Monthly Archives: March 2008

SSL LMC Listen Mic Compressor

Posted on by

SSL LMC Click for download information

From the SSL webpage:

“Every now and again a piece of audio equipment comes along that defines the sound of an era. Back in 1979 Solid State Logic gave birth to a legendary recording console. The SSL SL 4000E Master Studio System forever changed how records would be recorded and mixed, heralding a new age in popular music. In less than three years, every major studio worldwide featured at a least one room with an SSL “E” Series console.

The SSL Listen Mic Compressor was the secret weapon in many producers sonic arsenal of recording techniques. Originally designed to prevent overloading the return feed from a studio communications mic, its fixed attack and release curves were eminently suitable for use on ambient drums mics. Of course, we’d like to take all the credit for this great sound, but as usual, it was the creativity of SSL users that led to the idea.

Now you can experience the Listen Mic Compressor within the comfort of your own workstation software and see what sounds it’ll lead you to create. If you discover something really great – like a radical new distorted oboe sound then be sure to let us know.”

To use this plugin in Pro Tools, you need to purchase the VST-RTAS adapter from FXPansion (highly recommended, and worth every single penny).

How to record amp simulator plugins in Pro Tools

Posted on by

There are a few different ways to record amp sims in Pro Tools. I’m going to describe my typical method for using amp simulators. It is the way I prefer to do it as it is the most versatile. My personal preference is Amplitube by IK Multimedia, but I will try to be generic in my description.

  • Create two audio tracks
  • label one Guitar DI, and label the other Guitar Print
  • set the input of the track labeled Guitar DI to the input where you have your guitar plugged in
  • set the output of the track labeled Guitar DI to an available bus
  • set the input of the track labeled Guitar Print to be the same bus
  • Insert the amp simulator plugin on the Guitar DI track
  • record arm both tracks
  • record your parts
  • disable and hide the track labeled Guitar DI

Now you have an audio track with the printed output from the amp simulator, and you still have the original DI from the guitar. If you ever want to change the tone, you activate the Guitar DI track, change the tone, record arm only the Guitar Print track, and press record. Then deactivate the DI track again, and you’re all set. When the DI tracks are deactivated, so are the plugins on them, so they use no CPU.

The other benefit to this method is that if you like the performance, but decide you want to use a real amp instead, you can reamp the direct track out to a real amp.

Keep in mind that when using this method, you must be in record mode to monitor your input, and you must be in the proper monitoring mode (Input Only) if you want to monitor the incoming signal continuously.

How to use ReDrum as a Drum sound module in Pro Tools

Posted on by

Quite honestly, and in my opinion, ReDrum is not the best choice for a drum sound module when using Reason. The NN-XT sampler is going to provide much more realistic drum samples and sounds. ReDrum was meant to emulate a classic step-sequencer style drum machine, and is better for electronic or techno style sounds.
This topic is really very easy. You want to write MIDI drum parts and you want to use the ReDrum device in Reason as the sound module to play your drum sounds.

Here are the steps:

  1. Create a stereo Instrument track in Pro Tools. (you can also use multiple tracks for the audio return, but that’s a different tutorial)
  2. insert Reason on the track, leaving the default channel selection (Mic L – Mix R)
  3. In Reason create a ReDrum device and make sure it’s outputs are routed correctly (Reason Adapted users can skip this step as the ReDrum device is always in the Adapted rack, and routed to the mixer by default)
  4. on the instrument track in Pro Tools, on the instrument view, select the ReDrum device on the MIDI output selector
  5. in Reason, on ReDrum, select a drum kit
  6. If you have Pro Tools setup to use the first selected MIDI track as the Default Thru Instrument, you should now be able to hear sound from ReDrum through the instrument track in Pro Tools. If you don’t have Pro Tools setup that way, then do so () or record enable the track. Keep in mind that the individual instrument channels are mapped to keys C1-B1, so you won’t hear anything unless you play those specific keys.
  7. Record or pencil in notes at will.
  8. Playback.

That’s pretty much all there is to using ReDrum as a sound module in Pro Tools. There are some “fancy” things you can do with it; like mapping the individual outputs of the instruments to different tracks (separate tutorial), and using it along with other devices in Reason (again, separate tutorial), but those are the basics.

How to save plug-in settings in Pro Tools

Posted on by
Reply

After adjusting the plugin settings to your liking, you have two choices for how to save the settings of the plugin. If you want the settings to be saved to the root settings folder of the plugin, click on the Plug-In Settings button and select “Save Settings As”. Give your settings a recognizable name. The root settings directory for the specific plugin is selected by default. The benefit of saving the settings in the plug-in’s root settings folder is that they will then be available anytime you use the plugin, across any session.

If you want to save the settings for the session only, you need to create some directories in your session folder. In the main session folder, create a directory titled “Plug-In Settings”. In that folder, create a folder with the name of the plugin you are trying to save settings for. Inside that folder is where you will save session-specific plugin settings. (click on the Plug-In Settings button and select “Save Settings As”. Give your settings a recognizable name.) These settings will only be available when using that specific plugin in this specific session. The benefit  to this method  is that  the settings will be transfered with the session, and available to users of the session on other computer/Pro Tools systems.

How to use Reason with Pro Tools?

Posted on by

OK, this is actually a HUGE topic, with multiple layers of different answers both depending on what you are trying to achieve and how complex you are willing to go. Because of this, the answers to this topic need to be separated into sub-answers.

I will cover the most basic ones first, and then add topics as time permits.

How to Rewire Reason into Pro Tools

Posted on by

The basics of “Rewire-ing” are actually fairly simple. One program is known as the “Host” and one program is known as the “Client”. Host programs are used to control the client programs. In this particular instance, Pro Tools is the host, and Reason is the client.

One of the most important things you need to understand when using Rewire are it’s limitations. With Rewire, audio travels in only one direction; from the client to the host. MIDI data can travel in both directions, but is usually only done from host to client. Pro Tools currently limits the MIDI data coming from the client to the host to cc messages only (a feature that I’m hoping will expand in the future), but fully supports all MIDI from host to client.

Although there are multiple different ways to Rewire Reason into Pro Tools, depending on what you are looking to do, the simplest way is the following:

  1. Create or open a Pro Tools session.
  2. Create a stereo Instrument track.
  3. Insert Reason on the track.The Reason program will start automatically when you do.
  4. In Reason, open or create a Reason session.

That, right there, is the absolute basics of Rewire-ing Reason to Pro Tools. Seriously. At this point, when you press play in Pro Tools, Reason will follow along at the same tempo and the transports will be in sync. If you opened a pre-created Reason session, the audio from reason will come through the instrument track you have it inserted on.

Now what if you didn’t open a pre-created Reason session? What if you are trying to create new music? This is, again, where things get complicated and can be done in several different ways. I’m going to cover the most basic and widely used method here in it’s simplest form:

  1. In your new Reason session, create a device that you want to use to produce the sounds, and select a preset. (Reason Adapted users can actually skip this step because you are forced to use a specific set of devices because of the limitations of the Adapted version)
  2. On your Pro Tools Instrument track, in the Instrument section (make sure your instrument section is not hidden from view on the mix or edit window), select the device that you are going to use from the MIDI output selector. When you add devices to the Reason Rack, they automatically appear in the MIDI output dropdown. (Again, Adapted users will get the fixed set of devices in this list; just select the one you are going to use)
  3. Make sure that the MIDI input is set to “All” or the specific MIDI input that you are using.
  4. At this point, as long as your hardware is setup properly, you should be able to play your controller and hear the preset you selected on the Reason device, assuming that you have the Default Thru Instrument set for “first selected MIDI track”. If not, either make that setting (Setup->Preferences, MIDI tab) or record enable the track.(the next few steps are a little obvious)
  5. Record the MIDI
  6. Playback at will.

The MIDI data will be recorded in your Pro Tools session on that Instrument track, and it will control the device that you selected, producing sound that is then passed back into Pro Tools on the same instrument track.

There are some more complex ways to use and setup Reason over Rewire, but since this is a “basics” tutorial, I will stop there. Check out some of the other tutorials here if you wild like to know more.

How to use a MIDI controller with Reason and Pro Tools

Posted on by

The topic of this tutorial can be quite convoluted as different platforms behave differently in certain circumstances. In Windows, Pro Tools “steals” the MIDI from most other applications, and Reason shows an error message about not being able to select a MIDI controller, and many people get confused and wonder how to get their controller to control Reason.

The simple and most common solution is to use Pro Tools as your MIDI sequencer instead of Reason, and just use the Reason devices to generate the sound for the Pro Tools Instrument/MIDI tracks. The outcome is the same, and is honestly how a majority of the people who use Reason with Pro Tools work. The only reason to use the Reason sequencer is if you prefer the Reason sequencer for some *ahem* reason. I might see this being the case with the newest version of Reason, 4.0, but IMHO, the Pro Tools sequencer is much easier to use than any of the pre-4.0 Reason sequencers. (YMMV)

So how is it done?

  1. Make sure your MIDI controller hardware is setup, has any necessary drivers installed and is working correctly (that’s really up to you following the manufacturer’s installation instructions and out of the scope of this tutorial ;) )
  2. Create an instrument track (Stereo or Mono, depending on the sound you are going to use) and insert Reason on the track.
  3. In your Reason session, create a device that you want to use to produce the sounds, and select a preset. (Reason Adapted users can actually skip this step because you are forced to use a specific set of devices because of the limitations of the Adapted version)
  4. On your Pro Tools Instrument track, in the Instrument section (make sure your instrument section is not hidden from view on the mix or edit window), select the device that you are going to use from the MIDI output selector. When you add devices to the Reason Rack, they automatically appear in the MIDI output drop-down. (Again, Adapted users will get the fixed set of devices in this list; just select the one you are going to use)
  5. Make sure that the MIDI input is set to “All” or the specific MIDI input that you are using.
  6. Make sure MIDI Thru is selected on the Pro Tools Option menu.
  7. At this point, as long as your hardware is setup properly, you should be able to play your controller and hear the preset you selected on the Reason device, assuming that you have the Default Thru Instrument set for “first selected MIDI track”. If not, either make that setting (Setup->Preferences, MIDI tab) or record enable the track.

After that, you can record enable the track and record your sequence into it. The MIDI that is recorded in Pro Tools will playback the device you have selected in Reason, and the audio from Reason will pass back through the Instrument track.

There are a number of ways to expand on this procedure, like using multiple devices and tracks (instrument, AUX and MIDI), but those will be covered in a different tutorial later; this is just the “basics”.

How to control individual levels of devices in Reason through Pro Tools

Posted on by

This topic is one of the more advanced topics when using Reason with Pro Tools, but once you get used to it, I think you will find it to be very easy to do. For this topic, you need to understand a few of the more complex features of the Rewire plugin and the Reason interface, specifically the Hardware Interface device in the Reason rack.

Reason can pass individual audio outputs across the Rewire interface. To do this takes a little bit of planning and also knowing what you are doing. To re-route the outputs of a device to an individual output, you need to flip the Reason rack around so that you are looking at it from the back-side. This is done in Reason by pressing the TAB key.

Click here for a photo representation of the back of the Reason rack.

As you can see if you click on my photo representation above, I have the NN-XT and DrREX devices installed into the Reason rack, and I’m looking at the back-side of the rack after having pressed the TAB key. The 1/L and 2/R outputs of the NN-XT are routed to the hardware interface’s 1 and 2 inputs using “virtual cables”. To route any of the other outputs on the devices to individual channels, you just click-and-drag from the output the the channel.

Click here for a video example of routing the cables.

(There are actually a few ways of making those routings, but that is probably the easiest to describe. for the other methods, check the official documentation)

All of the individual inputs on the Reason Hardware Interface are accessible from the Reason Rewire plugin. For each audio output that you want to control in Pro Tools, you would insert one Reason plugin, and then set it to the appropriate channel(s) from Reason. For instance, using the example above, if I wanted the stereo output of NN-XT to be on one track, and the stereo output from DrREX to be on another track, I would;

  • create two stereo tracks (AUX or Instrument is usually recommended for “virtual” tracks) in Pro Tools
  • insert the ReasonRewire plugin on one track and select channels 1 and 2 from the channel dropdown on the plugin (represented in the plugin as “Mix L – Mix R”) Click here for a photo reference selecting channels 1-2 .
  • insert the ReasonRewire plugin on the other track and select channels 3 and 4 from the channel dropdown on the plugin (represented in the plugin as “Channel 3 – Channel 4″) Click here a photo reference selecting channels 3-4

Now you can control the volume from those devices individually in the Pro Tools mixer. For mono tracks, it’s basically the same, except you are selecting single channels on the plugin.

That’s fairly straightforward, right? Well those are the basics. But it can become much more complex (and powerful) depending on how you are using it, how many outputs and devices you have, etc. It’s all really up to you now that you know how to do it.

How to Delay just one word or phrase of a vocal track

Posted on by

Create an aux track of the same type as the vocal track you are trying to delay (mono, stereo)

On one of the sends on the vocal track, choose an available bus.

On the input of the aux track, select the same bus.


Insert either medium, long or extra long delay in the aux track.
The tempo should sync to your session tempo. (if your audio was not played to a click along with the session tempo, you will have to determine the tempo of the recorded audio; but I will not get into that here, as that would be a tutorial all in itself)
Select the note duration that you want the delay to follow (whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth) with triplet and/or dot modifier if necessary.
That’s it for setting up the delay to tempo sync

And to catch just that one phrase, you would automate the send so that it is only active for the particular phrase that you want to repeat. You can do this by automating the send volume, or by muting the send, depending on the sound you are looking for. Automating by mute might not be as smooth as automating the volume of the send. (I prefer automating the volume).