Ableton Tutorial: Sneaky Sidechaining with Autopan

[divajn]

But this doesn't work with more complex kick drum patterns.

[an0vachiptune]

LOL at "holy fuckballs"

[beautron]

ableton says fuck you, lol :P

[djbounz]

Awesome Awesome Tip man! Thanks Vespers.

[ScissorHand26]

"holy fuckballs that sounds like sidechaining"

You're definitely the most fun ableton educator I've found on youtube :P

[alexgowers]

holy fuck balls! amazing swearing capabilities.

[sonictwin]

Fuck yeah! kick ass!

[phonographiq]

Oh, word.

Thanks bud.

[RockstahRolln]

Whoa Holy F*** Balls that sounds like... haha! Too funny!! Keep it comin bud!

[DJTjaden]

hahah you're fuckin rad Vespers, keep it coming!

[sherbertmastodon]

Schnakey indeed! Love it, and the others of yours I've seen, much thanks!

[garry2361323]

holy fuck balls...rofl...from where it came !!!

[vanhaze2000]

Wrong, the pumping effect in the attack phase is gone with this trick, just A/B the 2 parts in the movie , llisten and you'll see.

However, the question is if this lack of the pumping attack is noticable in the full track.

Dunno.

Besides this, i do like this tip and so thank you Vespers.

Best,

Rob.

However, i like this tip anyway.

[DJVespers]

@vanhaze2000 With respect, the purpose of a sidechain effect in this manner is to get it out of the way of the kick and clap in a 4/4 track so they coexist and don't muddy things up. Or, to make the sound "pump". You don't want ANY attack. When I set up a sidechaining compressor, I set the attack at it's lowest setting. It's not the same as regular pumping compression where you set a short release (not attack) to achieve a pumping of the release phase of a sound.

[1nfinitezer0]

it pumps, but it doesn't sound like sidechaining because the characteristics added by compression are removed. a good trick if you want ducking without 'that sound'

[DJVespers]

@1nfinitezer0 Do you mean attack and release or ratio? There are a lot of characteristics of compression. Ratio can be simulated by this effect with the shape parameter. Attack and release not so much, but for 4/4 pumping, they're usually set like this anyways.

[UrpleEeple]

I just realized that this method may also be more effective at preserving dynamics since you're automating volume, rather than compressing the sound down. Correct me if I'm wrong? Seems that you'd get a nicer sound in the end though

[gomachols]

cool, but setting up a kick to source your sidechain...not really a pain in the ass, is it? takes a minute

[DJVespers]

@gomachols I consider it to be, yes. I'm all about getting faster and more effective with the program. If you want a pumping effect, and you put a stop watch on, I could do this 10 times faster than someone setting up a sidechain. When you're in the heat of creative inspiration, time is of the essence IMHO.

[FrankieFeratu]

Clever stuff ... cheers

[jonegroove]

Freakin Sweet!!!



[siren5000]

Holy fuck balls Batman!

Cheers Vespers, you've helped me again.

[VstCafe]

great tip

[whoisflowfatal]

that was funny as hell when you said ableton says fuck you,lol

i was not ready for that,any your a beast vespers:)

[BillyLongacre]

once again, THANK YOUUUUU!!!!

[Discchord]

That is a great idea! I too have had no use for the Autopan, so I never explored its possibilities. Very clever, Vespers!

[saku666]

wow I'm learning so much from your videos!!

[TzumB]

"ableton says Fuck You" nice one!

[Abovedatlive]

marry me?

[DJVespers]

@MuzikAuto LOL. Not surprised, reading a text like that. It's a big one. How are you finding it? Useful? When I read Cubase Power it only told me what things did but not actually practically how to use them. You find the same thing at all?

[rhymeshot]

Whhhhhhhhhoahhhh. Haha

[sammypotato]

sneaky little bugger ;P

[DJVespers]

@sammypotato So sneaky.

[DJVespers]

@MuzikAuto Usually Autopan does move things left and right. When you follow the steps in the vid, you're essentially hacking it to mimic sidechaining. That's why it's a sneaky ninja trick!

[foreverGraceby]

I thought you use it to check mix in mono

[DJVespers]

@foreverGraceby I use Utility for that.

[nebulae10]

good good !!!

[Iprovmusic]

you the man!



[UrpleEeple]

You could also just right click the compressor, choose cut, freeze and flatten the track and then paste the compressor back on.

[DJVespers]

@UrpleEeple For sure. I like this because it's less steps. Faster is better IMO.

[UrpleEeple]

@DJVespers :-) Whatever works

[jaxel1992]

Ableton said "Fuck you" to me too!

[CatesbyDubs]

holy fuckballs, luv it, doooope tip. thanks for this and others.

[Absalohm]

WARNING, Noob question: What's the point of freezing a track? ^^'

[DJVespers]

@Absalohm It reduces CPU load, and then you can flatten it to convert it to a bounced audio file. Cheers!

[atabeylive]

haahahahaahahah Holy fuck balls thats is priceless I think if he said this word more that would bring more subs.

[DJRhinofart]

LOL Holy Fuckballs. I love it. I guarantee I'm going to use that phrase today

[4Dean3]

thats awesome ! never thought of using the auto pan for that

[djvoiceless]

What I get if If freeze a channel?

[streetxlite]

Also, if you want to 'freeze' the channel with the compressor still sidechained, can't you just Export that whole channel, add a new audio track, balance volume levels, and drop in the sidechained render wav right into the arrangement? its what i tend to do when ableton tells me 'fuck you' ;)

[streetxlite]

i use autopan mostly to gate pads and leads, and almost never for it's actual Pan functions haha

[DJVespers]

@streetxlite Me too. 

[MrdjHYPEr]

Setting up sidechain really isn't that difficult. In all honesty...

[DJVespers]

@MrdjHYPEr Not difficult, just slow and cumbersome when just used for 4/4 pumping. I like working fast. It's 1 step instead of like 7 to set up side chaining. Fast fast fast when you're creatively inspired. 

[gdomusic]

Killer tip! 

[LightWillIgniteUsAll]

Gettin edgy. I like this.

Also, I would have never thought to "sidechain" like that. For someone with a not-great CPU like me, this is GOLDEN. Thanks for bringing this method to my attention, man :D

[DJVespers]

@LightWillIgniteUsAll Fo shoooooo brutha. Slay that CPU!

[DJDawson101]

you are a genius!

[DJVespers]

@DJDawson101 Naw, just a fast and obsessive learner ;) Cheers!

[AppA]

Nice tutorial, that's one of the more useful tips.

Another way is also to use unlinked envelopes for a more finer control.

[MubangaDNB]

@DJVespers Well you can use the phase create a nice stereo effect on your pads or atmospheric stuff.

[DJVespers]

@MubangaDNB Sweet. 

[dansrh]

Best commentary on a tutorial. Ever.

[MubangaDNB]

you can do a lot of more awesome stuff with autopan when you play around

[DJVespers]

@MubangaDNB Nice one! Post a tutorial please :)

[Xo1ot1]

You've come a long way from "Hi, my name is Vespers, I'm a music, producer, DJ, live performing artist and a certified Ableton Live coach" to "WASSUP BASS JUNKIES!" ^^

[DJVespers]

@Xo1ot1 ;) 

[MarkoLaizc]

Its pretty sweet indeed. Thanks for sharing your tips, make us better!

[Joebdammed]

The autopan works great for emulating an old Lesley speaker on a Hammond organ if need something to do with it, except for sidechaining :)

[Noodul]

Great stuff!! Much love, much love!

[Brainbox97]

Quote for life

"Woaaah.. Holy Fuck Balls! That Sounds like Sidechaining..."

Vespers, you legend!

[DJVespers]

@Brainbox97 LOL. We're leaving the PG shit behind us now. Kids put on your earmuffs!

[popdani]

Another great video! Vespers, have my babies! xD

[ampzKTFO]

Whoa Holy Fuckballs that sounds like sidechaining! Lol

[nn8nn]

eh, nvr thought of that...thanks dude

[mattitchio]

Xfer LFO Tool is awesome, get it

[DJVespers]

@mattitchio Sick. Thanks for the reco!

[Airvtz]

this is the first time ive heard vespers cuss

[LeviWhalenMusic]

Hey man, cool technique. Another way to work around the freeze function is to put the said frozen track into a group by itself, then put your compressor on that. That's what I do for side-chaining frozen tracks.

:D

[SoSoImmaDoMe]

dope! thanks alot for this

[jrhager84]

Ableton says: "Fuck you, you can't do that."

Priceless! LOL I love it!

[DJVespers]

@jrhager84 I don't like error messages :P

[jrhager84]

@DJVespers

Epic. Thanks for the ableton tips man. It's tough switching from Cubse/Logic/PT into Ableton because it doesn't "feel" the same, but it tremendously increases my workflow when I figure out how to use it. I also plan on using Ableton *live* (no pun intended) so being able to take my session files straight into the clubs is perfect. Keep it up man! I'm like you, gotta spread that knowledge, though mine is less Ableton-specific, and more "mixing-specific" lol.

[DJVespers]

@jrhager84 Nice one! Glad to hear you're makin the switch. Workflow in Live is very fast and intuitive.

[jrhager84]

@DJVespers

You definitely make it an easier transition, I'll tell ya what! lol