Ableton Forum

A few side chaining questions.. Can it be done with quality in Live 6? Is it worth upgrading to 7 solely for it's new effects with side chaining capabilities? Do you use it in mastering samples/songs? Is it even worth investigating?

any thoughts, I've tried it with a freeware compressor in LIve 6 a few times but other wise, I'm clueless

I use side chaining in Live 7, mostly for basslines and melodies...

I think that's it's slightly different in 6 but still pretty easy.
I'm pretty sure the guy in this tutorial is using live 6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKgDwU0d9_0

it sounds like deadmau5, or glen morrison or pryda style...

Yeah, I've watched that video. He uses a free ware compressor and no ableton effects in the sidechain.

Thaks anyway

Using the built-in sidechaining functionality in 7 along with the new Spectrum plug certainly makes it easier to incorporate this technique into your workflow. I think it's worth it to upgrade.

sidechaining has been possible in Live since v4 when they put in the best routing on the planet. you just need any VST effect that has sidechain inputs...I prefer Kjaerhus for this.

Now to answer your question about upgrading to l7...yes absolutely worth it. Not only do you get native sidechain, you also get higher quality plugs, including EQ, Compressor, Operator, Saturator, etc, and you get a 64-bit mix engine. All of which adds up to huge benefits in overall sound.

That's taho doing the tutorial.. the guy is amazing and has great releases on ovum, delsin, fcom, lumina, etc .. the preset is analog authority on atmosphere..

Absolutely! Live truly shines in sidechaining.
A sad aspect is, the rendering of single tracks, that are sidechained, is not possible.

Really? I've not found that.

People also forget about the sidechain capability in Gate and Autofilter too. Sidechaining becoming a stable word for pumping your shit using the kick drum rather than an overacrhing ability to affect a plug using an alternative audio signal. [/rant mode off]

I'm pretty sure I rendered a guitar track with a sidechained autofilter from a different audio track obviously, without trouble. Is it just the sidechained compressor that doesnt render?

Whaddya mean?

Landser wrote:A sad aspect is, the rendering of single tracks, that are sidechained, is not possible.

Sure it is. Just solo the sidechained track (which is still receiving the input signal, which means it's still being sidechained) and then Resample the audio to a track. Rendering in Live is also among the most flexible options out there in a DAW.

I meant freezing.

^ meh, freezing is over-rated. If I want to save resources, I resample, then deactivate the previous channels and plugs, and I move onward. Resampling also gives me the option to render at lower than 32-bit audio, as well as capturing any realtime tweaks while rendering.

Sure, freezing is faster, but for most things, I barely use it.