Helpful ReplyFX Sequence (or Order of Plugins)

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Chevy
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2015/09/11 12:50:32 (permalink)

FX Sequence (or Order of Plugins)

I couldn't find anything in the Sonar online help...    do the plugins work in the same sequence that they appear from top to bottom in the little FX window?   i.e.  if you want your EQ plugin to precede the compressor plugin, you put the EQ plugin at the top, and the compressor plugin below it?

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#1
rsinger
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Re: FX Sequence (or Order of Plugins) 2015/09/11 14:18:35 (permalink)
Yes.

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#2
Beepster
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Re: FX Sequence (or Order of Plugins) 2015/09/11 14:52:20 (permalink) ☄ Helpfulby ESharpe 2015/12/29 01:47:58
Yes. Also note that there is a Pre/Post Prochannel button that will place the FX Bin/Rack* before or after any of the Prochannel modules (the whole strip actually). So if you want the Prochannel before the FX Bin/Rack* in your signal chain set it to "Post" (click the Post button in your Console View strip... it will turn blue) or if you want the Prochannel to come AFTER the FX Bin/Rack* set that button to "Pre" (the button in the Console View will still say Post but it will be gray instead of blue). You can hover over the PC Pre/Post button as a second verification of it's status (a little tooltip will popup by default).
 
If you need some Prochannel modules to come before and others AFTER your FX Bin/Rack* then you can create an FX Chain and insert it as an FX Chain Prochannel Module (just like you would any other Prochannel module) then move it in between the regular Prochannel effects modules you would like it to appear.
 
*I kept use the Fx Bin/Rack to describe the FX insert point because Cake changed the name of this insert point from "Bin" to "Rack" in the new Sonar. It's the same thing only they added some slight changes/improvements. To me changing the name adds a lot of confusion for no real reason and I brought it up so you can equate the two as the same thing when searching older manuals an tutorials when looking for info on such signal chain issues (and anyone else who stumbles across this post looking for the same info).
 
Also ther is a Clip FX Bin where you can insert effects directly on a clip before it hits ANYTHING.
 
The signal chain for audio essentially goes like this Audio Clip > Clip FX Bin (and the FX in the bin go from top to bottom) > Track Input (which starts at the top of the strip at the Gain Knob) > Prochannel Strip OR the FX Bin/Rack (depending on the Pre/Post status of the Prochannel) > Sends (if you have them inserted and have a pre/post fader status that doesn't affect the main output of the track but is important to understand) > Fader > Track Output > Bus (which can be the Master or any bus you want which will have it's own Prochannel and FX Bins/Racks with the same Pre Post stuff and their own output/send options).
 
Signal chain is one of the more confusing things in Sonar (and audio in general) so getting used to how it all works is pretty crucial to making things happen in a logical way.
 
It takes a while to envision the signal path but worth getting used to. IIRC there is a reasonably handy info graphic in the Reference Guide (or maybe Quick Start guide) that shows what I just described above but also includes multiple variations of outboard gear as well.
 
As far as the CORRECT way to order actual plugins... there isn't one right way. Everything effects everything else so you have to be logical about it and know what will hit what and how and how that next thing in the chain will hit the next thing in the cahin and so on.
 
More than you asked for but this is the type of title that will show up in google searches so I figured I'd elaborate.
 
Hope I dind't make any mistakes and that is a somewhat simplified signal chain.
 
Cheers.
#3
Chevy
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Re: FX Sequence (or Order of Plugins) 2015/09/11 17:28:58 (permalink)
Beepster
Yes.
Signal chain is one of the more confusing things in Sonar (and audio in general) so getting used to how it all works is pretty crucial to making things happen in a logical way.
 
It takes a while to envision the signal path but worth getting used to. IIRC there is a reasonably handy info graphic in the Reference Guide (or maybe Quick Start guide) that shows what I just described above but also includes multiple variations of outboard gear as well.
 
As far as the CORRECT way to order actual plugins... there isn't one right way. Everything effects everything else so you have to be logical about it and know what will hit what and how and how that next thing in the chain will hit the next thing in the cahin and so on.
 
More than you asked for but this is the type of title that will show up in google searches so I figured I'd elaborate.
 
Hope I dind't make any mistakes and that is a somewhat simplified signal chain.
 
Cheers.

Beepster,  awesome post...  much appreciated !

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#4
lingyai
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Re: FX Sequence (or Order of Plugins) 2015/09/12 16:25:08 (permalink)
Beepster
 
If you need some Prochannel modules to come before and others AFTER your FX Bin/Rack* then you can create an FX Chain and insert it as an FX Chain Prochannel Module (just like you would any other Prochannel module) then move it in between the regular Prochannel effects modules you would like it to appear.
 
 

 I second chevy's comment, great post!
 
Beepster, could you please clarify the above point, perhaps in a step-by-step format to indulge my ageing brain?    I ask as right now I'm working on sometthng where, after lots of trial and error, I have a track sounding almost exactly how I want it, expect that I'd like to add a ProChannel (PC) console emulator as the very last link.  The problem is that now, the chain is
 
A. signal >> PC Eq >> some 3rd party plugs in the FX Bin >> master bus  
 
whereas what I'd like is 
 
B. signal >> PC Eq >> some 3rd party plugs in the FX Bin >> PC console emulator >> master bus.
 
(I've tried changing A so that the PC comes after the FX bin, but something important gets lost; as you well know, the order of FX matters)  
 
The only workaround I can think of is to change A to 
 
C. signal >> PC Eq >> some 3rd party plugs in the FX Bin >> aux bus with PC console Emulator >> master bus.
 
The only reason I'd prefer not to is that I want to do something similar (i.e. sandwiching the FX bin between the PC Eq and the PC emulator) on a number f tracks, and having to add an aux bus for each to accomodate a PC emulator would make make an already complex project even more unwieldy.
 
Therefore, if you could please elaborate on how to do B, i.e. the sandwich thing all within one track, I'd be really grateful!
 
 
 
 
 

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#5
Beepster
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Re: FX Sequence (or Order of Plugins) 2015/09/12 17:21:47 (permalink)
Hi, lingya. I think, if I understand what you want to do correctly, your best option would be to turn all of the FX in your FX bin into an FX Chain Preset. Once you have created an FX Chain out of those FX you can insert them wherever you want in the Prochannel signal chain. Then you can delete all the FX from you FX Bin/Rack, not worry about the Pre/Post status of the Prochannel vs FX Bin/Rack and insert your Console Emu at the end of the PC chain after the FX Bin.
 
So... and again I may be misunderstanding, since your FX Bin in your current set up comes AFTER the Prochannel effects right now and you want to add the PC Consolue Emu AFTER that series of FX in the FX Bin/Rack you would
 
1) Create an FX Chain of all the effects in you FX Bin/Rack (just right click and choose the Create FX Chain option or whatever it is called)
 
2) Insert the newly created FX Chain Module (which will include all the FX you currently have in the FX Bin) at the VERY end of your Prochannel Strip. It will insert like a regular PC effect module and you can move it around just like the others.
 
3) Then you just have to insert (or drag) the Console Emu module so it is underneath the PC FX Chain module. Don't forget to delete (or at least disable) the FX In your FX Rack/Bin otherwise you will have the same effects being applied twice.
 
Make sense?
 
The added bonus is you can bind a bunch of the controls to knobs and buttons on the PC FX Chain so you can adjust then without opening the plugin GUIs. Those knobs/buttons can be automated as well. Just don't try to automated the on/off button on the actual module because it doesn't work properly (which I recently discovered much to my chagrin).
 
Cheers and sorry if I got that wrong.
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kingturnt41
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Re: FX Sequence (or Order of Plugins) 2015/12/29 01:26:38 (permalink)
How do I rearrange the plugin order on the FX bin (FX Rack) on the new version of Sonar? I can't rearrange the plugins unless I convert to FX chain
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scook
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Re: FX Sequence (or Order of Plugins) 2015/12/29 01:54:59 (permalink)
click-drag the plug-in name in the rack to re-arrange
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kingturnt41
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Re: FX Sequence (or Order of Plugins) 2015/12/29 01:55:51 (permalink)
Its not working for a certain project
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