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Author Topic: Sidechaining everything  (Read 22553 times)

Vidale

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Sidechaining everything
« on: January 08, 2016, 06:22:56 am »
I want to know what you think about sidechaining guys. Electronic music is the only genre of music I've seen people sidechain as much as they do. Many people sidechain every instrument that's no the kick during the "drop" just to give it this EDM feel, not even thinking if that's the best decision for their mix.

Do you think this is because of poor engineering skills, or is it that the heavy sidechain is becoming more of a musical decision of the genre?
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Joefitz

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Re: Sidechaining everything
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2016, 06:25:53 am »
Side chaining is meant to boost or emphasize certain sounds and while it is definitely necessary in electronic music, I think it is key to use it appropriately.
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404indirect

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Re: Sidechaining everything
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2016, 06:28:14 am »
It is poor engineering skills coupled with the loudness war and YouTube videos that show this to be the way. Most of YouTube tutorials are made by self taught individuals who don't quite know the rules. Just a classic case of the blind leading the blind. Hence reducing musical integrity
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Kinesthetics

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Re: Sidechaining everything
« Reply #3 on: January 08, 2016, 07:18:47 am »
There are definitely musical advantages to it, and it adds a nice drive to the track when done right. That said, sidechaining absolutely everything bar the kick is unnecessary, and in a lot of cases, detrimental to the core dynamic and rhythm of the track.
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RoadLizard

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Re: Sidechaining everything
« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2016, 07:54:59 am »
I tend to look at side-chaining more as an effect than a mixing tool nowadays.  Ofcourse there are necessities like side-chaining sub bass and so on (at least for me).  But I think the key is to use it to build cool relationships and dynamics with other sounds in your song then have it be a tool to force a bunch of noises into fitting in a mix.
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Mat_Zo

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Re: Sidechaining everything
« Reply #5 on: January 08, 2016, 08:42:15 am »
I don't think its poor engineering. Sometimes you want nothing but one element playing at a time like the kick and snare. Some people even go in and paste the transients into the track after they bounced it just to make sure nothing else is in the mix during the transients
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Joseph

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Re: Sidechaining everything
« Reply #6 on: January 08, 2016, 08:43:52 am »
Quote from: Mat_Zo on January 08, 2016, 08:42:15 am
I don't think its poor engineering. Sometimes you want nothing but one element playing at a time like the kick and snare. Some people even go in and paste the transients into the track after they bounced it just to make sure nothing else is in the mix during the transients

Do you know of any videos/articles that explain what transients are? Can't seem to get a grasp on it...
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MifzanHerawan

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Re: Sidechaining everything
« Reply #7 on: January 08, 2016, 10:34:06 am »
Quote from: Joseph on January 08, 2016, 08:43:52 am
Quote from: Mat_Zo on January 08, 2016, 08:42:15 am
I don't think its poor engineering. Sometimes you want nothing but one element playing at a time like the kick and snare. Some people even go in and paste the transients into the track after they bounced it just to make sure nothing else is in the mix during the transients

Do you know of any videos/articles that explain what transients are? Can't seem to get a grasp on it...

the wiki said "In acoustics and audio, a transient is a high amplitude, short-duration sound at the beginning of a waveform that occurs in phenomena such as musical sounds, noises or speech." is it true ?
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xilent

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Re: Sidechaining everything
« Reply #8 on: January 08, 2016, 11:46:24 am »
Quote from: MifzanHerawan on January 08, 2016, 10:34:06 am
Quote from: Joseph on January 08, 2016, 08:43:52 am
Quote from: Mat_Zo on January 08, 2016, 08:42:15 am
I don't think its poor engineering. Sometimes you want nothing but one element playing at a time like the kick and snare. Some people even go in and paste the transients into the track after they bounced it just to make sure nothing else is in the mix during the transients

Do you know of any videos/articles that explain what transients are? Can't seem to get a grasp on it...

the wiki said "In acoustics and audio, a transient is a high amplitude, short-duration sound at the beginning of a waveform that occurs in phenomena such as musical sounds, noises or speech." is it true ?

yeah so in electronic music it's the first 10-30ms of a kick or a snare impact.
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wayfinder

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Re: Sidechaining everything
« Reply #9 on: January 08, 2016, 11:53:11 am »
More generally speaking, a transient is the bit where the sound changes from quiet to loud (or vice versa). How long that takes influences the perception of the transient: shorter changes sound harder, more dry, more precise; longer changes sound softer.
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