Plug-ins

ClutchIt

I don't understand plug-ins really... With a plug in, is it possible to add effects after a track is recorded?

Does Ableton have a function like this already?

Can anyone recommend a very good one with effects for guitar, bass, vox & drums already built in?

Thanks a lot, I know these q's are really stupid but I've only started out learning this stuff, cheers

MilanPan!c

ClutchIt wrote: »

I don't understand plug-ins really... With a plug in, is it possible to add effects after a track is recorded?

Does Ableton have a function like this already?

Can anyone recommend a very good one with effects for guitar, bass, vox & drums already built in?

Thanks a lot, I know these q's are really stupid but I've only started out learning this stuff, cheers

Basically, you can add FX to finished tracks, but they change the entire track, not individual instruments within the track (essentially).

Now, as far as what FX are good, what are you trying to accomplish?

Abd for the record, ableton does have built in FX, but may not have what you're looking for.

That's about all we can say until you give us more information.

ClutchIt

Thanks man. Ya I figured that it would add the effect to everything on the track alright, but I'm doing every instrument to its own track so it's not a problem really.

That's cool, I have been recording my music to Ableton over the last few weeks but I already have the effect added to the instrument before I started to record. I didn't realise I could record clean and then add the effect after which would be really handy.

I'm gonna try out the Ableton effects and stuff when I get home this eve.

What's the general opinion on the effects in Ableton, good or not so good?

Cheers

MilanPan!c

ClutchIt wrote: »

Thanks man. Ya I figured that it would add the effect to everything on the track alright, but I'm doing every instrument to its own track so it's not a problem really.

That's cool, I have been recording my music to Ableton over the last few weeks but I already have the effect added to the instrument before I started to record. I didn't realise I could record clean and then add the effect after which would be really handy.

I'm gonna try out the Ableton effects and stuff when I get home this eve.

What's the general opinion on the effects in Ableton, good or not so good?

Cheers

The general view is that their standard FX range from bland to quite good AND it has some really cool ideas around FX in general.

Most people for the most part record as dry as possible and add FX later.

It add a huge amount of flexibility.

Paolo_M

ClutchIt wrote: »

I don't understand plug-ins really... With a plug in, is it possible to add effects after a track is recorded?

Does Ableton have a function like this already?

Can anyone recommend a very good one with effects for guitar, bass, vox & drums already built in?

Thanks a lot, I know these q's are really stupid but I've only started out learning this stuff, cheers

It's possible to add an effect after the track has been recorded as well as record with the effect. Both methods are used and there's pros and cons of each.

I don't know Ableton specifically but Reaper, Garageband and ProTools certainly does. I'd guess that Ableton supports vst plug-ins.

Most plug-ins do specific tasks, EQ, comprssion etc. Most DAWs come with a suite of standard plug-ins as part of the overall package. Reaper has ReaComp, ReaEQ etc and they are pretty good.
What specific effects will you be wanting?
Effect types and the usage of these effects vary with different instruments but Reaper and ProTools standard suites cover all pretty well unless there's specific stuff that your after like modelling old Fairchild compressors or something.

ClutchIt

Cool. I know it would be a lot handier if I record clean and add effects later. As it stands, the recordings already have effects on them so I won't be able to manipulate them much anymore during mixing. Although I could still EQ I presume?

I haven't really begun to do any mixing yet with Ableton.

I'm gonna try the effects on Ableton later and see if they will be usable for me. I actually use Line6 GearBox to add my effects before recording. Does anyone know if you could use these effects after as like a plug-in?
Thanks again

TheBigRedDog

Gearbox can be used in ableton live as far as i know. They can work together if you add the gearbox application as a vst plugin. There are youtube tutorials for that. Doing it this way means you can record the tracks and edit them after.

alan kelly

Only my humble opinion but i wouldnt buy any extra plugins until you have mastered the ableton ones... Ableton or any other daw have more than enough for any beginner or even the more experienced. At least then you might know what ones you need to improve on. No point in buying something when u dont know what it does(should listen to my own advice sometimes;))

Also check out online tutorials. I have and still use groove 3 and macprovideo. They will give you a great headstart... Good luck..

PMI

alan kelly wrote: »

Only my humble opinion but i wouldnt buy any extra plugins until you have mastered the ableton ones... Ableton or any other daw have more than enough for any beginner or even the more experienced. At least then you might know what ones you need to improve on. No point in buying something when u dont know what it does(should listen to my own advice sometimes;))

Also check out online tutorials. I have and still use groove 3 and macprovideo. They will give you a great headstart... Good luck..

Follow his lead...

if you dont know the terms ratio,threshold, key filter, side chain, gain etc... dont go buying and thats only some things to deal with on one compressor

Ableton will give you enough fun for now, but you may find it a jump if you ever have to work on what i call a standard platform such as Logic, Cubase, nuendo and that other wannbe PRO tools

ClutchIt

PMI wrote: »

Follow his lead...

if you dont know the terms ratio,threshold, key filter, side chain, gain etc... dont go buying and thats only some things to deal with on one compressor

Ableton will give you enough fun for now, but you may find it a jump if you ever have to work on what i call a standard platform such as Logic, Cubase, nuendo and that other wannbe PRO tools

Yes I will try work with the Ableton post processing stuff first alright. Why would I find it a jump to work with Logic, Cubase & Pro tools etc.?

MilanPan!c

ClutchIt wrote: »

Yes I will try work with the Ableton post processing stuff first alright. Why would I find it a jump to work with Logic, Cubase & Pro tools etc.?

Ableton is much less in-depth than most DAWs. And it's designed to be used by people that know software, but not necessarily recording...

Many DAWs are designed for sound pros who are looking to take their existing knowledge and map it onto software...


That being said, most DAWs are FAIRLY user friendly these days.... for simple stuff.

sickofwaiting

MilanPan!c wrote: »

The general view is that their standard FX range from bland to quite good AND it has some really cool ideas around FX in general.

Most people for the most part record as dry as possible and add FX later.

It add a huge amount of flexibility.

What about a distorted electric guitar? Is it best to record the track with a clean amp sound and add the distortion with an effect/plugin? I wouldn't thought it would sound a lot more 'natural' to record the distortion straight from the amp.

DamagedTrax

sickofwaiting wrote: »

What about a distorted electric guitar? Is it best to record the track with a clean amp sound and add the distortion with an effect/plugin? I wouldn't thought it would sound a lot more 'natural' to record the distortion straight from the amp.

its best to record as close to your intended outcome as possible.

i'll record eq, compression etc and then add a little touch in the mix where needed. i'd record delay if it was a musical part (ie: think edge's guitars in U2 stuff). later on i will add my own delays for depth within the mix. the same can be said for any FX, if it was intended as a musical part by the band then you should be recording it as so.

if you're just getting into recording its probably best to record without eq and compression until you understand the concepts better.

and yes a distorted guitar should be recorded as a distorted guitar but you would always take a clean DI signal aswell incase you need to re-amp at a later date.

MilanPan!c

DamagedTrax wrote: »

its best to record as close to your intended outcome as possible.

i'll record eq, compression etc and then add a little touch in the mix where needed. i'd record delay if it was a musical part (ie: think edge's guitars in U2 stuff). later on i will add my own delays for depth within the mix. the same can be said for any FX, if it was intended as a musical part by the band then you should be recording it as so.

if you're just getting into recording its probably best to record without eq and compression until you understand the concepts better.

and yes a distorted guitar should be recorded as a distorted guitar but you would always take a clean DI signal aswell incase you need to re-amp at a later date.

Funny... I guess it just depends... Given the absolute choice (control over room, amp, neighbours) I would agree, but as I can control none of this, I always record clean guitars...

I personally prefer the ability to change things at ANY point... but that's from a songwriter perspective, not a engineer perspective...

Funny old world we live in, huh?

ClutchIt

Thanks again guys. I was trying out the built in effects in Live last evening and there's more than enough to keep me going. Most sound really nice to my ears. Can't believe I never saw that whole side to it until I had 3 tracks already recorded. Still tho I've another 10ish songs to do so I will still get great use out of it.

Now I just have to sort thru some of the mess on my hard drive and find a way to change the default project saving location to my external hard drive...

DamagedTrax

MilanPan!c wrote: »

Funny... I guess it just depends... Given the absolute choice (control over room, amp, neighbours) I would agree, but as I can control none of this, I always record clean guitars...

I personally prefer the ability to change things at ANY point... but that's from a songwriter perspective, not a engineer perspective...

Funny old world we live in, huh?

doesnt matter what situation you're in. distortion from an amp or pedal>amp will always sound more real than a plugin affect. and you dont need to be loud and annoy neighbours. sometimes quieter but driven levels can be better. a vox ac15 recorded in my home studio can sound just as beefy as a bigger amp in a studio.

as far as fx are concerned, recording at source forces you to make a decision and decision making is where the really good engineers stand out.