Sidechaining external plugins in V3

[imagine]

One of the features I really missed in Mixbus 2.5 was the ability to sidechain external plugins since I use it a lot in mixing. Therefore although Mixbus sounds fantastic I preferred other programs to pre-mix my material using sidechain (kick / bass, vocals / synths, etc.) and then I finalised my mix in Mixbus. Obviously this is a basic feature of all the modern DAWs and I really wondered Mixbus missed this.

Since this feature was requested for long time I would like to know whether it was implemented for v3. It will be a major disappointment for me if this doesn't work in the last version.

[Ben@Harrison]

Plugins in Mixbus are no longer limited to "mono" and "stereo". You can now have 3-input plugins, for example.

This is a pre-requisite for sidechaining plugins, but it is not the whole solution. We still need a way to get audio into the plugin's sidechain. To do that, you should create a bus (Track->new track/bus) to host the compressor plugin, then right-click on the input button to add a third input. Finally, use the connection manager to send the main signal into the first input(s) of the bus, and also send the key signal into the third input of the bus.

OR you can save yourself all that effort and use Mixbus's new built-in sidechaining, which is much better than v2.

To do that, choose the "key" signal (such as the kick) and enable the red ">" symbol next to the Mstr assign button. Then route the ducked signal (bass/keys) into a mixbus. Finally, on the mixbus, choose the 4th compressor mode "Sidech". At this point, the mixbus's compressor will key from the key signal(s) and apply the compression to the ducked signal.

We need to document both of these items in a video. I'll put that on the list.

-Ben

[Studio Saturn]

I'm from Version 2 as you know Ben But still it confuses the hell out of me.

[Guest]

This was created for Ardour 3 but should all still be relevant for Ardour 4/Mixbus 3 -

http://libremusicproduction.com/tutorial...g-ardour-3

[Ben@Harrison]

Sidechaining is a fairly complicated subject.

The new built-in sidechain is quite easy to use. Just imagine that there is an additional bus (the sidechain bus) just like the master bus. Assign anything you want to it, using the ">" buttons. Then select "Sidechain" on the mixbus compressor that you want to key from the sidechain bus. Easy!

[Studio Saturn]

Yes it is quite easy the builtin but only if you want to use it for one instrument. How i'm I going to assign my hi hat to synth? my Kick drum to bass? I believe the kick and hi hat will be summed together and trigger the bass and synth. That is chaos. Even for one bass guitar side chain, I don't really want to abuse those limited buses. We only have 8 busses which is not logical. It would have been fare If I had builtin side chain compression capabilities on every channel. Or Those extra aux buses are behaving like the 8 buses without the tape saturation. And more flexibility over control of side chain input of the one that we are provided. Version 2.5 was much more flexible when it's come to side-chaining. Comparing to this version. If I miss anything Please allow me to learn.

At least when I click this ">" button and asked which bus to trigger and even compressor, gate or EQ, I will say wow that is easy and innovative. Also applies to the aux buses.

[EricR]

I'm also very interested in this question. I was trying to get Hornet's AutoGainPro plugin to input the output of the background mixbus into the side chain of the plugin, but didn't succeed. Okay, so some plugins will not work anyway, but could somebody be so kind and lay out the steps / a short tutorial how to route one or more tracks or a mixbus into the side chain of a plugin if that works at all?

I was messing around for an hour with the router matrix without much of a plan, and just didn't find a way. For the record, the plugin correctly displays four little input hooks, and the first two of them are connected to the previous plugin on the mixbus where I put it (the vocal mixbus), whereas two of them are disconnected. But I can't figure out how to connect them to anything!

I also have many commercial compressor plugins with a side chain, it would be a real pity if I couldn't use any of them with a side chain.

[Studio Saturn]

I have tried every compressor I could. No successes for the past two and three days that's all I've been trying to figure out. I believe the setting for side-chain compression doesn't work. that is my conclusion. FET from softube doesn't work which is trial just for the sake of this problem which I installed. Fabfilter also a trial just for this situation and I have waves which I had for long time and thy all don't work. So which compressor do I have to expect to work?

[DaveDaG]

Fabfilter Multiband compressor works
(sidechain input is the input 3)

but the problem is that the sidechain sound has latency comparing with the original source
I tested it clicking on Audiction (sidechain input source)

Is it due the aux bus that isn't latency compensated ?

[Studio Saturn]

I will check it out DaveDaG and see what happen. Oh by the way, Welcome to mixbus forum.