the ability to select the sidechain for VSTs without cabling around the back

Have any feature requests? No promise they'll get to Reason Studios, but you can still discuss them here.
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manisnotabird
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19 Aug 2020

It is kind of a pain to flip the rack around and hunt around for the other channel you want to be the side chain, then drag the cable to the VST (or RE or native device) you want to connect it to. And you've either got to make a spider audio splitter, or use the parallel outputs. It would be nice if there was a way to select from a menu at the top of the VST (or RE or native device) what you wanted the side chain to be.

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deeplink
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19 Aug 2020

If you name the device/mix channel/spider to 'sidechain signal' - then its quite easy to rightclick the sidechain input and find+select it from the list of devices
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Loque
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19 Aug 2020

How does sidechain work in other DAWs? Is it easier there? I mean, less "pain"?
Reason12, Win10

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deeplink
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19 Aug 2020

Loque wrote:
19 Aug 2020
How does sidechain work in other DAWs? Is it easier there? I mean, less "pain"?
Usually by clicking the 'sidechain input' dropdown and selecting the output of the corresponding track.
Atleast in Ableton, this copies the output signal of the selected track to the sidechain input
In Reason Studios, this would use the direct outputs of the selected track. Hence, using the parallel outputs are necessary.
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DaveyG
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19 Aug 2020

deeplink wrote:
19 Aug 2020
Loque wrote:
19 Aug 2020
How does sidechain work in other DAWs? Is it easier there? I mean, less "pain"?
Usually by clicking the 'sidechain input' dropdown and selecting the output of the corresponding track.
Atleast in Ableton, this copies the output signal of the selected track to the sidechain input
Same in Studio One and Cubase. No cables required! :thumbs_up:

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selig
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19 Aug 2020

deeplink wrote:
19 Aug 2020
Loque wrote:
19 Aug 2020
How does sidechain work in other DAWs? Is it easier there? I mean, less "pain"?
Usually by clicking the 'sidechain input' dropdown and selecting the output of the corresponding track.
Atleast in Ableton, this copies the output signal of the selected track to the sidechain input
In Reason Studios, this would use the direct outputs of the selected track. Hence, using the parallel outputs are necessary.
This is actually impossible to do in Reason (using the direct output breaks the main signal path), but I'd also add that I would likely never want the OUTPUT of the track feeding the side chain input. This is because you don't want the side chain input to come "post fader" - any change you made in level would potentially change the effect and soloing a track would cut off the side chain signal entirely.

In Pro Tools I would make a Aux Send (pre fader) as the source, then go and select this particular Aux as the side chain input. In Reason there are multiple ways of doing this, which may be a part of any potential confusion. One of the simplest ways is to just route the Insert Send signal directly to the side chain input for the simplest "one-step" solution, assuming you don't already have any insert FX (if so you add a Spider). Parallel outputs are another "one-step" solution, providing you don't want any EQ/Dynamics to be a part of the side chain signal.
I'm not aware of any DAW that has a "one-step" solution without also using a pre-existing channel output (as outlined above for Live), which as mentioned above is not ideal IMO. :)
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chaosroyale
Posts: 728
Joined: 05 Sep 2017

19 Aug 2020

There is a good argument that Reason needs to drop the pretense that the "cables" are actually carrying "signals".

They are not. They are a style of GUI representing an A-to-B connection, that is all.

RS could make it possible to do the most common kinds of routing from dropdown menus/matrices on the front of the rack as well as from the old-school cables on the back. I don't know if that would necessarily be faster or easier, but maybe it would.

They could also make the back of the rack much more informative. Cables could show the "direction" of the "signal", and have context labels showing which devices they connect to, to help users see through the "spaghetti".

They could replace the cables with "wireless jacks" that pair up with the appropriate target device and have mouse-over context menus, but do not clutter up the back panel with wires.

They could do a lot of things. Maybe they will, or not.

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Loque
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19 Aug 2020

chaosroyale wrote:
19 Aug 2020
There is a good argument that Reason needs to drop the pretense that the "cables" are actually carrying "signals".

They are not. They are a style of GUI representing an A-to-B connection, that is all.

RS could make it possible to do the most common kinds of routing from dropdown menus/matrices on the front of the rack as well as from the old-school cables on the back. I don't know if that would necessarily be faster or easier, but maybe it would.

They could also make the back of the rack much more informative. Cables could show the "direction" of the "signal", and have context labels showing which devices they connect to, to help users see through the "spaghetti".

They could replace the cables with "wireless jacks" that pair up with the appropriate target device and have mouse-over context menus, but do not clutter up the back panel with wires.

They could do a lot of things. Maybe they will, or not.
Hell, hopefully they dont drop the cables. I never ever used the popup menu in my lifetime.

But i agree, that some more info how the rooting is done could help and maybe something, which allows me to route faster between two devices.

I personally dont understand why ppl have a problem with the cables. Its so freaking intuitive and easy. If i want to sidechain, i just connect the cables. If i want sidechain a bunch of stuff, where some signals are pre-filtered, no problem! I want to have a dynamic EQ based on the gain reduction, nothing is easier than that!
I couldnt even imagine how i need to turn my head around if i want to do that in a different DAW, if it allows such complex routings...

There is a easy rule of thumb: If the tool does not work for you, do not use it.

Reason works for me, so i use it. I tried other DAWs, and most things were just overcomplicated and hidden in unlogic weird menus and small buttons all over the place. No thanks.
Reason12, Win10

chaosroyale
Posts: 728
Joined: 05 Sep 2017

19 Aug 2020

You're thinking too literally. It would be possible to give users ALL the options for "cables", "wireless jacks" and "just menus/matrices", with an instant toggle between them, to use whichever ones they find faster and easier. I would probably use all of those depending on various factors such as how far away devices were in the rack (some of my racks get huuuuuuuge).
Loque wrote:
19 Aug 2020
chaosroyale wrote:
19 Aug 2020
There is a good argument that Reason needs to drop the pretense that the "cables" are actually carrying "signals".

They are not. They are a style of GUI representing an A-to-B connection, that is all.

RS could make it possible to do the most common kinds of routing from dropdown menus/matrices on the front of the rack as well as from the old-school cables on the back. I don't know if that would necessarily be faster or easier, but maybe it would.

They could also make the back of the rack much more informative. Cables could show the "direction" of the "signal", and have context labels showing which devices they connect to, to help users see through the "spaghetti".

They could replace the cables with "wireless jacks" that pair up with the appropriate target device and have mouse-over context menus, but do not clutter up the back panel with wires.

They could do a lot of things. Maybe they will, or not.
Hell, hopefully they dont drop the cables. I never ever used the popup menu in my lifetime.

But i agree, that some more info how the rooting is done could help and maybe something, which allows me to route faster between two devices.

I personally dont understand why ppl have a problem with the cables. Its so freaking intuitive and easy. If i want to sidechain, i just connect the cables. If i want sidechain a bunch of stuff, where some signals are pre-filtered, no problem! I want to have a dynamic EQ based on the gain reduction, nothing is easier than that!
I couldnt even imagine how i need to turn my head around if i want to do that in a different DAW, if it allows such complex routings...

There is a easy rule of thumb: If the tool does not work for you, do not use it.

Reason works for me, so i use it. I tried other DAWs, and most things were just overcomplicated and hidden in unlogic weird menus and small buttons all over the place. No thanks.

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