ creative ways to enhance vocals.
T One popular technique is to combine
distortion and filtering or EQ to get a
so-called 'radio voice'effect. We start by
copying the Stralght vocal.wav sample
onto our hard drive, then onto an audio
track in Cubase.
fr, q- We're going to use Cubase's DaTube dra q We activate the low band of Cubase's
S Ftubedistortionplug-in,butanybasic 4 /channelEQandchangeitsmodeto
&* tubedistortioneffectwillgiveyou *S HighPassll.Wesettheband'sQtoO
similar results. We turn the Drlve level and its Cutoff to SOOHz. We activate the
up to IOO% - this might sound like a lot, high band of the EQ and set its Q to O
but it really doesn't make the vocal and Cutoff to SOOOHz This gives us the
sound over-the-top or unintelligible. effect of a small, cheap radio or phone
speaker (Radlo Voace.wav).

Comed: I
a*a'ffi
ffij1:::d-c!'nrrl

s5 t** Overdrive or guitar cabinet effects
/ aren't the only distortion tools you
tr can use to interesting effect. Sample rate
reduction is great for giving bass noises
a vocal quality thanks to the aliasing
effect it imparts to the sound. First we
copy Bass riff.wav onto our hard drive
and onto an audio track in Reaper.
/1
TAL-Bitcrusher (it's on the CD)
is a great lo-fi effect. As well as
sample rate and bit depth reduction, it
includes EQ controls. We won't be
needing these, so we set the Low Shell
and Hlgh Shelt knobs to 12 otlock.
q
We also only want to hear the wet,
/ processed single, so we set the
Dry/Wet knob to IOO%. Now we set the
Samplerate to /ll. On playback we can
hear that the bass noise now has a
videogame-style voice quality (Bit Bass.
wav). This effect works particularly well
on bass noises with a lot of resonance.

r*
r
Making Daft Punk-esque guitar-style
lead noises is easy with distortion
T effects. First we need to get a suitable
synth sound. We load up ZebraCM (on
the CD) in our DAW and turn Oscillator
2's volume (Vol) level down to O. We set
Oscillator 1's voice mode to single and
set the synth's filter Cutofl to l5O.
L
,/
The expressive guitar quality in the
sound comes from some hard sync
modulation. We activate Oscillator I's
Sync mode and set the Sync level to
16.0O and the Envl level to LOO. We've
now got the synth element, but the
sound won't have that guitar quality
until we run it through some distortion.
+-
/
Now we add Camel Crusher to the
ZebraCMchannel. ln the Distortion
panel we turn the Tube knob up to full
and set the Mech level to 12 otlock
(Gultar Synth.wav). For an epic synth
guitar solo feel we can add a synced
delay after the Camel Crusher with a
short delay time and low wet level.

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL 33

a

> distortion

Gentle drum saturation

We've already mentioned that once upon a time,
ihe mere mention of distortion treatments would
immediately bring thoughts of guitar-based
music to mind. Current producers (of all kinds of
music) know that distortion plug-ins can yield
worthwhile and interesting results across a range
of musical material, including Prodigy-esque
driving synths, industrial overdriven bell sounds
and Pink-like vocals, to name just a few.
On drums too, distortion can add flavours
ranging from subtly enhanced to full-on vicious,
but the problem with true distortion plug-ins is
that it's often easy to achieve the latter and
harder to create the former. lf you want a warmer
sound that's still capable of overdrive, saturation
techniques can yield a wider array of results.
Broadly speaking, saturation looks to add the
kind of character associated with overdriving
analogue equipment such as valves, tubes and
vintage tape, rather than digitally adding
harmonic content in the way that digital
distortions often do. What this in turn means is
that saturation is a little more variable - subtle
settings are barely noticeable, whereas more
driven results crunch up in a similar way to
distortion, with a million and one flavours lying in
wait between these two extremes.
ln the following walkthrough, we explore
adding saturation plug-ins to drum parts. What's
clear, on both programmed and multitrack
recorded sessions, is that different instruments
within a drum kit suit individualtreatments. ln
other words, what might work well on a kick
might not translate as effectively to toms or a
snare. This means you'll need to be prepared,
particularly with MlDl programmed parts, to
separate kit pieces out onto individual channels When uslng dlstortlon on drums, be prepar€d to treat
ready to be processed independently. each lndlvldual element ot the klt separately

1
/
We start with a programmed drum
groove, created using FXpansion's
1 BFD2. The native ambience helps add
power, but there's no real grit in the
sound yet. As the drums form the
foundation of any track, we want to
address these first (l Drum start.mp3).
1
/
We click on BFD2 s master channel
output in its Mixer page, and this
launches its four effects slots. We're
focusing on the one in the top left-hand
corner, which allows us to activate and
edit Drlve. Having clicked the LED to
power up this section, we turn the Drive
dial up to l2dB (2 Drum Drlve.mp3).
a
/
This works wellfor the hats, crash
and snare but is too much on the
kick and tom parts, which sound
overwhelmed and distorted. We
duplicate the BFD2 track and assign the
kick and toms to this second channel,
keeping everything else on track 1. We
reduce the Drive on the second channel
to il8dB (3 Klck Toms Iess.mp3).

1
/
We add further warmth by inserting
UAs Studer ASOO tape simulator
onto both channels in the first insert slot.
This replicates the famously warm,
smooth sound of drums recorded to
tape. We use a Classic Rock preset on
both channels and also add a Drum Bus
preset to the output channel. The effect
is quite subtle but provides a warmer
character (4 Drums Studer.mp3).
F I/ The toms are still a little distorted, so F 1 To address this, we add Sound Toys'
l+ weduolicatetheseconddrum Ifr / Decaoitatortothetomschannel and
J channeltocreateathird.Weeditthe [.3f tooXtoratreatmentwhichbringsthe
MlDl notes to ensuie that only the toms toms back into alignment with the rest
play back on this new channel and of the kit without adding as much
reduce the Drlve level within BFD to overdriven distortion. We tweak a preset
' l.4ldB. This reduces the distortion but called Dark Drlve, scooping out some
leaves the toms a little too clean and grit while leaving a fairly rasping tone
tonallv isolated (5Tomsclean.mp3). (6TomsDrive.mp3).

34 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL


Vocal saturation
Much is f requently made of the channel strips
employed by top producers to turn a lead vocal
into a sound which integrates well into the mix
they're working on. Most producers have their
own personal favourite EQ, compression,
de-essing and reverb plug-ins, and they often
favour particular brands of delay too, as well as
carefully choosing any other plug-ins designed to
enhance the feel of their lead vocals, such as
Auto-Tune or Melodyne.
All of these plug-ins are essential for achieving
the desired results but they don't always tell the
whole story, particularly for those producers who
prefer a more aggressive lead sound. Some vocal
treatments seem almost to blur the lines
between a vocal sound and that of a lead guitar
as they'll integrate distortion and saturation
effects, using similar effects chains to those
favoured by guitarists.
{r/ We start with a dry lead vocal
"T imported from the Apple Loops
library, accompanying an aggressive
fi
track made up of a drum loop from
Stylus RMX, a squelchy synth line from
Omnisphere and a bouncy bass part
f rom Trilian. The vocal isn't quite
matching the aggression of the other
instruments at the moment (l Vocal
Saturation start.mp3).
q This sonic treatment works well, but
J it's too extreme. To counter this we
move the effect across to an auxiliary so
that we can dial in as much as we like,
making sure we set the DryMet balance
to 1OO% wet. The send f rom the lead
vocal channel and the volume of the aux
return now determine how much of this
effect we hear (4 Auxlllary Anger.mp3).
warm up vocals or make then full-on aggressiw with the
help ofdFtortlon and saturation plug-lns
".- To increase the vocal s toughness
/ and give it more of a retro vibe, we
insert the UAD Studer ASOO to impart
some tape{ike analogue warmth. Next
we select a vocal preset and, after
setting generous input and output
levels, drive the sound 'to tape' hard in
order to bring a saturated edge to the
vocal (2 Tape Saturatlon.mp3).
q We set up another auxiliary channel
/- and open Native lnstruments'Guitar
Rig 4. We're looking for an overdriven,
metallic sound, so we send plenty of
level from the vocal to this auxiliary.
After flicking through some options we
settle on the BIg Monster preset, which
provides the additional drive we're after,
as well as some stereo-enhancing delay
(5 Big Monster.mp3).
distortion <
Pink is one example of an artist whose vocal
tracks are regularly beefed up with these kinds of
effects treatments, and the benefits are clear: the
result is a vocal with more grit, power and sheer
attitude. Such tricks are also employed by
pop/rock bands such as Linkin Park, where a
sung hook line will often feature some distortion
mixed in with the dry vocal to ensure that the
sonic 'gap' between the overdriven sound of the
band and the otherwise dry vocal isn't too large
and out of context.
As you'll discover when you follow the
walkthrough below applying effects to add this
kind of character can be hugely effective. lt's up
to you whether you favour subtle flavouring of a
lead vocal or full-on sonic annihilation -
sometimes, setting up the latter and then
tempering the volume can provide a useful 'best
of both worlds' scenario.
q Now we set up Sound Toys'
r' Decapitator plug-in. We select a
preset called AngryVox, which
overdrives the signal harder still. This
brings a huge amount of aggression into
the track and toughens the mix up
considerably, particularly as it adds lots
of frequency content between 1 and
3kHz (3 Angry Vocal.mp3).
a Both of our auxiliary effects are a
/ little too much, so we drop the vocal
channel level by 2dB and drop the level
of the 'metallic'Auxiliary 2 to -8.8dB. We
pan Decapitator's aux return channel
-2O (left) and Guitar Rig's aux return +2O
(right), and send both to the delay on
Auxiliary 1 to smear their effect a little
(6 Saturation Final.mp3).
COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 35
Originally a leftover from the days of analogue synthesisers,
filters have become a staple of music production. Here's the
scoop on these sonic sculpting tools
1
/
Like many of today's processing must-
haves, filters as effects used to be a novelty.
Dedicated filter effects were scarce, and early
examples oi their usage as studio eflects
usually involved tapping into the filter section
of an analogue synthesiser such as the
Minimoog or ARP 2600.
It was an unusual gimmick put to good use by
Pete Townshend of The Who, who pumped his
Lowrey organ through his EMS VCS3 to create
the sounds heard in Won't Get Fooled Again.
David Bowie, Brian Eno and producer Tony
Visconti applied a similar treatment to Robert
Fripp's guitar on the Bowie classic Heroes.
36 i COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
While only rarely used as a studio effect,
guitarists had been employing filters all along, if
only as a part of another, more complex effects
chain. The classic wah-wah sound, ubiquitous in
the 197Os, was simply a dynamically controlled
filter coupled with either a pedal or an envelope
follower and shoved into a stompbox.
Still, filters remained a gimmick until they
resurfaced in the 199Os, wrapped around
sampled drum loops. Because most samplers
have all the functions of an analogue synthesiser
built in, it's a doddle to liven up a static drum loop
with a bit of fancy filtering. This sound caught on
in a big way and, riding the wave of retro
fetishism attached to vintage synthesisers, filters
became a de-facto production tool for house and
DnB producers who used them to get more
mileage from their breakbeat and disco samples.
Manufacturers soon began trundling out
dedicated filter boxes and plug-ins by the ton -
current artists whose work relies heavily on
filters include Deadmau5 and High Contrast.
What makes the filter so appealing? Well, as
we've suggested, it can liven up otherwise lifeless
or repetitive sounds. Much of today's production
is based on samples, and samples on their own
can be a bit dull. Throwing in a modulated filter
can add a sense of movement to the proceedings
I

filters <

as it sweeps through the signal's frequencies,

emphasising others along the way.
Of course, that's just one of the tricks you can
perform. To get a better idea of what filters can
do, you'll need to learn a bit more about them.

On the down low

So what makes a filter a filter? We probably don't
need to tell you that a filter works by removing
selected frequencies from a sound. The most
common type is the low-pass filter, which, as the
name suggests, allows low frequencies to pass
through while blocking the highs. Just which
frequencies are filtered out is usually determined
by a user-definable cutoff parameter. ln addition
to this, most low-pass filters will offer a resonance
control. Also known as'emphasis' or'Q',
resonance provides a boost at the selected cutoff
value. Some resonance controls can be cranked
high enough that they self-oscillate, producing a
sine wave, the pitch of which is determined by
the cutoff setting.
This combination of low-pass filtering and
resonance is responsible for a great many
familiar sounds, ranging from the Kraftwerkian
'thwip'to the ever-popular quacking wah-wah.
On its own, a suitably endowed resonant filter
can produce all sorts of other-worldly whistling
effects, even without a signal running through it,
a capability historically put to great use by Jean
Michel Jarre and Pink Floyd's Rick Wright.
Join the band(width)
Though the low-pass filter is by far the most
common, there are a few other types that you
may run into as well. A high-pass filter performs
the exact opposite function of a low-pass,
allowing high frequencies to squeeze through
while blocking the lows.
Band-pass filters lie somewhere between the
two (and in fact can be made by using low and
high-pass filters in series), allowing a narrow
range of frequencies through while filtering out
the stuff above and below the selected
frequency. Notch filters do the opposite, allowing
everything above and below the selected
frequency to get through.
The4-poleor24dBlllter hasa more precisecutoff slopethanthestandard l2-pole. Robert Moogl famous 4-pole ls,
quite rightly,the most beloved fllter€verconcelved,and ls stlll being copied tothlsday
There are other, more esoteric filters out there,
such as all-pass or comb filters, but you are far
less likely to find these in standalone packages. ln
fact, most dedicated filters combine filter types -
these are referred to as multimode or state
variable filters. Still others combine filters with
dedicated gate sequencers, envelope generators
or LFOs to provide a range of dynamic or
synchronised f ilter effects.
You may have seen filters that have been
designated as 4-pole or 24dB filters. This
distinction describes the cutoff slope of the filter
- in other words, it describes exactly how precise
the filter is, and how much of the signal
immediately surrounding the cutoff frequency
will be allowed through. A 24dB filter has a more
precise, sharper cutoff than a 12dB (or 2-pole)
filter. The famous Moog ladder filter is a 4-pole
design, while Oberheim's SEM called upon a 12dB
circuit. Roland's famous TB-3O3 Bassline
employed an unusual 18dB filter design to shape
its unique, squelchy timbres.
After poring over the descriptions presented
here, you may be thinking that filters very much
resemble equalisers - and you'd be right. lndeed,
an equaliser is fully capable of performing similar
duties. Shelving EQs can be seen as low- or
high-pass filters that can be boosted as well as
attenuated, and it's perfectly possible to press
some EQs into the same squelchy territory as a
resonant filter, though the parameters and
process might be slightly different depending on
the EQ itself. Likewise, you can use one or more
filters as an equaliser.
From basic engineering tasks to cutting-edge
electronic music productions, filters have
become a mainstay of modern music. Chances
are that your DAW already has one or two of
them among its bundled effects, and there are
plenty more to choose from, both commercially
and freely available. Next time you're mixing a
drum loop or guitar track, drop one into a track
insert and have a play. lt could open up a whole
new bag of tricks.

Check out these fabulous filters

'r :: .'li]
o .a-'
6
o, ,q
lffhi.l
i'tdtF
.r al

d}*4.', 4ir
tr'

WIg?S i!!!flffirr*e 8lE@SEEf,l*ro

Sugar Bytes' appropriately named
WOW will leave you saying exactly that.
A combination of traditional filtering
with the addition of formant filtering
(which is used to create vocal-like
vowel sounds), this little red devil is a
real knockout.
www.sugar-bytes.com
Togu Audio Line have made it their
mission to provide professional-quality
effects for musicians on a tight budget.
TAL-Filter looks deceptively simple, but
the reserved GUI hides a highly flexible
multimode filter with overdrive,
dynamic panning and more. lt's all
designed to sync up with the host
DAW s tempo, rnaking it a cinch to whip
up rhythmic modulations.
kunz.colrupt.ch
Do it the old-school way! Many vintage
synthesiser emulations can be opened
as effects plug-ins, allowing you to
route your tracks through their filter
sections. XILS 3 was inspired by the
EMS VCS3, just like the one Brian Eno
used to process his bandmates'
instruments in Roxy Music.
www.xlls-lab.com
An oldie but definitely a goodie, Ohm
Force's Frohmage is a free serving of
creamy filtering with a potent punch
that's sure to leave you gasping for air.
The controls are pretty cryptic, but
that's part of the fun - discovering new
and unusual timbres. The same
company is behind cms own
Ohmygod! comb filter, which is also
well worth checking out.
www.ohmforce.com

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 37

a
> filters
Sample cleaning with filters
One of the main characteristics of modern music
production of nearly every genre the
is
prevalence of samples. Whether it's a drum
sound, a vocal, a synth note, or anything else at
all, a huge amount of the sounds we use have
been played through a sampler.
Outside the production world, the term
'sample'still has unfair connotations of stealing
somebody else's work, but the prevalence of
sample collections and multisampled
instruments has made a nonsense of this for
those in the know. Admittedly, however, taking
sounds from a finished track or complete loops
from a collection does impart a rich sonic
character that often can't be achieved by
sampling an instrument alone.
The problem is that all of the things that make
these types of samples so rich and worthwhile
can also make them quite messy. Often they
"e
**
'
We start by adding our sample
(DIrty klck.wav) to our sampler and
e drawing in a sequence of MlDl notes
(usually on each beat) triggering the
sample. We set this MlDl part to loop so
we can concentrate on getting the
sound right. lt has an offbeat hi-hat and
noise that we want to eliminate.
ru* Now we juggle the Cutoff and
F envelope controls carefully until we
get the best balance between the crack
of the sample start and a clean tail. You
can enhance the crack by setting the
compressor's Attack to allow the
transient through before attenuating the
signal. We also try a few different filter
types:6dB for a looser feel,24dB for
surgical precision.
38 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
^
either come loaded with
sonic'mess'(such as a
reverbtail, delay,
ambient noise or pad)
or an actual percussive
sound layered over
them. There are two
reasons why we might
want to get rid of this
type of sonic baggage.
First, because it is out of
time or out of key with Samples trom old vlnyl can add warmth and character to electronlc productlons
the rest of our track.
Second, because it makes the sample sound very odd, unnatural and jarring, and in the case of
obviously like it is taken from a loop and sounds things like kick drum tails, shortening them can
odd in the context of our new loop or riff. utterly ruin the character of the sound, turning a
You might think the first type of problem, the rich, booming kick into a short, thin and artificial
aforementioned 'sonic mess', could be solved by popping sound. ln any case, the first port of call is
simply shortening the sample. But this can be the same - an envelope-controlled filter.
\s We add a low-pass filter to our signal. ,**o We connect our filter to an envelope
4r' and set the amount it affects the
At first we want to keep the
Resonance control right down, and then filter - this procedure varies from one
sweep the Cutofl frequency down until plug-in to the next. Now our filter will not
we hear those sounds we don't want immediately go to the prescribed
later in the sample disappear. We'll also Cutoff; rather, how quickly it goes from
lose the bits at the start that we do want, fully open to the Cutoff is defined by the
but don't worry - we'll tackle that next. envelope. We now tweak our Decay until
the crack of the sample start cuts
through before the filter closes.
for using on a sound that has an
unwanted kick drum underlying it
but in which you want to have
some bass at the start of
Sometimes, to completely get rid of
/'- the sounds you don't want later in
playback. Of course, you could
also flip the envelope's action and
the sample, you have to lower the
instead have a sound in which the
frequency so far that it hampers the
punch and affects desired frequencies at bass builds as the sample plays
back for a'whoomph' effect.
the start of the sample. lf you find that
you're having this problem, try applying
a little Resonance to generate a bit of
emphasis at the initial cutoff frequency
(Cl€aned klck.wav).
t-
Modulated fi[ters
Throughout this cm Speciat we've looked at all
the main types of effects on offer, and we've seen
thern being employed for a variety of reasons.
There are the types of effects that you use to
compensate for the limits of recorded sound.
There are the types that you employ to enrich
sounds, pull them together and generally make
them more lush and appealing. And then, of
course, there are the ones you use because they
just sound awesome.
EQing purposes aside, filters have generally
fallen into this latter category. Of course, the
basic filter sound is largely based on real'world
sonic phenomena - for example, the sound of
walking into a bar from the outside can be
generated by a low-pass{ilter, even down to the
.l q
/
The number of bonkers and creative
uses for modulated filtering is
incalculable, and in most cases it's as
* them together. You can also apply a
simple as adding a filter with modulation
options, such as PSP Audioware's N20,
and strolling through the presets. We
insert the latter on a bounced reverb
signal (Only wet klck reverb.wav) from
the disc.
t q lf there's one overall lesson
T d emerging from these tutorials, it's
that there are many ways to achieve a
H
given goal. Some are better suited to
certain situations, some have slightly
different results, and some just help to
stave off creative stagnation. Let's return
to Step 1 in our walkthrough above,
removing the filter and applying a more
conventional envelope-equipped f ilter.
effect of a door opening and closing again, and
the very nature of spoken communication relies
on the formant filtering of the human mouth.
+** Playing these back against the
"t' original signal (Kickdrum-no
reverb.wav), we can hear the kind of
drarnatic and exciting effect modulated
filters can have. lf your unit has a wet/
dry balance, that's great - ours doesn't,
so we now render the filtered version of
our reverb and introduce a little of it to
the original.
\d We play back our kick and reverb,
and using the filter's envelope on the
reverb channel, we create a slope so the
filter opens slowly. This creates a
whooshing effect that is similar to
reverse reverb in the sense that it builds
in the frequency spectrum, but which,
unlike reverse reverb, is actually
diminishing in power and volume.
filters <
So there are some imitative reasons to employ
filters. But let's be honest, the vast majority of the
times we use filters, it isn't to imitate natural
effects or compensate for recording frailties, it's
for the opposite reason - because they sound
unnaturally cool and, at times, quite mental.
Beyond the basic filter sweep and resonance
control, there are much more creative and, to be
frank, bonkers ways to use filters. They can be
used to craft riffs, to generate exciting
modulations in a part and to generally create all
manner of sonic fun. But it's not all crazy
experimentation - as you'll hear when you follow
our walkthroughs, these techniques can also
have the added side-effect of tightening things
up and thereby creating more space in a mix.
q
/ We route both the rendered reverb
and the rendered filtered reverb to a
bus and apply some compression to pull
subtle panner to either or both if you
want to create even more interest. The
point is that we've used an ostensibly
extreme effect to give subtle variations
and interest to a reverb signal (Klck wlth
extreme f llter-verb.wav).
** ln much the same way as we might
-' place another compressor after a
ducking compressor to thicken the
result without smearing it, we add a
compressor after this effect to really
enhance the power of it. From there it's
simply a matter of tweaking the relative
levels (Kick wlth enveloped reverse'
style reverb.wav) - and, of course,
trying the technique on other parts!
COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 39
> filters

\r Self-oscillating filter effects enable % Becareful withthesekindsof effects, {q \ Let'screateasimpleriseeffectthat

ru youtocreateyourown sound
5 effects without using virtual instruments
or pre-existing audio, and are great fun
because it's easy to have them sweep
over a wide pitch range without lots of
time-consuming MlDl programming. All
you need is a filter capable of
self-oscillation. We're using Cubase's
Tonic, so we create an audio track in
Cubase and add Tonic as an insert effect.
g ',*s because they can create extremely r{
dil* loud and piercing noises that could be *-J
ear- and kit-threatening if played too
loudly! We turn the resonance (Res) up
to 10096, and sweep the Cutoff knob
around. We quickly hear the filter start to
self-oscillate and create a piercing tone.
To stop the effect, we turn off or bypass
the effect or turn the Res knob down.
r- goes from a low to a high frequency,
We set the Res knob to 0096, activate
the Tonic's R and W (read and write)
automation buttons, and press Play on
the transport bar. We turn the Res up to
10096 and sweep the Cutoff knob. When
we're done, we press Stop and turn the
Res knob down again.

q We deactivate the W button,
/ right-click the audio track and select
Show Used Automation (Selected
Tracks). Two automation lanes will
appear: Tonlc - Resonance and Tonic -
Cutotf. We're going to use these two
automated parameters to create a
sequenced effect. We start by editing
the resonance curve so that it starts on
zero, then jumps to full for four bars,
then jumps back to zero.
u, We edit the cutoff curve so that it
r starts at the minimum possible value
and rises to the maximum possible
value, then play the sequence back. lt
takes a while for the self-oscillation to
kick in - it only becomes apparent when
the cutoff level reaches about 2kHz. This
is not ideal.
1, We can remedy the situation by
/ stimulating the filter a bit more at the
start of the sequence. We create a rapid
peak at the very start as shown, so the
cutoff quickly falls from the max value to
the minimum over a quarter-beat. This
gets the filter self-oscillating right away -
it also creates a zap at the start of the
sound, but we can deal with that later.

ry q/ We've now got a basic riser effect ffi q We could also do with some reverb. JlqL 1 To do away with the zap at the start
S that goes from very low to very high, fud .- We add Roomworks after the / of thesound,wecanautomatethe
kJ track's
f butitsalittledullwithoutany
processing. To fix this we add a
fup PingPongDelay,andselecttheHall J volume level to be silent at the
Arena preset. To tame the lows and quickly
start of the sweep and rise up to
PingPongDelay after the Tonic. Selecting highs slightly, we use low- and high-pass normal volume after the zap occurs.
the Guitar Solo preset quickly gives us a filters on Cubase's channel EQ to Simply attempting to automate the
suitable sound. attenuate the 2OOHz and 8kHz regions. bypass won't work, because the
self-oscillation won't happen unless the
effect is active. Listen to Fllter Rlse.wav
on the CD to hear our finished effect.

40 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL


tq 'r Clocking LFO speeds to filter
/ settings within your programmed
f; parts can create drama and free up mix
H
space, as we'll demonstrate with this
backing track (t Clocked LFOsstart.
mp3). The bassline, pad, sequence and
one of the lead lines are from Logic's ES2
synth, the two beat loops and conga are
from Stylus RMX, the sequence line is
from Omnisphere, and the duplicated
lead part is from LinPlug's MorphoX.
q On Auxiliary 5, we set-up SoundToys'
F FilterFreak and select a preset called
One-Bar Crosslng. We tweak the twin
Cutolf frequencies so that the sound
drops in frequency through a bar,
starting as a high-pass filter and gaining
lower frequencies as it drops (4Conga
and FX Loop filter.mp3).
.a* The bass sound is too predictable
/ and muted, but it's important we
don't go too crazy here as this is the
sound that's underpinning the whole
track. We route LFO2 into the filter
section of the ES2 again, setting a gentle
amount of this effect and setting 1/2
(half-notes) as the clock speed. This
gives the bass a more aggressive,
spitting sound (7 Bass LFO.mp3).
q The mix is too busy and predictable
/ atthe moment,so we address this by
opening the pad sound in the ES2 and
routing LFO2 to the filter. We use a
ramping wave and set LFO2'S Rate to 4
bars so that the sound's tone rises and
falls gently. ln the clip you can hear this
with just the other synths first, then with
all instruments (2 LFO Pad.mp3).
gF u* Next we open the E52's sequence
E-qb ." part, which is producing regular
*#F we
16th-notes. This is too predictable, so
the
insert Logic s Autofilter and turn up
Cutoff Mod slider from the LFO section.
We clock this to eighth-notes and select
a random output square wave as the
waveform shape. We then adjust the
Cutofl, Resonance and Distortion
output (5 Sequence Filter.mp3).
.o Finally we tackle the second
/ sequence part, from Omnisphere.
This sound's filter gently closes through
each bar but we want to exaggerate that
effect, so we open Logic's Autofilter
again, choosing a downwards ramp
shape in the LFO section. We apply this
via the Modulation slider and set the
iutoff and Resonance to taste
(8 Sequence 2 filter.mp3).
filters <
q Nextwetacklethetwoadditional
/ loops which accompany the main
drum loop. These are a conga loop and
another effects loop which comes into
the mix for the second half only. So that
we can treat these as one, we route them
both to their own auxiliary (Aux 5)
(3 Conga and FX Loop routing.mp3).
# q This works well but is still too
#qk r- predictable, so we repeat the trick
fu6p from Step 2, routing the ES2's LFO2 into
the cutoff frequency of the filter section,
using a ramping wave. This opens and
closes the brightness of the sound,
giving the Autofilter a different range of
frequencies to randomly modify as per
Step 5 (6 Sequence Ramp.mp3).
a* Here's the final mix. There's much
l* more room overall now as so many
sounds change either subtly or
dramatically through the mix. This
makes the lead sound more prominent,
in particular, despite no volume changes
having occurred through our edits (9
FlnalMix.mp3).
COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 4I
> fifters

Filter envelopes
As you probably know the envelope section of a
iynthesiser designed to help you shape the
is
way in which a sound changes over time. lt's
easiest to think about envelopes as they relate to
volume, and to imagine a couple of examples
illustrating how these can change from one
instrument to another.
A snare drum, for instance, makes a noise as
soon as you hit it and then decays quite quickly.
At no point does the volume sustain (remain
constant). An electric organ, on the other hand,
behaves quite differently. lt makes a noise
(attacks) straight away too, but then stays
constant at its maximum volume until you let go
of the note, at which point the sound dies
(releases) straight away.
The attack, decay, sustain and release sections
of an envelope can usually be applied at will
within a synthesiser so that, as well as controlling
volume as described above, you can also shape
pitch or tone over time. ln the case of the latter,
synthesisers can be used to create sounds that
start brightly and become duller through their
duration, or do the opposite to produce a sound
whose tone opens up.
The good news is that this kind of envelope
operation isn't exclusive to synthesisers - it also
features in filter plug-ins. So if you're
programming a sound in a synth that doesn't
offer flexible envelope routing, or if you're
wanting to bring a little envelope action to audio
files that didn't originate in synthesisers, you can!
ln this walkthrough we'll use three different
filter plug-ins to help shape the tone quality of
some drum sounds in a pattern we've
programmed. Via some careful tweaking, you'll
hear how the sounds really come to life as each Shaplng drum sounds wlth envelopes ls very etfectlve on
envelope shapes how they behave. electronlc tracks, thls one belng a classlc example

q We start with a programmed kick
T I and snare pattern programmed in
$ Logic! Ultrabeat with the default kit. We
select the snare sound and modify its
amplifier envelope so that the hit sticks
around for 68oms. We modify the shape
too, so that the fade through this decay
is volume-heavy. The result is a long
blast of sound (l FIIter Env start.mp3).
q We duplicate this track and edit to
/ leave the kick on track 1 and the
snare on track 2. We insert Logic's
AutoFilter on the snare and turn up the
Cutoff Mod slider. We set an immediate
Attack, a Decay of 344ms, a Sustain of
22%anda Release of ll6ms, and set
Cutoff, Resonance and Fatness to taste
(2 Snare Envelope.mp3).
q We program a clap part, which is
r actually a combination of three
separate clap sounds playing back
together. We add Logic's EnVerb to these
hits, which again extends their amplifier
envelope - the sound plays back as a
block before shutting off suddenly. We
then decrease the reverb density to
produce a lo{i effect (3 Lo Fi Clap.mp3).

q We set up SoundToys'FilterFreak 2
I as an insert on the clap part after
EnVerb. We search through the presets
in the Envelope sub-menu and select
SquldgeTonlc. This opens the filter up
through each clap's duration, so that
unlike the snare, which gets duller, each
clap sound gets brighter as it plays
(4 Fllter Clap.mp3).
ffi q We add a loop from Stylus RMX,
6g%. / whichconsistsof hatandadry
*-*dp snare/rimshot. We insert the UAD Moog
Filter and select a band-pass filter. We
select -3 as the Envelope amount, which
produces a temporary dip in the cutoff
. frequency for every snare hit that
recovers to a brighter sound for the
hi-hati. This gives the snare a fluid
sound (5 Filter Loop.mp3).
dF q Have a listen to our final mix, with all
&t / thepartsplayingtogether(6Flnal
fup tUix.mpl). As the prominent
effect of each
envelope is most on beats 2
and 4, there's a lot of movement at those
moments in each bar, helping to prevent
any of the drum parts from becoming
too obvious or repetitive.

42 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL

 uuu

e
Il'
i-.
i*t,
fr*i.
h';$
ON THE CD
\\#
II
All the files you @d to
follow the walKhroughs
*!! tr) are in the Tulorlal fles/
ildolation fdder

Modulation effects account for some of the most

favoured processors in our studios, and for good reosort:
they're a lot of fun! Let's take a look...

1
/
lt was once a strongly held opinion that
there were onlyfourtypes of effects
processors. There were those that affect
frequency, those that affect time, those that
affect amplitude, and those that distort the
signal - and this last category could easily fall
underthe first. lndeed, a brief look atjust
about any effect reveals that it applies one or
more of these particular processes.
What makes an effect stand out is how these
processes are modulated. For instance, a delay
line can easily become much more than a simple
echo if the pitch and time of the echoes are
modulated by an LFO. ln that event, you can
create choruses, flangers and other classic
modulation effects. Even a typical algorithmic
reverb is created by combining multiple delays,
f requencies and level manipulation.
Some effects processors are more commonly
associated with modulation than others. The
aforementioned chorus is closely related to
phasers and flangers, and this is why we've
grouped them together under this single subject
header. Modulation is obviously used in many
other processes such as tremolo and vibrato, but
those are simpler and more direct than the Big
Three we're looking at. Additionally, there's a lot
of confusion about what makes a chorus
different from a flanger and a phaser different
from a flanger, so these warrant a closer look.
All of these effects are closely associated with
the psychedelic music of the 196Os, though most
of them only came to maturity in the following
decade thanks to technological advances that
allowed them to be mass-produced in
stompboxes and dedicated rack'mounted
effects. lnitially every one of them was a tape-
based mechanical process, and though there will
be a few die-hard retro-fetishists who insist that
they can only be produced using those means,
most musicians and engineers will likely only
ever encounter the pre-fab hardware and

44 .' COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL

 modulation <

software versions. ln today:s productions these
effects tend to feature more subtly - for example,
on particular sections of chopped-up beats or
basslines - but no matter which approach you
take, you'll need to know the difference between
the sound of a flanger and that of a phaser when
you're mixing your next future classic!
Some of the most unusual modulation effects
are those that use one signal (the modulator) to
modulate another (the carrier). The most
common of these is the ring modulator. This
device multiplies the amplidude of the two
incoming signals, producing only the sum and
difference at the output, not the original signals
themselves. A bizarre effect, and good for
clangourous tones, it's probably best known as
the process used to create the voices of the
Daleksin Doctor Who.
Amplitude modulation (AM) does exactly what
its name suggests: the amplitude of an audio
signal is modulated by another signal. lt's similar
to ring modulation, but it contains the original
carrier signal at the output, as well as new
frequencies produced by the modulation. Oddly,
it also contains frequencies not found in either
the carrier or modulator. Again, this is excellent
for clangourous, metallic tones, if you want to
retain some semblance of the original sound.
Finally, there's f requency modulation (FM). FM
is similar to AM, but the frequency of the carrier
is modulated rather than the amplitude,
producing a sound that's rich with additional
harmonics not found in the initial input signals.
Again, we're talking metallic tones as well as wild
and woolly atonal effects.
Flange and phase
The flanger is one of the simplest modulation
effects. lt's created by mixing two identical
signals together, with one of the signals being
delayed by a constantly varying period (typically
less than 2oms). The result is a sort of whooshing
effect as various peaks and valleys are created in
the sonic spectrum. Flanging is also known as
comb filtering due to the comb-like appearance
of this effect.
You don't need to break your back haullng one of these
around ll you have some decent modulatlon effects!
The introduction of flanging is generally
attributed to Beatles engineer Ken Townsend,
who worked with the group at Abbey Road
Studios. Originally, the effect was created by
playing back two copies of the same material on
different decks, and slightly and continuously
adjusting the speed of one of the decks (usually
by pressing on the reel). Today it is made simply
by modulating a delayed signal with an LFO (the
rate of which is also modulated) and then mixing
the processed signal with the original.
Phasing is closely related to flanging, and in
fact the two were initially created the same way:
by playing back two copies of the same material
on two different tape machines. However, the
discrepancies in the two machines'motor speed
would result in the two signals constantly shifting
in and out of phase when the signals were mixed
together. lf you know a little about the physics of
sound, you may already know that waveforms
have both positive and negative phases. lf you
copy a signal, reverse the polarity of the copy and
then play it back in sync to the original, the two
will cancel each other out and you'll get no sound
at all. Engineers are constantly battling phase
issues, and this is why mixing desks often have
phase reversal switches on each channel.
However, if you modulate the playback speed
of the copy by a regular period, you'll get phasing
as various frequencies cancel each other out.
Like flanging, this creates a sweeping effect, but
one that is less dramatic than that of the flanger.
As with the flanger, dedicated portable phasers
proliferated in the 7Os, finding favour with
guitarists like Brian May of Queen. These devices
usually split the signal and then apply one or
more all-pass filters to one copy, resulting in the
desired phase discrepancy. The number of filters
(or stages) affects the complexity of the signal.
Chorus
Like flanging, a classic chorus effect is produced
by mixing the original signal with one or more
pitchshifted copies of that signal. The copy is.
modulated by an LFO. The main difference
between chorus and flanging effects is the length
of the delays between the original and effected
signals (choruses have longer delays), the
amount of the processed signal fed back into the
processor (choruses typically have none), and
finally the number of copies produced by the
effect (chorus effects may have two or more).
The idea is to simulate the sound of multiple
instruments playing the same material, with all of
the fluctuations in pitch and timing that we might
expect. We don't hear the voices as being out ol
tune, because the fluctuations are subtle and
mixed with the on-pitch original signal.
As you d expect, the parameters and
functionality of all these effects are quite similar.
You will probably get a rate control for the LFO,
while flangers and phasers may have a feedback
control. Modern phasers often provide a
selectable number of stages, and choruses may
have a stereo spread control. These are
over-the-top effects, and it really pays to know
how to tweak those knobs!

Check out these must-have modulators

$199 for a hundle of 9 cff€.tr

Part of the ever-growing Uhbik
collection, Uhbik-F and Uhbik-P are the
set's flanger and phaser plug-ins
respectively. The flanger models both
tape-based and stompbox-style
flangers and throws in a gorgeous
chorus effect for good measure. The
phaser is no slouch either, providing a
staggering 14, 28 or (gasp!) 42 stages.
www.uhblk,com
@crs
Fazortan combines retro-style
modulation effects with modern
niceties such as dual LFOs, each with
selectable waveforms. You can change
the phase of each LFO, which results in
a more dramatic stereo image. lt's a
fully professional design with scads of
knobs. lt might seem like overkill at
first, but the sound is rich and inspiring
- well worth the meagre asking price.
www.dl6.pl
S@@s6o/$io
Coming from the makers of the
intentionally cryptic Olga synthesiser,
you d expect Oligarc to be entirely
over-the-top - and it is. Oligarc
combines a filter and drive section with
a chorus and a phaser and wraps'em
allaround a kooky modulation section
that converts the incoming audio
signal into control signals that can
drive the other effects.
www.stlllwellaudlorom
Looking very much as if it were
inspired by Eventide Clockworks' 197Os
etfects, this terrific freebie comes is a
wide variety of plug-in formats and
provides a terrif ic-sounding chorus
with a reserved but flexible smattering
of controls. A random mode generates
presets if you're not inclined to set
them up yoursell and both mono and
stereo versions are included.
www.bluecataudio.com

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 45

t-

> modulation

q*
I
Pad sounds really benefit from
ludicious application of the right
re effects, modulation effects in particular
We start out with the nice but fairly dull
and static pad Plain Pad.wav f rom the
CD. We drop this onto an audio track in
Ableton Live and set the sequencer to
loop around it as above.
%'* / Thefirsteffectweapplytothetrack -/ WeaddanotherChorusafterthefirst
# is Chorus, which instantly makes the 4 one to give the sound an even fluffier
& pad smoother and slicker, and gives it a @F feel. lt's interesting to note how much
subtle movement that stops it from stereo width the application of these two
sounding so static. We set the Amount chorus effects imparts to the sound.
to O.63ms and the Rate to 2.55H2. Generally you don't want your pad to
take up too much room in the middle of
the mix, so this is a good thingl

*F e* We add Live's Phaser after the
d * ' - Choruses. This effect won't add any
#F
movement at first because its LFO is
deactivated by default. We set the
Amount knob in the LFO/S&H panel to
8O%. The movement is a little quick, so
we turn the Rate down to O.1OHz.
trs .* Currently the Dry/Wet knob is set to
:"% . lOO%, which means we're only
664$ hearing the wet effect. We turn this
value down to 50% to get an equal mix
of the processed and unprocessed
audio. That's lush! Modulation effects
have given this sound bucketloads of
much-needed movement, but we're not
going to stop there.
#Fs "- We add a Ping Pong Delay after the
F% "' Phaset and turn the Drylwet
6r;F Farameter down to 5096. Delay really
works well with pad sounds, and in this
case it particularly sets off the Phaser s
movement. We turn the Centre
Frequency of the Ping Pong Delay up to
1.8 kHz, and set the Bandwidth to 6.5 to
brighten up the wet signal a little.

.e Next we add a Reverb, setting the
' Decay time to 14.7s and the
Dry/Wet balance to 4O%. The effect this
has on the sound is very interesting -
thanks to the long delay tail we get a
more consistent, almost vocal-like tone
that sits across the stereo panorama.
.q. Pads work well when they're filtered
d in and out. We could simply put a
filter on the end of the effects chain to
do this, but we can get a much more
dramatic effect by putting one at the
start. We add an Auto Filter before the
first Chorus, and try dragging on the
Cutoff/Q X/Y pad to filter the sound in
and out and vary the resonance level.
"-_ For the final touch, we add a Flanger
=F"' effect between the Auto Filter and
the first Chorus. This is pretty intense, so
we turn the Dry/Wet and LFO Amount
down to 5O%. To hear how all these
effects have transformed the sound,
take a listen to Processed Pad.wav.

46 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL

 modulation <

Rhythmic flanging
It's true that the humble flanger is often one of
the first effects you'll encounter in any music
software or DJ equipment, and it's often the most
overused. For some reason, there is something
particularly pleasing to the ear about the
high-pitched frequency-following tone that a
flanger produces, perhaps in no small part due to
the sense of tension it creates.
A simple effect in principle, flanging creates
this added sonic interest by delaying the
incoming signal ever so slightly, which naturally
pricks our attention. People seem to enjoy
hearing things that are slightly offbeat, detuned
or otherwise removed from the usual and the
expected, and flanging takes advantage of this to
create sounds that stick in the listener's mind.
This makes the flanger an excellent option for
using on beats. Drums are obviously key to a
track's tempo and rhythm, so introducing some
ever-so-slightly quirky elements to them can
impart movement and interest at worst, and
downright f unkiness at best! As with all effects,
though, you'll want to go easy on the gas. Heavy
and persistent use of this tool will prove
extremely grating and will have your audience
deserting the dancefloor in droves.
ln this tutorial we'll be using the delayed
nature of the flanger in conjunction with the
already offbeat parts of a drum pattern. ln
combination this creates a third element that is
as rhythmic as it is musical, making it perfect for
tying your drums into the rest of your production
and adding that all importantT'e ne sar's quols. You
might not be used to adding this type of effect to
your drums, as many producers prefer to focus
on keeping drums loud and punchy, but the
rhythmic nature of this flanging technique means Us€flangingtoadd lifeand longevltytoyourdrum
it is ideal for percussion. tracks and keep them constantly evolving

-%_ Create a simple drum loop using
d your DAW's drum machine or
re sampler, or by arranging audio. Aim for a
pattern that's a little more interesting
than a straight backbeat and hi-hats
(check out ModloopOrig.mp3 to hear
ours). Some different percussion
elements in the higher frequencies will
really help this effect along, but leave
some space between them.
** Route all the high-frequency drums,
r such astoms, hi-hats and any
percussion, to their own bus or channel,
and maybe the snare as well, depending
on its timbre. On a send channel, add a
gate and a flanger effect. We're going to
use the gate to turn the flanger on and
off rhythmically.
*\ Set the gate into flip, reverse or
/ inverse mode so that it only lets the
signal through when the audio is below
(yes, below) its Threshold. Feed the
high-frequency drums group to the send
channel and audition the sound. Adjust
the Attack and Release of the gate until
the flanger is heard rhythmically
between drum hits.

q-
-/
Set the flanger to IOO% Wet, with
the Attack at 6ms and the Release
at about 2OOms. Make sure that the
Rate is synced to the project's BPM at
16ths. lf your flanger unit has a Phase
setting, leave this at l8O'and the Offset
at O. For now, lower the flanger! Depth
or Amount to O and leave the Feedback
setting at default.
". When auditioning with the Amount
ts or Depth set low, the flanger will
sound almost fixed at one tone (with no
movement). This will be acting as an
offbeat percussive sound which in itself
can be quite useful, but we want to
create something that moves over time
and adds that vital tension we're looking
for to the drum pattern.
P *.* Nowrecordeightbarsofyourdry
*4b. '* drum loop channel, but keep it
fuf you've
routed to the send channel also. Once
finished recording, loop the
playback and open the automation track
on your send channel. Automate the
flanger Amount between drastic peaks
and gradual climbs to create accents
and evolving offbeat tension
(ModLoopFinal.mp3).

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 47

a
Anirnating vox with modulation
ln this tutorial we'lltake a basic vocal
performance and use modulation plug-ins
controlled with automation (on particular
parameters) to inject it with a bit more life. While
we're focusing on vocals in our demonstration
here, keep in mind that these principles can be
applied to any part of your mix, or even the
whole mix itself!
ln the process, we'll also take the opportunity
to get hands-on with a couple of the more
esoteric modulation processors on the market,
namely Waves Enigma and Waves Mondo-Mod.
So what are these processors, exactly?
Enigma is aptly named, as it's hard to pin down
exactly what it does, and the main 'engine'is not
accessible by the user. The best way to describe it
is as an extreme type of variation on a phaser or
flanger. As we've seen in this cm Special, basic
phasers work by creating a cancellation in
u Here's our full vocal effects chain,
/ beginning with Melodyne and
T ending with a de-esser. We insert
Enigma at position 2 and select the
Swlrly Vocodles preset, which sounds,
as it says in the manual, "like singing
through multiple hosepipes that change
length and swing around your head". We
set a mix level that's sufficient to create a
gentle swirl in the voice.
o* Now we can select the amplitude
/ modulation depth for automation,
using the same process as we did for the
Enigma Mix control in Step 2. We
modulate the volume to create a fast
tremolo effect, which we wind in at the
end of the vocal phrases. As it's the
volume that's changing, we can be quite
extreme without having to worry about
compromising the tuning.
frequency that changes over time as the original
signal is mixed with a delayed version of itself.
This cancellation in frequency is called a notch.
The Enigma engine creates a set of notches, each
of which has a depth control. The centre
frequency of the notches can then be modulated,
q Next we enable the Mlx parameter
/ for automation. (ln Pro Tools, we do
this by holding down Ctrl+AIt+Cmd and
clicking on the Mlx control to enable the
automation lane) Once you have the
controller lane up, draw in the Mlx
automation freehand or using nodes, as
we have here.
/\
We repeat the processfor the pitch
modulation, noting that we need to
keep the depth of modulation much less
than it was for the amplitude, or the note
of the melody becomes a horrible
wobbly noise. Check out our audio
example (vox modulatlon.wav) on the
CD to hear what we came up with.
modulation <
freely or tempo-synced, or even frozen. ln
addition, there's a lo-fi reverb section that
employs two dense delays at different
frequencies, the output of which can be fed back
to the Enigma processor. And if all this sounds
too confusing, you can just mess about with the
settings until it sounds good!
Mondo-Mod is far simpler. lts LFO can control
pitch, volume and pan position, and the great
thing about it is that the phase of each section
can be independently altered. This means the
pitch can rise or fall as the volume increases or
decreases, or as the pan position changes from
left to right.
ln our tutorial we'll be using some extreme
settings to articulate a vocal performance. These
effects would be far too irritating to have on all
the time, but used with discretion they can really
help create unique and memorable moments.
'5 We insert Mondo-Mod at the next
s insert point, but it would be just as
good placed before Enigma - always
experiment with different insert orders,
as the differences can be huge. We set
the Speed of the LFO to x8l, which is
super-fast but not fast enough to
become a frequency oscillator in its own
right. We leave the LFO waveform as a
simple sine and set the Mix to lOO.
>Live performance
These kinds of'spot'effects can
really bring a new dimension to a
recording, but there's no reason
to confine them to recorded work.
lf you're using a laptop or
Receptor-style hardware plug-in
host live, there's no reason why
your vocals can't be routed
through plug-ins, and the
parameters modulated with a
MlDl controller.
An X/Y pad would be great for
a complex, expressive
performance. A Kaoss pad, as
used by 3D from Massive Attack,
has built-in effects for a simpler
solution - you could also use
dubbed-out delays or even
introduce distortions. The
possibilities are endless...
COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 49
t-
> modulation
1/ Let's make some atmospherics out
of a simple guitar part and some
T virtual pedals and plug-ins. We first
insert a pair of virtual pedals - the (pink)
delay helps with getting a floaty sound,
but we're mainly concerned with the
chorus. We enable the Rate control for
automation and create a rhythmical
ramp throughout the part where the rate
climbs and peaks at nearly maximum.
+o Stepping away from our modulation
e- effects for just a moment, we
automate the left and right pan positions
to move from central to extreme left and
right over the course of the piece. Even
on its own, this will have a nice growing,
widening effect, but it will be magnified
as the next effects come into play.
.\- The Metaflange will be wasted if it's
on from the start and remains static,
so once again, we get into some
parameter automation. This time we
automate the Mix parameter, rising
from O% Wetto 50%Wet. lf we went to
1OO% Wet the effect might not be as
dramatic, as there would be no dry
signal for the effect to flange against.
5() / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
** Now we automate the Depth control
/' of the chorus to slowly ramp up as
the piece develops. This will have the
effect of gradually making the rhythmic
ramps more apparent. Hopefully this will
help increase the intensity of the part
and ratchet up the tension.
Next up is a Sound Toys EchoBoy,
r * one of our favourite choices for
n
flexible echoes. We choose the Aloha
Gultar preset, where the delay time is
gently modulated to create a pedal steel,
Hawaiian-type feel. We select the Dual
Echo setting and lengthen the Delay
times to 49Oms on the left and 52oms
on the right. Now that automated
panning starts to have more of an effect.
q Now we'll create a Radiohead-like
I descent into the chaos for the
ending. To do this, we use Sound Toys
PhaseMistress phaser set to the GIass
Reso preset. We almost max out the
Mod Depth and take the Resonance up
to about 7O%. This creates an almost
constant drone that we'll use to make a
cresceindo towards the end.
.- Now we need an amp. We choose
""- Waves'GTR Amp2 Cab2 plug-in and
select the Edgy preamp stage rather
than going for something super-clean.
This will slightly distort the guitar part
with delay effects, making the sound
more harmonically rich and yielding
much more'meat'for the effects further
down the line to get hold of.
To achieve the highly textural effects
"*
r we want, we need layers of
processing. One phaser or flanger can
sound too basic, raw or ham-fisted, so
our next veil of processing is a Waves
Metaflange. This is a straight-ahead,
muscular flanger that does exactly what
it says on the tin and creates a good
old-fashioned jet whoosh.
q Finally, we automate the Mlx
/' parameter as we did with the
Metaflange, and ramp it up so it ends up
at about 7096Wet by the end of the
track. We end up with a simple, repetitive
guitar part that uses the sound itself to
create tension and development. To
hear our results, check out guitar mod
build.wav on the CD.

Like it or not, pitch correction has become part and parcel
of pop production. From utilitarian fixer-upper to ubiquitous
Auto-Tuned gargle, playing with pitch is all the rage
:/ Though the parameters and the
technology that drives them may have
changed and evolved over time, many ofthe
effects featured in this cm Special have been
around for decades. Reverb, delay and
distortion have all been in use since the early
days of the recording studio - but only the
most cutting-edge technological wizardry
could have produced the modern musical
miracle that is pitch correction.
The idea is pretty simple, even if the execution
is not. The frequencies of incoming signals are
analysed and re-pitched to fit a predetermined
musical scale. Analogue synthesists have been
52 ,,' COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
doing stuff like this for yonks, using gizmos called
quantisers, but these only work with voltages,
not full-on musical waveforms. lt takes some
serious science to pull it off with, say, a vocal
passage, and even more to do it in real time.
And yet software such as Antares Auto-Tune
can do exactly that, examining and nudging
monophonic audio signals lock-step into tune.
When used tastefully, it can save time, and
possibly your track too. Why dismiss a killer
performance if only a note or two wavers? More
to the point, why waste time on another take,
particularly if ybu're working in a pro studio,
where time is money? lf that sounds a little
ry
-ONTHECD
II
AI the filsyoo rc€d to
folof tlE mfldludltrg
#inlhetrbd.lil!./
nidrlol&r
mercenary, then you can see why Auto-Tune has
become the subject of much debate and
controversy. When is the bottom line more
important than artistic endeavour?
Controversy aside, Auto-Tune and pitch
correction are here to stay. The world is rife with
oh-so-perfectly pitched performances, and often
by musicians who need no such help. And of
course, certain producers have discovered and
marketed the weird, almost vocoder-like effect
produced when the technology is pushed
beyond the limits of its intended use. First
popping up on Cher's hit single Belleve (though
to this day, the producers are cagey about
 pitch <
Is
p

exactly what was used to achieve the effect in

this case), this odd effect has become pervasive,
used to the point of absurdity. lt's even been
applied, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, to
news reports and political speeches. b\
ln all seriousness, pitch-correction tools can
*

be used for more than subtle correction or
gimmicky vocal phrasing. They can provide a
wealth of ideas and inspiration il natch, you
know how to use them.
il
Harmonious behaviour
Though pitch-based effects immediately suggest
Auto-Tune and its descendants, there are in fact a
number of pitchshifting effects that have nothing
at all to do with correcting wayward tuning.
High-dollar hardware manufacturers Eventide
made their bank back in the mid-l970s when they
introduced the H-91O Harmonizer. This
mysterious black box played a major role in
many famous recordings, finding favour with
producer Tony Visconti, who used it to great
effect on David Bowie's Low album. He famously
cited its ability to "f**k with the fabric of time"
when describing its effect to Bowie and Eno.
What it actually did was to digitally sample the
incoming audio and produce a pitchshifted copy
(user-defined, of course) that could be mixed
with the original or played on its own. A built-in
delay provided thickening or wacky, cascaded
pitch variations. lt was also quite useful for
pitchshifted delays (for more on this effect, see
our walkthroughs in this section).
The H91O and its follow-ups were embraced
by the likes of Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen and
Frank Zappa. lt has now been resurrected in
software form by Eventide themselves (alas, only
for Pro Tools), and was heavily influential on the
design of Audio Damage's delightfully dark
Discord. Loads of other hardware and software
gubbins have cribbed the idea, too, to the point
of it becoming something rather run-of-the-mill.
These days it's not at all uncommon to find vocal
doublers, pitchshifters or harmonisers included
in any effects bundle you might pick up. The
template is now pretty common: one or more
pitchshifted copies are added to the original
f;l
f ,"fJ d
I
b I
h'
t
Thealrwavesaredeluged wlth Auto-Tune, and some performers have made lt an lntegral partottheilvocal style.
Electro-housetwlddlerSkrlllex, pictured here, ls known tor pushlng the effectto positlvely unlntelllglbleextremes
signal, with each copy being independently
adjustable. This can simulate vocal harmonies,
double-tracking or even full choirs.
What these pitchshifters generally don't do is
fix the incoming pitch. lf it sucks going in, the
harmonised versions of the signal will be equally
out of tune - and that, obviously, is where pitch
correction comes into play.
lstand corrected
lnitially designed by Exxon engineer Andy
Hildebrand, Auto-Tune first hit the market in 1997.
Based on phase-vocoding technology, it gave
producers and performers a way to correct pitch
inaccuracies in monophonic vocal or
instrumental performances. As its popularity
grew (even if many musicians weren't admitting
to having used iD, hardware versions and multi-
platform, multi-format incarnations were issued.
The most recent includes all manner of nifty
l
I
functions, including throat modelling, graphical
pitch editing and humanising. And of course, you
can still force it into the so-called Cher/T-Pain
effect, if you must, by cranking up the Speed dial.
Antares has an exclusive license to the
technology used in Auto-Tune, but that doesn't
mean some other developers haven't been able
to create their own take on the idea. One of the
most effective is found in Celemony's Melodyne,
an application that can examine a signal,
determine the pitch and timing of each syllable
and splay them out across a timeline. Users can
snap the bits to the nearest semitones or move
them about the note range willy-nilly. Timing can
be adjusted as easily and, best of all, it even
works on polyphonic signals. This goes a bit
further than mere pitch correction and becomes
a powerful arrangement tool. lt's a simple matter
to re-harmonise your tracks, creating new and
interesting variations.

Check out these pitch-correction wonders

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It miglit not be the most famous
pitch-correction tool, but it may very
well be the most sophisticated.
Melodyne can examine your
recordings, extract the timing and the
pitch and make them available to you
on a timeline-style grid. You can adjust
the timing and pitch of each syllable,
even creating complex harmonies from
monotone lines. Amazing.
www.celemonyrom
E@@@$t2e-93se
The name has become synonymous
with pitch correction and outre
pitchshifting: Auto-Tune, when used
tastefully, is a miraculous time-saver
for the desktop producer, and when
used in a more over-the-top fashion, it
can be a hit-maker.
www.antarcstech.com
lf you're on a PC and on a budget, you
might want to avail yourself of the free
Gsnap VST plug-in from GVST. lt can
handle all of the basics, from subtle
correction to more outlandish Auto-
Tune-like warbles. You can tell it which
notes to ignore and which ones to fix,
and thanks to the built-in gate, it'll even
ignore any background noise that
crops up during the quiet bits.
www.gvst.co.uk
@nn
This clever little fellow is bundled with
the Studio and Producer Editions of
Sonar.lt provides pitch and time
correction along with full malleability
of your track, and will be very familiar
to users of Roland's VariOS system. lt's
easy to use and great fun, too.
www.cakewalk.com

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 53

a
> pitch
.,q_ Some delay plug"ins allow you to
.r' incorporate pitchshifted steps per
re delay tap, but even if you don't have a
tool like this, here's another way to
achieve the same result with the added
benefit of rhythmic flexibility. Our track
is a down-tempo piece which culminates
in a drop at the beginning of bar 6,
followed by a one-bar break (1 Pitched
Delay start.mp3).
-r From Auxiliary 1, we send the sound
., j
FS"- to Auxiliary 2. We copy the Tape
Delay and Pitch Shifter settings from
Auxiliary 1 across to Auxiliary 2 and
press Play. Now we have a second step,
which rises in pitch a second semitone.
As it's the first delay that triggers the
second, the pitch rises a second time
(4 Pitched Delay 2.mp3).
"*@, WerepeatthetrickfromStep6, ffi /+* Werepeatthesametrickthreemore ./" generating
copying the settings from Auxiliary 4
S to Auxiliary
F 5. We've filled the first half of fugF to Aux 7 and so on, copying the effects # upwardly rising delays sweep from left
the drop bar with three eighth-note
delays and two 16th-note ones. There's
then a two-beat gap before the track
starts again (7 Pitched Delay 5.mp3).
54 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
To produce a delay trigger from the
% r\ first *% After the tape delay on Auxiliary 1,
note of bar 6, we give all tracks a
# send to Auxiliary'1. ' " we insert Logic's Pitch Shifter
4 plug-in
We automate this
dfu- send level from all tracks # and select the Vocals algorithm.
so that they all We move the mix level on the right-hand
open for this first beat. On Auxiliary 1 we side to IOO% and then move the
place Logic's Tape Delay, set to an Semitone slider to +1. This f irst delay is
eighth-note with low Feedback ot lOYo - now one semitone higher than the hit
we only want a single tap of delay triggering it (3 Pitched Delay l.mp3).
(2 Delay l.mp3).
\ We repeat this trick from Auxiliary 2,
d** d -d@ *- Next we send Auxiliary 3 to Auxiliary
sending this signal to Auxiliary 3 and &-% 4. This time, however, we shorten the
**$ copying the Tape Delay and Pitch Shifter ffi delay time to 16th-notes, so that this step
plug-in settings rom the previous
f only lasts previous
half as long as the
channel. Note that each time we set up a two. This creates a little deviation in the
new auxiliary we're sending the same rhythm, which sounds a bit odd at the
amount of level (OdB) from one auxiliary moment (6 Pitched Delay 4.mp3).
to the next to ensure that the signal gets
neither louder nor quieter each time
(5 Pitched Delay 3.mp3).
Finally,wepaneachof theauxiliaries
ts@ times, sending Aux 5 to Aux 6, Aux 6 %*# a delay tap so that our
and setting delay times to eighth-notes to right. As there are eight separate
for these last three auxiliaries. This fills auxiliary feeds, four pan left and four
up the second half of the bar, with each pan right. The delays get slightly out of
delay tap rising a semitone each time time, but to rectify this we could simply
(8 Pltched Delay6.mp3). bounce the audio down and chop it into
time (9 Pitched DelayT.mp3).
 pitch <

The turntable break effect.

With the gradual but inevitable demise of the
classic vinyl format, it wasn't just skipping, pops
and clicks that were consigned to the vaults of
musical history - so too were some truly classic
DJ sounds, such as the famous'last tune of the
set' indicator, usually signalled by the slow (and
painfully dance routine destroying) winding
down of a turntable.
Modern technology is certainly more than
capable of clearing up all those pops and clicks,
but it can also make a pretty decent effort at
imitating the technology that it replaced. This
means that the winding down effect needn't be
chucked in the discotheque dustbin just yet. Such
vintage sounds might always be the holy grail of
modern music production, but with some lateral
thinking and a smidgeon of creativity, you can go
a surprisingly long way towards recreating them
on a digital platform.
This particular effect is so fondly regarded by
some producers that there are plug'ins
specifically designed to reproduce it, and some
of them (such as Tapestop by TbT) do a pretty
good job - but where's the f un in that? Learning
how to create this effect yourself will help you
develop your skills, as well as providing a certain
amount of satisfaction that no plug-in could ever
hope to bestow.
While the basic idea behind it is fairly
straightforward, with this effect the devil is in the
detail. Subtle irregularities in speed and
decreasing pitch will make all the difference and
are certainly worth the extra investment of
patience. This technique rewards the listener
with a well-loved sound that they are familiar
with and provides the creator with another
effective tool in their arsenal. The spirit of the Fool the dance floor lnto thlnklng you are splnnlng the
turntable well and truly lives on! platters wlth thls record player-style pitch-down effeci

4 q As we're emulating the effect of a
/ record player slowing down, it
F think that you simply have to pitch the
makes sense to work with a full track or
$
an acapella - something with either
vocals or a drumbeat will work well. First
load a suitable recording into your DAW
of choice, setting an eight-bar loop.
**- There are two types of break effect -
, -
the first one we'll create is the sound
you get when you switch off a
turntable's power and let the record spin
down gradually until it stops. Start by
adding a Pitch utility to your track, or
use your DAW! pitch transpose
envelope - the principle is the same.
.* Two things are actually going on in
F' this effect. While it's tempting to
sound down over time, if you've tried
this you'll know it's not quite right. To get
the effect sounding authentic, we also
need to adjust the tempo.

\/ Automate the pitch on the last four
bars of your audio to dropfrom zero
semitones down to the minimum setting
allowed on your pitch effect. Likewise,
automate the BPM of your project to do
the same. Listening back to this, it
should sound much more like the effect
we're af ter (TurntableBreakl.mp3).
q To get the effect even tighter, change
ts- the automation from straight line
a emulates the sound of pressing the
to something more like a curve. lt
doesn't have to be precise, just
something to closer mimic the speed of
a platter slowing down over time. lf in
doubt, experiment with a variety of
lengths and gradients until you're happy
with how it sounds.
**
/ The second type of break effect
stop button on a turntable. This one is
much harder to get sounding right, but
is simply the same technique applied
over a much shorter timeframe -
between one and two seconds.
Experimentation is key to getting the
right sound for the audio you're working
with (TurntableBreak2.mp3).

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 55

t-
> pitch
Parallet pitching
Some effects bang, some crash, others whoosh,
and a few even wobble, but sometimes the best
effects out there are the less brash, no-nonsense
rises and falls. lt's tempting to think that effects
are just ear candy and therefore need to involve
lots or processing and complex routing. Have a
go at this one, however, and you might just
change your mind.
This devious effect packs a big punch in a
small package, but what's even better about it is
the fact that it can also be genuinely useful for
getting yourself out of those annoying creative
ruts that we all fall into from time to time. lf you
ever find yourself working on a drum loop or lead
and find that it's lacking a certain something or
needs a little extra sparkle, this trick could be just
what you're looking for.
It's not often that an effect comes with an
cast-iron guarantee, but this one comes pretty
ffit# \-
*-
We'll start with the most basic
g application of this technique and
H build up to something more complex. All
we need to begin with are two channels,
both with the same drum loop on them -
we're using pitchdrumsorig.wav (on
the CD) from Sample Magic. We'll pitch
one up while the other stays constant,
then take the basic idea in some more
interesting directions.
-"- Taking it to the next level, we can do
gFI ffi /-
r somethingsimilarwithaleadsound. @ duplicatingitagain,butthistimeadd I'q
"Y Opel a lead loop (we're using leadorig. #.-- . linear pitch rise to the copy, rising 24 f,rf
wav), or create one with an instrument,
and duplicate it. On the copy, add pitch
variation but instead of a steady line,
make dramatic steps up and down in
multiples of 12 semitones to keep things
musical (leadpltched.mp3).
56 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
close. The best thing about this tip is that not only
can it enhance what you use it on, it can even
create something completely different to
anything you ever expected, and often better
than what you started out with.
Pitch is used in all sorts of ways, but this
parallel pitching technique lends itself perfectly
to creating musical and interesting varieties on
almost any sound, drums very much included.
Taken to the extreme it is ideal for making glitchy
sounds, but it's equally capable of creating subtle
melodies, exciting drops and rhythmic rises. So
versatile is this technique that we're confident it
will become one of your go-to effects.
Parallel pitching and its multitude of uses
illustrate the true beauty of effects in their purest Uslng pltch you can create
varlatlons on your
form. Not only should they be simple, they should
melodles, rllls and even
be also inspirational, musical, and lots and lots of drums ihat cr€ate both
fun. Let's take a look... tenslon and lnterest
q Leave one drum loop as it is. On the 1 This has added a little bit of motion
r other one, add a Pitch plug-in or use / and interest to the drums
a pitch envelope if your DAW has one. (pltchdrumsl.mp3), but it's created a
Have the pitch start at zero semitones, phasing effect that we don't want. Break
rising l2 semitones over the length of up the pitched drumbeat by either
the loop (two bars in our example). Play deleting some hits or using volume
them together to hear the basic effect. automation. This will give a much more
pleasing result (pitchdrums2.mp3 and
pltchdrums3.mp3).
q Create another lead sound,
F 1 This effect can be quite drastic and
/ almostdisorientatinq,souseitin
moderation. To take it one stage further,
semitones over the length of the loop. remove alternating sections, but this
With volume automation, or by deleting time in the original clip. Make sure you
parts of the clip (this may require remove the opposite sections to the
recording to audio), remove alternating pitched-up clip so that together they
sections of the pitched loop to create a make one sound with no gaps
stutter effect. Here we're taking out (leadpltched2.mp3 and
segments a 32nd-note in length. pltchedcomplete.mp3).
I

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# ** Pitchshifting is a very popular effect
)
-- in contemporary hip-hop, and most
* interface shows the currently selected
current DAWs have built-in in
ffi
I pitchshifting tools, so let's see what they
can do. We start by loading up Reaper,
and load Straight Vocal.wav from the
I CD onto an audio track.
I
*- Reaper is a great tool for this effect
/- because it uses the Elastique
pitchshifting algorithm, which changes
the pitch while retaining the intelligibility
of the vocal. We right-click on the vocal
and select ltem Propertles - a new
window, Media ltem Properties, appears.
*- The pitchshifting/timestretch mode
d panel two-thirds of thewaydown the
algorithm used to perform pitchshifting.
The default will be Elastique Pro unless
you've tinkered with Reaper's settings
beforehand - if you have, simply set the
algorithm to Elastique Pro with the
dropdown menu now.

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* Next we locate the Pltch Adiust
I
" (semitones) parameter. This is where
we can define a new pitch for the vocal.
We set this parameter to -7, and click the
I playback rate to O.2. We click OK and
OK button at the bottom of the Media
Item Properties window. The audio item
I
now says Pitch: -7.OO.
)
q The audio file (Pitched Vocal.wav) is
/ now much lower in pitch, but its level
of intelligibility has remained practically
unaffected. This effect isn't particularly
processor-intensive, so we can run it live
in our project, but if we wanted to use
the processed vocal in a different piece
of software we could export the audio
using Flle>Render.
o We can also get some cool effects by
" timestretching vocals. We bring up
the ltem Properties menu and reset the
Pitch Adiust to O, but change the
drag the right side of the audio until the
full waveform is displayed, then take a
listen. This effect is ideal for getting an
old-schooljungle or garage feel.

I \ Another cool effect is to use extreme
"# '- pitchshifting on breakbeats, giving
them a curiously metallic, melodic
#
I quality. We load up Reaper and set the
project tempo to l3Obpm. We drag
Breakbeat.wav onto an audio track and
I copy it out three times so we have four
versions of the same beat on the track.
I
-* We click the second version of the
r' beat and select Reaper's ltem
Properties menu. We change the Pitch
Adiust to 12, then click the OK button to
close the window. Playing the project
back, the effect is now very apparent!
.- We change the PitchAdiust
s parameters of the third and fourth
beats to 17 and 19 semitones
respectively. This gives us a sequence
that combines rhythmic and melodic
elements in an unusual way (Pltched
Beats.wav). Using different
timestretching algorithms in the ltem
Properties menu gives us different feels.

I
COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 57

Compression and other dynamics processors shape the
sound of modern music. lf you want to sound like a pro,
you'll need to get your head around them
1
/
Famed producer Tony Visconti (David
Bowie, T-Rex) has been quoted as saying
that 'tompression is the sound of rock 'n' roll".
We wouldn't thlnk of arguing with that
statement - but we might also suggest that
compression is not only the sound of rock'n'
roll, but of all popular musical genres. For one,
there are few (if any) radio stations that don't
apply compression to all of their broadcast
signals, though compresslon is already in
place on virtually any track they play.
Compression (together with its cousin,
limiting) has become a ubiquitous effect, used
even to a fault by professional recording and
58 ,' COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
mastering engineers - and the reason for this
often heavy-handed approach is because
compression makes a mix sound louder. Have
you ever noticed that some of your commercial
CDs sound louder than others, even if the meters
say it isn't so? That's because more compression
has been applied to the'louder'disc. lt isn't really
louder - it's just that the dynamic range has been
reduced, making the quiet bits sound louder and
the loud bits sound quieter, allowing the
mastering engineer to bring up the volume of the
whole shebang. This has actually become a bit of
a controversial issue in the music community, but
we'll talk about that a little later on.
ON THE CD
II
All thefils yd! h6d to
follryllE wal*tlirdohs
4eiE the lrturldl fl€d
@6irlder
ll as Mr Visconti asserts, compression is the
sound of rock, then gating is nearly as important
to dance music. Gates were initially created to
reduce noise by reducing the gain of any signal
that falls below a specified level. Such an effect is
also called an expander. Due to a neat trick
known as sidechaining, clever producers can use
gates to create rhythmic control over the volume
level of one signal based on the dynamics of
another. The results are something like the effect
of riding the volume or mute controls of a mixer
in time to the rhythm of another track. This effect
has become so pervasive in today's music
production scene that dedicated plug-ins have
 dynamics <

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been developed to provide it. lt is also included in
many modern synthesisers. lt's even been given
a name: the trance gate.
Clearly, an understanding of dynamics
processing is crucial if you're going to create any
sort of music, and especially if your chosen
genres run to the most current styles. With that in
mind, let's take a closer look...
Compression
Compressors are also commonly applied to
individual tracks. Think about some of your
favourite vocal recordings. Do the vocals range
from a whisper to a scream in what is clearly one
contiguous take? lt's more than likely that they
do - yet you can still hear every word quite
clearly. How is this achieved? Well, sometimes it's
nothing more than good microphone technique.
lf a vocalist knows to back off of the mic when he
or she belts it out, then little or no compression
may be necessary. lf the singer is all over the
place, however, a compressor can help tame the
dynamics, bringing the quiet bits up while at the
same time reducing the loud Parts.
And compression isn't just used for fixing up
errant vocals - it's often applied to drums, too. lt
can be a great help with the already difficult task
of getting a good drum mix, but can algo make
for a pretty cool effect in its own right. We've all
hear the weird 'pumping'sound on some rock
drum recordings - well, that sound is produced
by the compressor.
The roles of the compressor are many and
varied. Obviously, you're going to need to delve
into the world of compression if you want to get
that professional sound.
So what exactly is a compressor? As we've
intimated, it s essentially a means by which
dynamics are automatically reduced. lt is the
'black box'equivalent of keeping your finger on
the volume knob and turning the volume down
when the signal gets too loud and up when it
becomes too quiet.
How does the compressor know when to
adjust the gain? Well, it has a threshold control
that determines when the compression circuit
should kick in. The amount of gain reduction to
be applied is usually given as a ratio, such as'8:1'.
ln this example, this means that if the incoming
signal is 8dB over the threshold setting, it will be
brought down to 1 dB over when it comes out of
the other end. That's 7dB of signal reduction.
As you can guess, it can be quite easy to
reduce the gain to little more than a peep.
Therefore, most compressors have some sort of
make-up gain control that brings the overall
effected output signal back up to a more
respectable level.
Additionally, many compressors provide
attack and release controls. These are used to
decrease the response of the compression
circuit, making the signal sound a little bit
smoother and more natural.
You will likely encounter multiband
compressors at some point. These have become
quite popular in recent years, and for good
reason. You see, they allow you to single out
individual frequency ranges and compress them
individually. These devices, like limiters, are often
applied at the mastering stages and are the
ballistic missiles of the so-called 'loudness war', a
name given to the recent preference among
record company bigwigs for over-compressing at
the mastering stage.

Check out these cool compressors

NSs
iJs
,*
.r*
"$
#* 'S"*
'*

Elif[E@fiEil@st*s
It's a bit of an oldie, but Vintage
Warmer still sounds terrific even when
held up to newer plug-ins. Multiband
compression and brickwall limiting are
on offer, as well as PSP Audios
gloriously retro sound, thanks to the
included tape saturation simulation. lt s
fairly easy to use, though it isn't exactly
spartan in design. A once and future
winner, this one.
www.pspaudloware.com
@@sss
Here we have another classic vintage
compressor, meticulously modelled
and given a few extra features.
Combining the best of the E and G
series SSL 4OOO bus compressors, The
Glue sports a super-fast attack time
and a range knob to control the
amount of compression applied. There
are loads of other controls, plus
sidechaining to boot.
www.cytomic.com
ftffiSfl@errs
lf there's anyone who knows how to
wrangle a classic hardware sound from
zeros and ones, it s FabFilter. Their
Pro-C compressor earned a rare 1O/1O
from cm when it was released, and with
Clean, Classic, and Opto modes on
hand, this dynamic dynamo can handle
anything you throw at it. Better still, it's
actually easy to use and comes with an
excellent collection of presets.
www.fablllter,com
This is an emulation of the Listen Mic
Compressor, modelled from the
famous E Series consoles. The original
was meant merely as a means to
prevent overloading the console's
talk-back mic, but was made famous
when it was used to record Phil Collins'
drums on Peter Gabriel's /ntruder. This
brief flash of inspiration shaped the
sound of the following decade.
www.solld-state-loglc.com

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 59

a
> dynamics

Check out these great gates

EfrffiEEffiEGfrEEEEScg
The original Bigseq featured a pretty
cool gate effect, but the second version
blows the lid off. lt's got ten effects that
are arranged in six'blocks', each with
its own step sequencer, modulation
sequencer and timing. The idea is to
sequence the gate effects and
modulation for some outre sounds. As
always with Audio Damage, its
anything but run-of-the-mill.
www.audiodamage.com
H@r.*.
StormGate offers a different approach
to gating. lnstead of relying on a
sidechained signal to trigger the
process, it allows users to create
dynamic patterns by drawing shapes
into a large display area. These gate
patterns can be looped and
synchronised to the host's tempo.
Theres even support for swing to give
your rhythms even more vibe.
www.araldfx.com
This slippery little morsel is included in
The Fish Fillets suite, along with the
cool Blockfish compressor and Spitfish
de-esser. Here, though, the focus is on
expansion and gating. Stereo support
is on tap, and you can tweak the attack
and release settings. Use Floorfish to
block out noise or to expand the
incoming signal - its a must-have
utility for any plug-in folder.
www.dlgltalfi shphones.com
lE@lillW@r'".
Taking the gating idea far beyond its
roots, this plug-in is more like an
instrument in that it responds to
incoming MlDl notes. The idea here is
MlDl-controlled gating, but with a twist
- you see, MlDl Gater is polyphonic. A
new copy of the incoming signal is
produced for every incoming MlDl
note, and each copy responds to
velocity. Strange stuff, but good fun!
destroyf x.smartelectronlxcom

The loudness war
A lot of ink has been spilt over the loudness war.
As we suggested earlier on, compression and
limiting are being applied willy-nilly to nearly
every final mix that hits a studio (or even before),
without regard to the track's integrity. Certainly,
some compression may be warranted,
depending on the track. For instance, when faced
with a collection of individual songs, a mastering
engineei will need to adjust the overall volume
and possibly the dynamic range in order to
wrangle those tracks into a cohesive album. lt
may also need to be applied if a song is to be
released on vinyl, which has a limited tolerance
for extreme dynamics.
Nevertheless, compression is usually applied
these daysjust to bring the perceived level of a
track up to ear-shattering levels. PR guys like it
because the track gains immediate attention, but
many musicians, recordists and mastering
engineers rightly take umbrage with the fact that
their hard work is being compromised. lronically,
this reduction in dynamism often has the
opposite effect that the producers and PR men
are hoping to achieve - over-compressed mixes
tend to produce ear fatigue and do not invite
repeated listening.
Limiters and expanders
lf you're new to music production, you might be
confused by the difference between compressors
and limiters. Limiters are essentially just
compressors, though some engineers see
limiting as a separate function. Limiters tend to
have very high ratios and fast attacks. Likewise,
expanders are really compressors in reverse.
They might reduce the gain of a signal below the
threshold or boost the gain of a signal that
overshoots it, thereby expanding the dynamic
range of the material. This is the same process
used to create a noise gate. Say you've recorded
a killer guitar track, but it has a lot of ambient
noise that becomes apparent whenever the
guitar bits are silent. You could edit all of this
noise out in your DAW but that can be a very
tedious procedure. lnstead, you might consider
an expander, with the threshold set just above
the level of the noise but well below that of the
guitar. Every time the level drops below the
threshold, the expander will kick in, reducing its
level (and that of the noise) even more. lf it
reduces the signal to complete silence, the
process is known as gating.
Sidechaining and gates
As we've mentioned, many dynamics processors
also allow sidechaining, which allows a second
signal to determine when the process should kick
in. Sidechain compression is useful for special
effects or for more utilitarian functions such as
de-essing, and for the gating effects described
above. Because gates are simply dynamics
processors, they, like expanders and limiters,
share many of the same controls and f unctions,
such as threshold, attack and release settings. ln
the case of a gate, the attack and release will
determine how smoothly the gate opens and
closes. Fast attacks and releases will result in a
more abrupt sound, while longer settings will
allow the sound to fade in every time the
threshold is exceeded by the modulating signal
and fade out gradually when that signal dips
below the threshold.
Sidechain compression is a crucial effect in
modern genres, particularly dance music, as
dynamic volume ducking is required to get mixes
sounding as loud and pumping as possible. lt has
become a familiar stylistic tool in many forms of
dance since Eric Prydz introduced it to the
mainstream with Call On Me.
While we're on the subject of the cool effects
that can be achieved with sidechaining, we
should also mention the envelope follower. This
is closely related to the trance gate effect. The
term'envelope follower'may bring to mind the
classic auto-wah effect, a technique wherein
threshold detection is used to trigger an
envelope generator that is, in turn, used to
modulate a filter. However, the envelope follower
itself makes up only the first part of that process,
and does not necessarily need to be tied to the
filter. lt can, in fact, control volume or any other
parameter, assuming the developer or
manufacturer has provided the means to do so.
Sawy readers will note the similarity between
such processes and those used in vocoders.
Vocoders can be created by splitting an incoming
signal into various frequency bands and tracking
the dynamics of those bands, which are then
imparted onto a new sound. We won't go into a
detailed discussion of vocoders here, but suffice
it to say that they clearly have their roots in
dynamics processing.
Though these techniques and devices were
originally intended as corrective tools, they can
be cranked up to ridiculous levels, sometimes
with surprisingly effective results. ln general,
however, we urge you to use discretion whenever
you apply any dynamics processing, whether to
individual tracks or entire mixes. One tip: you
should never apply compression to your final mix
if that mix is to be mastered later. Even if it isn't,
keep an uncompressed mix as a safety. Used with
skill and taste, dynamics processors can bring
your tracks to life, imparting a professional clarity
and cohesiveness to a mix or providing a range
of crowd-pleasing special effects.

60 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL


Vocal groove with compression
Using compression as a corrective tool on vocals
has become ubiquitous in music production. The
expressive nature of the human voice, together
with its natural imperfections, means that getting
a balanced take down can be a frustratingly
difficult task. Compression otfers a method of
gently lowering any spikes in volume while still
retaining the natural dynamics of the sound,
allowing engineers to work the vocal into the mix
with greater ease.
This is all well and good if all you're trying to
do is make a vocal part fit adequately into the
mix, but for this tutorial we're after something a
little more... effective! ln the walkthrough below,
then, we'll be taking a typical vocal with natural
peaks (included on the CD) and squashing it flat.
Once we've got a flat signal we can start treating
it like any other synthesised sound, making it
much more tweakable and
1 For this effect you'll need a vocal
,r that works well as a one- or two-bar
1 loop - we're using comp-vox-clean.
wav, from the CD. With the vocal oPen
on a channel, add a compressor and set
the Ratlo to Inflnlte, the Threshold to
-l8dB, the Attack to O.sms and the
Release to l25ms.
/a
Once you're happy that you have the
signal as flat as possible, audition it
on its own and listen out for any pops
and clicks, particularly at the beginning
and end. lf you come across any
artefacts, remove them either with an
amp envelope, by trimming the loop, or
in an audio editor if need be.
Compresslon ls greattor kecping varlablesounds like the
human voice ln check, but lt can be used as an effect too
q On a new channel, record the output
/ from the vocal track, resampling it
with the heavy compression on. This will
squash down all the peaks, leaving a
much more consistent signal. After this
first pass, listen to the new recording to
hear the difference. The aim is to iron
out the sample and then add some
dynamics back in.
On a new track, add a MlDl
"o
r instrument and key in four short
notes on the beat. Either mute the
instrument or route the audio to a
muted bus, as we just want to use this as
a trigger. On the channel with Your
flattened audio signal, add a new
compressor. Sidechain this signal from
the muted MlDl instrument.
dynamics <
'effect-friendly'. This technique isn't restricted to
vocals either; it can be used on pretty much any
irregular or natural sound.
Vocals can work well with all sorts of obvious
effects - reverb, vocoding and distortion, to name
but a few - but sometimes it can be just as
exciting to play it cool and leave people guessing.
With the vocal thoroughly squashed, it can now
be used more like a one-shot hit without fear of it
popping out of the mix. Flattening a sound will, in
and of itself, impart a new subtlety to the sound's
character, but we'll be throwing in one final round
of compression to add the secret ingredient -
making the vocal pump.
Devilishly subtle but highly effective, this
effect will leave your audience trying to put their
finger on exactly where that groove is coming
from. Check out the walkthrough to learn the
secrets of this aural illusion...
r*
I
We want the signal to be as flat as
possible, without it starting to sound
distorted. Run the resampling process
again one or two more times, listening to
the resulting audio after each pass.
When compressing heavily like this, it's
easy to bring up unwanted noise that
was previously inaudible.
q We want this new compressor to be
/ much subtler than the previous one,
so set the Ratlo to about 6:1, the Attack
to loms and the Release to about
l4oms. This should dip the vocal on the
beat - when accompanied bY a kick
drum this will give the vocal a gentle but
perceptible pulsing feel, adding greatly
to the groove (compvocals.mp3).
COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 6I
a
> dynamics

q q A compressor capable of q q Next we bring the Threshold fader

/1
Compression is a useful mixing tool
T / extremely highthat's
when working with drum tracks ,# this ratios is required for 4 / down gradually and listen to how
I because it helps you get a louder, more
consistent level. lt can also be used in a
€* effect. We're using Ableton Lives
built-in Compressor. We add it to the
tu-S gets
much more big and booming the sound
goes.
the lower the fader A
more obvious manner to get big, audio track with our break on it, and set Threshold of -22 gives us a really
over-the-top-sounding beats. We start the Ratlo parameter to 50. noticeable effect without taking all the
by copying Exampae Break.wav from punch out of the sound.
the CD onto our hard drive and onto a
track in Ableton Live.

q With this added compression, ffi /\TheRatloandThresholdsettings # .*Nowthecompressiontakeslonger

t" however, the channel is now
overloading. This won't do, so we add
Live's Limiter effect directly after the
Compressor. Even though the Limiter
doesn't audibly change the sound, it's no
longer overloading the channel. Have a
listen to Extreme Compresslon.wav to
hear how this sounds.
are the most important controls for #q
"".b
*d changing the shape of the sound, but w" u
can tweak the feel of the compression
with the Attack and Release times.
These control how quickly the
compression comes into effect and cuts
out. We bypass the Limiter and try
turning the Attack time up.
'/ to come into effect each time the
threshold is breached, making the start
of each drum hit louder and the overall
drum sound therefore punchier. On the
negative side, this means the signal will
peak at a louder level and the channel
will have to be turned down overall if we
want it to peak at the same level.

T q Sidechain compression is handy if
| { youwanttomakeoneelementof a
I trackpunchthroughanotherelement,in
this case a pad sound. lt! also useful for
creating implied rhythm even when the
drums aren't playing. We start by
copying KIck.wav and Synth Pad.wav
onto our hard drive, and then onto
separate audio tracks in Cubase.
€e \ We copy the kicks out so that there's q Now we bring up the kick drum
g' oneoneverybeat.Next,webringup *{ / track'sAudioChannelSettings
gf* the pad track's Audio Channel Settings *'Jt window, and add the synth pad track's
window and add Cubase's Compressor sidechain compressor input as a send.
rom the Dynamics section as an
' effect f
insert. We click the Actlvate Side-Chain
We set the Send level to OdB, and play
back the project. We can hear the kick
button at the top of the interface. punching through the pad, but to make
it more obvious, we set the kick track's
output to No Bus (Sidechain Pad.wav).

62 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL


Liquid gating
As a means of creating dynamism, gates can
offer music producers a fantastically creative
toolset - we all know how useful they can be, for
example, at taking sustained sounds and
breaking them down into rhythmical chunks that
better suit our tracks.
Yet while many sound engineers and
producers are familiar with this basic idea of
setting up a gate and sending it a trigger, rarer
are those who look beyond this technique to
discover how gates can be used to take sound
design a couple of stages further.
For starters, are you sure you want all of the
slices in your gated sequence to be exactly the
same length? Do you want them all to recover at
the same speed? Do you want the difference
between a gated slice of sound and an ungated
one to be as extreme as a note being heard and a
note being silent? Better still, is it possible to
r*' We've programmed a track
/ consisting of a kick drum, a bassline
1 and a held, trance-like chord
progression, using Logic's ES2 synth.
The trance synth is automated so that its
filter opens and closes through the
sequence, but its sustained nature is a
bit too full-on (t Liquid Gate Start.mp3).
a The Release parameter is next - this
y' controls how long it takes for each
gated note to drop back to silence. We
put Logic into Automation Latch mode
and record some changes to the Release
dial (4 Gate Release.mp3).
you're not olone
oLve'sYou're NotArote ls a classic track that also serves
as a vedtablemastercla$ ln gatlng technlques
q We insert a gate - we're using Logic's
/ Noise Gate - in the first insert slot in
the trance synth channel. We need a
trigger for this gate, so we've set up a
fourth channel onto which we load a
rimshot. We send this to the sidechain
input of the noise gate by routing it to
Auxiliary 3 and selecting that auxiliary
as the sidechain input source.
1 The next parameter to automate is
/ Hold. Whereas a long Release time
still sees each gated slice fade, Hold
preserves volume for as long as its value
determines, so'held'slices don't drop in
volume. This makes the effect more
smudged (5 Gate Hold.mp3).
dynamics <
invert a gate so that each ungated slice is actually
louder than an ungated one?
All these questions hint at the capabilities of
the parameters offered within most gate plug-ins,
and when these parameters are automated,
sequences can really come to life in your mix.
ln this walkthrough we'll look at ways to take a
regular gated sequence and turn it into a much
more musically interesting phrase using the gate
release time, hold values and gain reduction
parameters. Once you've got your head around
what these can do, try them in your own mixes
and then go f urthet experimenting with any
other parameters you might have at your
disposal within your gate of choice. And if you
need inspiration, have a listen to Olive's classic
You're Not Alone - this track utilises creative
gating as its main hook, showing exemplary use
of many of the following techniques.
c.- We set the Threshold of the gate so
/ that it only opens when it receives
the sidechain trigger. We then record a
pattern that suits the rest of the track,
sometimes tracking the bassline pattern
and sometimes deviating in order to
produce a syncopated result (3 SC
Trigger part.mp3).
q Finally, we adjusttheGate
I Reductlon. This dictates how much
volume drop each gated region will
produce, with -lOOdB being the default.
By bringing this number closer to OdB,
the gating sounds less obviously iust on
or off, while positive (+) values produces
an expansion effect gated slices
become louder than ungated ones
(5 Gate Reductlon.mp3).
COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 63
a
> dynamics
Super sidechain mixing
Getting a good mix is one of the most common
problems we get asked about. lt's a hugely
complicated task, and a realjuggling act. The
more elements there are in a track, the trickier it
is to find a space for them all in the mix. And
that's the key - finding space in the mix for the
things that need to be heard clearly, and not
letting other parts interfere or drown them out.
But contrary to what some may think, the
solution isn't as simple as just EQing parts or
raising their levels. lf you want to make
something stand out of a mess, you don't add to
the mess - you take some of it away.
Obviously, you can't just turn down the levels
on everything you don't want at the forefront of a
mix, as you'lljust end up with a loud vocal on top
of a quiet backing track. And while EQing out
some of the conflicting frequencies can help -
say, some of those in a vocal range on a guitar
-I
q* The most critical step is also the
il
/ most simple: sit and play back your
* mix without any sidechaining. Of course,
implicit in this is that you have finished
your track (or very nearly), as you
should not attempt to tackle this type of
sidechaining until then. lt can cause your
project to misbehave and is an utterly
unwanted distraction pre-mixdown.
# q Nowweneedtoapplyourducking f,@* q Finally,weplaybackourtrackand
F fi d compressortoanythingthatwe've % "' adjustourcompressor'soutputso
-f earmarkedasneedingducking.Wesetit kF thatitit'sthesamelevelwhether
to receive its sidechain signal from the
source bus we created and then set the
Attack and Release times quite fast.
The Ratlo and Threshold settlngs
should be set quite low as this is meant
to be a subtle effect.
64/ COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
part - it can also take some crucial frequencies
away from a part, and it doesn't make as much
space as you really want.
But there is another way, and that is sidechain
ducking. We've already covered its use to add
rhythmic pumping to a part, but that isn't its only
use - indeed, that's a more current technique
made popular by dance music. Anybody who has
ever heard a radio presenter talking over music
that automatically ducks has heard it being used
in its more traditional application. But while that
application sounds (and is) rather obvious, using
the same technique much more subtly to
individually duck competing parts in a track,
such as pads, guitars or even other vocals, can
make it cut through magically. Listen carefully for
the subtle differences in the audio examples that
accompany this walkthrough, particularly the Fltting gultars and vocals lnto the same mlx space ls
separation of the vox and bass parts. trlcky, butcan be made much easlerwlthsldechalnlng
/q
We now know what needs to be 1 As this bus is only a controller, we
brought out - in the case of our track, r' remove its output routing so its not
a lead vocal needs to cut through the heard. We engage a send on each of the
backing vocals and other consistent parts we want to bring out of the mix,
musical parts. We also have a couple of routed to our new bus. This is critical, as
stab noises and effects and a few vocal it allows us to easily control the effect of
words that we specifically want to cut our sidechain source on the material
through the same elements (Loopwlth that's to be ducked.
nosldechalnlng.wav). So, we create a
new bus to control our sidechain.
>Sidechain layering
There may be times, in a very
complex mix, when you want to
create a sidechain hierarchy, so
that perhaps a lead vocal cuts
through a backing vocal and
guitar part but another overlaid
vocal cuts through the whole lot
in certain parts. This is simply a
matter of creating another layer
of sidechain bus, placed on the
lead vocal (or any other
sidechain-supplying part that
itself requires occasional
ducking). Wed suggest not
getting too carried away, though -
engaged or bypassed, then we increase
the send on our lead vocal and on any
two layers should be more than
enough, as additional sounds can
other parts that we want to bring out.
share the same bus using the
Then we simply tweak the Attack,
sends, just as before.
Release, Ratio and Threshold
parameters until the effect is transparenl
(Loop with sidechaining.wav).
 dynamics <

Sustai ned gate triggers

lf you want to take the gating effects you produce
beyond the tried and tested approach of using a
short percussive trigger, it's well worth giving
some thought to the sound you want to use as an
alternative trigger, particularly focusing on its
volume envelope.
Most of the time it's important that the sound
you choose has a fast, aggressive attack, for the
simple reason that gates feature thresholds that
act like binary on/off switches. There is no fade-in
curve with a gate - the sound is either open or
closed, so there's no benefit to your trigger
featuring a long attack as this won't translate to
the gated sound itself.
Thereafter, however, the volume envelope of
the trigger you choose matters hugely,
particularly through its decay and sustain stages.
Sounds that decay quickly and that feature no
sustain, or have a sustain level below the gate's
threshold point, act as most percussive triggers
do: opening the gate for a short period of time
but then snapping it shut again.
However, triggers that sustain at a level above
the gate! threshold will keep the gate open for as
long as the trigger note plays, which gives you a
much wider range of sonic possibilities as you
apply gating to your sound. Ally a fast attack to a
high sustain and you've got yourself a flexible
trigger. You still have all the benefits of being able
to trigger sounds percussively, but you can also
trigger long chunks of your gated audio simply
by holding down your trigger note for an
extended period.
This is a great way to trick your listener into
thinking your sound isn't actually gated at all - a
long initialtrigger, holding a sound open for a bar,
followed by a more regularly gated part, keeps Uslng sustalned trlggers can glve you gate sounds that
the listener interested. vary ln quality and character. Just ask Oakey...

q Ratherthan using a purely 1 We program a pattern with long and

/u
We're using the same backing track
as we did inlhe Liquid Gating
1 tutorial a couple of pages back, with kick
drum, bassline and sustained trance
lead. As before, it's the solid consistency
of the trance pad that we're looking to
break up (l Sustained Gate start.mp3).
"/ percussive trigger, we want
something that will provide sustain, so
we're using the default sound that plays
when we load Logic's EXS24. We set the
volume envelope with immediate
Attack, maximum Sustain and zero
Release. Electric organs have a similar
envelope, so use one of those if you
haven't got Logic.
/ short notes. The gate is opened by
the trigger but this time, when the
trigger sustains, the trance sound
sustains too. With percussive triggers,
the gate closes too quickly to achieve
this effect (3 Sustained Trlgger.mp3).

u Here's how that trigger and trance
/ sound perform within the context of
the track. The pad is more dominant
than it would be with a percussive
trigger, yet its broken-up nature is more
interesting than an ungated sustained
part (4 Sustalned Trlgger Track.mp3).
r" Next we need to automate the
.' Attack time within the gate to
ensure that in the middle of the part, the
gate doesn't open immediately but
instead fades in. lt almost sounds like
sidechained compression, creating a
slight sucking effect (5 Sustalned
Trigger Attack.mp3).
u
/
We pick up on this new tonal
character by smearing the trance
sound further with a bit of heavy delay.
We set the Delay speed to 3/16 and set a
high Feedback amount (45%) to ensure
the trance sound smudges from one
chord to the next (6 Sustalned Trlgger
Delay.mp3).

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 65

> dynamics
Bus compression
When you think about the production process,
miking up a drum kit goes against the grain of
what is generally considered good recording
practice. After all, a drum kit isn't really one
instrument - technically it's composed of several
separate instruments, all played in close
proximity. So imrnediately you've got the
problem of instrument signals bleeding into the
'wrong'microphones, a process we look to avoid
during the recording process wherever possible.
Beyond this, a drum kit also generates lots of
volume spread across the entire frequency
range, with kick drums oozing bass, snares and
toms covering the midrange, and hi-hats and
cymbals sizzling up at the top end. So not only
are lots of instruments leaking into one another's
microphones, but the massed sound produced
by a drum kit in fullflow also floods the entire
frequency spectrum.
\r We start with a few drum parts. The
first utilises a group of hand-picked
1 kit elements from BFD. This is joined by a
shaker pattern from Stylus RMX plus
toms and an additional snare from
Logic's EXS24 sampler. Lastly, there's a
more electronic loop quietly
underpinning the whole groove, also
from Stylus RMX (t Drumsstart.mp3).
q
We increase the effect of the
y' compressor by dropping the
Threshold and increasing the Output
level. We also experiment with the'time
controls', which change the Attack and
Release times to produce a squashed
sound. This exaggerates the volume of
the loop and shaker parts, so we turn
these down on their respective channels
(4 Loop and Shaker quieter.mp3).
66 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
lf that's not enough, we tend to make life even
more complicated for ourselves when working
with drums, either by enhancing a real kit
recording with additional or replacement
samples, or going to town with percussion loops
and one-shot recordings layered on top.
q
All of these elements work well but
{ are a bit too separate at the moment,
so we switch the output routing on all
channels to Auxiliary 1 so that they're all
passing through one grouped bus
together. Here we set up a UAD Fairchild
Compressor in the second insert slot
and let the drums play through its
default settings (2 Falrchlld.mp3).
/\
Having placed the compressor in the
second insert slot, we now have the
opportunity to address tone. We insert a
Sony Oxford EQ in slot 1 and boost the
kick by adding 7dB at 1O8Hz, plus 5dB at
24OHz. We cut around lkHz and boost
the top end at 5kHz and lOkHz. These
changes would sound huge without
compression, but the compressor
smoothes them (5 Buss EQ.mp3).
All of these factors make the process of
uniting all the sounds inherent in a drum part into
something that sounds like one coherent
performance avery delicate one. That, however,
is one of the joys ofworking with recorded or
sampled drum sounds. Developing the skill to
ensure that the raw power and drama of your
rhythm parts translates seamlessy into the mix
and supports the other elements can be a
wonderf ul creative challenge.
One technique that can really prove invaluable
in dealing with these issues is bus compression.
Routing all of your drums and percussion to one
stereo bus where they can be dynamically
treated as a group is a powerful and above all
flexible approach, as you'll hear in our
walkthrough below. lt works equally well on
backing vocal parts, too - we'll cover that in the
tutorial on the next page.
t\
This ties the sounds together and
gives them more punch, but it also
modifies the balance between the
instruments. As some sounds force the
compressor into stronger action than
others, some of those which were quiet
are now too loud. This is particularly true
for the open hi-hats, so we drop their
velocities down to a more natural level
(3 HlHats Quleter.mp3).
We enhance our bussed drums with
/
"*-
two specific treatments for individual
sounds. We add a Tremolo part to the
shaker to get it moving f rom side to side,
then add an Autofilter to the loop so that
its tone rises and falls across a four-bar
period throughout the mix (6 Buss
Drumsffnal.mp3).
 dynamics <

.** Grouping backing vocals together
d lets them be treated as one, but it
re needn't mean losing independent
control of each part. We start with a
backing track that features the same
vocal copied to five tracks. Each part is
offset by an eighth-note, giving an echo-
like quality to the vocal, but the build-up
of the same frequency content makes
the massed vocals a bit overwhelming
(1 Backing Vocals start.mp3).
-, . We EQ the f irst vocal part in solo
I mode to really gauge the tone. We
scoop out frequencies below SOHz
using a shelf, while dipping frequencies
centred at 5OOHZ and 1.58kHz by 4.5 and
2.5dB respectively. We boost by 3.5dB
above 7.4kHz and send this channel to
our auxiliary delay and reverb. This
makes the sound much cleaner (2 Solo
EQtreatment.mp3).
r'\
Now we copy the EQto the other
parts. The result is successful, but
we've used six separate EQs rather than
one single grouped treatment, which
taxes the CPU more than is necessary
and is also pretty inconvenient - as we're
trying to think of the backing vocals as
one part, we d do better to treat them
with a grouped effects solution
(3 Effects Copy.mp3).

# ,* We route all of our backing vocals to se*

d * "- Auxiliary3andremoveall of the
tuff
effects settings in the five vocal
channels, except one of our EQs, which
we move to the new auxiliary. We also
switch off the effects sends in each
channel and set up sends to Auxiliaries
and 2 from Auxiliary 3.
e",% '*
Now that the vocals are grouped,
"* theycanbecompressedasone.we
dP insert UA's Precision Buss Compressor
after the Channel EQ in Aux 3 and set the
Ratio to 4:1. We want quite a heavily
compressed sound, so we drop the
1 Threshold to -l7dB and set the Output
Gain to OdB to leave the vocal quieter
overall (5 BV Compresslon.mp3).
u- Justbecausethevocalsaregrouped
F.4B *-
"6d@
doesn'tmeantheycan'tbenefitfrom
fu6f some individual treatments. We start
these by panning each track. Track 1
stays central; track 2 pans -25 (left); track
3 pans +25 (right); and tracks 4 and 5 pan
-/+5o respectively (6 BV Pan.mp3).

e%. s_ Wealsodropthelevelssothateach ffi "._ We'reusinganAppleLoopforour ffi -.* Now we add two final details. Firstly,
o' backing vocal parts - this means that fu-# r' we place an Exciter after the Buss
F *t' backing vocal progressively fades Fq eachfileisneatlyedited,withall
S out.Eachvocal dropsbyl.SdBmore fuP parts *d to
Compressor to add air and extra sparkle
than the previous one so that now each starting and ending at the same point. lf the sound. Then, we put Auxiliary 3
backing vocal track has its own space in you're applying similar treatments to into Latch mode and automate the
the stereo field and its own volume. This backing vocals you've recorded, take amount of send to the delay on Auxiliary
creates a nicely spaced effect (7 BV time to edit them to ensure that all parts 1 so that it ramps up through the vocal

Level Drop.mp3). start and end promptly, with short takes, getting louder as the vocals fade
fade-ins and fade-outs. away both times (9 Final MIx.mp3).

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 67

A quality equaliser can be a corrective lifesavet or give a
whole new character to a sound. Understand how EQs
work and you'll be able to get the best out of them

1
/
Do you know what separates the classlc
professionat mixing desks from the cheap,
mass-produced consoles that line your Iocal
music shop? If you said "the preamps", you'd
be right - but you d be equally rlght to single
out the EQ. This statement may seem suspect
tothe studio newble, but any veteran console
jockey will confirm our assertion. Granted,
most of those same studio vets will insist that
equalisation should only be used as a Iast
resort, but rest assured it will be used, and
when you reach for lt, you often want It to add
somethlng special to the sound, even when it's
taking something away.
An equaliser is used to boost or attenuate
selected frequencies and frequency ranges. You
will, if you have your wits about you, be
attenuating more often than pumping up the
levels (we'll get into that a little more in a minute).
ldeally, then, you d think that you d not want your
EQ to add anything at all, but just to do the job
transparently and precisely. You can certainly
pursue that course, and no one would ever
question your approach. Nevertheless, there has
been much waxing poetic as to the properties of
particular EQs, whether they be classic (and
expensive) standalone vintage units or equaliser
sections salvaged from famous mixers.
A quick perusal through the pages of any
music equipment website or catalogue will make
it abundantly clear that the market for good
equalisers is nearly as competitive as the market
for high-end mic pres and compressors. There
are a vast number of designs, both hardware and
software, on the market, ranging from the
familiar hi-fi graphic EQ to f ully parametric,
automatable'smart equalisers'. Some EQs are
simple tone control devices, while others have all
the bells, whistles and flashing LEDs you could
possibly want. Each of them provides a different
approach to the seemingly simple task of
boosting or cutting frequencies.

70 / c(]MpljTFP Mlrsrc sPFcrar

 eq<

ln character
You might be asking yourselt why on earth
would someone bother to dig up and dust off an
old EQ, and why would software developers want
to reproduce them? Well, there are a couple of
reasons. First of all, like vintage guitars, amps or
synthesisers, a great vintage EQ has its own
sound. There is a specific character that comes
from those old circuits - they are pleasingly
imperfect, coaxing a hint of oh'so-delectable
distortion from their aging circuitry.
Also, there is the design to consider. These
days equalisers are wildly flexible, providing user
control over just about every aspect of the job,
but in the past, console manufacturers had
practical limitations. That meant providing a
finite number of fixed frequencies with maybe an
adjustable mid-range frequency. A lot of thought
went into providing the most musically useful
frequencies in an EQ - for instance, the EQ on
Malcolm Toft s Trident consoles helped to define
what is now called the'British sound'.
Needless to say, production is all about Most mlxers have bullt-ln equalls€rs, but some of them, llkethe EQ on thls old Trldent, have become legendarythanks
character, so an EQ with a bit of personality can to the sonlc qualltles they lmpart. The Trldent! EQ was th€ drlvlng torce behlnd the'Edtlsh sound'ol the 6los and 7Os

be quite usefulfor certain types of music. Even if

you're not after a specific character of sound,
however, you will likely find yourself in need of a
quality EQ or two for everyday recording and
mixing needs, and it helps to know about the
various types of equalisers and what functions
you can expect to see on them.
As we menliened earlier, some EQs look (and
act) like the graphic EQ section on a boombox or
hi-fi. These EQs offer multiple vertical sliders
arranged across the panel, with the lowest
frequencies on the left and the highest to the
right. Each slider can boost or cut its associated
frequency. These frequencies are fixed, meaning
you can't adjust any specific ones that the
manufacturer didn't include in the design.
Most of the EQs you see on mixers (and many
standalone equalisers) provide one or more
'parametric' f requencies, meaning that you
decide which frequency should be affected.
There may only be a single parametric control,
assigned to the midrange, while the bass and
upper frequencies are fixed. Often the upper and
lower frequencies will be subject to'shelving'
equalisation, which means that a specific
frequency might be adjustable but all of the
signal below (low-shelf) or above (high'shelD that
selected frequency will be equally affected. This
can be useful for, say, rolling off all the low end in
a track with too much bass rumble.
Diating it in
ln an ideal world, you d never have any need to
use EQ. lt s always best to balance your
frequencies with skillful sound design,
microphone position and superior arrangement
skills. The less you need to do at mix time, the
better! Still, it's a given that you will find yourself
with tracks that crowd or conflict with one
another, and attenuating one track to let another
shine through is a reasonable compromise.
We intimated earlier that you may be better
off attenuating a signal with EQ rather than
boosting it - this is because a boost may result in
added noise and will certainly make it more
difficult to keep your levels in check. However,
this practice is very much a leftover from the
hardware era, when signal noise coming from the
EQ itself could be problematic, so don't lose any
sleep if you feel you have to give the bass slider a
bit of a nudge.
You can, of course, also use your equaliser for
dramatic effect. Take, for example, the famous
'telephone'etfect, wherein all but a narrow range
of frequencies is scooped out of a track. Pink
Floyd's venerableWish You Were Here
(ubiquitous with buskers the world over) begins
with a drastically equalised signal and then shifts
to the full spectrum after the intro. lt's very
effective, and a technique still used in dance
music to thin out a breakdown before a track's
beat and bass drop.
Using EQ for effect is an art and as such, it's up
to you to put your own personal stamp on this
under-appreciated yet critical studio tool. We'll
get you going with a few specific tricks in our
walkthroughs, starting over the page.

Check out these excellent EQs

@rr"" @eio EE@srag @rre€ graphic

This Windows-only plug-in looks very
much like the Pultec EQP'IS, an
extended version of Pultec's legendary
EQP-IA3, possibly two of the most
sought-after (and costly) EQs on the
vintage market. The Pushtec provides
five bands, all of them adjustable. lt may
not make your track sound like it was
mixed at the Power Station. but it will do
a fine iob and look darn good doing it!
www.leltonerlasagne.com
Another EQ that looks for all the world
like an old Pultec - this one, however, is
strictly for the Linux crowd. ln any
event, this little fella sounds every bit
as good as it looks. You get low-, high-
and a pair of mid-frequency knobs (one
for gain, the other for frequency
selection), and you can adjust the
bandwidth of the mids. Very nice, and
the price is certainly right.
www.llnuxdsp.co.uk
This gem from BIAS is a'smart'
equaliser, meaning it can analyse the
spectral character of one recording
and apply it to another. This allows you
to match your overall sound to that of
your favourite recordings, but more
importantly, it allows you to learn how
they differ and to adjust your
recordings accordingly. You can save
your spectrums for later use, as well.
www.blas-lnc.com
llEQ looks like a EQwith knobs,
but it's actually a parametric affair with
a full ten bands, the first and tenth of
which are shelving. The shelves have
gain and cutoff frequency knobs, while
the remaining eight are peaking filters
with gain, centre frequency and Q
controls. There are VU meters to keep
you out of trouble, and with +/-2OdB of
gain on offer, you might need'em!
rYww.ddmf.eu

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 7I

>eq
',.. Sweet, bright backing vocals can
j''
add warmth to your mix and help
re make room for the lead vocal. Our
starting point here (l Track Start.mp3)
features a lead vocal, three tracks of
backing vocals, beats and a bassline
sequence. The'Mmmm' backing vocal
plays twice, the second instance a bar
after the first. The'Oooh'backing vocal
plays once, in the middle.
+r ..".,- We introduce the two'Mmmmm'
.fu + "'" backing vocals and send theseto
'{"fu'*L
it Auxiliary 2 as well, so that they benefit
from the same EQ. We add the UAD buss
compressor to Auxiliary 2 to smooth
levels across the BV parts, using a Ratlo
of 4:1, a low Threshold and output Gain
set to taste (4 Mmmm BV.mp3).
. ._ To provide more separation, we pan
.; the'Mmmm' backing vocal channels
F to either side in order to free up more
space in the centre for the lead vocal.
The first'Mmmm'moves to -25 (left),
while the second moves to +25 (right)
(7MmmmPan.mp3).
72 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
"- - We can make the lead vocal a proper
'lead' by using the UAD Neve 88RS
channel strip. We compress it and set the
EQ to slightly brighten it and give it
added presence. We also send it to an
auxiliary bus to pick up a quarter-note
delay - this provides a little more space
(2 Lead Vocal.mp3).
**, We add a third plug-in to the
,"e auxiliary channel, using Abbey
Road's TG124l4 Filter module to drop
frequencies around 1.8kHz by 4dB. This
makes the sound thinner and leaves
more space for the lead vocal. This is a
subtle effect, so we've demonstrated
which frequency this is by boosting by
lOdB for the purposes of this clip only
(5l.8kHz reduce.mp3).
J*'", .. Nowweadddelaystothe'Mmmm' ffi
;*%, " parts,aschannelinsertsratherthan fu#S *'Mmmm'partsthough,soforthe
5,wdd direct from Auxiliary 2. We want the *#f final mix, we boost these in volume by
delays to benefit from thepan positions,
and this wouldn't happen if we added a
delay at the auxiliary stage. Both gain a
quarter-note delay with medium
feedback (8 Mmmm Delays.mp3).
*\ Westart processing the backing
vocals by sending the main'Oooh'
part directly to Auxiliary 2. We set up the
UAD Precision Equalizer, brightening by
5dB at 8.7kHz and by 3dB at 6.5kHz while
cutting 572H2 by 4dB and244Hz by 5dB.
This sweetens the backing vocal
dramatically (3 Oooh BV.mp3).
-" Leaving the EQ for a moment, we set
- "" up an auxiliary send from Auxiliary 2
(our backing vocals channel) to Auxiliary
3, where we add the Sony Oxford reverb.
Its Long Hall setting (3.5s) creates an
ambience around the backing vocals
that distances them from the lead vocal
(6 BV reverb.mp3).
,- Thisdoesdropthelevel of the
2.5dB on both audio tracks and also drop
the'Oooh' backing vocal by the same
amount as it's a little dominant. The
backing vocals all sound much sweeter
now (9 Final Mix.mp3).

Better telephone EQ
Telephones are wondrous devices for
communication, but the fact that we spend so
longrtalking on them doesn't really help explain
why the effect of simulating their frequency
response (known as'the telephone effect')
remains so popular in record production.
But popular it is, particularly in pop and dance
music. ln fact, the telephone effect has become
such a standard treatment that most EQ plug-ins
offer at least one variation on it in their preset
lists. These are often a little crude and overly
harsh, however, in exactly the same way that
music played back through a telephone is - even
when it isn't dodgy hold music playing down a
bank's customer'service' line at us.
ln record production, creating the illusion of a
telephone treatment without subjecting your
listeners to this same type of sonic abuse is the
aim, and it's easily achieved with some careful
\/ We start with a basic track
TI comprising a Stylus RMX beat loop,
I an evocative piano, a bouncy bassline
courtesy of u-he's Ace and a single note
pad from LinPlugb MorphoX. We're
using reverb and delay on the piano
and a separate delay on the bass
(l Telephone EQ start.mp3).
on* We boost the volume by 5dB and
r' find this provides a gentle'telephone
sound' without providing any unwanted
over-blown midrange - however, some
nasty spikiness does remain. We address
this first by dropping frequencies
around 1.2kHz by 7dB. On our audio
example on the CD, this frequency is
boosted by 7dB so you can hear it clearly
(4EQl.2kHz.mp3).
application of technique. The
first item of business is to
replicate the sound of a
telephone by removing lots of
low- and high{requency
content. The easiest way
to achieve this is to use
your EQ's low- and
high-pass filters. This
will leave you with
mid-range and low treble, which is where
frequencies tend to become harsh - and it's
even more apparent once you've scooped out
lots of content at the extremes of the frequency
range. Here is where standard telephone EQ
presets, with their'all-purpose'settings, normally
fall down, but we can tailor our EQ settings to the
specific sound we're treating. So take care to
listen to and analyse your sound, and target
q We apply a standard telephone EQ
d preset to the piano (we're using
Logic's Channel EQ set to Phone Filter
Notch. which is in the EQTools
sub-menu). Many EQ plug-ins feature a
similar preset treatment, which radically
boosts the midrange while filtering lows
and highs. The result is too harsh
(2 Phone filter Preset.mp3).
\F This is effective, but it still leaves
some over-zealous frequencies. We
target these with another EQ band,
scooping out another 6dB at 2.2kHz.
This leaves the thinness of a telephone
sound but also reduces the resonance
associated with telephone presets
designed to achieve this effect. Again,
we've boosted this frequency on our
audio example (5 EQ2.2kHz.mp3).
eq<
Thetlnnysoundqualityproduced bythetelephonelsan
endurlng etfect, and lt's easy to create ln your DAW
problem frequencies (normally between 1 and
3kHz). Some spot reductions in volume in this
range will reduce harshness without detracting
from the overall telephone sound, as we'll
demonstrate below.
q We remove the offending Channel
'/ EQ plug-in and replace it with the
Sonnox EQ, switching on all bands. We
start by filtering bass and treble using
the high- and low-pass filters, scooping
frequencies out below 4OOHz with a
slope of 3OdB per octave and above
3.2kHz with the same slope. Compare
this to Step 1 to hear the reduced tone
(3 EQ filters.mp3).
Back in context the piano EQ is
"* working
"s nicely, producing a similar
effect to that heard in Step2 but with a
much cleaner feel. Telephone signals are
compressed too, so we add Logic's
Compressor, using a low Threshold and
a Ratio of 8:1. We also add Logic's
Bitcrusher with a lo-blt setting to impart
alo{i feel (6 Plano Compression.mp3).
COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 73

n€ \/ All DAWS allow you to automate EQ
settings, which is useful for changing
# the tone of a sound over time. An
s
extreme example of this is to use EQ to
create formant-style vowel effects. First
we copy Synth Chord.wav from the
Tutorialliles/EQfolder onto our hard
drive, and then onto an audio track in
our DAW (we're using Ableton Live).
for the fun stuff. We can create
/ Now
"*- with the EQ by setting
vowel sounds
the two filters'cutoff frequencies to
different values, For example, if we set
the high-pass filter to 5OOHz and the
low-pass to lkHz, we get an boo'sound.
q rq
Some EQ plug-ins, such as Ableton
'" Live's EQ Eight, allowfor the
processing of the middle and sides of a
ru
signal separately. This feature can be
used to get some unusual stereo effects.
We copy Synth Chord.wav from the
futorlal files/EQ folder onto our hard
drive, and then onto an audio track in
our DAW (here we're using Ableton Live).
1*
c'
Now we add an EQ (EQ Eight from
Live's audio effect menu) to the
track. To create vowel sounds we need
to use two EQ peaks. We set the first EQ
band to high-pass filter mode, and turn
its Q level up to 5.OO. This makes the
band act much like a resonant filter with
high resonance. Sweep the Frequency
value around to hear how this sounds.
a We can automate the filter cutoff
r frequencies to get different vowel
sounds - for example, automate the
low-pass filter to move from lkHz to
2.3kHz. This will morph the sound
from an'ooo' to an'eee' (Moving
Formant.wav). For more information on
the spectral content of vowel sounds,
see en.wlklpedia.org/wlkl/Formant.
u* We add EQ Eight to the audio track,
/' and change the Mode setting from
Stereo to M/S. We can now switch EQ
Eight between two different modes, M
and S (middle and side), with separate
EQ curves for each. With M mode
selected, we set the first EQ band to
high-pass filter mode.
eq<
a
/
Next we select the second EQ band,
and this time set it to low-pass mode.
Again, we turn the Q value up to 5.OO to
get another peak. These peaks will boost
the channel's level so much that it
overloads, so we turn the EQ Eight
effect's Galn level down to -9d8.
a/ lf yourEQeffectof choiceisn'tas
easy to use or as flexible as Live's,
check out Philta CM Edition on the CD.
This dual filter allows you to create
similar effects, and it's possible to link
both filters so their cutoff frequencies
can be controlled using either of their
cutoff frequency controls, which makes
creating sweeps less time-consuming.
Now we automate the cutoff
frequency of this band to sweeP
upwards and downwards over the
course of a couple of bars, as shown
above. This creates a phaser'style effect
that has the added advantage of taking
out the bass from the centre of the mix -
ideal if you need to make room for your
kick or bassline (MidSlde EQ.wav).
COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 75
>eq
q$ \/ Careful removal of problem
frequencies in a sound can help give
fr it a much more tailored character. We
start with a basic track, consisting of a
harmonically rich bell sound from
Logic s EFMl synth, accompanied by a
pad from Omnisphere, a beat loop from
Stylus RMX and a bass sequence from
Trilian. The bell sound is quite spiky at
the moment (1 Notch EQstart.mp3).
F e-- We undo dramatic drop and try
/ somethingthiselse,
tuffg narrower creating a much
C -*- frequency band
bandwidth drop that's
automated to track the movement in the
part. ln this way, the relevant harmonic
in the sound is dropped by 2OdB for
each note but only the dominant
frequency is affected each time a note
plays (4 2OdB narrow drop.mp3).
ry /"- Thefinalfrequencyareatoaddress
# is the one around 2kHz, which also
F contains some loud, overbearing
harmonics. We repeat the trick from
Step 4, automating another narrow
frequency band set to -2OdB, which
tracks the active frequency in this area
t (72khzteduce,mp3).
76 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
*#% q NextweapplyLogic'sChannelEQto q
pf' thesoundandpresstheAnalyzer 4
6fu button. This allows us to see the specific #
frequencieswithin the bell that are over-
loud as the sound plays through. We
want to make this sound as mellow as
the rest of the track (2 Bell Solo.mp3).
This creates some glitches as one
-."_
is effectively
r*S 'unOropped'as one note moves to
another, but it helps eradicate one
aspect of the harshness of the sound.
Next we apply a wider frequency drop to
content centred at l3kHz in order to get
rid of some of those super-high
overtones (5 HF Drop.mp3).
#% . * Now it's time to put the revised bell ffi \ We bring the bell's volume up and, as
#kq / soundbackinwiththeothertrack k-# d afinal EQchange,scoopoutall low
elements. The result is much quieter, as
fuS those ffi bass content out by applying a
overbearing f requencies
accounted for so much of the track's
volume. The overall sound is much
mellower now (8 Bell In Mix.mp3).
q Weexperimenttoseehowthesound
I changeswhenwedropawiderange
of active frequencies around 73OHz.
Bells tend to contain clusters of busy
harmonics which move up and down as
the notes in a part change. We scoop
13dB out at 73OHz and create a wide
bandwidth around this frequency. The
result is good in places but less effective
in others (3 Bell T3OHz Drop.mp3).
'*
/ This is effective, but as some content
at this harmonic register is actually
above the bell curve of our EQ here,
we're switching to a high-pass filter,
rolling off frequencies above 4.4kHzby
lSdB per octave. This dramatically alters
the flavour of the bell sound, making it
much mellower (6 HPF.mp3).
48dB/octave high-pass filter to
frequencies below 360Hz. This cleans
the sound up a little more and leaves us
with a thinner, purer sound overall
(9 Bell No Bass.mp3).

\/ Changingthetonal qualityof the
I reverbs you use can make a mix
sound much more controlled. Our guide
track includes a bass, pad and trance
lead from Logic's ES2, a drum loop from
Stylus RMX, an additional kick drum and
a sequence part from Omnisphere. The
lead part is doubled with a second
sound from LinPlug's MorphoX (l EQ
Reverb start.mp3).
r.- Nowwe send the pad sound to
/ Auxiliary 2 and set up the Sony
Oxford reverb with a Bright Plate reverb
preset. This is too big - it lifts the
brightness of the pad, but adds far too
many unneeded frequencies in the
midrange (4 Pad Reverb.mp3).
>Listen up
Professional mix engineers need
very finely honed listening skills
to enable them to hear the types
of subtle changes being effected
in this tutorial. While these might
seem minor when heard in
isolation, in the context of a mix
they can all add up and
collectively have a huge impact
on the clarity and cohesiveness of
the mix as a whole. The more
discerning your ear, the better
your mixes will sound. Like most
things related to music
production, this is a skill that can
be developed with lots of
practice, so here's an ideal
opportunity to get some in!
1*
/
We start by sending the bass sound
to Auxiliary 1, where we set up
Logic's Goldverb. We set a 1.55-second
reverb and open up the send. The result
is washy and unfocused, and is a perfect
example of why many people assume
that putting reverb on bass sounds is a
no-go (2 Bass Reverb.mp3).
Opening the Sony Oxford Reverb's
/".- EQ pane allows us to rectifythis
problem by shaping the tone. We use the
lowest EQ control to roll out the reverb's
bass below 95H2, whilst we also dial out
5.5d8 at 2O7Hz and 5dB at 626H2. We
low-pass filter the top end above 7,5kHz
(5 Pad Reverb EQ.mp3).
r/ Nowwe add the lead sounds -this
gives us a chance to open up the top
end of the mix. We send both sounds to
Auxiliary 3 and set up the Lexicon
Vintage Plate. We choose a preset called
Just Plate - plate reverbs are generally
known for their generous treble end
Olead Reverb.mp3).
eq<
1
/
lnserting an EQ plug-in after the
reverb proves that this needn't be
true, however. We fire up Logic's Channel
EQ and use the filters to scoop out
24dBloctave f rom f requencies below
134H2 and 24dBloctave f rom
frequencies above 47OHz. The result is
pretty dark and lacks the previous
effort's overwhelming quality (3 Bass
ReverbEQ.mp3).
1
/
Next we add the sequence partfrom
Omnisphere. This contains no
reverb, but the delay is native to the
sound. This works nicely and does the
job of creating the sound's'space'.
Sometimes not adding reverb, however
carefully EQd, is the key to a sound's
success, so we leave this sound dry
(6 Sequence No Reverb.mp3).
ry'
insertthe UAD Cambridge EQ
We
after the Lexicon reverb to shape the
sound, scooping out frequencies below
IOOHz with a high-pass filter and
dropping levels at l4lHz and 611H2 with
generous bandwidth settings (8 Lead
ReverbEQ.mp3). Putting all the
elements back into the mix, the whole
track has more space and drama
(9 Reverb EQflnal mlx.mp3).
COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / T'
t-
lf your idea of stereo processing goes no further than giving
the pan pot a bit of a twist at mixdown, you're not making
the most of your stereo soundfield
1
/
Although surround sound has made its
mark in the music technology industry,
most listeners stlll partake of their music in
two-channel stereo. Surround sound may be a
vital part of the clnematic experience, but
most music is sold as stereo MP3s or CDs.
Music is most commonly heard behind the
wheel of a car or via tiny earbuds attached to
an iPod or phone. Obviously, the stereo format
ls allve and kicking - and so should it be. One
could make a compelling argument that all
music is heard in stereo, since we have only
two ears. Directional hearing is still a result of
a binaural process.
80 r COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
Surprisingly, stereo recordings didn't really
catch on at first. ln the pop music heyday of the
196Os, many engineers considered stereo a
novelty. ln fact, many of the most famous stereo
albums of all time were mixed as such merely as
an afterthought, with the job often being
relegated to studio interns. The senior engineers
(and the lion's share of the studio time) were
reserved for the monaural mixes.
All that changed in the 7Os.'Hi-fi'was a
buzzword of the day, and audiophiles spent small
fortunes on their systems. With the exception of
a short dalliance with quadraphonic recordings,
the record industry concentrated its efforts on
AUl}E fles le! need io
t!€ vdkth@glB
tolhryr
{e ttE tutoridned
ln
Sf*o iolder
stereo productions. With the advent of 24-track
tape decks, more tracks could be used, meaning
more stereo recordings at the source and more
room for double-, triple- and otherwise
multitracking instruments, resulting in thick
stereo panoramas. Mixing engineers made use of
autopanners that could bounce the sound
around the stereo soundfield, and other effects
designed specifically for stereo use.
Little has changed since then - effects
dedicated to enriching the stereo experience
abound, even if they lack some of the wow factor
they once claimed. Still, there are those that
widen the perceived stereo field, and others that
a
stereo <

simulate three-dimensional vistas using oilly two

channels. As you'll see, there are those that are
intended for subtle corrective use and others that
are little more than gimmickry.
The lion's share of available stereo effects are
those that in some way move or adjust the
signal's position in the stereo soundfield. Some
are as simple as individual left/right controls for a
stereo signal. Others are based on autopanners,
effects that make use of an internal LFO that
modulates the pan position of the effected track.
Still others take this idea quite a bit further,
providing custom waveforms or other, more
complicated means to position the sound.
Another class of stereo processors attempt to
adjust the perceived depth of a stereo track,
providing various ways to tweak the stereo
width. Some of these so-called enhancers work
their magic by employing filters and even delays
to create some distinction between the left and
right channels. Some are quite convincing, while
others just tend to screw up your signal. Tread
carefully here; these stereo enhancement effects
are meant to be used transparently, and it can be
easy to overdo it.
Another dimension
There is another sort of stereo processor that's
worth singling out; those that simulate a
three-dimensional sonic image using
only two channels. These unusual effects
have been around for a while. Michael
Jackson's Dangerous album made use of
one such process, QSound, from QSound
Labs. This same process was very popular with
game developers and could be heard in a variety
of game titles, particularly those from Capcom.
Similar technology was produced by Roland in
the form of its RSS-IO Sound Space Processor.
Though a number of major label releases were
mixed using these devices, they never really
caught on in the studio arena and were
eventually all but edged out by the rise of
multichannel surround technologies.
Nevertheless, similar tools are still available in
various guises, including a number of software
effects intended for mastering.
'.
Surround sound maybeall the mge, but ln the ageot
the in-earheadphone, most of usstill listen to muslc
in glorious two-channel stereo
Another stereo process that's well worth
getting to gr!ps with is mid-side recording.
Mid-side plug-ins don't actually do anything on
their own, but depend on a recording that has
been made using the technique of the same
name. Essentially this is a stereo recording
technique employing two microphones, one in
figure-8 mode and the other in omni or cardioid
mode. The former is known as the'side' mic, and
the latter is called the'mid' mic. The side mic is
positioned so its null side is facing the source,
while the mid mic is aimed right at the source and
is physically as close to the side mic as can be.
This is all done in order to provide a flexible
multichannel recording that can be adjusted at
mixdown. Mid-side techniques allow you to
adjust the relative volumes of the channels,
creating a wider or narrower stereo spread.
Traditionally, mid-side techniques require
decoding into a trio of channels. You can set this
up in your mixer, but it's easier to use a dedicated
processor to do the work. Many processors
support mid-side recording these days, though
not as many as wed like to see.
ln use, stereo processing tools are
very much an all-or-nothing
proposition. They are intended
either for subtle enhancement or
in-your-face novelty. ln either
case, it's often all too tempting to
go overboard. Enhancers should, as
we've cautioned, be used sparingly,
while the more gimmicky processes should be
used only occasionally. A track that is
autopanned from hard left to hard right
throughout is going to get very tiring, very
quickly. Having said that, such effects can add
interest to a track and are certainly worth
exploring - just be aware that if you do go too far
with your stereophonic shenanigans, your
exasperated mastering engineer may have to use
his own stereo processing skills to bring your
track back down to earth!

Check out these superb stereo processors

@EE@srgs
As meirtioned above, there are some
processors designed to give the
illusion of a three-dimensional sonic
vista using only stereo channels.
Panorama is such a plug-in - using
specialised DSP technology, it can give
the illusion that a specific sound is
placed to the left, right, up, down, front,
or back, near or far from the listener.
Pretty convincing, and great fun to use.
wavealts.com
frM@ffir-**
get much simpler than Stereo
It doesn't
Tool, a plug designed to give you visual
feedback of your stereo image. You can
control the left and right level
individually, invert the phase for each
channel, and tweak global stereo pan
and width. An essential tool for the
mastering engineer, but also quite
useful for any stereo tracks at mixdown
(think drum overheads or stems).
www.fluxhome.com
E@@ffiEro.
Designed as a means by which to
accustom yourself to the intricacies of
mid-side mic techniques, bx_solo
allows you to solo each of the various
elements of a mid-side recording. Left
and right, mono sum and stereo
difference channels are all available,
and they're phase-corrected too. A
stepped mid-side stereo width control
is included as well.
wwwbralnworx-muslc.de
E!ffi|@r'.*
As you d expect from Cableguys,
Pancake is a wacky, customisable,
over-the-top stereo panner - it's
autopanning taken to loony extremes.
lnstead of the sine or triangle wave LFO
seen on traditional autopanners,
Pancake lets you create your own
waveforms. Up to ten can be stored,
and you can sync the lot of them to
your DAW'S tempo.
wwwcableguys.de

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 8I


> stereo
The orbiter
Stereo is a gift from the gods when it comes to
modern music production. Not many innovations
have had such a far-reaching and long-lasting
impact as the ability to split a piece of audio into
independent left and right channels. lmagining a
world without stereo is like imagining a world
without colour.
Unsurprisingly, stereo also lends itself
particularly well to effects, particularly those that
rely on tantalising our sense of space. The orbiter
effect does exactly what it says on the tin;
through the use of the stereo field, we can make
sounds appear to move around the room.
The benefit of an effect such as this - besides
sounding great - is that it can literally add a new
dimension to your sound. Grand as that claim
may be, a problem many producers encounter at
some point is creating a sense of space in their
music, or in other words, producing music that is
/a
Start with a sound that has some
ruil interesting harmonics, such as a
ff detuned saw wave. You can try this with
other sounds, but more simple tones like
sine or pulse waves, with their smoother
tone, can be harder to place. Create one
long four-bar note - you can experiment
with sounds and rhythms later
(OrbitSaw.wav).
q
Now use your stereo effect to pan
/ the sound left and right following the
dip and rise in volume. Pan the first loud
section hard right, the quiet section to
the centre, the next loud section hard
left, then back to the centre before
panning hard right again. Now we're
getting that sound moving!
82 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
,['}
.b
Tantalise your llsteners by making
lnyourmlxappeartomovearoundtheroom
too dense. lf your track has everything up front
and centre, it's going to sound one-dimensional.
This is usually a problem related to the mixing
side of things, and the effect we'll be describing
here is certainly no fix for that, but what it does
do is give you some stereo depth free of charge
with no mixing expertise required.
#* ro First we'll add the sense of moving #.{fr Ia Create a more elastic sound by
g d awayfromandtowardsthelistener. 4
4ffi- Moving left and right is easier, so by # the automation slightly longer than the
you'll get
dolng front to back first a part.
better understanding of each step in the
process. Automate the volume so that it
peaks on the first beats of bars 1 and 3,
and the end of the loop going back into
bar 1 (OrbltFwdBak.mp3).
This next part is main ingredient
/ to really give thethe
"* effect a realistic
sense of space. lf you've ever heard of
the Doppler effect, you'll recognise that
this is what we're adding here. Small but
noticeable rises in pitch at the same
times as the volume increases will add a
definite sense of movement and
proximity (Orbltflnal,mp3).
v
-.\r t|a
.b
.D
*
Once you've read our walkthrough below and
learnt how to achieve the basic orbiter effect,
you'll be able to adapt and extend it to your own
needs. Soon you'll be confidently slotting sounds
into various places in the stereo field, a
- production technique that will serve you well
long into the future.
makingthe'away'-orquiet-partof
louder, closer Adding reverb on the
'away'sections adds size and space to
the effect. Different reverbs and
amounts will create the feeling of
different rooms. We've gone for a simple
hall reverb for now (Orbitrevrb.mp3).
/** set
Now that you've got the basic effect
up, you can tailor it to create a
wide range of variations. Using different
lengths of notes can increase the sense
of movement, while different reverb
settings will change the space the sound
is moving in. An arpeggiated sound
moving up and down notes or octaves
can be used to add movement in the
vertical f ield (Orbltarp.mp3).
 stereo <

Risers and whooshes

The now-ubiquitous white noise riser effect has rate at which the effect pans, the sound benefits
become something of a stalwart in current from another source of movement that greatly
electronic music production, but that doesn't changes its dynamics.
mean it's past its prime. A simple riser, whoosh or The final elements involve adding two more
fall might be all that you need in certain stereo tools that you may not have thought to
circumstances, and in cases like these should be use with sounds like this before. With the stereo
all that you use. elements starting to stack on top of each other
Sometimes your project demands a little the humble riser becomes a whirling menace,
more, though, and that's where stereo comes into enveloping the listener like an infinite, hypnotic
play. ln this tutorial we'll be starting with a basic inward spiral.
stereo panning riser and then moving on to lncidentally, if you have any interest in the
explore a few more ways of adding space and business of movie scoring you'll want to follow
direction to your riser effects. our walkthroughs below particularly closely, as
With most stereo effects, modulation is often this technique is ideal for a plethora of sci-fi and
the key - after all, there's only so far you can go spaceship-related sounds.
with the initial left to right. When treated with the One final note: this is a powerful effect, so
magic touch of stereo, these sounds take on a handle it with caution - wear protective gloves,
whole new life that's way beyond what you might don't look directly at it, and always use it
expect from a standard rise. By modulating the responsibly. You have been warned...

i ,l

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Simple risers make excellent
ti
'
'candidates for stereo treatment.
+ First create a basic white noise riser by
opening a synth with a white noise
generator, then add a low-pass filter and
set the Cutoff to about 3OHz. Assign an
envelope to modulate the cutoff with
the Attack set to maximum and the
Decay, Sustain and Release set to O.
" The simplest way of taking a riser
di' -"' and making it stereo is to add your
.sli
+Ee+ stereo or panning effect and use either
an LFO or automation to pan the riser
left to right. Set the amount as high as
possible and the rate to 1i8. At this speed
the effect should sound something like
riserchopper.mp3 on the CD.
.',
:i+!ri? To make the effect more interesting,
#!8. we can modulate the amount and
t
iiitir+Ft rate of the panning. lf your stereo
plug-in has an envelope or you're using
your synth's LFO to do the panning,
using either of these to modulate the
rate is the simplest method, if you don't
have these options, use automation
instead. Listen to riserratemod.mp3 on
the CD to hear the effect.

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. Already we have a classic panning
,a,it ,
'" riser or whoosh effect, but why stop
ii"i";: there? To really take this into the stereo
.;
world, we can add some simple delay.
Adding a delay effect with different
speeds/rates on each channel will add
yet another stereo dimension to this
sound. Keep the feedback and
drylwet balance low.
At this point we have something that
il,*-- is about as stereo as anyone might
want, but you don't want to be just
l+t.:l+F
anyone. Chorus is a modulation effect
that is also part of the 'stereo family'. By
creating multiple versions of the sound
delayed at tiny but different rates,
chorus adds a stereo effect that works
well with the delay and panning we have
al ready (riserchorus.mp3).
effect is pretty full-bodied now,
,,,", The
+€':i+d
F"Fi.''+ "'" so adding more to it could be
'+r,"".
hazardous, but try experimenting with
other stereo modulation effects such as
flanging and phasing. Envelope and LFO
modulation are your friends with this
effect as they lend themselves perfectly
to its evolving nature (riserfinal.mp3).

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL ,, 83

t-

> stereo

il t
I
I
I I
M
@
w
w

,
Splitting upsounds byfrequency Live is great when working with 'ii .,, Let's create an effect with three

I can be useful when creating more

complex effects, especially when
dealing with effects that introduce
multiband processing because it
allows you to have multiple effect chains
on a single track. We start by adding its
lt'
''''- different bands. We right-click the
existing chain and select Duplicate.
Doing this twice gives us three effect
stereo movement. For instance, you may EQ Eight to the audio track. We chains in total. We then right-click the
want to keep the bass end of a big synth right-click the effect's DeviceTitle Bal first chain and select Rename. We label
sound mono, while adding stereo and select Group. This will place the it Bass, then rename the other chains
movement to the higher frequencies. effect in Live's Audio Effect Rack. We Mid and Treble.
First we drag Synth Stack.wav onto an then click on the Show/Hide Chain
audio track in Ableton Live. List button.

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-----i-e
-., We select the Bass chain and set the - The source audio is mono so it will
" first band of EQ Eight to the low-pass
i:"''''''*
"'" already be dead centre in the mix,
filter mode. We set its Frequency to but in the event that we did want to
2OOHZ, and click the S button to solo the
'' 'ii make a stereo signal mono, we could
chain and play back the audio. We can use Live's Utility effect and turn the
hear iust the low-end bass-y rumble - we Width parameter down to O7o. We
want this to sit in the middle of the mix. un-solo the Bass chain, then select the
Mid band. We set the first band to
high-pass at 25OHz, and the second
band to low-pass at lkHz.
. We solo this band and take a listen -
lit""'+
'
all we can hear is the mid-range
growl. Let's rough it up a bit by adding
Live's Overdrive effect. We set the centre
Frequency to 2.2lkHz and the
Bandwidth to 3.33. This centre
frequency is above the low-pass filter's
cutoff frequency, but it still snarls up the
top end of the sound nicely.

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t th fl)

i:In:i . Now we solo the Treble band. This
'' time we set the EQ Eight's first
frequency band to a high-pass filter at
,..irj
1.3kHz, and add a Chorus effect after it.
This is where the stereo movement of
the sound comes in. We can hear the
stereo movement now, and see from
Live's channel meter that the left and
right levels are moving independently.
i|:1,1:. ., One of the great things about using
'l:t::..i ' Live's Audio Effects Rack is that we
rri- .,.+ can set the Level of each band very
easily. We turn down the Mid band to
-3.7d8 and the Treble band up to +1.6d8.
We listen to the sound and try bypassing
' the Audio Effects Rack. The trade-off is
that while the original mono audio has
more weight and push to it, the stereo
version is wider and feels less static.
:i*t1 ,
, We can get the best of both worlds
'.,,E,,. j: '" by using a limiter, which allows us to
turn things up without overloading the
channel. We add a limiter after the Audio
Effects Rack, pump up the Level by 4dB,
and try boosting the Level of the three
bands and tweaking the effects
parameters (Multiband Synth.wav). lf
you're a Live user, you can check out the
Live Multiband Synth Proiect on the CD.

84 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL

 stereo <

Stereo panning in the mix ^

You've probably read in the pages ofcm
about the ingenious and extreme lengths
some producers go to when crafting a
mixdown, but when you get right down to it
there are surprisingly few variables to
consider: the frequencies of the sounds,
their level, when they occur, and, in a stereo
mix at least, where they sit from left to right.
Elsewhere in this cm Specrbl we've seen
how we can use sidechaining to theat'our
way into fitting various sounds together by
modulating the volume of one part in
relation to another, and this works very well
indeed. We've also seen how adding
unusual harmonics with distortion enables
us to get around the problem of having
sounds that share a lot of frequencies, by
giving one sound a unique character that's
distinct from the other.
So what of the stereo field? ln the early
days of stereo, and for years afterwards, it
was simply a matter of panning something
left, right, or somewhere in between. But as
soon as stereo reverb and stereo delay
came on the scene, it became apparent that
there's much more mixdown mileage to be
had from the simple two-speaker set-up.
Adding width to reverb and placing that
reverb on a sound can make the entire
channel occupy a different space in a mix,
leaving more room for the stutf in the
middle. Artificial stereo spread effects can
have a similar impact, and just as a stereo
dblay adds presence to an otherwise
centred musical part, using panners and
tremolo effects can keep a sound distinct
from the other static parts, offering an
entirely different stereo mix space.

\. We can't place the parts of our mix A 1 we

/ /
I correctly in the stereo field in
isolation, so we start by taking our basic
mix and setting the initial pan values.
The idea is to create some balance -
t
E-
there are no hard and fast rules, but
generally we want to keep our vocals
largely in the centre (lnltial mix.wav).
With our main placements set, q
making {
can start being creative and
morespaceforindividual parts.Thefirst *J
thing we do is bus our backing vocals
and pan any double-tracking parts left
and right enough to get a nice wide
spread, to keep them distinct from the
main vocal. We also add a stereo
widener to enhance the effect.
1 Next we add stereo widening to the
/
reverb busses. This imparts a sense
ofsizeandspacetothemix; italso
creates a lot more space in the mix for
individual elements, and allows those
elements with reverb to stand alone (this
is one of the main arguments for putting
reverb on a bus).

i r-i 1.:r: I l

>Know your track

I/ We can add lesser or greater
amounts of stereo spreading effects
to any consistent pads or sounds that
are centred in the background too. The
trick is not to make everything as wide
as it can be, but to apply differing
amounts of spread to different elements
so that they aren't occupying the same
perceived space in the mix.
The most important thing to do
when creating a stereo mix, and
thus when deciding whether or
not you need to use such a
distinctive effect as a panner or
tremolo, is to figure out which
parts of your track are lead, which
are supportive and backing, and
which need to stand completely
alone. ln many very simple tracks,
you won't need to bother
(although feel free to do so
1
I
Finally we add a bit of gentle tremolo
anyway, if you're the adventurous
to some of the more subtle elements.
type), but when you have a lot of
This works best with arpeggios and
layered sounds that aren't
other fast but unobtrusive parts. A
designed to blend into one, subtle
stereo plug-in that can zero the bass
panning is a must.
width (generating a mono signal) below
certain frequencies may well be worth
using to thin the bass panning (Panned
mlx wlth tremolo.wav).

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 85

a
> stereo
I\.
Using auto-panning plug-ins can add
movement and drama to a mix and
re free up central mix space for your track's
most important elements. Our starting
point for this walkthrough is t Tremolo
start.mp3. This track is very busy,
containing a pad, two sequences, a kick,
drum loop and bass, two lead lines
playing the same notes, a conga loop
and an additional electronic drum loop.
"a We copy the auxiliary effects to the
r'' sequence's channel before removing
the auxiliaries completely. ln this way,
both the effected and dry components
of the sound benefit from Tremolo
movement. We insert Tremolo after the
delay and reverb and set its Sync rate to
4 bars. Any auxiliary effects would
remain'central' and dilute the Tremolo's
effect (4 Sequence 1 fremolo.mp3).
*% Non-moving panning can be
F r,- effective too. To give the lead part an
F extra sense of stereo, we move one of its
sounds to pan position -2O (lefD while
the other moves to +2O. ln this clip only,
this comes in for the second half so that
you can hear the difference clearly
(7 Lead Panning.mp3).
l
A6 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
4#k -E There's not a lot of room to breathe F*-# ,"* We turn next to the conga part,
# r within the track, and this is partly 4
4f,* due to all instruments being panned tud central mix space. We insert Tremolo on
centrally. We start with the pad sound,
adding Logic s Tremolo plug-in to its
insert channel. We set the Tremolo rate
to 2 bars so that the sound gently
sweeps from right to left and back again
over this period. Smoothing is kept at
lOO% (2 Tremolo Pad.mp3).
q The effects on the second sequence
/ are native to Omnisphere, so any
panning effects we add to this sound will
affect both the dry and wet signals.
Accordingly, we add a square Tremolo
shape that hard pans the sequence to
one side for one bar and the other for
the next (5 Sequence 2 Tremolo.mp3).
trh "- De-centralising the lead sounds
M * reduces their volume a little, so we
fuF turn them up now that these pan
positions are fixed. We send both lead
sounds to Auxiliary 5 and insert a
quarter-note delay. After this, we insert a
Tremolo plug-in and clock it to
quarter-notes so that the delays move
from side to side but the leads stay still
(8 Lead FX Tremolo.mp3).
which is currently using a lot of
its channel but set the Smoothlng to
096 so that the sound chops from side to
side without panning through the
middle. We set the Rate to half-notes
and the Depth to 8596 to keep the effect
'stereo' (3 Conga Tremolo.mp3).
"., lf you don't have an auto-panning
- plug-in, don't worry - you can
achieve the same results using careful
pan automation. Here we add exactly
this to the electronic loop part, panning
it +441-44 in two-bar blocks through its
duration in the second half (6 Electronic
Loop Pan.mp3).
/ * context (9 Final Mlx.mp3).
Here are all of our moving parts in
Compare
this to Step 1 and you can hear just how
much more space there is in the mix. lt
wouldn't be wise to move sounds like
the kick, bass and main loop away f rom
centre (as the mix would lean to one side
or other) but every other part benefits.

Stereo spread
With many of us carrying out mastering on our
own tracks, it's important to be clear about how
the process differs from mixing your recordings.
When mixing, it's well worth avoiding the
temptation to put mastering plug-ins in the
output channel, particularly before you've
completely finished the mix. lt's extremely
tempting to introduce these as a mixing project is
coming to a close, as it can give the mix engineer
(ie, you) a refreshing energy boost when
loudness maximisers are used to bring up the
volume, and a little EQ adds some sparkly treble.
However, mixing parts so that they sound
good through mastering plug-ins is a dangerous
game - remove the plug-ins and you'll notice the
mix sounds flat. lt's much better to complete a
mix, bounce it down and then re-import it into a
new session ready to carry out mastering
processes on it. The optimum setting is to leave
r *
We've mixed ourtrackdown asa
/ I
I stereo file without any effects in the
output channel, leaving 3dB of
headroom, to replicate the perfect'start
point'for a mastering session. ln the
output channel, we insert a Channel EQ
to lift the top end a little and then Logic's
Adaptive Limiter to boost levels. Note
the'gap insert slot in the output channel
(l Stereo Spread start.mp3).
1 Next we smooth the effect by
/ dropping the Lower tntensity slider
to 4O%, which fades in the amount of
effect that the Stereo Spread has at the
bottom end. The result is subtle but
noticeably better - there's greater
consistency in the low midrange, and
the track is slightly less predictable now
that there's a little movement (4 Low
Intenslty change.mp3).
about 3dB of
headroom between
your unmastered
stereo bounce and
OdB (digital
maximum), so do
insert a gain plug-in
and reduce the volume
before you bounce to
ensure that you've left
the necessary volume
space in your mix.
Thereafter, your mix will certainly benefit at
the mastering stage from careful attention to the
stereo picture. Mixing on headphones, in
particular, can often leave mixes sounding too
mono - as pan movements on headphones
sound so dramatic, we tend to be a little cautious
in how much we apply such treatments. So, as
/r- Stereo Spread from the lmaglng
lnto this second slot we insert Logic's
sub-menu. We start with a generous
amount of spread placed across the
entire frequency range by using the
default settings. The result is a total
mess, with the bass end in particular
sounding horribly lopsided e Stereo
Spread default.mp3).
1
/
The top end is also a little too
unpredictable with this amount of
movement all the way through to2OkHz,
so, we adjust the Upper Frequency
limit, taking this down to skHz. This
means that a huge group of frequencies
in the mix are still affected by stereo
spread, but the'air' at the top of the mix
is smoother (5 Treble Adlust.mp3).
stereo <
For mlxes made on headphones that are
too mono, stereo sp]€ad can help
well as adjusting tone at the mastering stage with
EQ and loudness with your maximising plug-in of
choice, experiment with stereo spread. Used
subtly or broadly, it can really help widen a mix.
We strongly recommend listening to the audio
examples for this walkthrough on headphones to
catch all the subtleties of the sounds.
We narrowthe effectof the Stereo
spread by adjusting the Lower
Frequency amount, moving it up to
2OOHZ so that no stereo effect is applied
to the lowest frequencies in the mix. This
sounds better, though there's still too
much movement in the low midrange
(3 BassAdlust.mp3).
1
/
This squashes the'spreading bands',
leaving a somewhat disembodied
feel through the mix's mid frequencies,
so we reduce the number of bands to 8
and drop the Upper lntenslty slider to
5O%. This provides a pleasing stereo
image without compromising the mix
(6 Flnal MIx.mp3).
COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / A7
chffl
react
Getting your various effects to ract in the right way is just as
crucial to your sound as knowing which parameters to tweak
1 Over the course of this cm Special we've
/ explored all manner of processing in
exquisitedetall. But no matter how many
tricks we shared, they still wouldn't tell the
whole story. An equally important aspect of
using any klnd of sound processor is knowlng
the optimum comblnation of effects,
appreclatlng which plug-lns enhance or
complement each otherand, mostcritically,
knowing the bestorderto placethem in.
To illustrate this point, cast a quick glance over
any channel strip plug-in. lt will show you that
when recording and mixing even basic audio,
there are a number of particular effects that
come in handy, and you'll see that the order in
which these are supplied in the units or plug'ins
i
is suspiciously similar each time. The same goes
for mixing channel strips. These tend to offer a
very specific collection of effects, and pretty
much all of the top-end ones have a button to
switch the signal path between different
configurations, such as EQ post- or pre-dynamics.
This doesn't happen by accident - such tools
are designed this way because the order of the
processors in a chain is arguably as important as
the processors themselves. lf the chain is built
correctly, the processing will enhance your
sound significantly. lf it's done incorrectly - even
using the same tools with the same settings - it
has the potential to destroy your track.
And of course, it's not all about the individual
channels - things get even more complicated
when you start looking at different types of
channels. Tricks and effects combinations that
work well on channel strips might not work as
well on a send and receive bus, and master
channels can be an entirely different kettle of fish.
So, we've dedicated the next few pages to
exploring this subject. We offer some tips as to
the types of combinations that usually work, and
highlight when and why they might not. But
fundamentally, our aim is to empower you with
the knowledge to make an informed choice
about the best way to structure your effects
chain for any given application, to be aware of
the impact the choices you make will have down
the line, and to be willing to try something off-
the-wall when that's what your track needs.
COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 89
a-

''"i':*' e
O o O": OO
oo oo oc >Switch it up
c3 cl cf At numerous times in the
F€eG, afrce plug-ln trom Sonalksls, i5 a $Eat
waytoteep eontFol of your slgnal lerrels r,r)\ rrr\\
\JJ \v c o following walkthroughs we'll
specifically suggest times to try
switching the order of some
plug-ins. But even where we don't,
Levetling out ',,". Here we're going to create our
please try to get into the habit of
switching them around and
Now that we hane the abillty to lnsert "* dream channel strip, and first in the listening to how it affects the
re chain comes the humble gate. Gates are overall sound and the
ten or mor€ plug-irls into €\rery almost always best placed first because performance of the other plug-ins
channel, and with so many lnstantly they usually need the purest signal, with in the chain (particularly those
grutlfidng prsetE to hand, lt,s eaey the widest dynamic range possible, to placed directly before and after
to forget all about signal quallty. We do their job well. You can hear various the one you've moved).
tend io think that slgnal3 don't audio examples demonstrating this on
degrade with dlgital, and so the CD (Tutorial flles/Chain/cating).
partkulady lf w€ have a dynamics
proce$or at the end ol the chaln
(whlch ls often a good idea), we don't
notke our slgnal getting
progresslvely ormdrlven ,;':l-/,,:\.
througbout the channel stdp. '1. /.X;i\.\
lf/./ ,^"1
Itl rot uncommon to s€e proiectg
,#:^w
i!{ipjt !!
'r'.!,

wlth two or three limlters on a

channel in a desperate attempt to 11 'x-
....CI."., \lJl
";, o-c
.," (k-) .,.
fatten upa weak-sounding signal. /'n\ " /A\
lll rs"l
And almost every tlme, the problem ,\
t_J
,*
has a very slmple ceusel at some cf a
rtage earllerln the path, a plug-ln ls
belng hopelegsly overdrlven, the
resultant signal ls golng lnto another
-i() ee -'
plug-in to be oyeJdriven again, and
soon, untll by the tlme lt gets to the
end llmlters, all tilat's left ls a sorry -,
Now we place any dynamic effects
' "-, Track saturation effects are next up,
- followed by EQ. The former generate
such as de-essers. As with gating,
exc[se for a strlng of nougms and
de-essers straddle the line between a similar effect to recording on analogue
ones that has been sonkally sounds you don't want and sounds with tape, making things warmer prior to
neutered by the onerdrive algorilhm similar frequencies that you do want, mixing. lf you aren't worried about
ln successive $uE-lns. Even top-end and all on one setting for the channel. getting an analogue sound, you can give
plugs can"t handle this kind of absse. Anything that smears the level by saturation a miss. lf you do use it, try
The answer? Open each plug-ln narrowing the dynamic range will have a moving it between this stage in the
and check lt ls not cllpplng. Mosl detrimental effect on the sensitivity of a chain and the end to see how it affects
have a meter; so use lt, on both the dynamically triggered effect. any subsequent compression.
input and tfte output. lt's tlne to
overdrive from tlme to tlme, but lt
should be a cholce, not an overslght.
lf a particular plug-ln do$n't have a
len€l meteB inserta meterbefore
and after. There are plenty ol tree
ones onllne (we llke FreeG from
Sonalksls), and they won't coloor
your sound. And naturally, ll the
effectcan bethbdrastic on one
chann€|, lmaglne the lmpact lt will
have on a full mi* Serlously, lf you
haven't been keeplng your levels in
hand, staft dolng so now and we
guarantee thit your mlxes will
improve markedly.
' Placing a compressor next will give "n At this point, we place sidechaining
the sound punch prior to the "" compression so it affects the whole
application of creative effects such as channel, including the delays. Finally, we
delay. The latter are designed to impart place a master compressor or limiter in
space and identity, but they are only as the chain - this time, it's there to pull the
good as their source material. ln any whole channel together. lt needn't be
case, it's very difficult to add punch to a too heavy and shouldn't usually have
sound after it's had reverb and delay the effect of making the transients sharp
added, as any processing will be acting or punchy - here it's all about fattening
on the wet (delayed/reverbed) signal. up and pulling things together.

. When building a master channel
o ' strip, the first thing we place in the
re chain is our creative effects. such as
filters and glitch plug-ins. We might
sometimes use a light bus compressor. lf
we plan to use a stereo enhancing effect,
we'll probably add that at this stage too.
W*W
qg" .r Now we add a mix bus compressor.
- " Now we add EQ and frequency
-"{ ' ' enhancement plug-ins. These go
.
It shouldn't be pushed hard, but it
#; should be the best you own. The idea is
"*r# added in Step 1, because, like EQ, stereo
simple: you're making sure your track
feels like a finished piece rather than a
collection of disparate sounds. lt's
common for inexperienced engineers to
obsess over the minutiae of a mix for
hours, only to realise the reason it wasn't
gelling was that it had no compression!
-.= lf we want to use tape emulation or
o- another warming plug-in, it goes
here. These aren't essential in electronic
music, but on more acoustic or
old-school tracks they can remove the
excessive sheen that modern
production methods tend to impart. You
can even put this type of plug-in last,
after the limiter (see Step 5), if you think
it sounds good.
j
.{
i >Quatity control
For demonstration purposes in
this walkthrough, we're taking the
rather unorthodox approach of
including our entire mastering
chain with the master output
channel; in other words, we're
mixing and mastering in one
stage. While this works for some
producers, most prefer to export
a final raw mix as a stereo file and
then import that into a new
project for mastering, either in a
DAW or an audio editor. This
enables the mixing and mastering
stages to be considered (and
treated) as two completely
-
separate stages of processing
which. of course, thev are!
after the stereo enhancement effects we
enhancers affect the sonics of a track
dramatically - we don't want to caref ully
set our EQ and then add another process
that affects the sonics. Here we also add
any specific low-cut filters that we might
want to use.
Now we add a limiter, or perhaps
r'o two. lf you're using a multiband
limiter, you'd normally place this before
a final limiter, but try things a few
different ways and see what works best.
Always do a bounce without the limiter
in case somebody else wants to master
your track at some point. You can hear
'before' and'after' audio examples on
the CD (Tutorial files/Chaln/Master).
Coming or
going: bus
versus insert
One of the most lmpo*ant things
to declde when addlng plug-ln
e-ffects is whether to apply them ag
an insert or on an auxlliary bus ln
send/recelve mode.
ln tlmes gone by there was a very
clear difference, based partly on
funcuonallty but mostly on practkal
necessfi. Some effects, such as
dynamlcs processors and E(F,
gen€rally belong ln the slgml peth.
They are deslgned to speclflcally
react to and treat an audlo slgnal,
then shape lt. Other such etlects
lnclude dlstortlon, phaslng and
flanglng. Delayg and reverbs, on the
otter han4 have tradltlonally been
pleced on busses. ln days gone by,
reverbs and delays were expensive
and in short supply, so busses were a
way of sharlng these valuable
resourcq5 arnong many chennels.
It also happens that by uslng the
same effect on a number of channels
you can achleve coh€rence ln thc
mlx by, for example, routing several
channels and compresslng them
together, or by simply havlng the
same reverb on a numbcr of
channels, thus placlng them in the
same perceived sonlc space.
Nowadays, wth efiecthrcly
unllmlted plug-ln @unts, we
r€gulady make tracks that €{ch haye
the same rewrb lnserted on every
channel, wlth dlff erent pesete or
even ldentical settlngs. But we can
sometlmes be guilty of throwlng the
baby out with the bath water, as
there are a number of reaeons, even
beyond the ones we've mentioned,
to place effects on busses.
First and foremost ls parallel
processlng (known as l{ew York
compression when used with a
comprcssor). Theldea bthat you
send some of the signal from your
maln channel olf to b€ processed
separately. Now lntultlon would tell
you that this ls slmllar to adlustlng
the weVdry balance, but even
leaving aside the tact that most
dynamlcs processors (and many
ottrer effectd dont have a wet/dry
control, theeffecl ls often dlfferent
when done manually. And crltlcally,
when usedwltha bus, addltlonal
processors can subsequently be
applied to the bus eflcct wlthout
affecting the maln slgnal. Examples
lnctude a stereo spread on the effect
alone, a prlme candldate belng
renerb. ln thls way you achlera€ a fat
signal, but one that sounds like ft is ln
a wafin, expanslve space.
Of course, whether you use
lnserts or sends ls purely a creatlve
cholce. We sugg€st that you
experiment witlr both.
> effects chain

Effects chain.tips
I We probably all know that stereo bass ls
I usually best avoided for a number of
I reasons, so how can you add stereo wldth
to a full sound without making the bass
element "too stereor? Slmple - with parallel
processing and someJudlcloss ffie ol EQ. Send
llIPuTl rYoLuilElffi ctsd{El l€
your gound to a bus, add stereo width and use (l o D.
1 r.r-gi'a-t -iRffi
* Cf l
a frlter to remove the troublesome bass end,
then balance the levels.

Q lt's important to be careful whereabouts

1l inhesignal path you place a stereo
G enhancing plug-in.lf you place the plug-
ln after an ineened reverb or pann€d delay
and the orlginal sound is stereo too, you'll end
up loslng some of the stereo ldentlty of the
orlglnal slgnal. lf, on the other hand, you place
the plug-in dght at the start of the slgnal path,
the eflect wlll be a stereo signal that retains
thester€o ldentity of thedry signal.

When applying creative effects like

flters, reverb and delay to the master
output channel, you should be sure to
place them before your master output
compressor, if you're uslng one. This ls
because you need to avold the peaks and
boostlng eff€cts you can get by oveldrlving an
already compressed slgnal path. Of course,
thls is also another reason to leave plenty ol
headroom in your mlx.
Place gullaf ampslmulator plrrgs at the start ofa mlx chann€l toteke adyantage ofthelr tull-on, expresslrre character

When using dramatic pannlng or

tremolo devlces, the effect usually
sounds better before compresslon
and/or limlting, wlth the dynamics processor
ln llnked mode ityou havetheoptlon, asthls
keeps the right welght balance ln the stereo
fleld. For more dramatlc effects in drops,
however, try it the other way around and
really a€centuatethe dlflerence between left
andright.
Itt notlust gates that should go
Any dynamically sensltive plug-in,like a
de-esser, de-breather or even auto-tune
devlc€ will usually work best placed before
any eftect that squashes the dynamlc range
ftncluding overdrlve and saturation plug4ns),
as this makes ii far easlerfor the devlce to
differentlate the sounds you don't want from
theonesyou do.
] gn""rou have your plug-ins in the right
|ll order, automation is onetool that can
V hep make the most of this. For
example, ln parts of your track whare you
might went the reverb or delays tocome out
more, lncreage the amount of compresslon
placed afterthem -whetheron an lnsert ora
bus - and they wlll become a louder and more
first. robust part of the signal.
Glitch plug-ins can be very dramatic, but
they do tend to have a blt ofiarring effect
on a trackl dynamlcs. To combat this, try
placing a very firm compressor or llmlter after
them. Thls ls a partlcularly effective technlque
on more poyyerful and welghty channels or
full mlxes, and can make the difference
between aruddering distractlon and the
perfect choppy effect.
Fl Similarly, certain glitch e{fects on
Ithinner riffs or individual elementscan
\J break up a groove too much within a
swlnglng mix. Try placing a tempo-based
delay right after the glltch e{fect - the delay
wlll keep the roll going whlle retaining the
qulrkiness and excitement of the glitch.
lleedless to say, a bft of compresslon next will
pull them together nicely.
Guitar amp slmulator plug-lns are
usually best placed at the start of a mlx
channel, as they are designed to be
unruly and expressive rather than nlcely
crafted in a mix. Of course,lf you flndyourself
lovlng the sound of lt, there are no hard and
fast rules, but tbis tlp is definltely more than
your ayerage guldellne, so take note!
l .F\ When placinga reverband a delay
II JY f "nutesameihannet,try
experimenting with their order, It
you're looklng tor a more natural-soundlng
reverb, lt should come after the delay, but
placlng the delay after the reverb can
generate a more rhythmic effect, or one that
sounds atmospheric and ambient,

I I Fllter sweeps can have a very different

Smooth the etfects ot a glitch plug-ln by placlng lt betore
atempo delay, or place lt after for maximum eftuct
Master bus elfects should come b€fore any master
cofipression to prevent unruly peaks and cllpping
I I effectwhen placed b€foreoraftera
I I delay.Placedbeforeadelay,theycan
create an lnterestlng e{tect when the delays of
the unflltered sound trail off over the tiltered
dry signal. ll you're after instant filtering,
however, you'll want to place the fllter after
thedelay. cm

92 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL

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i manufacturers of those
Bluenoise are a Norway-based outfit who clearly
have a knack with Jeff McClintock's SynthEdit,
and they've put those skills to work in creating
this exclusive plug-in for cm The result is the
exquisitely archaic Bandecho SE, an incredibly
lifelike emulation of a dusty old delay deck.
Bandecho SE is, in fact, a cut-down version of a
much more elaborate commercial plug-in,
though you'd never know it to play with it. lt does
everything we could possibly ask of a tape delay,
and does it very well indeed - in fact, we were
surprised at how well it stacked up against a real
Maestro Echoplex we had to hand.
Tape-based echo is a special breed of effect.
Rather than aiming at the truest fidelity to the
original signal (though the
classic machines surely
were trying - and failing
beautifully - to get the best
possible signal quality), a
tape delay emulation should
be bursting with all of the
artefacts of analogue tape.
The processed signal in a
real tape delay degrades
with each pass over the tape
it
heads. With the feedback turned up high, developer lets you, the user, decide precisely
degenerates into a compressed, how much degradation should be applied.
scarcely
frequency-limited miasma that Featuring as it does a brace of familiar controls,
resembles the originalsound. Bandecho SE won't leaving you scratching your
Bandecho SE is fully capable of achieving this head, though a few of them work in ways that
awesomely oxidised tone, though thankfully the might seem at odds with other gear.

ryu q We're going to use Bandecho SE to 5- Bandecho SE doesn't have an

/ create a vintage sound, so it follows
g that we should strap it across a classic
vintage instrument - 4Front's Rhode will
do the trick nicely. Bandecho SE works
best on an auxiliary bus, so set it up as
such and route your piano through it.
Load the Bandecho SE patch called
lnitEcho.fxp from the Tutorlal flles/
ExcluslveSoftware folder on the CD.
/ initialised patch, so we've made this
one for you. Play some notes on your
electric piano. Not much happening, is
there? We've turned everything down
on this patch so you have something
with which to compare your processed
sounds. Turn the Feedback knob to 12
otlock, and move the Adiust TIme slider
over to the fourth mark from the left.
"* Play some fast, staccato chords. You
/ should hear a metallic echo. Try
turning the Feedback knob to around 3
otlock. Play the staccato chords again.
That's an instantly recognisable effect
we heard a lot of back in the 8Os. The
more feedback you add, the more
echoes will sound. You do need to be
careful with it, though - you could wind
up with a regenerating feedback squall.

1 Have a quick play with the Lowpass

gt aReturntheFeedbackknobtothe12 !H
/- odockposition,slidetheAdiust at
sf I Timeuptoaroundthehalfwaypoint, *-!
and play your short chord again. The
echoes are much more discreet, but
they're still very true to the original
signal. We'd better see to that! The first
thing we can do is to overdrive the
effect. Try switching in the Drive.
lTurntheCutoffknobtoaroundthel
/ odockpositionandptaysomeshort ln F / and Highpass parameters. These
chordsornotes.Ah,that'smorelikeit! Ldt interact with the Cutoff knob and allow
The echoes are losing many of their you to select the frequencies you wish to
low-end frequencies. You'll know from filter out of the echoes. We've turned 'em
reading our section on filters that many both up and increased the Adlust Time
filters offer Resonance functions, and considerably, creating a very moody
Bandecho is one of them. Turn it up to sound. You can copy our settings or load
around 2 otlock to impart some serious up our patch to hear the results
extra character. (MoodyEchoes.fxp).

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 95

> disc contents / exclt-rsive scftvrare
V-Ptugs
Emphasi-er LE #.
ffi-Ylilffi:.';
When is an equaliser not an equaliser? And when
is a resonant f ilter not a resonant filter? The
answer to both is, when it's an Emphasizer.
V-Plugs Emphasizer LE achieves some of the
same tasks for which you might call upon a filter
or an EQ, and for the most part sounds somewhat
similar to both. Yet it gets to the destination via
an entirely different road, even if some of the
surrounding landmarks do indeed seem familiar.
Like its big brother, Emphasizer LE draws upon
V-Plugs'SDM (Selective Dynamic Manipulation)
technology to single out and emphasise a
selected frequency or range of frequencies. SDM
makes use of a complex algorithm that combines
selective compression with what the developer
q" Emphasizer LE purports to add life
T r and sparkle to uninspiring tracks.
I WeU never suggest that our own
CM-5O5 drum machine lacks either, but
it does make a fine subject for testing
out the Emphasizer LE plug-in. Fire it up
in your host and whip up a quick drum
loop. Now open up the Emphasizer LE
plug-in on a track insert. Keep the track
rolling while you work.
Twisted Toots
Buffeater Micro Effects
f,!@[ neanor ensembles for Windows and
Mac (Reaktor required)
$![l www.twistedtools.com
This exclusive cm edition of Twisted Tools'
Buffeater is different. First of all, rather than being
delivered as a.stand-alone product or in some
plug-in format, Buffeater Micro Effects have been
designed in and for Native lnstruments'mighty
Reaktor. This means that you'll need Reaktor
installed to use them. The full version of Buffeater
is a multi-effects affair, allowing you to route the
various individual effects in, through and around
one another. This Micro Effects package provides
six effects a la carte.
The effects are decidedly off-the-wall, with
timestretching, granular manipulation, tape
effects, scratching, slicing and signal
96 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
calls "non-linear sound
enhancement processes".
We aren't sure precisely
what these processes are,
but we can say that
Emphasizer LE does exactly
what it claims to do: it
emphasises specific
frequencies without
sacrificing the signal's
natural qualities, and can pixie-dust plug-in that can add sparkle to yourtracksl
add a decent amount of
liveliness to a lacklustre track. though they go about the task in very ditferent
We've heard similarly tantalising suggestions ways. Used judiciously, Emphasizer LE can
from developers and manufacturers in the past, provide some of the same sort of presence as
and some of their products actually make good those devices. lt can also make for a cracking
on those promises. The Aphex Aural Exciter and good EQ-style tool at mixdown, or add a bit of
the BBE Sonic Maximizer both come to mind, mojo to a drum loop.
% q Emphasizer 4
Let's start by seeing how q lf you want to be more selective
i /" LE can add some to d, / about the affected frequencies, you
low-end punch
€* ourbeat.We'llbeusingsomepretty tud canadjusttheQknob.ThetightertheQ,
extreme settings for our example, so the tighter the focus on the selected
mind your volume. Crank the frequency. A wider Q means more of the
Emphasize knob all the way up to surrounding frequencies will also be
IOO%. You'll hear its effect right away, boosted. We set our Q to around 3
but not on the low end. Set the otlock fora supremely punchy kick
Frequency knob to around 8OHz. This drum. Oh dear, it appears we're
will provide a huge, thumping kick. annoying the neighbours!
sg;?*;:
deconstruction/rearranging. This collection is
definitely one to tickle the fancy of the more
experimental set.
Some knowledge is required to get the most
out of these effects. You need to be able to
trigger them via MlDl, so the developer
recommends opening them as instruments and
side-chaining the signal you want to process into
them. You can load samples in, too, and there's an
included sample map with some tasty sounds.
Each effect responds to a specific MlDl note-on,
and you can use MlDl learn to lash the various
controls to your MlDl controller. This real-time
aspect.makes for some fun tweaking.
Stretch, sllce, scratch and deconstruct your audio signals
wlth Twbted Tools Buffeater Mlcro Eftects. Therel one
catch, though: you'll ne€d Reaktor to use 'em...
 cxclusive software I disc contents <

de la Mancha
TRUCCM ffi
ffi-Y,:nXn a.co.u k/tru c2. h tm
Multi-effects devices usually fall into one of three
categories. There are utilitarian'Swiss Army
knife' processors that allow you to choose from a
handful of available effects and perhaps combine
or chain them together. There are pre'defined
combos, and there are devices that draw upon
multiple effects simultaneously and allow you to
intermix them in some way to produce
something new and unusual.
TRUC CM falls squarely into the latter
category. This strange device provides a quartet
of effects - there's a delay, a distortion processor,
a ring modulator and a granuliser. These last two
are commonly found gracing the heavily
beknobbed GUls of the more esoteric software
synthesisers, and are, as you
might guess, downright
bizarre. As you know ring
modulation produces
clangorous, inharmonious
tones. Granulisers break down
the incoming signal into tiny
'grains' that can manipulated
upon playback.
It's all good stufl and it
makes TRUC CM capable of a K4pon
surprisingly wide variety of keysto
sounds, but it's that wicked X/Y
pad that really brings the package to life. This Obviously, TRUC CM is ideal for experimental
handy little feature can be used to modulate the and unusual effects, though it is perfectly
level of each effect. You can automate the X/Y capable of providing a bit of subtle motion as
pad, as well as manipulate it manually - in fact, well. lf you like what it can do and want more,
you can do both at once! why not plump for the full version?

alutrlg
speiterflap
heks
totrtd
xpbde
lcrdsm
rod€*ir€
dcstMto
Litfarm
fLbd
lofi
h.ds
r+a{ly

ffa r* We've created a thumping 9O9-style
/ rhythm using the Pro-g in Orion, and
fi opened an instance of TRUC CM on the
channel insert - obviously, you can use
your preferred host and beat box. The
default patch is crazy, ripping around
our sound like a spike-wheeled muscle
car out of Deafh Race 2OOO. We want to
start from scratch, so let's call up the
lNlT preset.
q Let's loop our pattern and let it run
d while we have ourfun. TRUC's lNlT
patch bypasses all but the Dirt section.
With it's built-in resonant filter, this
section represents far more than the
standard fuzzbox or overdrive effect.
Currently there's no Dirt mode selected -
try CIose Shave from the dropdown
menu. Turn the Dirt knob up to hear the
effect. Ah, that's nice and stubbly!
-q Let's try the filter. Reduce the filter's
t' cutoff to around 5.5OO, and boost
the resonance (Res) to 5.O. That s the
stuff! Now let's move on to the Grain
section. lt's currently bypassed, so
switch it on. That sounds like a delay, and
it is, sort of. That's because both the
Graln Rate and the Graln Size are set to
% beat. Change the Size to l/16 Beat
and the Rate to t/9 Beat.

a OK, now for the weird stuff! Push the
/ Grain section's Pitch knob way up to
42.O. That! a crazy sound - it almost
sounds as if it were speaking! The pitch
of the grains is being changed. The other
three knobs are used to randomise the
grains - try turning the Slze Md knob up
to 8t. Now it sounds like alien insects!
Try turning the PItch Md knob up too.
q Let's activate the Ring section. You
d can hear the effect straight away - it
adds a metallic tone to the beat. The
Ring modulates the incoming signal with
a built-in oscillator. Tweak the Ring Hz
knob to adjust the frequency of that
oscillator. Now let's turn to the Delay -
the default settings of half-beat delays
and no filtering are fine for our needs.
q Now forthe X/Y pad. Turn it on and
a" activate the built-in LFO. Whoa!
That's going to make us seasick! Change
the Rate of the X axis to t2 Beats and
that of the Y axis to 4 Beats. Reduce the
Depth and Phase of the Y axis and see
the results in motion. Move the solid
orange'puck'and see how the motion of
the other puck centres on it. Wild!

COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL / 97

> disc contents i exclusive scftware
WhiteLABEL
d:SHIFTCM ffi
llllll'rlFll w i n d ows vsT
liilllil**.ro, gnoramonoprooucrons.com/
whiteLABEL/
We've discussed the idea of combining
pitchshifting and delays elsewhere in this cm
Specra/, and that's precisely what d:SHIFT does.
At its most basic level, the one-two combo of
delay and pitchshifting can produce thick,
swirling chorus effects. d:5HlFT does this and
more, pushing into Eventide-style harmonies and
cascading echoes.
The GUI is split more or less into two sections.
The left side contains a minimal allotment of
delay controls, while the right side has an equally
spartan selection of pitch functions. lt's just
enough to give you a wide range of effects while
T 1 Let'stake a quick look at one of the
/ neat things you can do with d:SHlFT.
I We'll need something to process - we're
going to use energycM (not to be
confused with energyXT2 Core), a
simple synth/step sequencer combo.
Program a simple eighth-note sequence
and open d:SHIFT on an insert.
rfl q Let's see how d:SHIFT works with
) { less melodic material. Load up a
! sampled drum beat into an audio track
in your DAW - we're using CMusic from
the cm Studio. We've brought in a
four-beat drum clip (Beat.wav) and fired
up an instance of d:SHIFT on its mixer
channel. The default Light Chorus patch
is making a mess of things.
98 / COMPUTER MUSIC SPECIAL
not bogging you down in
extraneous (and often
unnecessary) details. You
get two methods by
which you can control
delay time, a big knob for
fine-tuning and a
five-position selector for
setting ranges between You want choruslng? You got lt, Swlrllng pitchshltted echoes? l{o problem.
less than l0Oms and 5s. Wanna brag about how much it costs? Not wlth thls plug-|n...
There's a feedback knob,
and a low-pass shelving filter that can roll off
frequencies ranging from lkHz to 2OkHz. The
pitch side likewise has a range selector, allowing
for pitch ranges from 1 semitone to an octave.
ln short, d:SHIFT sounds as good as it looks,
and it won't empty your wallet or leave you
cf a Playyourarpeggiatororsequencer.
] / There's now a fat, rich chorus on the
L sound, but no echoes. Let's change the
delay range using the DelayTime's
range selector. Click on the green LED
labelled 2. This allows for delays up to 2s.
Our sequence is running at l2obpm -
if we twist the Delay Time knob to 72%,
we get some nearly synced echoes.
1 As exemplified by the snaresound
'*I / on David Bowie's Lolv album,
&* be
pitchshifted and delayed drums can
very effective. We can get even stranger
effects with software variants. Make sure
the Delay Time is all the way down and
the Pltch Shlft is set to O. Now nudge
the Feedback knob up tojust above
1 otlock for a weird, electronic timbre.
scratching your head. What's more, whiteLABEL
are offering cm readers a huge discount on their
Bolsteriser collection of compressors, plus a
unique stereo version of d:SHlFT. For full details,
go to www.roughdlamondproductions.com/
whltelABEl/CMoffer.php.
ft 'o Nowlet'smoveontothepitch.We
*€ r' want our echoes to bear a
tuJ harmonically pleasing relationship to
the original signal, so we set the Pitch
Shift's range selector to 5. lf we turn the
Pltch Shlft knob all the way up, it'll raise
the pitch a perfect fifth. lf you want to go
a little retro, try reducing the Hlgh Shelf
knob to around 3kHz.
q a. To take this effect to even wilder
ld r' extremes, we can crank up the Pitch
kJ Shift knobs range to 7 using the selector
switches. Now, try turning the Pitch
Shift knob itself up to around 3 otlock -
but be careful! You can easily generate
some ear-shredding feedback with delay
effects. That's a bizarre sound - we've
called our patch AllenDrums.fxp.