Quadro Channel Sidechain

Cubase
#1

OK Sorry for yet another side chain question, but now my issues are solved, I was wondering about how it’s done.

OK so I setup a quadro group, then add 2 sub bus’s stereo and stereo LR.

I send the kick to the Stereo LR and the (for example) pad to the Stereo of the group.

I add my side chain compressor to the group and set it up with whatever threshold etc that I want.

My question is, when I send the kick to the group’s Stereo LR bus, I am in fact creating a send / return and the volume of the kick is going to double.

Is this right, or have I missed something out ?

#2

Been covered on the old forum and youtube, to mention a couple of places. A search should answer your own question.

#3

So in other words, you haven’t got a clue.

#4

Whenever you use ‘Sends’ you are virtually patching that signal to another source (be it a Group Track, FX Track, etc) besides its Output. IOW, the signal (the Kick Drum in this case) is being output to two destinations, the Track’s Output and the Send. This usually means that you have doubled the signal, yes. BUT, in this case, the Sent signal is being patched to a Sidechain’s Input and thus it’s only being used as a listening source to trigger the Gate/Compressor.

The only time you would worry about doubled signals in this scenario is if you had duplicated a track for the sole purpose of triggering the Sidechain circuitry. In this case you would lower the volume fader of that “trigger track” all the way down and let the Pre-fader signal from the Send pass to the Sidechain.

HTH

#5

No, in other words it’s a simple question that with a miniscule amount of effort you could have found the answer to yourself instead of coming here asking to be spoon-fed. :unamused:

#6

Thanks for the explanation, it does make sense that the send is just the trigger, although when you send to Stereo LR, you do get double the volume of the (in this case) kick. So I assume once you insert the compressor, that signal stops at the compressor itself.

Makes more sense now.

#7

There is no method to search the old forums, I did google search, nothing answered my specific query it was all about how to setup quadro track sidechaining, same for youtube.

So instead of trying to belittle someone, maybe keep quiet in future.

#8

You got it :slight_smile:

#9

I am actually testing it now , and it doesn’t act that way though.

There is an actual increase in the output of the kickdrum.

It peaks normally at around -20db with the send at maximum, and the compressor in place accepting sidechain input, it peaks at around -16db, so in fact the send is still outputting.

I guess this means that to get zero increase you’d have to use a dummy trigger that is not routed to the stereo bus ?

EDIT : That’s not going to work either, the kickdrum is effectively still going through the group channel. It doesn’t happen in the VST3 way of sidechaining, so how come it happens in the Quadro Group ? I am either doing something wrong, or it actually doesnt work. It does sidechain but I am getting an increase in my output levels for the kick.

#10

I’ll give it a go as soon as I can to see what’s going on. Which compressor are you using?

#11

Using Stillwell’s “The Rocket” at the moment, but i’ll try it with the glue now too.

#12

Must be the compressor, the Glue isn’t having the same issues.

It is the compressor, somehow it’s internal routing allows the trigger signal to leak into the outputs, so that’s why I am getting an increase in the sound. The dev was wondering which version of Cubase, i.e the most minimal version has Quadro group channels in it, so he can test and work on a fix ?

Cubase Artist, Essentials ? Or will he be forced to buy the main version ? Surely Steiny would give him an NFR to test his plug-ins out on ? I thought they did this for all the good plug-in devs ?

#13

I see you alredy figured it out. I was a little tied up, so I apologize I couldn’t help you sooner. As far as which version he should test on, I have no clue. I don’t think the Cubase comparison page even shows which version has Quadro or not. The developer would have to contact Cubase directly for that. I’m sure they could provide him a copy to test on too.

Anyway, at least now you know what’s going on and can hopefully get back to work with another alternative until the issue is resolved.

Take care!

#14

It does…

#15

Thanks for the help, it’s appreciated.

Yeah I will be mindful of it, it can be worked around, just have to take into consideration that the amount of send I use = more volume on the kick.

I found that using an incredibly low threshold on the compressor and a small amount of send is working ok, so I can stick to that for now, but it’s worth using the compressor, as it really is a nice one for the price.

#16

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=how+to+sidechain+in+Cubase%3F

:unamused:

#17

If I may ask (going a bit OT here), do you like The Rocket better The Glue? I guess it also depends on what program material you’re using them on, but just wanted to hear your thoughts on the two and how they compare to the actual hardware they imitate (if you’ve had the chance to do so that is). Thanks!

#18

No really like it better, it’s just a question of taste tbh. I’ve used the glue for pretty much everything for a while, until I got COMPassion, thing is I find COMPassion temperamental even though it’s the most programmable compressor I can think of.

The rocket just has such an incredible attack speed it’s amazing for side chaining and kick drums. The Glue tends to do anything and go anywhere (Hence it’s glue title) and is very transparent. I guess it totally depends on your needs. I am glad to have both now in my collection along with COMPassion.

In terms of hardware comparisons , I don’t really know the SSL compressor or the 1176 well enough to say how good they are in terms of imitation, you’d be better off asking that one over at Gearslutz tbh, sorry I can’t help more.

#19

http://bit.ly/wlQbqz

#20

LOL! :smiley: