Friday Tip: Pedal Power
Here’s a follow-up to last Friday’s tip on creating an authentic sounding wah with the Pro EQ. That’s fine, but what if you want to control it with a footpedal instead of a mouse? Keep reading.
First, you need a pedal that generates MIDI data. There are several options. Most keyboard controllers have an expression pedal input. Plug an expression pedal into this, and the controller will likely output controller 11 over MIDI. You may be able to assign this to a different controller number (see your hardware’s documentation); however, this probably won’t be necessary.
If you don’t have a keyboard (or floor multi-effects with a pedal that produces MIDI out), then check out the Pedal Controller, a small box from MIDI Solutions. This accepts an expression pedal input and outputs your choice of MIDI controllers. (For do-it-yourselfers, the circuit board is small enough you can probably mount it in a pedal if you want a stand-alone MIDI pedal.)
Assuming you’re using a keyboard with an expression pedal input, you now need to add the control surface to Studio One if you haven’t already. Call up the Options menu, and add the keyboard. Here, I’ve added The Laboratory controller from Arturia.
Next, you need to map the pedal. Go to the right-hand side of the Control Link menu and select the device to open the Device Control map. Note that The Laboratory is selected as the device.
If you can’t see the right section of the Control Link menu, then your monitor resolution is probably 1600 pixels wide or less. Another way to open the Device Control map is to open the Mix view [F3], and then click on External in the Console navigation column (to the far left of the Console). This opens the External panel; double-click on the desired device in the External panel.
Now click on the Device Control’s MIDI Learn button, and then move the footpedal. As if by magic, Control 1 appears, with its controller number assignment.
Now whenever you want something in Studio One to react to the footpedal, you just select Control 1. You can also rename this—perhaps not surprisingly, I changed Control 1 to Footpedal.
Now let’s suppose you want to control the Pro EQ Mid Frequency (Freq) control, which we used last week to vary the wah frequency. It’s simple:
- Vary the Freq control.
- Move the pedal.
- Right-click on the Freq knob.
Now choose the desired assignment—in my case, “Assign MF-Frequency to Footpedal on the Laboratory.” Move the pedal, and it will change the frequency.
However, you probably don’t want the pedal to cover the full frequency range, but just a typical wah’s range so you have more precise control. We have a solution for that, too. Instead of right-clicking on the knob and assigning it to the footpedal, assign it to a Channel Macro Control, like Knob 1. Open up the Channel Editor, right-click on Knob 1, move the knob, next move the pedal, and then choose “Assign MF-Frequency to Footpedal on the Laboratory.” (By the way, you can assign pretty much everything in Studio One to a controller using the right-click + move controller + choose assignment protocol.)
Now you can use the Transition settings graph to limit the pedal’s range. Alter the curve shape to a response you like—it doesn’t have to be linear—or even change the “sense” of the pedal travel so that pulling back on the pedal raises the wah frequency.
Once you’ve done this kind of assignment a few times, it will become second nature and you’ll be able to take advantage of pedal power for increased expressiveness. So put your foot down, get on the good foot, or put your best foot forward—the choice of clichés is yours!
Using the FaderPort 8 with Neil Zaza
Neil Zaza is a career guitar virtuoso who recently took some time out of his schedule to discuss his personal workflow with the PreSonus FaderPort 8 controller. He covers everything from set up to plugins to automation, he goes deep and covers it all! For your enjoyment, we complied the full series into one playlist here. Check it out and enjoy!
For more on the FaderPort, click here!
For more on Neil, click here!
Friday Tip: The Studio One Wah Pedal
You never know where the next gig is coming from—maybe it’s joining a disco revival tribute band, being asked to play guitar on a remake of Shaft, or getting a quick $200 from a YouTube producer to come up with a background theme for their “Remembering the ’70s” docu-series. What do all of these have in common? Yes! The magic of the wah pedal.
A mint condition Vox Crybaby pedal can sell for up to a grand, but no worries—this Friday’s tip reveals the “secret sauce” for getting a can’t-tell-the-difference-from-the-real-thing wah pedal sound.
Now you might say “C’mon Craig, try to come up with something better next week, okay? It’s no big deal. You just put a ProEQ parametric stage in your guitar track, set it to a relatively high Q, and vary the frequency.” But actually, it’s not that easy. A real wah doesn’t just have a peak that pokes its head up in the middle of the frequency spectrum, but has steep high and low frequency rolloffs on either side of the peak—and we can do that with parallel processing.
- Set up a Splitter in Normal split mode.
- Insert the ProEQ in one split, and the Mixtool in the other split.
- Invert both the Left and Right channels in the Mixtool. If you play guitar through this, you should hear nothing because the out-of-phase MixTool is canceling out the audio.
- Create a parametric peak. You’ll want a fairly high Q and gain, depending on which wah you’re modeling.
Now sweep the frequency back and forth, and you’ll swear you’ve been transported back in time to when wah pedals ruled the earth. This is due to the cancellation on either side of the peak from the Mixtool being out of phase.
And by the way… wahs can also sound great in parallel with bass, and in parallel with drums when you want to add a dose of funk. So don’t spend a grand on a vintage wah—just make your own with Studio One.
Friday Tip—Vibrato in Studio One!
Vibrato is kind of the forgotten effect. It appeared briefly in Magnatone guitar amps many (many) decades ago, and some effects add it in a way that seems like an afterthought (“Hey, if we include a switch to turn off the dry signal in this flanger, then we’ll get vibrato!”). In fact it’s such a forgotten effect that when I use it on sustained sources like pads and power chords, people often want to know what “that cool new effect” is.
If a program doesn’t have a vibrato plug-in, the usual option is to trick a flanger or chorus into thinking it’s one. However, Studio One’s Flanger and Chorus are designed to give the lush sounds we associate with those effects, so it’s not possible to obtain true vibrato. However, there is a way to do vibrato with the Analog Delay.
The patch is quite simple. Here are the parameter settings.
Time (Beats section): Turn off sync, and enter 1.5 ms. This will delay the audio by 1.5 ms, but that’s only as much as moving your head 18 inches away from a speaker…I can cope.
Set Factor = 1.00, and Inertia = 0.00. Turn Low Cut and High Cut off. Set Feedback and Saturation to 0, and Mix to 100%.
Mod controls the vibrato depth. A maximum of about 37% works for me. If the depth isn’t enough, then enter 2 or 3 ms for the Time parameter. You’ll want the Sine waveform, but the LFO Beats control setting requires some explanation.
With Sync disabled, you can’t increase the LFO rate beyond 5 Hz. Although this will work as vibrato in some cases, generally, you’ll want to be able to go faster. No problem: Turn on Sync, and then you can obtain faster speeds by choosing faster sync values, like 1/8T or 1/16 at 120 BPM.
And that’s all there is to obtaining real vibrato effects with Studio One.
Universal Control 2.6 released—DAW Mode, Digital Patching, and more!
Universal Control 2.6 has been released. Click here to get it!
Be sure to get the latest firmware update from your my.presonus.com account to access these features!
New in This Release:
- Digital Patching now available on all Series III Mixers
- Official Studio One DAW Mode Support for Series III Mixers
- EarMix support in Series III Mixers
- Improved Series III Console DCA Filter Group creation and editing workflow
- Improved Series III Console Mute Group creation and editing workflow
- New Traditional DCA option for Series III mixers
Check below for a great new series of videos from Ray discussing the latest in UC 2.6!
Click here for the full release notes.
Join our community of PreSonus users on the PreSonus Answers site for information and product support. While you’re there, don’t forget to vote for your favorite feature requests.
Alternatively, you can visit our Knowledge Base for more informative articles authored by the support staff. To log a support ticket or contact technical support, please visit MyPreSonus.
Friday Tip: Using DX and DXi Plug-Ins with Studio One
Using DX and DXi Plug-Ins with Studio One
The DX and DXi (instrument) plug-in formats for Windows were developed in the late 18th century, shortly after the invention of the steam-powered computer. Okay, okay…they’re not really that old, but development of new DX plug-ins ceased years ago when VST became the dominant plug-in lifeform for Windows. Regardless, you may still have some DX plug-ins installed on your computer from other programs, and want to use them.
Like many other programs, in theory Studio One doesn’t support DX/DXi plug-ins. However, it does support shell plug-ins (e.g., like Waves uses). This means you can use a wrapper that makes DX plug-ins look like they’re VST types. With this workaround, Studio One can “see” and load DX and DXi plug-ins because it thinks they’re VSTs.
I’ve tested the following with many DX and DXi plug-ins, from several manufacturers, in 64-bit Studio One. They can’t do sidechaining, and 32-bit plug-ins that were never updated to 64 bits aren’t compatible with 64-bit Windows, but otherwise they work as expected. Here’s how to make your DX and DXi plug-ins productive members of Studio One society.
- Go to https://www.xlutop.com/buzz/zip/
- Download the zip file dxshell_v1.0.4b.zip
- Extract it.
- Copy the files dxshell.x64.dll and dxishell.64x.dll to the folder where Studio One looks for VST plug-ins.
That’s pretty much all there is to it. Open Studio One, and you’ll see all the DX and DXi plug-ins—the screenshot shows plug-ins from Cakewalk, rgc:audio, and Sony. The Instruments tabs will show any available DXi plug-ins.
I don’t have a 32-bit system so I didn’t test this with 32-bit DX shells. But if it works like the 64-bit one, you should be covered there as well.
Granted, this is a bit of a hollow victory because if a DX plug-in’s functionality is available with Studio One’s VST plug-ins, you’re better off using the VST versions. But there are still some DX effects that have no real equivalents in the modern world—and now you can use them.
New Packs from Sample Magic
Sample Magic is back! Well, they never really went away. But it has been a little while since they’ve had new stuff available at shop.presonus.com, and this time around they brought a whopping nine sample packs for your Studio One productions!
These loop and sample packs sound incredible, (almost magical, right?) and are compatible with Studio One Prime, Artist and Professional (Version 3.5.6 and higher). They also include Impact preset kits for making your own beats.
Assorted live instrumentation, Tycho-esque melodics and processed beats are the foundations of Indie Chill 2: Over 700 MB of overdriven keys, live bass guitars, and palm-muted Gibsons—this collection comes stocked with euphoric sounds blending the best of chilled electronica to ambient and indie rock/alternative. Featuring even more sounds, drum hits and high-quality guitar and bass loops, Indie Chill 2 is the perfect toolkit for any and all types of electronica and ambient music.
Future beats with a distinct retro flavour… The ultimate oxymoron brings succulent synths together with machine-drummed beats in Retro Future – a 900MB+ assortment of era-defining pop sensibilities and epic synthesized landscapes. Dive into an action-packed excursion of soundtrack themed melodics, pumping arpeggios, Disco-drummed beats and Tron-hinged analogue heaven.
An artful collage of west coast hip-hop, sample-heavy electronica and chilled trap – pulling in elements of jazz, funk and soul along the way – Low End Theory is a 799MB exploration of the influential LA beat scene made famous by the likes of Flying Lotus, Gaslamp Killer and Daedelus.
Spanning the edgy and experimental to the hazy and hypnotic, Low End Theory comes packed with punchy low-slung beats, thick and fuzzy bass, languid keys, kaleidoscopic synths, skittish percussion, wildly pitched vocals, heavily processed FX and stacks of characterful drum hits and melodic shots expertly crafted from over 100 hours of analogue jams, field recording trips and late-night studio sessions.
Fusing the leftfield sound of downtempo, trip hop, LA Beat and IDM; Glitched Beats delivers 390MB+ of futuristic rhythms, wavetable bass, abstract elements and glitched textures. Including an assortment of WAV and MIDI, Glitched Beats is produced using cutting-edge sound design software and processing to give instant, top quality inspiration-starters.
Deep, contemporary garage beats and lush melodics for ambient and evolving tracks. Classic vocal vibes combine with experimental electronics and modern sound-design for a diverse and slamming collection. Get to grips with over 500MB of shuffling acoustic rhythms, booming subby basslines, lush chord stabs, hooky vox shots and more.
From the creators of the best-selling Chillwave Trilogy comes Lo-fi Electronica, an 840MB+ collection of dusky beats, polaroid-tinged music loops, and beach-hazed melodics. Inspired by a leftfield approach to chillout, indie and synth-pop, Lo-fi Electronica is the product of a love affair with thrift store synths, garage-sale guitar pedals, and tape machines.
Modern beats, warm subs, and club-ready melodies: Future Pop 2 blends the best of the digital era’s hip-hop, R&B, and trap scenes. Processed through the finest hardware, we’ve once again gone all out with this 550MB+ futuristic collection of fat one-shots, pulsating loops, and ethereal FX.
Powerful, deep, and emotive – Organic Techno is an energetic and vigorous assortment of the very latest in modern techno production. Armed with analogue sequences, fluttering arps, harmonically-intriguing mallets, hypnotic percussive drums and immersive atmospheres, this collection is guaranteed to get the inspiration flowing and the mind creative.
Friday Tip of the Week: The Sparkler!
Sometimes it seems that certain recorded sounds, like acoustic guitar attacks and percussion, just don’t have the “sparkle” you hear when they’re playing live. The Sparkler is a sophisticated brightening FX Chain that adds definition—without treble equalization.
The Sparkler is a parallel effect. Referring to the FX Chain structure, a Splitter in normal mode creates a dry path through the Mixtool. This increases the level by 6 dB to compensate for the volume drop that occurs when bypassing an FX Chain where one of the splits contributes no significant level. The other split goes to the Sparkler effect, which consists of the Pro EQ, Redlight Dist, and Dual Pan.
How it works. First, the signal goes through the Pro EQ, set for a steep (48 dB/octave) high-pass filter that leaves only the very highest frequencies intact. The Low Cutoff control varies the cutoff from 7.6 kHz to 12.5 kHz. The Redlight Dist synthesizes harmonics from those high frequencies. (Even though it has a High Freq control, that’s not drastic enough a cutoff—hence the Pro EQ.) The Soft/Hard control chooses between 1 or 2 distortion stages; stage 1 is my preference because it sounds more natural, but people with anger management issues might prefer 2 stages, which gives a nastier, more aggressive sound.
The Amount control sets the Redlight Dist output, which determines how much Sparkle gets added in parallel with the main signal. Use the Sparkle Bypass button to compare the sound with and without the Sparkle effect.
The reason for the Dual Pan module requires some explanation. The Sparkle FX Chain is intended for individual tracks, buses, and even master mixes when used subtly. Highs are very directional, so if with a bus or master there’s a trebly instrument mixed off to one side, like tambourine, the Sparkle effect can “tilt” the image toward the channel with more highs. The Center Highs control, when turned clockwise, brings the Left and Right “sparkle” channels more to center until when fully clockwise, the highs for both channels are centered.
Applying the Sparkle. To learn that the Sparkle effect does, it’s best to listen to the effect by itself and manipulate the controls to hear the results. Unfortunately you can’t assign FX Chain controls to Splitter parameters, so if you want to hear the Sparkle sound in isolation, go into the FX Chain and bring down the post-Mixtool level control all the way. As you tweak the Sparkle sound in isolation, grab only the highest audible frequencies, and avoid harsh distortion—you want just a hint of breakup, and only at the highest frequencies.
When using the Sparkle effect in context with a track of bus, start with the Amount control at minimum, and bring it up slowly. Use the Bypass button for a reality check—you want just a subtle brightening, not highs that hit you over the head and make dogs run away in panic. It takes a little effort to master what this effect can do, and it’s not something you want to use all the time. But when used properly, it can really add—well, sparkle—to tracks that need it.
Using FaderPort With Pro Tools
Want to use your FaderPort 8 or FaderPort 16 with Pro Tools? Check out this new series from Richard Gaspard!
Friday Tip of the Week: The “Harmonic Tremolo” FX Chain
I did a Harmonic Tremolo as a Sonar FX Chain tip, and it was very popular—so here’s a Studio One-specific version. For those not familiar with the term, some of the older, Fender “brown” amps used a variation on the standard, amplitude-oriented tremolo which the company called “harmonic tremolo.” It splits the signal into high and low bands, and then an LFO amplitude-modulates them out of phase so that the while the highs get louder, the lows get softer and vice-versa. The sound is quite different from a standard tremolo, and many players feel the sound is “sweeter.” But unlike a guitar amp, you can sync this tremolo to the rhythm—and that makes it a useful addition to groove-oriented music as well.
Here’s the FX Chain “schematic.”
X-Trem needs to be in Pan Mode or this won’t work. As a result, this FX Chain must be inserted in a stereo track—a mono track switches X-Trem to Tremolo Mode (although a mono file inserted in a track set to stereo will work). If you switch a stereo track to mono accidentally and then switch it back to stereo, you’ll need to click on the Reset button in the FX Chain to return X-Trem to Pan Mode.
In Pan mode, while the left X-Trem channel gets louder, the other becomes softer and vice-versa. The Splitter (in Channel Split mode) sends the left split to a Pro EQ set to High Cut, while the right split goes to a Pro EQ set to Low Cut; their frequencies track to set the split point between the high and low bands.
Finally the two outputs go to a Dual Pan, which provides several functions.
Creating the FX Chain:
Crossover links the Pro EQ HC and LC Freq controls so you can adjust the split frequency between the high and low bands. At either the full clockwise or counter-clockwise position, the Harmonic Tremolo acts like a conventional tremolo.
Reset connects to the X-Trem Mode so you can reset it to Pan if needed.
LFO Speed controls the X-Trem speed from minimum to about 15 Hz. This control is inactive if the LFO Sync switch is on.
LFO Beats chooses the X-Trem sync rhythm and requires that the LFO Sync switch be on.
LFO Depth controls the X-Trem depth.
LFO Type chooses among the four standard waveforms (triangle, sine, sawtooth, square).
Lo/Hi Balance ties to the Dual Pan’s Input Bal knob. Fully counter-clockwise gives only the low band, clockwise gives only the high band, and the settings in between set the balance between the two bands.
Width controls the Dual Pan’s Width control. For the most authentic sound, leave this centered for mono operation (the Dual Pan should have Link enabled, and Pan set to <C>.
After assigning the controls, congratulations! You have your own Harmonic Tremolo… no soldering or guitar amps required!
Click here to download the effects chain described above. Just drag and drop it directly into a channel in Studio One!