A cool way to create space in your tracks.

[avensa]

-What I find to be a nice way to add atmosphere in the break of your track is to give the dry wet of the reverb on the chords/leads a 'sidechain' effect.
The easiest way to do this is simply automation. As you can see in the picture I provided below, the technique is subtle but very effective.



EDIT: Take advantage of the combinators & mixers. Use a combinator, add a mixer of your choice, then use the reverb unit of your choice and use it as a send effect, then draw in your automation.

-Another great reason to use this trick is to let other synths breathe throughout the track. Too much reverb can lose focus on synths and cause the mix to be dull.

-Please note that you can try whatever automation 'pattern' suits best for the synth you are using (I usually prefer the 'sidechain' effect). Making music should be all about breaking expectations and doing whatever the fuck you want.

Hope this can bring something to your tracks.

-AVENSA

[Last Alternative]

Hey kewl idea. I'll try it on vocals too. Of course, it would be the easiest if every fx tool had a built in duck knob like The Echo.

[Puckboy2000]

So you side chain the reverb only to the kick?? And with full compression? Thanks.

[ScuzzyEye]

So you side chain the reverb only to the kick?? And with full compression? Thanks.

That's an automation of the dry/wet knob, timed with the 4/4 beat. Not an actual side-chain compressor. It's a useful technique for rhythmically changing an effect that doesn't lend itself to traditional side-chaining.

[raymondh]

Great tip!
Modifying the reverb dry/wet even non-rhythmically can add variety and interest into an arrangement/mix.
Kraftwerk do all sorts of subtle things like this that make their minimal + repetitive tracks a lot more evolving than they first seem.

[Puckboy2000]

So you side chain the reverb only to the kick?? And with full compression? Thanks.

That's an automation of the dry/wet knob, timed with the 4/4 beat. Not an actual side-chain compressor. It's a useful technique for rhythmically changing an effect that doesn't lend itself to traditional side-chaining.

So is the automation drawn in?

[ScuzzyEye]

So is the automation drawn in?

Yep. Draw it for one beat (or measure, or how ever long the pattern is), and then copy and paste.

[Puckboy2000]

So is the automation drawn in?

Yep. Draw it for one beat (or measure, or how ever long the pattern is), and then copy and paste.

[avensa]

Hey guys. Glad you liked this tip. Puckboy2000, it's going to sound like it's sidechaining. The time signature of when I was drawing in the automation was 1/16. This is how I do all of my sidechaining (Volume, reverb, you name it). More control, and you can get creative. Also, this is an edit, It sounds cool when you use a reverb as a send effect, then automate the dry wet. Thank god for Reasons combinators. Add a mixer in, then a reverb, then you're good to go!

[selig]

You can "duck" anything - I more often use Reverbs as sends, so I would simply duck the entire Reverb signal either by side-chaining or by automation.

You can also get interesting results by ducking the send instead of the reverb/FX or dry/wet, though it's not as dramatic (or duck BOTH pre/post FX).

One of the limitations when using automation for ducking is quickly adjusting the ducking depth, and it's totally impossible to automate the amount over time, which is yet another way to add interest over a static ducking amount.

[avensa]

You can "duck" anything - I more often use Reverbs as sends, so I would simply duck the entire Reverb signal either by side-chaining or by automation.

You can also get interesting results by ducking the send instead of the reverb/FX or dry/wet, though it's not as dramatic (or duck BOTH pre/post FX).

One of the limitations when using automation for ducking is quickly adjusting the ducking depth, and it's totally impossible to automate the amount over time, which is yet another way to add interest over a static ducking amount.

It's all about being creative.