ok ive heard diffrent opinions in the past and i want to settle this once and for all. i use REASON, and i want to know which order to put the effect(comp, eq, maxi, ex...).

up till now i would always put and effects(delay , reverb phase, ex..) first after a synth or drum sound. then follow with eq then compression then a stereo imager and or maximizer if needed.

it seems like the more i read the more confused im getting, and its really starting to bother me. i want to be able to start my songs off on the right foot so i dont have to always go back and keep changing things. doing this usually results in ruining the sound and ultimatlly a failed project.

ive also been trying to read on exactly what compression does and how to use it effectivly, so im not just using it for the sake of using it. but i still think im not quit clear on how to use it. im sure this is part of the problem.

so what im asking is what order do i put my effects in? or does it change with diffrent sounds?. right now i feel pretty lost, and i need a set order to start from so i can learn properlly.

i think thats about it, i hope ive been clear enough for you to be able to halp me.


also im sure this has been asked many times but i couldnt find anything in the "search" that people are always refering to.


Thanks!!

Last edited by lowski on Aug-27-2007 at 04:47

heres another thing ive gotten used to doing . i always use the mclass mastering suite set on default. and this is from the get go. i find that its actually impoved the sound of my mixes plus it helps bosst the sound ( cuz i use headphones) and keeps my from clipping. ive heard not to use this but i dont really see a better way my songs are just too quite with out it, and they will clip.

so on that note i would use the same order as the mclass is set up, cuz i figure they would know better then me what order to put the effects in. and they use eq followed by compression , stereo imager , and maximizer.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov.../reasontech.htm


but i have just recently read that the compressor should go first.

http://mos.futurenet.com/pdf/comput...AdvancedFX1.pdf

????

Order in Chaos.

Chaos in Order.

aCdrh On oires.

yes exactly.

also and i dont meen to sound rude. i want someone who actually knows what there talking about.


thanks

Yo, this is all subjective really.. since effects in a different order will yield a different result. I would certainly compress a sound BEFORE adding a delay or reverb to it. The comp attack and release won't react correctly to a delayed or verbed signal. IMHO.

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more analog, more sidechain

hmm ok thanks that makes perfect sense. i dont know why i didnt think about it. so should i always start with the compressor? then what eq or reverb , delay, ect. or eq then delay and all that.

quote:

Originally posted by CReddick Yo, this is all subjective really.. since effects in a different order will yield a different result. I would certainly compress a sound BEFORE adding a delay or reverb to it. The comp attack and release won't react correctly to a delayed or verbed signal. IMHO.

Yes it will. It will just result in louder reverb tail and less dynamic difference between the reverb and the original signal. This gives a more whooshy sort of effect - yes that is professional terminology. I don't do it, but its not "wrong".

@ OT: Order of effects is personal and its part of the process of creating a song. No one can tell you how to do it, its like those "whats the best VST" threads posted by newbies.

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ok if it can be diffrent everytime, then how do i know WHEN to put effects in a certian order. i understand how the orded can result diffrent effect once you start throwing in delay and reverb. but what about with drums such as kicks, snares, and hats? that i only use comp, eq, and a maximizer on? does the order of comp, eq, max , work well or should eq be the first?


also tell me if i understand this correctly. if i want to use reverb or delay i should use them after a comp and eq so i get the true results of what a delay is doing? other wise the comp will be working on the bouncing sounds as well? which will effect how the delay/ reverb is working.

You need to experiment and THINK about it. Obviously if the compressor is after the EQ, it will have no effect on the compressors triggering. But if its before then it will cause the comp to trigger at different times because of the peaks you've added.

With delay it doesn't matter whether its pre or post eq, because the two effects don't interact. But because reverb responds differently to different frequencies, it does make a difference if you put the EQ ahead or behind the reverb.

I prefer to go:
Instrument > Compressor > Modulation > Delay > Reverb > EQ
and that's the way I almost always do it, but its not the only way, or neccesarily the best way.

As I said; anything goes and its really just common sense...

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quote:

Originally posted by kitphillips Yes it will. It will just result in louder reverb tail and less dynamic difference between the reverb and the original signal.

I'm sorry... A compressor reduces signal when the input goes beyond the set threshold. so that reverb you're talking about is going to keep the the signal above the threshold... and the compressor reduce the whole thing.

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BEATPORT

more analog, more sidechain

The answer is pretty much knowing what the effects do. If you're not exactly sure what the compressor does, it's not easy to decide weather you want to compresse the EQ:ed signal or EQ the compressed signal.

This becomes very obvoius if you take distortion and reverb as an example. As you can see there will be a huge difference in reverbing a distorted signal or distorting a reverbed signal!

I personally usually go wiht this effect chain:
Instrument > EQ > Compressor > *any other effect* > Reverb (bussed)> Delay (bussed). But as said earlier in this thread, there are no rules, to make that crazy benassi effect, set a short reverb first in the chain and then compress it real hard

And my favourite tip is also to have 2-3 reverbs (one of them side chained to the kick) on busses and use those on the channels that need reverb. Sounds great and saves a lot of CPU.

Cheers

quote:

Originally posted by CReddick I'm sorry... A compressor reduces signal when the input goes beyond the set threshold. so that reverb you're talking about is going to keep the the signal above the threshold... and the compressor reduce the whole thing.

The way I think of it is that the compressor reduces the initial attack of the signal and then opens back up, levelling out the difference between the ADS and the R phases of the sound. But I probably jumped the gun, you can use it to boost the attack and cut down on reverb too. I'm thinking of that over compressed kick drum sound, where theres a big whoosh after the kick.

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