I needed to achieve a rainstick sound in Dorico, which would live in the document file after I passed it along. Unlike many add-in sounds which are bound to the computer, Insert settings stay with the file.
To achieve a handheld, medium-sized auxilliary percussion rainstick effect, I used 3 maracas players, each playing both maracas simultaneously for each articulation. Each held note is entered as a Tremelo (under “Repeat Structures”). One part plays “two strokes single note tremelo” for all, another plays “three strokes”, and the last, “four”. (you can switch between maraca parts by using up/down arrows when in “note input” mode). Use decrescendos for the effect to not sound like a machine gun. You can please feel free to experiment with more inserts…perhaps there are better settings!
| “Rainstick” achieved with Maracas in Dorico (double hi/lo on ea. note) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Maracas 1 (2-stroke tremelo notes) | Maracas 2 (3-stroke tremelo notes) | Maracas 3 (4-stroke tremelo notes) | |
| Fader | 0 dB | −4 dB | −7 dB |
| Steinberg Insert 1, added in Mixer | Dynamics/Compressor | Delay/PingPongDelay | Modulation/Flanger |
| — Threshold / Delay | −12 dB | 78 ms | 2.0 ms |
| — Ratio / Feedback | 3:1 / — | — / 20% | 15% |
| — Attack | 1 ms | — | — |
| — Release | 50 ms | — | — |
| — Make-Up | +2dB | — | — |
| — Rate | — | — | 0.3 Hz |
| — Mix | — | 35% | 30% |
| — Spatial | — | 50% | 75% |
| Steinberg Insert 2, added in Mixer | Modulation/Chorus | Modulation/Chorus | Modulation/Chorus |
| — Rate | 0.20 Hz | 0.20 Hz | 0.20 Hz |
| — Width | 40% | 60% | 80% |
| — Delay | 8.0 ms | 8.0 ms | 8.0 ms |
| — Spatial | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| — Mix | 40% | 55% | 70% |
| Steinberg Insert 3, added in Mixer | Reverb/RoomWorks SE | Reverb/RoomWorks SE | Reverb/RoomWorks SE |
| — Pre-Delay | 0 ms | 10 ms | 18 ms |
| — Reverb Time | 1.2 s | 2.0 s | 3.5 s |
| — Diffusion | 60% | 60% | 60% |
| — High Level | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| — Low Level | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| — Mix | 30% | 45% | 65% |