We all don't know how much we don't know until we begin to know - thanks Anderton - Great Post!!!

Anderton
Week 122: Clean Up Your Console View

Yea ... but want to have a totally different set of tracks in TV that in Console?
Yes I do and need to.

I often have only midi showing in TV and almost never have anything other than audio in Console.
I do, however, often use 6 to 8 locked Screensets on larger projects and TV and Console are rarely the same tracks.
Why?
It's so easy to type a D to bounce between the midi and the audio for 1 or 2 instances of Omnisphere.
Or CTRL+SHFT+Arrow Left or Right to get to the same midi tracks in PRV.


Locked Screensets - Nothing but what I need in Console but different in TV is my standard.
Set 1 is always everything in TV and CV but from set 2 and up I get into specific instrumets/sections
and can just type a screenset number or a D to get to what I want.
I never have that box checked on track manager. It most always cuts my options in half.

Great tip, Steve! I guess this means I can skip one 
 
And while I'm here, a tip for newbies: When a lot of people on the forums experience a problem, their default is to think it must be SONAR. But at least in my experience, pilot error is the primary suspect.
 
At the usual risk of public embarrassment, here's my latest. I wanted to play a song for someone but there was no sound coming out of SONAR. Previous playbacks had been fine. So of course, I went to the forum and posted the thread "SONAR BUG FEST!!! CAN'T EVEN PLAY BACK AUDIO!!!!!!! SWITCHING TO REAPER!!!
 
Well actually no I didn't, but to make a long story short, the song didn't have a fade out. The last time I'd played it, I made a couple edits, and faded out the end. I then saved the file to preserve the edits. Of course, by doing so I also saved the project in its faded-out state where no audio could get through.
 
Pretty genius, eh? Took me about 15 minutes to figure that out. 
 
 

When I do this I dredge up obscure bugs and incorrect/outdated documentation.
Find a reliable workflow that works for you and stick to it.
You're either making music or you're beta-testing.

Week 164: The Case for Bass Multiband Compression
 
Normally you don’t want to compress the daylights out of everything, but I feel bass is an exception, particularly if you’re miking it. Mics, speakers, and rooms tend to have really uneven responses in the bass range—and all those anomalies add up. Compression can help even out the response to give a smoother, rounder sound.
 
A lot of engineers will use an LA-2A type compressor (e.g., the ProChannel U-type compressor or CA-2A), but I prefer using the Sonitus Multiband compression because it serves simultaneously as a compressor, EQ, and limiter. Typically, I’ll apply a lot of compression to the lowest band (crossover below 200 Hz or so), very light compression to the low-mid bands (as well as reduce their levels in the overall mix), and medium compression to the high-mid band (from about 1.2kHz to 6kHz). I usually turn down everything above 6 kHz or so (there’s not a lot happening up there with bass), but sometimes will set a ratio below 1.0 so that the highest band turns into an expander. This can help bring down hiss if the very highest band is in play.
 
If you enable the Limiter under the Common tab, the Multiband compressor will also trap any transients, and you can “push” the individual bands to get a bit more compression without having to adjust the band’s compression parameter itself.
 
Another advantage of using the Multiband compressor is that you can quickly tweak the high and low ends to fit well with the rest of the tracks. I call the following preset "Tuned Thunder." There's heavy compression on the lowest two bands, but in the bottom window that shows gain for each band, note how the two lower bands have their levels brought up. Also, there's lots of attenuation on the higher frequencies. The result is a big, fat, round sound that sort of tunnels through a mix.
 

 
The next screen shot shows settings for extreme articulation when you need the bass to really "pop," and cut through a track. One of the secrets of a great bass sound is a significant treble boost so that the bass can hold its own against other track, because the ear/brain combination will fill in the lower frequencies. The only band that's compressed is Band 3, while the gain on Band 4 emphasizes pick noise and harmonics. To compensate for the extra highs, the low band below 100 Hz gets a little bit of gain. Finally, there's an overall boost of 3.4 dB to kick the signal into limiting from time to time.
 

 
When adjusting the Sonitus Multiband, the Solo and Bypass buttons on individual stages are fantastic for zeroing in on the exact effect you want for each band.
 
But wait! There's more!!
 
a little bit of distortion applied to bass can give a “growl” that helps the bass cut through a mix. The Bass Growl and Bass Rock CA-X bass amps offer built-in growl, but if you’re doing à la carte signal processing, multiband compression will give a more even sound that benefits from a light amount of post-compression distortion.
 
Finally, in case you wonder if you should instead use the L-Phase Multiband, you certainly can but it’s not necessary to take the CPU hit when processing bass. The Sonitus does just fine, and the ability to limit peaks is just one more useful feature.

Thanks, Craig 
Yet another good tip. I can see myself using this technique.
All the best.

Nice tip
I've heard when you add a little Growl on The Bass it helps the sound to translate well on lap top speakers ...
It may help the listener fill in the missing low end frequencies  .
 
Kenny
 

Great tip & technique Craig.
 
Will be trying this one out tomorrow!

Hi Craig, a couple of questions about this tip: Would there be any advantage to using the Sonitus MB on a sampled bass, like Dim Pro's "Dull Bass" or any basic synth patch from a softsynth? I seem to think those patches are pretty well EQd and compressed within the synth. And if so, would the best approach be to bounce the midi track to audio and then insert the Sonitus MB in the FX bin of the audio track? Thanks for the tip(s)!

mrpippy2
Hi Craig, a couple of questions about this tip: Would there be any advantage to using the Sonitus MB on a sampled bass, like Dim Pro's "Dull Bass" or any basic synth patch from a softsynth? I seem to think those patches are pretty well EQd and compressed within the synth.

 
It depends. For example, the Gibson Bass Expansion Pack I did for Rapture is totally neutral - no EQ or compression on the samples. The main reasons for doing so was to retain the characteristic sound of the basses, and also, to have a "neutral canvas" for processing. I took the same approach with the Midtown Guitar expansion pack. So, these can definitely benefit from processing in the sense that any recorded signal can benefit from relevant processing. However, if the person designing the samples went for a processed, plug-and-play sound, then adding processing might detract from the sound. 
 

And if so, would the best approach be to bounce the midi track to audio and then insert the Sonitus MB in the FX bin of the audio track?

That's what I would do, because I like to convert virtual instruments into audio at some point. But others prefer to trigger the instrument with MIDI all the way through to the mixing process, and just insert the processor in the instrument's audio output.