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and
PRESENT
by Craig Anderton
soundcloud.com/songwriter101)
Aside from tight integration with SONAR X3, the modules themselves are
excellent. Many users find that the performance of ProChannel modules
meets or exceeds that of third-party plug-ins. As a side benefit, collaborating
with other SONAR X3 users is simpler because you can count on specific
ProChannel modules being included.
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GETTING STARTED
Youll need to download the
following for this tutorial:
if you dont see it) gives that channel the focus, so the
fig 1
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fig 2
You can also see the Timeline toward the top, and the Now time cursor, so you can navigate easily around the song. The
and + buttons toward the Timelines lower left zoom out or in horizontally so you can see a shorter or longer section
of the song. (see fig 3)
Click Play and listen to the mixed version of the song. For this tutorial, well deconstruct the song and analyze how EQ,
dynamics, and other processors helped create the final mix.
As you listen, press the E key. This bypasses all ProChannel modules (and the VX-64 Vocal Strip plug-in on the
vocals), so you can hear how much difference the ProChannel modules make to the mix. (Yes, my voice really did sound
that bad originally!)
Click the transport Stop button. Close this project, and open the project Black Market Daydreams Tutorial.cwp.
fig 3
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fig 5
Set the Now time somewhere within the loop, and then click
the transport Play button. The guitar covers a wide range of
frequenciespotentially enough to interfere with the other instruments, so lets make it more focused.
The ProChannel shows the effects used for the guitar; click the
ProChannels global On/Off button to on (blue) and then click
on the EQs On/Off button to enable the ProChannels EQ. (see fig 6)
fig 6
fig 4
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fig 8
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LEAD VOCAL
Because vocals tend to be the focus of a song, well work on those next.
Well start by adjusting EQ. Click on the ProChannels global On/Off button to turn it
on, then turn on the EQs power. Doubleclick on the EQs header to fly out the EQ plot.
fig 9
Tech Tip: You can fly out the EQ even when the
EQ is collapsed just double-click on the header.
Turn off the HP filter. This steep filter cuts low fre-
Reduction.
fig 10
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HARMONY VOCALS
Now lets work on the harmonies.
With the Vox Lead still soloed, also solo the Vox Harmony channel strip and start playback, so we can
hear the lead and harmony together. Click the Vox
Harmony channel strip to give it the focus. Enable
the EQ and ProChannel power, and expand the EQ
graphic interface by clicking on the double arrows to
the EQ headers right. The EQ setting is similar to the
lead, but with more emphasis in the upper midrange
so the level can be lower, but the vocals are still
intelligible. Now lets add some compression.
fig 11
Tech Tip: The question Should I EQ before or after compressor? has no universal answer.
EQ has more of an effect when it follows the compressor, but sometimes its appropriate to
place the compressor after EQ to even out any excessive peaks caused by the EQ.
t
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fig 12
Tech Tip: If multiple solo buttons are on, the easiest way to turn them off is by clicking on
the green global solo button in the Control Bar (if its gray, no solo buttons are enabled).
4
5
the reverb.
the transport.
Stop playback.
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DRUMS
Drums are a crucial element to drive a song, so lets do them next.
1
2
subwoofers happy.
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BASS
Bass is always tricky, because the frequencies are low enough that you cant
always be sure the system playing back a song will be able to reproduce the sound
properly. The bass range is also where rooms have an uneven response. As a
result, bass parts are often compressed, with the highs boosted somewhat to
emphasize the pitch (this helps if you cant hear the really low notes all that well).
pretty buzzy, but turn solo off for the Bass and youll
hear that it fits well in the track now. The EQ also has
Stop playback.
the signal. This helps even out the overall level. Look
at the channel meter with and without the compressor enabled, and youll see the level stays more constant with compression.
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ACOUSTIC GUITARS
fig 14
The Acoustic Guitars first appear in the bridge to add some variety, and
continue to the end. This example will show how notching response can
be a powerful technique to avoid overlapping with other instruments.
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Stop the transport, and turn off all the Solo buttons
with the Global Solo on/off button.
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CHOIR
Heres another example of using EQ to carve out a parts own sonic space.
LEAD GUITAR
1
2
Solo the Lead Guitar track, give it the focus, place the
Youll hear that the Guitar Solo has a lot of lowfrequency crud which not only detracts from the solo,
but will also overlap with a lot of the instruments. We
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Make sure all the Console Emulators are on. While holding down
the Ctrl key, vary a Console Emulators Drive control. All of
them should move together. Youll definitely hear a difference
if you turn them all the way up or down. To return all the
Drive controls to their mid-position, double-click on one
of the Drive controls while continuing to hold Ctrl down.
For an even more pronounced effect, while holding down the Ctrl
key, turn up the Trim controls. Again, you can return them to their
default center positions by double-clicking on one of the Trim controls
while holding down Ctrl.
Lets tidy up the Console view. While still holding the Ctrl key,
click the Show/Hide ProChannel button again, and all the
ProChannels will collapse back into the Console channels.
Stop playback.
fig 17
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Tech Tip: SONAR defaults to using the PC76 compressor on tracks and the PC4K on buses. However,
you can use the PC4K on individual tracks, or the PC76
on buses. The main difference is that the PC4k has a
somewhat gentler action that works well with complex
sounds like a complete mix, whereas the PC76 is a bit
more aggressive, making it well suited to individual
tracks. For both types, remember that compressor
controls interact adjusting one control will often
require adjusting another control to compensate.
Loop a section of the song (like a verse), place the Now time
within the loop, start playback, and then enable the compressor.
The default compressor setting totally squashes the song, so lets
tweak this further.
fig 18
Vary the Threshold control. Signals lower than the threshold are
compressed, so turning the Threshold control clockwise sets
a higher threshold, and therefore causes less compression.
Conversely, turning the control counterclockwise lowers the
threshold, which compresses the signal more.
Note the compressors Gain Reduction meter. Adjust the Threshold control until the meter hits a little under 4dB on peaks; this is
a fairly conservative setting. The Threshold will be around -16dB.
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Now lets add a bit more brightness. Enable the QuadCurve EQ,
set the high frequency band to Shelf, Q to 1.3, Gain between 0.5
and 1.0 depending on how bright you want the sound to be, and
Frequency to around 2300Hz. Now your ProChannel strip will
look something like this. (see fig 19)
fig 19
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WRAPPING UP
SONAR is a very sophisticated program, and what weve done only scratches the surface. There are many additional tools, shortcuts, and other pro
features that allow tailoring a mix to your exact specifications. We havent
even touched MIDI, virtual instruments, the Matrix view, the Track View,
Loop Construction, video, timing repair, and many other SONAR features.
Feel free to use this mix as a springboard to further experimentation, play
around with the levels if you like, and above all, have fun.
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AVAILABLE MODULES
The trial version doesnt include all ProChannel modules. SONAR X3
Producer includes a toolbox of eight ProChannel modules. The trial
version has all of them except the Tape Emulator.
BREVERB 2 is a reverb with hall, plate, room, and
the background.
other tracks.
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(with sidechain).
a sound.
Author, musician, and Executive Vice President at Gibson, Craig Anderton has played on, mixed,
or produced over 20 major-label releases, authored dozens of books, and lectured on technology
and the arts in 38 states, 10 countries, and three languages. Check out his latest music videos at
youtube.com/thecraiganderton.
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