Hello All-

I just can't seem to get a sidechained sonitus:fx gate or compressor to work for me. I've looked at quite a few threads, but I still can't figure it out.

I have two audio lines I am testing with. Soprano vocal and Bass vocal. I want the Bass to get quiet when the Soprano comes in. Here is what I have done:

I added Sonitus:fx compressor to the bass effects bin. The compressor is set to very high compression so I know for sure when it is working.

In the Soprano I added an effects send pointing to the compressor in the Bass effects bin.

The send is on,  and set to 'Post' with a 0 (zero) send level and zero pan.

When I play both tracks together, if the compressor 'Output' button is set to 'Sidechain', the Bass line is silent all the time, even if the Soprano is not singing. If the 'Output' is set to 'Audio', then the compressor is ignored, and both Soprano and Bass sing at full volume at all times.

If I turn the send off (in the Soprano), then the compressor 'Output' button grays out, and the Bass line compresses all the time.

What am I doing wrong?

The "sidechain" output option is there so you can hear the sidechain. Since you don't hear anything in this mode, that would suggest that the soprano track is not making it to the sidechain input. Make sure the send is routed to the compressor's sidechain rather than the bus itself.

NM
 

Thanks for the reply, Bitflipper.

I'm pretty sure I have the send going to the right place: [Sonitus:fx Compressor(Side Input)-bass_vocal].
Basic question: Should the compressor 'Output' button be set to 'Audio' or 'Sidech.'? Most of the examples I saw online were set to 'Audio', which seemed counter-intuitive to me.
Also, even though the bass-vocal is silent when the compressor is set to 'Sidech.', the output meter deflects upward with the bass vocal.

Any suggestions appreciated.

bitflipper


The "sidechain" output option is there so you can hear the sidechain. Since you don't hear anything in this mode, that would suggest that the soprano track is not making it to the sidechain input. Make sure the send is routed to the compressor's sidechain rather than the bus itself.

I forgot to mention that the compressor input meter does nothing when the send is turned on. If I turn the send off, then the meter shows the bass vocal input level.

How do I know for sure a signal is making it from the soprano track send to the compressor? Should the input meters deflect upward, even if I get no sound out? 

Is is possible that I have some setting that has turned off sidechaining in Sonar? I've tried just about every combination with tracks, busses and sends I can think of with zero results.

rbecker


Thanks for the reply, Bitflipper.

I'm pretty sure I have the send going to the right place: [Sonitus:fx Compressor(Side Input)-bass_vocal].
Basic question: Should the compressor 'Output' button be set to 'Audio' or 'Sidech.'? Most of the examples I saw online were set to 'Audio', which seemed counter-intuitive to me.
Also, even though the bass-vocal is silent when the compressor is set to 'Sidech.', the output meter deflects upward with the bass vocal.

Any suggestions appreciated.

bitflipper


The "sidechain" output option is there so you can hear the sidechain. Since you don't hear anything in this mode, that would suggest that the soprano track is not making it to the sidechain input. Make sure the send is routed to the compressor's sidechain rather than the bus itself.

Output should be set to "Audio". As the key track (soprano) plays, you should see the bouncing ball moving around. (However, if you solo the bus and key track, the signal disappears - I don't know why that is, though. A bug? ) Seeing the bouncing ball is how I tell the key signal is getting to the sidechain. 

Bitflipper-

Thanks for the Audio/Sidech tip. That eliminates half of my possible testing scenarios. I took the tracks off solo quite a while ago, thinking that might be a problem.
Unfortunately, I am still having no luck. It is as if no sidechain input is making it into the compressor. The input meter does not register, and no ball bounces along the curve.  I have followed several tutorials I have found online, but none work. I even made sure the 64-bit engine was off. I am almost out of ideas.

bitflipper


Output should be set to "Audio". As the key track (soprano) plays, you should see the bouncing ball moving around. (However, if you solo the bus and key track, the signal disappears - I don't know why that is, though. A bug? ) Seeing the bouncing ball is how I tell the key signal is getting to the sidechain. 

All-

In desperation, I started a new project to test sidechaining, not use an existing one like I've been doing. The new project had only the two vocal tracks I was testing with....And the sidechain ducking worked the first time I tried!

Maybe my earlier failure had something to do with multiple instances of the compressor being used in the project, or something similar. I'm going to do more testing to see at what point I can cause failure in this new project. Add a ton of tracks, etc.

Thanks, Bitflipper!

rbecker


Hello All-

I just can't seem to get a sidechained sonitus:fx gate or compressor to work for me. I've looked at quite a few threads, but I still can't figure it out.

I have two audio lines I am testing with. Soprano vocal and Bass vocal. I want the Bass to get quiet when the Soprano comes in. Here is what I have done:

I added Sonitus:fx compressor to the bass effects bin. The compressor is set to very high compression so I know for sure when it is working.

In the Soprano I added an effects send pointing to the compressor in the Bass effects bin.

The send is on,  and set to 'Post' with a 0 (zero) send level and zero pan.

When I play both tracks together, if the compressor 'Output' button is set to 'Sidechain', the Bass line is silent all the time, even if the Soprano is not singing. If the 'Output' is set to 'Audio', then the compressor is ignored, and both Soprano and Bass sing at full volume at all times.

If I turn the send off (in the Soprano), then the compressor 'Output' button grays out, and the Bass line compresses all the time.

What am I doing wrong?

No...something is wrong here. Now it quit working on a project I had it working on. I know it is set up right. Must be a bug or something with my install. Frustrating.

rbecker


All-

In desperation, I started a new project to test sidechaining, not use an existing one like I've been doing. The new project had only the two vocal tracks I was testing with....And the sidechain ducking worked the first time I tried!

Maybe my earlier failure had something to do with multiple instances of the compressor being used in the project, or something similar. I'm going to do more testing to see at what point I can cause failure in this new project. Add a ton of tracks, etc.

Thanks, Bitflipper!

rbecker


Hello All-

I just can't seem to get a sidechained sonitus:fx gate or compressor to work for me. I've looked at quite a few threads, but I still can't figure it out.

I have two audio lines I am testing with. Soprano vocal and Bass vocal. I want the Bass to get quiet when the Soprano comes in. Here is what I have done:

I added Sonitus:fx compressor to the bass effects bin. The compressor is set to very high compression so I know for sure when it is working.

In the Soprano I added an effects send pointing to the compressor in the Bass effects bin.

The send is on,  and set to 'Post' with a 0 (zero) send level and zero pan.

When I play both tracks together, if the compressor 'Output' button is set to 'Sidechain', the Bass line is silent all the time, even if the Soprano is not singing. If the 'Output' is set to 'Audio', then the compressor is ignored, and both Soprano and Bass sing at full volume at all times.

If I turn the send off (in the Soprano), then the compressor 'Output' button grays out, and the Bass line compresses all the time.

What am I doing wrong?

I decided to look at every possible setting that might have something to do with sidechaining. I have discovered that if I activate "Dim Solo Mode", the sidechain ducking will then work, even if there are no soloed tracks. The very odd thing, though, is that if I turn DSM off, the ducking will still work! Even more odd, when I then went to a different project that I was also having trouble with....you guessed it....the sidechain now works, even without activating DSM!
Curiouser and Curiouser!

rbecker


No...something is wrong here. Now it quit working on a project I had it working on. I know it is set up right. Must be a bug or something with my install. Frustrating.

rbecker


All-

In desperation, I started a new project to test sidechaining, not use an existing one like I've been doing. The new project had only the two vocal tracks I was testing with....And the sidechain ducking worked the first time I tried!

Maybe my earlier failure had something to do with multiple instances of the compressor being used in the project, or something similar. I'm going to do more testing to see at what point I can cause failure in this new project. Add a ton of tracks, etc.

Thanks, Bitflipper!

rbecker


Hello All-

I just can't seem to get a sidechained sonitus:fx gate or compressor to work for me. I've looked at quite a few threads, but I still can't figure it out.

I have two audio lines I am testing with. Soprano vocal and Bass vocal. I want the Bass to get quiet when the Soprano comes in. Here is what I have done:

I added Sonitus:fx compressor to the bass effects bin. The compressor is set to very high compression so I know for sure when it is working.

In the Soprano I added an effects send pointing to the compressor in the Bass effects bin.

The send is on,  and set to 'Post' with a 0 (zero) send level and zero pan.

When I play both tracks together, if the compressor 'Output' button is set to 'Sidechain', the Bass line is silent all the time, even if the Soprano is not singing. If the 'Output' is set to 'Audio', then the compressor is ignored, and both Soprano and Bass sing at full volume at all times.

If I turn the send off (in the Soprano), then the compressor 'Output' button grays out, and the Bass line compresses all the time.

What am I doing wrong?