I need an adjustment

September 18, 2009 8:07 AM

I want some help applying effects and filters in Pro Tools and Reason

I am sort of a newbie to home recording. I have been recording in both Reason and Pro Tools. I have the following questions:

1.) When I record a track in Reason, is there a way to go back over that track and adjust the knobs on the devices (like, for example, distortion module) so that those adjustments also occur in playback?

2.) Is there a way to "fade in" a filter or effect in pro tools, rather than processing the entire track with that effect? So it sounds as it was recorded at first and then the effect gradually fades in, modifying the track.

Bonus question:

Is there a way to do what I asked in #2 with Acid (the program, not the substance)?

Please note: I'm a total n00b, so I am going to need very specific instructions, I.E.: (click on the region button and go to ...) I don't really have the vocabulary of these programs down pat yet.

Thank you for your help.

posted by orville sash to sports, hobbies, & recreation (9 comments total)

There's no audio recording in Reason, only midi notes. Any changes you make to knobs on devices will affect your trck.

To "fade in" an effect in Pro Tools, you'll have to automate the value you want to increase. In the plug-in, click on the "auto" button and assign the parameter you want to adjust. In the Track view, you can choose to view the automation line for that value (same place you choose between waveform, volume, panning, etc) and then draw the changes on that line. The automation will adjust your plugin value, following the line. Check the manual for more specific info on automating plug-in values; it can get pretty complicated.

Don't know about Acid, sorry.
posted by Aquaman at 8:21 AM on September 18

It just occurred to me that you might be asking about automating a parameter in Teason, as opposed to just changing it manually. You can definitely do that: option-click on the knob you want to automate and an automation lane will appear in the sequencer window, below.

Change that line as desired, and your knobs will follow the moves. You can also adjust the knob directly as the track plays, and (assuming you have record enabled on that devices sequencer track), your knob moves will be recorded onto the automation line, and play back just as you moved it from then on.

Read the manuals - they are awesome and you will learn tons about what this cool program is capable of.
posted by Aquaman at 8:23 AM on September 18

Teason. For God's sake.
posted by Aquaman at 8:24 AM on September 18 [1 favorite]

Thanks, Aquaman, that's exactly what I was looking for. I didn't do a great job of explaining what I was looking for with Reason.

As for the manuals, I have looked through them, but I always get confused because they often presuppose that I know certain technical recording terms that I just don't know.
posted by orville sash at 8:28 AM on September 18

Aquaman is right. Regardless of software, the keyword for what you're trying to do is "automation."
posted by ludwig_van at 8:38 AM on September 18

In Pro Tools, unless the plugin you are using has an option for mixing dry/wet audio, or a trigger or something, you may have to set it up on a seperate bus and automate the volume down on the dry channel, and up on the wet channel. You can do that with a bus send on the channel.

You can automate volume by selecting it on the tab to the left of the channel and then writing/recording the volume change.

Sorry, I'd describe it better and possibly more correctly had I time to open Pro Tools, but I don't at the moment. If you can't find a solution I can take a look at it later when I have time.
posted by opsin at 8:49 AM on September 18

You can do both of the things you are asking about. The Reason parameter automation is pretty excellent - you can see it occur a lot in the demo tracks (although seeing it occur obviously doesn't teach you how to do it).

As far as 'fading' the fx in Pro Tools - I have tried doing this before using pro tools LE up through 7.x for Windows (I've got 8 now but haven't tried that yet) and personally have had trouble because of the 'zipper' effect... i.e. whether because the software is designed a certain way, or my processing power wasn't high enough, it would not smoothly do the effect fade. I tried doing it with a few different delay plugs, and a reverb.

Some people have said it's because of my processor and LE, (ie. vs HD or TDM, or Mac version, perhaps). It's doable, but you won't know how well it works until you try it.

Unforutnately, I haven't used Acid much so I'm no good there. Rock on!
posted by bitterkitten at 9:03 AM on September 18

bitterkitten: if you're trying to adjust delay times of a digital delay on the fly, you're going to hear artifacts. This is a byproduct of the delay itself, not your processor. I have delay pedals that do the same thing. There are digital delays that are designed to react like an analog delay - ie, ramping up to the new delay time in a smooth manner - check out the td-5 by steven massey

OP - Depending on the plugin, automating wet/dry may not be totally straightforward. You can also create an aux track with the desired plugin. Create a mono or stereo aux track (Shift-Apple-N, then select "Aux" in the menu)

Set the input of the aux track to an unused bus - say, Bus 9-10 for a stereo aux.

Now go to your original track. Create a send to Bus 9-10.
(see where it says "waveform" or "volume" in your track? if you click there, you can select what automation type you want to view. Assuming it's the first send on that track, Select (snd a) "Bus 9-10". now draw automation points on the track. CTRL+click is the pencil tool, option+click removes points, and CMD+click places a dot on the line, which you can drag up and down.)

Now Bus 9-10 is your effected, or "wet" signal. as you increase the amount sent to that track, you'll hear more effected audio.

feel free to memail me for more specifics.
posted by dubold at 4:05 PM on September 18

You need the Reason book from Ignite. It's about $20 and will teach you a TON of things in Reason if you're new to it, and to recording. Automation is definitely one of the things it covers, and it is SO much fun to bring in the distortion effects into the drums...get the book.
posted by Thistledown at 8:04 PM on September 18