The Pain and Pleasure of Plug-ins
Part 1 Since we'll be getting into some spacey sounds, we might as well start off with some spacey music: A snippet from "The Southern Side of Space," by the mercifully forgotten late-'70s Dixie-space rock band Lynyrd Nymoy. Download the practice session PC | Mac. Hear it and weep. There's a stereo drum track (bounced down from eight tracks on the original analog two-inch), plus bass, two guitars, and Theremin, all in mono. As you press play, you may experience some of the same reactions I had when I first heard the original session: "What were they thinking?"..."How did they get it to sound this bad?"..."When do I get paid?". Now's a good time to download some first aid — I mean, plug-ins. Visit the links below, snatch the latest versions of the demo download for your platform, quit Pro Tools if it's running, and follow each installer's prompts. But first... Caveat Downloader Still Here? From www.waves.com
From www.ikmultimedia.com From www.mcdsp.com
(sorry, Mac only): Install them, and then meet me back here after tech support gets your computer running again. Just kidding. Beam Me Up, Y'all Let's survey the damage track by track, starting with the drums. I managed to find a relatively stable two-bar passage, which I've looped here. The time isn't bad, but the tone is a bit papery and insubstantial. Let's pump up the low end with Waves' MaxxBass plug-in. Click-hold on one of the buttons in the drum track's inserts column and select MaxxBass. (Note: The Waves plug-ins will be grouped together at the bottom of the plug-in list, as opposed to appearing in strict alphabetical order.)
MaxxBass synthesizes extra low-end mass, perfect for beefing up this kick drum. Click on the Load button and choose the "Aggressive" preset. (Note: You always select Waves presets via this button, as opposed to the pull-down menu in the upper-left-hand corner of the plug-in screen used for most other plug-ins.) Now, move the little slider beneath the frequency graphic to "tune" the bass response to your taste. Finally, toggle the "Bypass" switch to hear the difference. Pretty dramatic!
Mac users can also use McDSP's Analog Channel 2 tape simulator to fatten up the track. Insert it beneath the MaxxBass plug. Click on the little "Auto" light in the output section, which keeps your output level manageable while you overdrive the input section, which you can do by cranking the input knob to suit your taste. Keep toggling those bypass switches to compare your changes, or better yet, use this shortcut: Command/Ctrl-click on the plug-in name in the inserts column. The field behind the button turns white, signifying bypassed.
Bottom's Up
To my ear, the first guitar track is already sufficiently compressed, but judge for yourself using this shortcut: Option/Alt-click on the bass track's compressor insert and drag it into one of the "gtr 1" inserts, which will duplicate it there, settings and all. All these changes have made the tracks louder, so you'll probably have to pull the Master 1 fader down a few dB till it stops peaking. How much is Too Much? Just how many plug-ins can you add to your session before it cries uncle? The Pro Tools manuals are vague on this topic, and so am I. Processor needs vary enormously from plug-in to plug-in. EQs, for example, tend to make modest demands, while reverbs are notorious DSP pigs. Your processor speed and Pro Tools Setups menu settings are additional factors. So the only real answer to the above question is that "you'll find out!" Whether you're working on Pro Tools FREE or a full-blown, multi-card HD system, it just seems to be musician's nature to overpower your system. However, here are a few techniques you can use to maximize your RTAS efficiency: • When you're recording into Pro Tools, you want your hardware buffer setting as low as possible for minimum latency. But a higher setting permits more plug-ins, and the latency is no problem when you're mixing. So for now, go to Setups>Hardware and set the H/W Buffer Setting to the maximum option of 1,024 samples. • In the same menu, increase the CPU Usage Limit. If you're not running other programs in the background, you may be able to run it at 70% or higher. If your screen starts to look or act funny, that's your signal that you've pushed it too far.
• If you run out of juice, you can temporarily disengage plug-ins. Simply bypassing them doesn't suffice — they're still sucking up processor power. But if you do Command/Ctrl + Ctrl/Start while clicking on the plug-in's name in the inserts column, the plug-in grays out, indicating it's been deactivated and has freed up DSP power. Repeat the move to resuscitate the plug-in, setting and all. • Print your plug-ins using the Bounce to Disc command, place the resulting audio in a new track, and then mute or delete the original track and disable or remove the plug-ins. Amputation Insert Amplitube on the track — I recommend the mono version so we can keep the two guitars panned in hard stereo. If you don't have enough power, deactivate some of the other plug-ins as described above. Dial in these settings: • Turn on the AMP MATCH and CAB MATCH toggles. The result: a convincing retro Marshall tone. Try to ignore the white-noise burst that serves as copy protection. That should sound a lot better. Now try adding some simulated stompboxes by clicking the STOMP switch in the plug-in's lower-right-hand corner. Might I recommend a nice fixed-frequency wah? Just push the Wah-Wah button. And if you're feeling reckless, add some Overdrive. Keep fiddling till the track sounds cooler.
Next we're going to print this track with its effect so we can deactivate the plug-in, releasing the power to insert other plugs. But first, let's save your Amplitube setting so you can tweak it later if you change your mind about the bounced sound: • Click on the downward-pointing triangle in the upper-right-hand corner of the plug-in screen. This should take you an Amplitube folder in the Plug-In Settings folder. • Create a dedicated folder for this and future masterpieces if you like. • Name and save your setting. Now let's bounce. Here's how: • Solo the "gtr 2" track and select both audio regions. • If you lowered the Master 1 fader before, Option/Alt-click on its volume field to return it to the default 0dB setting. (If you don't, your bounce will be quieter than the original.) • Select Bounce to Disk from the File menu. • Set the format to mono and select Import After Bounce, like so:
• Select Bounce, which takes you to the default location of the song's audio files folder. Name the bounced version and click Save. The bounce occurs in real time — you'll hear the solo track play as it's saved. You should now see your file in the audio list column. Now bring it home: • Deactivate Amplitube by Command/Ctrl + Control/Start-clicking on its plug-in slot. • Mute the original "gtr 2" track and hide it by deselecting it in the left-hand Show/Hide menu. • Create a new mono track with Command/Ctrl + Shift + N. • Select Spot mode (preferably with the F3 key rather than a mouse move). • Drag the bounced file to any position on the new track. Up pops this dialog:
• Click the arrowhead alongside Original Time Stamp and press OK. Pro Tools will snap the file to its original location. Smooth. Now you've preserved your tasteless guitar tone and freed up enough processing power for the stoner Theremin effects and vulgar mix moves we'll be tackling next time. Till then, y'all. Click here to read previous columns.
|
