Adding effects (FX)

At this point, you should have a basic mix. Individual track levels and pans are generally where you want them to be and the overall mix sounds balanced. Now it's time to use add-in audio effects. Effects placed directly on an audio track are called inserts.

Select Mix Song from the Screensets list in the Control Bar. The Console view is now displayed below the Track view. For this part of the tutorial, we want to see more of the Console view than what is currently displayed. Depending on the resolution of your screen, you may need to adjust the height of the Console view by dragging the splitter bar up and down, or you can press SHIFT+D to maximize the Console view.

To add an effect to an audio track:

1.	In the Console view, locate the effects bin for the track you’d like to work with.

2.	Click on the PLUS button (+) in the effects bin to view the included effects. You can see the effects are organized by type. For now, pick any effect.

The selected effect is inserted into the track’s effects bin. The plug-in controls are also shown. Experiment with the controls on the plug-in while the music is playing back. You will hear noticeable changes to the sound.

3.	Right-click on the effect in the effects bin and choose Delete to remove the effect.

Each of the effect plug-ins listed is designed to change the sound in some specific way. Here's a quick list of some of the included plug-ins and what they're typically used for:

Compressor/Gate. This plug-in affects the loudness of the sound. It can limit how loud a sound can get. It can also limit how soft a sound can get before it's completely turned off.

EQ. EQ can accentuate or turn down a certain frequency range in a sound. For example, if you have an unwanted high-pitched buzz on one of your tracks, an EQ may be able to turn that high frequency down without affecting the sound of the instrument.

Reverb. Reverb creates an artificial space. It produces echoes that are similar to the natural echoes that happen when a sound bounces off the walls in a room.

Delay. Delay plug-ins have the ability to create an echo. However, it's typically more distinct than that of a reverb. It makes a sound repeat, often in a rhythmic, musical manner.

These are the effects we'll be focusing on in this tutorial. However, other effects are available and you should experiment with each one to discover how they can be used in your mixes. To get online Help for a particular plug-in, simply click one of its controls and press the F1 key on your computer keyboard.

Compression

While adjusting track levels in a song, you might notice that some tracks are too dynamic. Sometimes they're too loud, other times too soft. In most modern music, the important elements in a mix are focused in a specific volume range. This is done with a compressor.

The purpose of a compressor is to limit the dynamic range of music or sound. Compression will make the loud parts of the signal quieter, resulting in a more or less even level. That even level can then be increased to fit more specifically in the mix.

Many compressors have an option to allow that loud peak to remain untouched for a certain time, which can add some “punch”.

Let's try it on the bass drum:

1.	Add the Compressor/Gate plug-in to the track labeled Kick.

2.	Adjust the Threshold. The Threshold value represents the dB level at which compression starts to take place.

3.	Adjust Attack. The Attack value represents the time the compressor takes to respond to an increase in the input audio's level once the threshold level has been reached.

4.	Adjust the level to the desired output volume.

This approach can be applied to any track you like. It's especially useful when trying to get vocals to stand out in a mix.

Equalization

Each audio track has a dedicated, built-in equalizer (EQ). It is located just above the effects bin in both the Inspector and in the Console View.

Figure 28. Per-track EQ.

A. EQ on/off B. EQ plot

One of the primary uses for EQ is to prevent different instruments from stepping on each other in the frequency spectrum. One instrument might be intended for a certain frequency range, but extends into another instrument's frequency range. This can easily happen with drums and bass. If you turn down the overlapping frequency range for one of the instruments, it will allow the other instrument to stand out better in the mix.

Let's give it a try:

1.	Solo the tracks named Tension Climbing and Chirppy Synth.

2.	In the Tension Climbing track, enable the track EQ by clicking the button. Double-click on the plot to show the EQ controls.

3.	Grab one of the numbered nodes and drag it around. Boost the selected band until you find the frequency range that interferes with Chirppy Synth. When you find it, turn down the selected band by dragging the node downward.

Tip: Try to cut the band around 1kHz.

Experiment with the other controls on the EQ to get the best possible results. As with the compressor plug-in, this approach can be applied to any track you like.

Note: The EQ includes presets that can help you quickly set typical EQ settings for a variety of instruments and effects. You can load a preset by selecting one from the Preset drop-down menu. You can also save your own presets as well. For more information, see Presets and property pages.

Reverb and Delay

Next, we'll add some space to the song. This is done by using time-based effects.

The first thing we'll do is add a delay effect. A delay effect can really enhance an instrument. In our tutorial project, we will add the Delay effect to the track name Chirppy Synth, which sounds very dry and lifeless. Applying a delay might give it more depth.

In the Chirppy Synth track, click the PLUS button (+) in the effects bin, and select Delay > Tempo Delay from the list of effects.

This is a good starting point. Sometimes the best way to familiarize yourself with a new effect plug-in is to dig in and start tweaking. You may want to try using the effect presets to see the different types of effects that are possible. Next, we'll apply some reverb to the project. Think of a reverb effect as an artificial room. We could add a separate reverb to each track, but when multiple reverbs are running at the same time it can sound “cloudy”.

Instead, we will add a single reverb effect to a bus, then send each track to that bus, at varying levels. This is where Music Creator's mixing environment offers a lot of flexibility. We will add a control to each track, which adjusts how loud the track's sound is sent to the bus. This will make the reverb sound more natural since it's similar to the behavior of an actual acoustic space. All of the different sounds we are sending to a bus can interact with each other in the “virtual room” we're creating with the reverb.

Follow these steps to create your reverb send from the Console view:

1.	We want to add this send to all tracks, so go to Edit > Select > All to select all tracks.

2.	In the Console view, locate the Sends section.

Figure 29. Sends module.

A. Insert Send

3.	Click the PLUS button (+) in the Sends module on track 1 and select Insert Send Assistant on the pop-up menu.

The Insert Send Assistant appears.

4.	Configure the Send Assistant as follows:

Click New Bus. This will create a new reverb bus instead of routing the tracks to an existing bus.

In the Bus Output list, select Master.

In the Name box, type Reverb.

Click Choose Effect and select Audio Effects > Reverb > StudioVerb2.

Select the Show Effects Property Page check box.

5.

Click OK.

The Reverb property page appears and you should now hear an echo, or reverb, on all tracks.

Notice that a send control named Reverb has been added to each track. To enable or disable a send, click the On/Off button located on each track’s Send control.

When a send is enabled, you will hear the reverb effect during playback. To adjust how much reverb is applied to each track, use the send's LEVEL control.

Enable the send control for each track that you want reverb on. You'll probably want at least a little reverb on every track except for the kick drum and the bass guitar.

 

See:

Volume and pan

Using Automation