Pad World

 By John Walden

Steinberg's Padshop can be used to create excellent rhythmic effects.

The Padshop interface, with probably the most boring pad sound ever programmed to serve as a starting point for experimentation.

If you're a Cubase user and a fan of pad sounds, look no further than Steinberg's Padshop granular synth, a version of which has been bundled with Cubase since v6.5. It's available as a third-party plug-in for other DAWs, and there's also a 'Pro' version available for a modest upgrade fee and including additional features such as the ability to import samples. (The screenshots you see here are from Padshop Pro, but the two interfaces are almost identical, and all the exercises described here can be achieved with either version.)

Don't let the 'Pad' in this instrument's name fool you, though, because if you scratch below the surface of the pad-tastic presets, this synth can do much more. In fact, you could do a lot worse than Padshop for creating wonderful rhythmic effects.

Unless you're blessed with mathematical super-powers, basic tone creation using Padshop's granular engine is most likely to be a process of trial and error, using the synth's upper two panels. However, once you have a decent tonal starting point, you can start to add rhythmic effects using the more familiar controls that are found in the third panel of the interface, which hosts the modulation and FX sections (plus the additional Reverb in the Pro version of Padshop).

The Modulation Matrix, the twin LFOs, the delay effect (in the FX section) and the Step Modulator are the key tools. The delay effect should require little by way of explanation. Of the others, the Step Modulator offers the most intriguing possibilities, so in this column I'll focus primarily on that. First, though, I'll cover some of the other useful features. I've also provided some short audio examples (/sos/mar13/articles/cubase-0313media.htm) to illustrate the steps described below.

Enter The Matrix

Three Step Modulator patterns. The top shows a simple 16-step on/off pattern while the middle shows a much more interesting 32-step pattern. As shown in the bottom example, you can add a slope to the step starts and tails to smooth the transitions between steps.

Let's begin with a simple starting point, Padshop's basic preset, 'Simple Sine Pad'. Next, remove all the existing sound modulation links in the Modulation Matrix, and then tweak a number of the amplifier and filter settings and switch off all the effects, as illustrated in the first screen. (And you thought the preset was boring to start with!)

Like any synth that features one, Padshop's Modulation Matrix provides a means of linking certain elements of the synth engine together — and when trying to turn our basic pad into something more rhythmic, the first thing to do is use the Matrix to link one of Padshop's low-frequency oscillators (LFOs) to the synth's volume.

For my example, as shown in the screenshot, LFO1 (the source) has been assigned to control volume (the synth's amp volume, which is the destination). With LFO1 configured to produce a perfect square wave (note the Shape control set at 50 percent), the volume is turned up and down at a rate defined by the frequency of the LFO. This, in turn, has been set to sync with the project tempo at 1/16th of a bar.

The resulting pulse-like sound is not dissimilar to a rapid tremolo-style effect, and while it's not terribly exciting at this stage, it does illustrate the basic principle of the technique and provides a good basis for further experimentation.

Now, adjusting the modulation-depth setting, try other LFO waveforms and examine how the Shape control interacts with each of the waveform shapes to change the nature of the 'pulse'. Take the 'S&H2' LFO waveform, for example, which produces alternating high and low values, but with a random element. While the pattern produced is different each time you release all the notes and then press a new one, if you use a combination of 'beat' and 1/16th in the LFO's Sync Mode controls to modulate level or volume, you'll always end up with a rapid rhythmic effect. Higher Shape values will produce smoother transitions between the alternating LFO values.

Step On It

The Modulation Matrix provides ten slots, so there's plenty of flexibility. Note that both sources and destinations can be used multiple times, and modifiers can also be inserted for additional complexity.

LFO control over the amp volume only gets you so far, though. For a higher degree of creative control over the rhythmic nature of your sound, you can explore the Step Modulation options. Instead of the LFO generating a changing pattern of values, these allow you to define your own looping step-based pattern.

Up to 32 steps are available and, as with the LFO, you can set the sync mode and rate relative to your project's tempo. If the Step Modulator is then used as a source to change level (the destination), you'll be in complete control over the timing of changes in level over the full cycle of the pattern. You can create all sorts of rhythmic patterns in this way, and place emphasis on particular steps by using higher values.

Although you can create perfectly stepped patterns in this way, you're also able to adjust the slope between the steps in various ways, to smooth the transitions between steps. Usefully, once created, step patterns can be saved, which is great, as it allows you to build up a collection of such patterns that you can dip into and tweak for repeated use.

You don't have to sync your step-modulation pattern to the project tempo, though, as its frequency is also available as a destination in the Modulation Matrix. This is where you can start to create much more complex rhythmic effects. For example, you could use an LFO to modulate the step frequency, which can generate some fun, although sometimes of dubious musical merit! With a little experimentation, starting with low depth settings, you can achieve interesting and useful results by 'playing' the step-modulation frequency (destination) via the mod wheel (source) — and this often produces more 'human'-sounding effects than automating everything via an LFO.

As in the case of the LFOs, there are three different triggering modes for the Step Modulator — Beat, First and Each — and these can be useful for different effects. Beat is the most straightforward, as the Step Modulator's position is locked to the bar/beat structure of the track (for example, if your step pattern is set to loop over a single bar, step 1 always coincides with the first beat of the bar).

In First mode, the pattern starts as soon as the first note is played. If other notes are added while that first note is held, they follow the pattern from whatever point it has currently reached. However, if you release all notes, the pattern then starts afresh with the next note played. This behaviour can be used creatively if you have programmed a longer step pattern, as it allows you to use the length of time for which a note is held to control how far you get into the pattern.

Finally, Each mode starts the pattern again each time a new note is played. Don't try to combine complex step patterns with lots of notes here, as things just get messy very quickly! Keep it simple, however, and you can achieve worthwhile results.

Layer Slayer

As demonstrated via the audio examples, the top two step-patterns could be placed in different layers, their interaction adding interest to the overall sound. As shown in the bottom pattern, you might also choose to use a different step-length in one of the layers, to increase the rhythmic complexity.

Using the Step Modulator to control the volume in this way allows you to transform any pad into a full-on rhythmic groove... but you can create more interest in a few ways, the most useful of which is probably to repeat the trick — because Padshop allows you to blend two layers. Using the layer Copy and Paste buttons, you can duplicate your rhythmic creation from layer A to layer B. You can then tweak layer B (perhaps selecting a different sample and adjusting the filter settings) to give some tonal variations and use the layer mix fader to blend between the two.

Even more rewarding results can be produced by creating some differences in the behaviour of the Step Modulator between the two layers. For example, start with otherwise similar layers and, using the same pattern within the Step Modulator, simply change the emphasis of a small number of the steps. As you adjust the balance between the two layers, you'll notice a shift in which Step Modulator pattern is dominant. Here's a second example. Use two identical layers, but with the Step Modulator sync rate in layer B set to half or double that in layer A. You can then either quickly switch between layers or try to blend them together. There are lots of other possible permutations, including using different step numbers in the Step Modulator patterns of the two layers. Once you have a feel for how things work, the key is to experiment.

Vanishing Pad

Using the Step Modulator to control the volume of a sustained sound allows you to create all sorts of tremolo and/or gate-like effects in Padshop. But while this automatic control lies at the heart of rhythmic, stuttering and swell effects, bear in mind that you can apply the same logic to the manipulation of other synthesis parameters, such as filter cutoff frequency or amplifier-envelope release settings. Such options enable you to combine your new-found rhythmic sounds with timbral changes that follow the rhythm. It's well worth investing an hour or two in pure experimentation: I guarantee you'll find a way to turn Padshop into much more than a source of drones or ethereal pad sounds!  

Published March 2013

minilogue xd 2.0 Firmware Installation Tutorial/Feature Overview

All Mixed Up

By John Walden

A compact layout of the Mix Console set up for typical mixing tasks, with group tracks fixed in a zone to the left, and effects tracks and the master output channel docked to the right of the mixer, leaving various other channels scrollable across the middle of the mixer. The panel on the left and the drop-down Channel Types panel both provide tools for showing and hiding different tracks, or types of track. Note that this is the first version of Cubase that lets you configure the mixer to show both inserts and sends in the same mixer view.

Cubase's main mixer window underwent a radical overhaul in version 7. In addition to the obvious visual changes, the new Mix Console boasts plenty of novel features, including Channel Racks, the Channel Strip, the Meter Bridge and a new graphical interface for EQ editing. It's far more powerful and configurable than the mixer in previous Cubase versions, but it also has the potential to become very cluttered, particularly on smaller screens. To get the most from Cubase 7, then, it's important to know how to arrange it to display only the elements you need.

Break It Down

The process of getting to grips with the Mix Console can be broken down into three stages. The first is to learn what Mix Console components are available and how they can be configured. Next, you need to figure out which configurations work best for your various composition, recording and mixing tasks. Finally, it's well worth learning how to recall different Mix Console layouts swiftly and efficiently, so that navigating the mixer becomes second nature.

It's worth noting here that there's no right or wrong way of configuring the mixer. What works best in any given situation is going to be a matter of personal taste and how much screen space you have available. Whatever your preferences, though, the likelihood is that you'll end up with several different views that you want to be able to recall swiftly as and when required. As an example, during tracking I might find myself wanting to see metering and fader levels, along with the Control Room. At mixdown, by contrast, I might wish to see an overview of channel EQs, inserts and sends, along with the new Loudness Meter. Elsewhere, there are times when I might wish to see all of the outputs from a virtual drum intrument such as BFD2, whereas at others I'll just want to see the group channel to which I've routed those tracks.

Cubase 7 incorporates a number of features that make this sort of flexibility possible. As before, there are three separate Mix Consoles available in each project, each of which can be set up differently. These are augmented by the new Mix Console Configurations, Workspaces and shortcut key commands that let you move freely between your different configurations.

Getting Started

The Window Layout dialogue allows you to select which panes are shown in the Mix Console.

So, where do you start? By default, the Mix Console includes three separate panes: the Channel Selector down the left, the Fader pane along the bottom and the Channel Racks at the top. The height and width of any of these panes can be adjusted by grabbing their edges with the mouse and then dragging. Other panes automatically adjust to accommodate within the overall dimensions of the Mix Console window. The full Mix Console window itself is scalable vertically as well as horizontally, too — just click and drag at the bottom right-hand corner to resize.

The Window Layout selector button, located at the top left on the Toolbar, allows you to add other panes to this default Mix Console layout. Options include the Channel Overview, the Meter Bridge, channel EQ curves, Pictures and a Notepad. With the exception of the main Fader panel, each of these panes can be toggled on and off in the Window Layout dialogue box, so that you can focus solely on the controls you need to see at any given time.

Although you can't turn off the Fader pane, you can prevent individual channels appearing here and elsewhere using the Channel Selector pane at the left. The Visibility tab allows you to set which channels, or groups of channels, are included in the Mix Console, while the Zones tab allows you to lock certain channels to the left or right of the Mix Console display and have them always in view, regardless of what other left/right channel scrolling you might do.

You can also turn the Channel Selector display off using the Window Layout dialogue box. Given that the Mix Console Toolbar includes the Channel Types button, you can still adjust which channel types are visible on the fly and, as I find this to be an adequate level of control in most cases, I tend to prefer having an extra couple of channels visible all the time to having the Channel Selector pane itself displayed.

One Size Doesn't Fit All

Although they are not assigned by default, you can set up keyboard shortcuts for almost any function in the mixer. Adding the Zoom palette to the toolbar can be useful, but there are also global keyboard shortcuts for this function, both in the Mix Console and the main project page.

Hand in hand with the ability to resize the Mix Console go its zoom tools, which enable you to expand or contract channels vertically or horizontally. If you want all these tools within clicking distance, right-click on a blank spot within the Mix Console Toolbar. This opens a pop-up menu where you can toggle on and off different subsets of Toolbar controls. By default, the Zoom palette is switched off: enable it, and buttons to control the vertical and horizontal zoom of the Mix Console channels will appear at the top of your mixer. In addition to the Channel Types and Rack buttons, I find the Zoom palette particularly useful for fine-tuning the display while I'm working. If you prefer to keep on-screen controls to a minimum, though, you can control the zoom functions using keyboard shortcuts. The 'G' and 'H' keys zoom in and out horizontally on their own, or vertically with Shift added. These are universal shortcuts and apply to the main project page also, not just the mixer.

For deeper control over the Mix Console alone, you'll need to go to the Key Commands window (via File/Key Commands...) and define your own custom shortcuts. Toggling channel types on and off, expanding and contracting elements within the Rack pane, and the zoom controls are all assignable as key commands, but there are plenty more useful options in the 'Mixer' section of the Key Commands window. For example, I stumbled across the Link Channels command in this way, and assigned that to Ctrl-Alt-L.

To return to the Mix Console Toolbar for a second, the Transport, Locators, Time Display and Markers palettes are also viewable Toolbar options. This means that mixing with the Mix Console in full-screen mode without being able to see the Project window or Transport Panel is now a viable option, so it might be worth experimenting with a full-screen Mix Console layout.

Total Recall

Workspaces allow you to quickly access different Mix Console layouts, providing you make use of the three separate Mix Consoles.

Once you've configured the Mix Console's layout and dimensions to suit, Cubase can memorise your layouts for later recall. Locate the Mix Console Configurations palette (which is on by default and is located on the top-left corner of the mixer). Clicking on one of the four 'slots', and then clicking the asterisk button, allows you to save the current Mix Console layout as a Configuration. If you fill up the four default slots, further ones appear, up to a maximum of eight. You can quickly switch between Configurations by clicking on the numbered slots. Usefully, they are saved as part of a Project Template, and you can assign shortcut keys for speedy access to each configuration.

However, Configurations only reflect which channels and Racks are visible: they do not retain the overall size of the Mix Console window, the current zoom settings or the sizes of the various panes (Fader, Rack, Meter Bridge, and so on). Nor do they store settings configured in the Window Layout options, so if, for instance, you turn on the Meter Bridge in one Configuration, it will remain on regardless of which Configuration you then switch to.

You can use the three independent Mix Consoles to define different combinations of pane layouts.If you want to switch between different sizes of the Mix Console window, you have a couple of options. One is to create Workspaces that incorporate differently sized Mix Console windows. You can then switch between Workspace presets to recall different sizes of Mix Console, while using Mix Console Configurations to switch between different channel and Rack visibility combinations. The catch is that Workspaces only retain the overall dimensions of the Mix Console, so when you recall a Workspace, the current size and layout of panes are simply adapted to fit the overall Mix Console dimensions. In most cases, the Fader pane retains its height, while the Rack pane gets squeezed to accommodate, which isn't ideal.

The final option is to make use of multiple Mix Consoles. There are three separate mixers to choose from, just as in previous versions of Cubase. They're available via the Devices menu, and you can assign shortcuts to open and close each one. Mixer 1 is opened/closed by F3 by default; I overrode other shortcuts to place the other two mixers on F4 and F5 respectively.

If you have a dual-screen setup, you obviously have more space to play with, but the mixer is still complex, and you can still get an awful lot out of configuring the Mix Console(s) to taste.Each Console offers a completely independent view of the mixer functions in your project. If you wanted to, you could even have all three differently sized Mix Consoles on screen at the same time, each showing different combinations of panes, Racks and channels: the only thing they must all share is the top Toolbar layout. This, therefore, is the place to configure different Mix Console pane layouts and, as there are three Mix Console devices, you can make up to three configurations. The other useful element that these different console views also retain are vertical and horizontal zoom settings, which is great if you regularly want to flip quickly between channels that are wide/tall or narrow/short, or some other combination.

Multiple Mix Consoles can really speed up your work even through something as simple as making all your group and FX channels visible on one mixer, and all your audio channels on another, or having a drum submixer set up to avoid cluttering your main mixer with countless channels. Alternatively, you might want a dedicated mixer setup for recording and another for mixing.

Pulling Things Together

However you prefer to set up your mixer for different tasks, there's scope to do it in Cubase 7. If you combine the three Mix Consoles with different Workspaces, you can use the Workspaces you create to switch between views of the Mix Console that will retain not only the overall dimensions of the console, but also the selection and size of panes and the channel/Rack zoom level. Add this to the Mix Console Configuration buttons, throw in a few key commands and Project Templates, and navigating your projects via the new Mix Console should soon become second nature!     

Published April 2013

Patch of the Week 31: minilogue xd + volca modular – external modulation patching

Bright Idea

By Carsten Kaiser

Try out some '80s-style high-frequency enhancement by recreating the famous 'Dolby A' trick with Cubase's bundled plug-ins.

Back in the '70s, when the new 'high-fidelity' playback systems were revealing more detail to listeners, and increasingly complex production techniques led to a loss of high end (for example, through analogue tape generation loss) on many recordings, music-production facilities must have yearned for ways to enhance high-end detail in their records. It may be no coincidence that dedicated high-frequency enhancement tools with which we're all now familiar, such as the Aphex Aural Exciter — initially so secret in its workings that it was available only to rent — began to appear.

A rather more cost-effective way to lend signals extra shine and shimmer emerged from Dolby A noise-reduction, using only the encoding stage of a Dolby A unit (see the 'Dolby A Background' box). The effect sounds rather different from Aphex-style processing, and it can be as useful in a Cubase production as it was in the days of hardware.

Creating A Dolby-A Enhancer

Psychoacoustic processors usually add clarity and sparkle to the mix either by regenerating high-frequency harmonics or by combining dynamic equalisation and phase-shifting. This Dolby A setup uses the dynamic equalisation principle, by utilising a virtual multi-band splitter and different compression intensities. If the level of the audio signal rises above the threshold, the respective band's compressor applies gain.

This may sound like a conventional multi-band compressor, but the filters are configured slightly differently, and the first step is to create a four-band splitter using Group and FX channels. I've used a lead vocal for the examples, but you can use a signal of your choice.

1. Create channels. Create four FX channels and two group channels. Name one group channel 'Dolby A in' and the other 'Dolby A out'. Then label the FX channels 'DA lo', 'DA band', 'DA hi1' and 'DA hi2'. To keep your project tidy, you can move these all into one 'Dolby A' folder if you wish.

2. Signal routing. Route 'Dolby A in' to all four FX tracks, using send controls, but ensure that this channel's output is not routed anywhere. Route the output of each of the four FX tracks to the group channel 'Dolby A out'. Then, feed your lead vocal to the 'Dolby A in' channel via another send control.

3. Add gain. Finally, add 5dB of gain to the 'Dolby A out' channel using the input gain control (in the Pre section of the mixer).This is what your virtual Dolby A routing system should look like in Cubase 7.

You've now created the basic routing 'canvas', but you still need to set up the filters to complete the splitter. You can use Cubase's built-in EQ to set up the filters as described below:

1. DA Lo: An 80Hz low-pass filter.

2. DA Band: A band-pass filter from 80Hz to 3kHz (using both a low- and a high-pass filter to 'bracket' the band).

3. DA Hi1: A high-pass filter at 3kHz.

4. DA Hi2: Another high-pass filter, this time at 9kHz.

The overlapping zone of the two high-pass filters is what makes this different from a standard multi-band splitter. Make sure the slopes are set to 12dB per octave if you want to make this emulation sound as authentic as possible, though similar effects can be achieved using other slopes.Creating the multi-band environment for the enhancer effect.

With this routing now complete, it's time to add compression. Insert an instance of Cubase's standard compressor on each of the band-pass and high-pass filtered channels, but not the low-pass one, ensuring that the compressors are inserted after the filters in the signal chain. If you're using insert plug-ins, you can drag the inserts into the desired position. If you're using the Strip section of Cubase 7's mixer, as in my example, you need to drag and drop the EQ Position placeholder in the Mix Console channel strip instead.

Select a 2:1 ratio for the first two compressors, and a less aggressive 1.5:1 ratio for the one on 'DA Hi2'. Set the attack times for all compressors to 1ms and their release times to around 10ms. Adjust the compressors' gain to +10dB on the first two channels, and +5dB on 'DA Hi 2', making sure that the automatic make-up gain is turned off.The carefully adjusted dynamics section of our virtual Dolby A setup.

Levels & Thresholds

If you've stumbled across descriptions of this technique previously, while trawling the Internet, it's possible that you've absorbed some well-intentioned misinformation, and with that in mind, I'd better put a few things straight!

For example, you may have read that you need to set the thresholds of your compressors to -40dB in relation to a fixed reference level. You can ignore that advice, because while this was the case when working with the hardware units, the reason for it was to ensure that the decoding side of the process worked correctly — and seeing as this effect only makes use of the encoding stage, it's not really relevant here. In any case, back in the day, the reality was that the drive level would vary as people routinely varied the actual level they recorded to tape. Recording 'hot to tape' would in effect lower the Dolby reference level threshold down by anything up to about 10dB (resulting in more HF compression).

But you do, of course, need to set the thresholds somewhere, so where? Well, professional engineers will usually work with plenty of headroom — with signals averaging around -20dBFS, and peaks will be somewhere around -10dBFS. In this scenario, you're going to need to work with compressor thresholds somewhere in the region of -60dB (ie. 40dB below -20dBFS) — which you'll find is the lowest setting available in the standard compressor in Cubase 7's new Strip section of the mix console.

It's not at all uncommon for levels on home-brew recordings to be rather higher than this, though (despite there being no real need or practical benefit — quite the opposite, in fact, but that's a discussion for another time!). Perhaps your signals are peaking at 0dBFS, with an average of -10, and if this is the case then you'll want to set the thresholds as high as -50dB to achieve the same amount of compression.

It's All Under Control

With your thresholds set, the effect is now ready to use — you just need to know how to use it. If you were working with the original hardware unit, you could only have changed the level structure by using your soldering iron, so if you want authenticity, leave the faders of the effect channels well alone. Clearly, though, this is the sort of effect over which you want full control — and this is why it's useful to set this up as a parallel process, as described above. This gives you independent control over the levels of the source (dry) sound and the processed (wet) signals.

The easiest way to operate this effect is to leave the source channel's send control at unity gain, and simply grab the fader of your virtual Dolby A output channel to adjust the amount of enhancement effect that you're adding. If you blend the source and parallel (ie. 'Dolbyfied') signals at a level ratio of about 1.5:1, you'll come close to the classic vocal sound of Journey — but you might prefer to experiment to find something less obviously bright!

Further Improvements

For the basic, authentic Dolby A enhancement effect, that's all there is to it. You should find it does far more than you could achieve by simply boosting harmonics with an EQ — and I'd encourage you to compare the two techniques using the same source material, so that you're able to discover and judge the differences yourself!

However, some of the early engineers developed adaptations of the trick, and you've probably heard at least one notable variation: the so-called 'John Lennon mod' (he didn't invent it, but the effect was used on his voice), in which the lower two filters of the Dolby A are disabled, so only the high-frequency portion of the signal is being compressed. If you're going for an 'old school' mastering approach instead, you could use all four bands of your virtual Dolby A setup on full mixes. Some producers use this variant on kick drum or snare channels, too.

Working in Cubase, though, you're not operating under the same constraints as those engineers, and you can easily experiment with tweaking other settings. Juggling the ratio and make-up gain controls of the compressor in the highest band, for instance, will allow you to emphasise the very top end rather more. I'm struggling to think where I'd want to do that, but you may find a use!

Proceed With Caution!

It's easy to get carried away when you learn a new trick, and when applying high-frequency enhancement of any sort you need to be on your guard: it can quickly result in ear fatigue, leading you to make poor mix judgements. So take regular breaks, keep handy some reference material that you know sounds good, and always do A/B comparisons to ensure you remain in the aural comfort zone. You'll find that you achieve the best results by waiting until the next day to double-check your enhancement, rather than rushing a potentially brittle-sounding mix off for feedback!

Also, bear in mind that this effect became popular in days when equipment and recording media (analogue tape) could sound rather dull by comparison with much of today's ultra-clean recording gear, which is far less 'forgiving' of harsh, brittle sounds. Because of this, you need to be picky about when to use the Dolby A trick. Nevertheless, there are plenty of occasions when it can be exactly what you need: for example, it's worth a try when mixing U47/U67-style mics, ribbon microphones or acoustic guitars with dead-sounding older strings. If you are going for an authentic sound, you could also try inserting a tape emulation run at 15ips to add some extra tape hiss, or to smooth the edges of your bright new top end.

No matter which application you choose, watch out for over-enhancement of certain elements of your sound. You don't want any high-frequency noise to be raised too far, for instance, and keep an ear out for what's happening to vocal sibilance — you can always use a de-esser before sending the vocal signal to your virtual Dolby A, but you may need to adjust settings in light of this effect.  

Dolby A Background

The original hardware Dolby 361 noise-reduction processor that accidentally spawned this enhancement effect.Photo: PJ

The Dolby A noise-reduction system was introduced in 1965. The full system consisted of a main unit and several special-purpose module cards — and for our enhancement technique, a typical setup would have consisted of a Dolby 361 unit with a Cat 22 Type A card. Inside this module, a four-band 'compander' (compressor-expander) operates on the source signal at the processor's encoder/decoder stages, pre-emphasising high frequencies before the signal is recorded onto tape, and compensating for that pre-emphasis in the decoding stage. Used in this intended way, Dolby A systems attenuated the sound of tape hiss, which was always introduced by the recording medium. To execute the 'enhancement trick', producers simply recorded a Dolby A-encoded signal onto tape but left out the decoding stage during playback.

Leaving out the decoding stage results in an artificially bright-sounding signal, with an over-emphasised high-mid range and a compressed top end — particularly so for high-frequency sounds at lower levels. The main benefit is that the degree of added brightness decreases as the source gets louder. So, for example, when applied to a vocal track, the encoding only slightly enhances high frequencies in passages with louder vocals (strident choruses, for example) but adds much more high-frequency enhancement in passages with quieter vocals. This is why the sound character resulting from this technique is so 'pleasing' to the ear, relative to harmonic-distortion-based enhancement or standard EQ shelving boosts.

To illustrate the sonic character of the Dolby A trick, I've provided some audio examples you can find on the SOS web site (/sos/may13/articles/cubase-technique-media.htm), and you can hear the effect on many commercial recordings: if you listen to George Martin's later recordings of the Beatles, you'll hear Dolby A-encoded vocals, and producer Bruce Botnick once confirmed that The Doors' single 'Light My Fire' had been (accidentally) mastered with the Dolby A trick. For a more extreme example, listen to Journey's 'Don't Stop Believing'; you'll instantly recognise the 'musical brightness' of Steve Perry's vocals.

Where might you find yourself wanting to use the Dolby A trick? Whenever signals seem to lack presence in the big picture, aren't cutting through the mix, or simply sound way too dull, it's worth trying. Adding a parallel signal in the 'Dolby A style' could lend the voice some extra definition and brilliance, without overdoing things. Bear in mind, though, that at heart this is dynamic equalisation: there's no added harmonic content. You're simply enhancing existing high-frequency detail and tightening up the mid-range. 

Published May 2013

Patch of the Week 30: minilogue xd + randomly generated Eurorack ambience

Re-chord Industry

 By John Walden

Using Cubase 7's powerful new Chord Track, you can completely rework your existing compositions.

The original project with the chord sequence extracted from a MIDI piano part. Note the Chord Track Inspector panel settings as discussed in the main text.

Cubase 7's Chord Track presents the tantalising possibility of changing a chord sequence that has already been recorded, and forcing your various MIDI tracks and monophonic audio parts to fit the new sequence. I can best explain how to make use of the Chord Track by taking you through an example, audio illustrations of which you can find on the SOS web site at /sos/jun13/articles/cubase-media.htm.

The first screenshot shows a simple piano, drums, bass and guitar (both DI'ed and played back through the VST Amp Rack) recording and a vocal arrangement for a song section. After several listens, though, I've decided that the chords seem too boring. Here's how to add a little something extra...

Ignoring the audio parts for the moment, select the MIDI piano part. You can then execute the Project/Chord Track/Make Chords menu option. The small dialogue box that opens has a few options but, for now, use the default settings. Cubase will add a Chord Track to the project and populate it with the chords from the MIDI piano part. It will also add scale markers to indicate the scale (or scale changes) that occur during the sequence.

You can instruct the Chord Track to ignore notes shorter than a particular length, and two further options dictate how much detail Cubase extracts from the MIDI performance. Alternative bass notes can be chosen (for example, for chord inversions), as can tensions (additional notes beyond the standard triad that give the chord its flavour). In this example, the original chords were simple major chords (A, D and E).

What's On The Menu?

The revised chord sequence modified using the Chord Editor and Chord Assistant. The original (top lane) and revised (bottom lane) piano pats are also shown. The revised part was created by setting the track to follow the Chord Track using Chords mode.

The Chord Track itself doesn't make a sound by default: it's simply a chord and scale template that other tracks can be made to follow. However, you can audition your chords by choosing a MIDI channel or a new virtual instrument as the monitor output destination, and it can be useful to have a piano instrument or something similar set up specifically for the purpose.

Before I show you how to get another track to respond to the Chord Track, let's use the track to make some changes to the existing chords. There are a number of ways to do this. The Chord Editor enables you to make manual changes to individual chords, and chord changes can also be moved, added or deleted. The full version of Cubase, though, includes the Chord Assistant, which can do some of your creative thinking, even if you're 'harmonically challenged'!

The behaviour of the Chord Assistant depends on what you select in the Chord Track. Select a single chord event and the Chord Assistant will offer you a number of alternatives for that chord. Select multiple events and the Chord Assistant instead presents a menu of suitable chord progressions. This is particularly useful if you want to experiment with adding an additional chord change or two: simply enter some new events (they'll have an 'X' displayed in them), select the chord events surrounding them, and see what the Chord Assistant offers up. Dragging the Complexity slider right generates increasingly sophisticated suggestions. The Cadence settings provide further fine-tuning possibilities, but for the sake of simplicity we'll stick with the defaults.

Changes

The Chord Editor makes it easy to manually edit your Chord Track chord sequence.

My initial chord progression consists of two sequences, each repeated twice, and as the Chord Assistant's algorithm uses some knowledge of music cadence (the sense that a phrase resolves itself to a satisfying musical end point), it's a good idea to focus work on these sorts of self-contained sequences. The second screenshot shows the changes to the Chord Track after a little experimentation. In some places (bars 1-4 and 9-12), I simply used the Chord Editor to add a little more colour. However, for bars 5-8, I used the Chord Assistant to suggest an alternative sequence. The Assistant generated a list of possibilities, which I auditioned while looping playback, by clicking on suggestions in the list. Any other tracks that are set to follow the Chord Track will then automatically attempt to adjust themselves to fit the new chord sequence.

Follow The Leader

If you select a single chord, the Chord Assistant will offer you some alternatives.

Getting those other tracks to respond to the Chord Track requires you to consider a few settings. First, in the Chord Track's Inspector panel, you have to make a choice between Basic, Piano or Guitar Voicings, as the chords generated by each are constructed in different ways. The voicing setting can be applied to the whole track, as in this example, or to individual chords, via the Info line. I suggest you start with the Basic and Automatic Voicings, because once you've got your head around them, it's easier to experiment with the others. These Voicings still force a target track to follow the Chord Track, but they do so by moving your existing notes as little as possible. Adding a negative mapping offset will also ensure that you catch any notes that are played very slightly ahead of a chord change but should be considered part of that chord.

To get the original piano part to follow the new chord sequence, visit its Track Inspector's Chord Track section. There are a number of settings to choose from, but Chord mode is a good way to demonstrate the effect because this forces the MIDI part to follow the root note of the new chords, thus making the chord changes a little more obvious to the ear than Auto mode does.

Automatic Audio

If you select multiple events in the Chord Track, the Chord Assistant will suggest alternative chord sequences.

The process of slaving the bass and vocal audio tracks to the Chord Track can be broken down into three steps. First, open the audio part in the Sample Editor and, with the VariAudio tab selected, set the Chord Track display mode in the Toolbar. This colour-codes the pitch segments: green if the note is part of the current chord; blue if the note is part of the scale but not the chord; or red if it belongs to neither. They're useful clues as to which notes might work.

Next, set the Follow Chord Track mode in the track's Inspector panel. There are a number of options but for something simple like this, the Auto, Chord or Scale options are a sensible starting point. Each will re-pitch the audio in slightly different ways, so you need to experiment, but you can use the Reset button if you need to start again! For both tracks, the Chords option got me closest to a suitable result.

If that goes really well, step three (manual tweaking) may be unnecessary, but I did find myself wanting to make adjustments: I used Variaudio to change the pitch of a couple of notes, using the multi-colour segment display to help identify likely target pitches, and then applied a little pitch straightening. If you make manual corrections after applying automatic Chord Track re-pitching, remember to turn off Follow Chord Track in the track's Inspector, as your tweaks may otherwise get overwritten! Having done all this, use the Audio/Realtime Processing/Flatten function to make your changes permanent, and your job is done.

Setting the VariAudio display to Chord Track mode provides useful colour-coding of the pitch segments.There are some limitations to be aware of. First, the strummed electric guitar part hasn't been tweaked to follow the new chords — and that's because this is a polyphonic part, which Variaudio can't process. The only option (other than the third-party Celemony Melodyne Editor software) is to replace the part with a new take. Other than this, the only practical limitation for most people is that the further you pitch-shift audio, the more likely it is that you'll hear unwanted artifacts from the processing. Even then, though, you can often usefully employ the pitch-shifted part as a guide track.

Composer On Autopilot

I deliberately used basic Chord Track settings to demonstrate how the process works, but even with such simple settings you can perform miracles. I could just as easily have used the same approach to transform the 'major' feel of the progression into a 'minor' one. The various 'voicing' options can also be used in a similar way to generate more sophisticated results, and they're particularly helpful if you're trying to write MIDI parts for specific instruments, such as guitar or piano.   

Published June 2013