These days most VST3 effect plugins that require extra busses will work if you simply click the side-chain button in the plugin’s tool bar. If the plugin supports it, the inputs of it now show up as a routing option for your instruments/audio tracks/sends/groups, etc.
Side Chain Feature
Don’t forget that modern Cubase and plugins often support ‘side chaining’. Click here,
(Cubase Tool bar area of the VST FX)
and plugins that support it now have extra inputs, and more routing options become available for tracks/instruments….
Note: I have a lot of extra input pins showing in the bidule instance because I’ve set it to report to a host a max of 5 input busses. Since it’s hosted in a Quadro group (2 busses through) the host is doubling the inputs from 4 to 8, and some of these pins might not be usable for sidechain routing. In this case, the first 4 are already active before tapping side-chain, and routed through a Quadro group. When I ticked the side-chain button, bidule exposed all of possible pins, but Cubase is only making 5-8 available for side-chain routing (Aux 1 - 4 showing in Cubase).
When I clicked the side-chain button, bidule exposed the max number of inputs that I have it set to allow, which comes in handy with some of my VSTi real-time samplers and such). In bidule’s case the ‘default’ is 2 busses in, and 2 out; but, bus configuration/customization/overriding can be done via registry/plist entry of the OS.
Still, since a quadro bus group only supports 2 of them (4 ins/4 outs), I can only use the first 8 pins of this instance. I ignore pins beyond that.
Note that side-chaining only takes care of the ‘input’ side of a plugin. If you need more output busses, then you’ll need to use a channel type with more busses. I.E. Make a new ‘group’ track that has more busses (Quadro, One of the many Surround Sound options). Host the plugin in this new group, and route/pan as required from there.
So far I can get up to 25 inputs/outputs through (Ambisonics 40A config)!
Screenshot: Bidule hosted in an Ambisonics 40A group
Notice the 25 inputs and Outputs through in this bidule instance hosed in the Ambisonics 40 Group.
Bidule is showing me 24 audio pins too but numbered 1-25 instead of 0 - 24.
I click the side-chain option, and I get even more inputs showing in bidule with 4 stereo side chain bus routing now listed as outputs for things like instrument/audio/interface-input tracks. I believe I could probably set up bidule to ask for and report more aux input busses, but as is I’m getting 4 working side chain inputs any-time I click that button.
Ambisonic decoders will be the panner style you get by default if the group outputs to a stereo bus; however, you can drop a “Tools/Volume” plugin (included with Cubase Pro) last in the insert chain and get a more conventional mixer.
Change the group panner style of to standard panner:
And now I get 25 channels ‘straight through’ that I can gain stage with the Volume Plugin.
Depending on what I send into this group and how, I might need different panner types, or even to disable the panner all together.
Loads of options for working with these multi-bus groups and outputs, so experiment!
If the plugin is known to have multiple outputs active, then you could try setting up a Quadro (If you only need 4) or a larger suitable surround sound group track (if you need more than 4 inputs/outputs) and setting the Mixer Insert plugin up in that group.
In theory this should work out as:
- Plugin reports to host how many busses it wants, and the max possible supported.
- Host reports back to the plugin when they’re actually put to use, and setting up a quad or surround bus on the console may well get those other outputs active.
Ergo, back in the VST2 days, this was the normal way to side chain VST2 effect plugins that had extra busses in play. Use a group with more busses, and pan things where you need it to be. I think there are also some routing options deeper in Cubase for tracks that have multiple set of inputs/outputs.
Example of Old School Quadro Bus Routing for a side-chained plugin
Once upon a time most plugins were VST2 and few hosts had any such thing as a native ‘side chain’ button to grant some extra inputs to an FX chain. Still, VST2 protocols supported making plugins with more than just a single stereo bus. It was very common for compressor plugins to at least have 4 inputs.
To use them in hosts that predated having a ‘side-chain’ feature…we’d simply host the plugin in a quadro or surround sound group, and use sends to get whatever signal we wanted into the side-chaining half of the plugin.
Make a group track/bus with more busses (Quadro, Surround Sound, etc.)
Load an effect that has multiple busses in the group.
I’ve done bidule as a test and can see that it’s done the handshaking with the host and ends up with 2 stereo busses (4 in, and 4 out). I’ve set up inside bidule an uncompressed through on the front channels, and a side chained compressor on the back 2 channels.
I also get options in Cubase to change the routing of the group busses.
So, if I wanted to side chain that compressor that I have hosted in the Group 01 bus with a signal from Groove Agent SE, I’d route the signal, perhaps with an ‘aux send’ to that group and pan it to outputs 3 and 4. Of course I could route anything else I like into that Group and ‘pan it’ to the busses I want. I can then ultimately pan the group itself to get either the front half, back half, or a mix of all 4 channels.
Conventional routing to multiple Mixing Desk Faders?
It won’t be directly on the mixing console but you can get something close…
To get a 1:1 style mixer to simply do gain/volume across each channel on a multi-bus group or output (I.E. A 25 channel ambisonics group), there is a special Insert plugin for it under Tools/Volume:
25 Channel Mixing on an Ambisonics 40 group or output bus
Host the Volume plugin last in the chain of inserts, and you can go in and adjust the gain/volume for each individual channel in the group or output bus.
Yes, you can also build an ambisonic Output bus (Tap F4, Outputs) and leave the physical outputs for an audio interface ‘unconnected’. That’d give you a terminated 25 channel bus to work with that could be monitored in stereo through the control room?
