Slate - multiple outputs?

mashersmashers
in Support

I have a beat running from a Slate and also sending the output to the compressor sidechain for an Obsidian bass. However, I only want to send the kick drum do the sidechain. Can I separate Slate into multiple outputs to send just the kick? Or do I have to have two Slates and use one for the kick and the other for everything else in the beat?

Comments

  • WillWill

    Slate only has the one out. You can make a duplicate that only drives the compressor SC and is otherwise muted if you want to keep your drums all in the same spot.

    Have you tried messing with the SC FILTER control on the compressor? Often, that'll do what you want. See the last item here: https://www.blipinteractive.co.uk/nanostudio2/user-manual/Effects.html#compressor

    Somewhere on the forum someone posted a tip about using MIDI to drive the SC but not sure where it's at.

  • mashersmashers

    Thanks @Will! I’m not keen on using a muted drum track to drive the sidechain as changes in the beat might not be reflected in the muted track. I move kick drums around a lot when varying the beat and I don’t want the sidechain getting out of sync.

    Using the filter on the sidechain should do the trick though! Using a LPF with a fairly low cutoff might even cut out the snare. I’ll give it a go. Thanks!

  • dendydendy
    edited December 2018

    @mashers

    no, you use that second slate just as sidechain source which receives notes from
    first slate ... this means your clips with notes are just on first slate. Second slate works like MIDI slave for first slate but sends out just kick sound

    This is possible because Nanostudio is able to send also MIDI between channels not just audio

    • add slate track 1, here create your beat using all pads you want
    • add slate track 2, load same kick on same pad like in slate 1, leave rest of pads EMPY
    • set mixer volume fader for slate 2 to zero (we don't want hear output of this slate in mix, we will just use it for sodechaining)
    • in slate 1 mixer settings, set in "Sends" tab MIDI send to track with Slate 2 (this means ALL played notes from Slate1 will be send also on Slate 2)
    • now use Slate 2 as sidechain source form your compressor. Don forget, after you add creste send to compressor, turn on "pre" red switch (because volume fader of Slate 2 channel is set to zero, we need that Slate 2 audio is sent to compressor begore fader)

    here is example project witn this concept working. ...
    any changes in kick on Slate1 will affect sidechaining

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/1rm1hxs6zb4erj5/GhostSidechain.nsa?dl=0

  • WillWill
    edited December 2018

    ^ that's the MIDI only trick I was trying to remember! :) Thanks @dendy. Good candidate for tips and tricks right there. :+1:

    I guess you could also use LINKED clips for this if your kicks were on their own track lane.

  • mashersmashers

    @dendy said:
    @mashers

    no, you use that second slate just as sidechain source which receives notes from
    first slate ... this means your clips with notes are just on first slate. Second slate works like MIDI slave for first slate but sends out just kick sound

    This is possible because Nanostudio is able to send also MIDI between channels not just audio

    • add slate track 1, here create your beat using all pads you want
    • add slate track 2, load same kick on same pad like in slate 1, leave rest of pads EMPY
    • set mixer volume fader for slate 2 to zero (we don't want hear output of this slate in mix, we will just use it for sodechaining)
    • in slate 1 mixer settings, set in "Sends" tab MIDI send to track with Slate 2 (this means ALL played notes from Slate1 will be send also on Slate 2)
    • now use Slate 2 as sidechain source form your compressor. Don forget, after you add creste send to compressor, turn on "pre" red switch (because volume fader of Slate 2 channel is set to zero, we need that Slate 2 audio is sent to compressor begore fader)

    here is example project witn this concept working. ...
    any changes in kick on Slate1 will affect sidechaining

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/1rm1hxs6zb4erj5/GhostSidechain.nsa?dl=0

    That... is amazing. Your instructions made perfect sense and I was able to set this up in seconds. MIDI sends are a great feature to have! It reminds me of routing note/gate CV using cabling in Reason.

    I can’t quite believe how good this software is. I keep expecting to find a killer flaw, as no mobile music software I’ve used has been this good and it seems too good to be true. But it just keeps getting better and better. I adore Reason, but it genuinely has competition here.

  • dendydendy

    @mashers

    i'm glad that it helped ;)

  • flockzflockz

    I’ve been using the multiple slates and midi link as workaround for a few use cases. Does the job but hoping quicker/tidier solutions appear in future :)

  • mashersmashers

    @flockz said:
    I’ve been using the multiple slates and midi link as workaround for a few use cases. Does the job but hoping quicker/tidier solutions appear in future :)

    I agree that a cleaner solution would be preferable. Having individual sends for each pad would be idea in my opinion.

  • Fruitbat1919Fruitbat1919
    edited December 2018

    I definitely can see a use for separate outs per pad. My use is for using different drum groups for fx purposes, but separate outputs then make mixing awkward, so I still split my kits to different versions of Slate.

    The way it’s done in a pad set in BM3 is that each pad has its own channel in a sub mixer that is available by double clicking that pad sets header. This setup though would be overly diruptive to the groupings in NS2 and still does not sort out the individual fx. Having individual outputs is fine and sending them to there own fx channels, but you are then mixing the levels of the drum and it’s fx, where I prefer to have separate sound and fx channels for keeping dry sounds where possible.

    So, I much prefer having drums that need separate fx in separate Slate instances, so I’m thinking that the above midi Slate maybe the best approach is to use an instance of Slate as the midi controller sending the appropriate midi to each instance of the Sound Slates.

    I know this is different to the need above, and some will say it’s overly complex, but I’ve not yet found having all drums as a single instrument is the best approach for those times later on when you want to remix a song. So while I can see the point of separate outputs for many uses, unless the mixer structure was radically changed, imo splitting the sounds over separate instances of Slate is still advisable.

  • dendydendy
    edited December 2018

    @Fruitbat1919

    Appreciating some very good insights and thought about potential issues which could arise from adding this level
    of complexity to Slate, and it's great you found your way around limitations ! I really like this approach :+1:

    Actually few things you mentioned vere exactly main reasons why those things are implemented like now ...

    i'm glad to see somebody uses very similiar workflow
    like me :)

  • mashersmashers

    @Fruitbat1919
    That is an other good point on this subject. I do the same with Kong in Reason - map the pads to individual outputs so I can put different FX chains on them. It is so much easier for mixing.

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