Sidechain Enhancements

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streckfus
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2016/04/28 10:38:42 (permalink)
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Sidechain Enhancements

SONAR's method for sidechaining certainly works; however, it would be nice to see some alternative methods for setting up a sidechain. As it is, setting up a send is pretty straightforward and easy, especially if the send is going to be routed to a new bus or aux track, since those options are readily available in the list.  
 
However, if you set up a sidechain far enough along in a mix session when there are a lot of active plugins, the list gets really long and can take some time to hunt down the specific instance of the plugin you're looking for. The DAW That Shall Not Be Named has a fairly slick method whereby in the actual plugin window, there's a sidechain key option that lets you select the track you want to feed from. This can still result in a long list if you have a high track count, but in many cases plugin instances outnumber track counts so this method is more efficient, plus you have the benefit of looking for an actual track name that you've created as opposed to the generic name of a plugin.
 
Not sure if that's making sense the way I'm explaining it, but basically it would be nice to be able to look at the plugin itself and set up a sidechain from that as opposed to going to the source track and scrolling through a long list of similarly named plugins to find the right one. It would look something like this:
 
Go to the instance of the plugin you want to route audio to via sidechain.
Right-click on the instance to see a "Sidechain" option, then select from a track list to designate the source.
SONAR automatically creates a send from that track to the plugin instance.
 
(Or, similarly, instead of a right-click option, open up the plugin and see a "Sidechain" option in the window that would do the same thing.)
 
Certainly not a "must have" since sidechain does work as is, but just a little something to make things a little more streamlined when there is a high plugin count. Given the awesomeness that was introduced with the patch points and aux tracks (STILL my favorite SONAR addition to date), I'd think this extra routing flexibility would be fairly straightforward to introduce.

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#1

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    KPerry
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    Re: Sidechain Enhancements 2016/04/28 11:46:35 (permalink)
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    And presumably that would end up inserting a send on the source track, right, rather than a new mechanism?  If so, that probably works, but if not, I think it loses flexibility.
     
    That said, the destination menu for audio track inputs and outputs could probably do with some tidying up to make selection (not just for sidechaining) quicker and clearer (especially track inputs).
     
     
    #2
    streckfus
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    Re: Sidechain Enhancements 2016/04/28 11:55:26 (permalink)
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    Yeah, that was my thought. Selecting the source track from the plugin instance itself would then automatically create a send on that track. Basically the exact same system that's currently in place, except you'd have the option to route audio A-to-B OR B-to-A, versus only A-to-B like now.
     
    I agree that the menu could use some cleanup. Like if I want to delete a send entirely, I've got to scroll down through a ton of plugin instances just to get to the "Delete Send" option. Maybe some extra nesting options, thereby leaving the "main" commands always visible and the lengthy options collapsible.

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    #3
    KPerry
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    Re: Sidechain Enhancements 2016/04/28 12:02:45 (permalink)
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    You also don't lose the ability so "sum" sends in this way which can be useful (not sure if other hosts' implementations of sidechain allow this).
    #4
    paradoxx@optonline.net
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    Re: Sidechain Enhancements 2016/04/29 13:39:26 (permalink)
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    Alphabetical Sub folders might work
    #5
    taccess
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    Re: Sidechain Enhancements 2016/05/05 08:20:50 (permalink)
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    Yes a tidy up would be nice , I was thinking

    1) Be able to move tracks up and down by simply clicking the track number and changing it .

    2) For the drop down output menu to follow current track positions .

    3) For sends > input drop down menu to have track numbers of each send next to each input

    4) For the event list / view menu / display sends on tracks! > then when you click pick tracks > add all your primary tracks in the project > you now have a page with only all the routing / sends .

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    #6
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