Applying EQ/effects to BFD... Do you primarily use BFD tools or Sonar tools?

BTW I'm going to do my bass tweaks first because I've already got a pretty good method for that. I figure it'll be easier to mix the drums with the bass close to where I want instead of trying to mix the drums and then have the bass screw it up and then have to redo everything. Does that makes sense?

Ooops...double post sorry.

Please excuse the typos. Little distracted today. 

Right on, Jonesey. I used a preset for my first experiment and really quite liked it which was kind of why I wasn't sure how to proceed but now two of my ultra smart buddies are agreeing to let it be and stick with the real deal (Sonar).

Just wasn't sure if BFD's effects had any extra advantage being geared specifically toward BFD content but I'm guessing that stuff is there to help the folks who don't necessarily have access to the effects I do.

Thanks.

;-)

Beepster


Awesome. Thanks, Danny. BTW I avoided sending my first experiment to you because it was done in a way that I knew from the onset was completely wrong so it would have been a waste of both our time. It's somewhere in the songs forum languishing at the moment. However for this one I tried very hard to follow proper procedure so once I get it together I'd really like your opinion.

I did indeed make sure each kit piece had it's own track (last one didn't because I exported it from the BFD standalone so I could do jack with it). I'm still gonna make an attempt to get my bass close to where I want it so it might be a little easier to mix it with the drums (currently it's just a dry input so it's rather... meh ifyaknowaddimean) but definitely won't be set in stone. Just kind of want it more present and now with your suggestion move back and forth between the drums and bass until they're cooperating with each other.

I'm a little lost as far as when the right time to bounce the MIDI drums is though. Should just leave it MIDI until final mixdown? CPU usage really doesn't seem to be an issue at this point (although that may change as I move forward but this system is a powerhouse). Just... kind of confuse at the whole bounce to audio thing.

Cheers and I'm glad you came out the other end of the storm okay. Looks like you've got some good karma on your side. 

No problem Beeps. :) As for your bounce question, if you have a power house, you shouldn't have to bounce it at all. I don't have to bounce any of my drum modules or synths. The only time you bounce (or freeze) is if you are having issues mixing and cpu usage is high.
 
But yeah, you shouldn't have to bounce anything. If you need to see a wave form, just enable waveform preview on each of your BFD virtual tracks you created in Sonar and you'll at least see what the wave WOULD look like if it were there. When you totally export the project, it will send out exactly what's there so you really don't need to bounce anything unless you have a specific reason to.
 
One thing you may want to do though...especially if you notice your exports are cutting off your drums....hi-lite all tracks that you will be exporting and then left click and drag along your timeline at the top and go a little past your actual end. The reason being, Sonar seems to clip off cymbal crashes etc. I thought this was a drum module error, but it's not. It's indeed something to do with how Sonar processes and it stops dead on the project end instead of allowing a ride or a crash to resonate longer. I've tested this with other DAWS I use and Sonar is the only one that does this. So just swipe the timeline so it highlites past your end a bit in the event you have a crash or ride that needs to resonate at the end of the song. Good luck with everything brother...and yeah, I'm glad we made it through that monster storm too! Prayers help and I've been thanking God every day. Thanks for the wishes. :)
 
-Danny

Oh yes, another little tip if you want to or need to freeze/bounce BFD

In the gui, right at the bottom is a little button that reads "offline"

Click it so that it turns red - this should solve any problems relating to cymbals cutting off during the rendering process and is recommended by the helpful people at Fxpansion

And you always have the option of doing a real time bounce instead of fast bounce. This too cures a lot of problems

Of course, like Danny says, if you can get away without having to freeze or bounce, so much the better. I haven't had to do this since I got my new machine.

Beepster

Now I just have to figure out how to use this fancy PC2A thingamajiggy I bought. Looks simple but I'm having a heck of a time figure out what all the dealymadoodles do.  

Do you mean the  PC2A T‑Type Leveling Amplifier? I've just been reading the help file and I'm non the wiser lol. Sounds like another one o'them subtle hardware device emulators. The help says this about drums:-

Used carefully, PC2A T‑Type Leveling Amplifier can make drum tracks sound fuller and bigger.

By itself, however, PC2A T‑Type Leveling Amplifier is not well-suited for compressing drums and other percussive instruments that have lots of peaks. The reason is due to the slower release time and lack of precise control, thus changes in the input level cannot be compensated for quickly enough to make the output volume totally consistent.

A good compression trick is to chain different compressors together on the same track. This lets you use another compressor with a faster release time and more precise control as a peak limiter to first tame the peaks before they reach PC2A T‑Type Leveling Amplifier, then use PC2A T‑Type Leveling Amplifier for general compression.

Not many control knobs so looks like a bit of experimentation is required...

Well, if you've routed each kit piece individually out to separate Tracks in BFD and separate Audio Tracks in Sonar, then your Master Out from BFD is effectively muted, so you can delete the corresponding tracks in Sonar with impunity.

Another little tip - go into the BFD mixer and drag every single fader level down to about -10dB. (You can group these in BFD so that you can grad all channel en masse)

The levels coming out of BFD are very hot - reducing it all by 10dB at source gives you loads of room to breathe once it gets into Sonar

Cool. Thanks, guys (and hello again, Rail.) The Master volume thing worked. I think I'll leave the Master track there but mute it and see what happens. Working on the Kick right now. Cheers.

Platinum Samples

Bristol_Jonesey

Another little tip - go into the BFD mixer and drag every single fader level down to about -10dB. (You can group these in BFD so that you can grad all channel en masse)

The levels coming out of BFD are very hot - reducing it all by 10dB at source gives you loads of room to breathe once it gets into Sonar

Easier to just lower the Master Volume knob at the top of the GUI in BFD2 to -6dB...  which does the same thing.


Rail

Yep - another way to skin that darn cat!