Delay Plug-In Issue

[firsty33]

Hey guys, first off I appreciate you taking the time to read this and responding if you have a potential answer.

I've read the plug-in section of the reference guide for pt8, and have watched some tutorial videos online for using stereo and mono plug-ins. I'm trying to work with Delay, and I don't understand if mono is more appropriate than stereo. When I put a delay effect on a vocal region using AudioSuite, it gets cut off halfway though the "sung note". Also, I'm just plain confused (but will get it in time) about the difference between the sends and busses, and what is the best reason for using an aux track? As you can read, I'm fairly new to this, but I'm a little overwhelmed and deeply indulging into the pro tools experience! Any answers are greatly appreciated!

Thanks!!

-Justin

[Chief Pronto]

try to avoid using Audiosuite as much as possible. especially with time-based effects like delays and reverbs, RTAS (real-time) is definitely the way to go. Audiosuite applies the effect and saves it as a new WAV file. it's non-destructive so you still always have your original, but it's a lot easier to tweak an effect if it's RTAS. so, to solve your problem with the delay getting "cut off halfway though the sung note", try using RTAS. that problem SHOULDN'T be happening with Audiosuite though.... but just give RTAS a shot.

Audiosuite is generally better for CPU-intensive plugins such as amp modelers and such. Plus, an effect like that is not something I personally tweak too much... i'll get a distortion, set it, print it and forget it... whereas I'm constantly tweaking delays and reverbs and such.

the best reason for using an aux track is to send a whole bunch of tracks through the same effect. Say I have 14 tracks of drums, and I want to put the drums in a room, I'd use a reverb plugin of some sort. Instead of having 14 reverb plugins active, one on each track, you can send the drums to an aux track that has a single reverb on it, and you can control how much of each track gets put through the reverb. There are plenty of uses, that's just one example. It saves big time on processing power.

You can also use an aux track just to send a portion of sound through the effect. Say I have a single vocal track, and I want to add a chorus effect to it. Sometimes effects like this don't have a Mix or Wet/Dry control, in which case the plugin will effect 100% of the sound, BUT you may only send 50% of the sound to the effect using the send's fader.

It's fairly hard to explain this in words - it's a lot easier to just show someone.... but I hope it clears it up a little bit.

[firsty33]

So by using RTAS you mean, simply clicking on the insert tab of the track and setting a certain plug-in? That's where I'm somewhat confused. Say I want to keep a track the way it is, but I want to give one small region a reverb effect. I understand that audiosuite works for that, but the options don't seem as great.
That makes sense about the aux track, and I'll use it to the best of my knowledge. I'm still not too sure about the sends and busses, but I'll keep messing with it.

Thank you for your answers, you sound like a pro, which is what I'm aspiring to be! Any other advice you have would be great.

[Chief Pronto]

Originally Posted by firsty33

So by using RTAS you mean, simply clicking on the insert tab of the track and setting a certain plug-in? That's where I'm somewhat confused. Say I want to keep a track the way it is, but I want to give one small region a reverb effect. I understand that audiosuite works for that, but the options don't seem as great.
That makes sense about the aux track, and I'll use it to the best of my knowledge. I'm still not too sure about the sends and busses, but I'll keep messing with it.

Thank you for your answers, you sound like a pro, which is what I'm aspiring to be! Any other advice you have would be great.

if you wanna do just a small section of a track with a reverb, there's 2 ways that i'd recommend. easiest, but not the best, is to just cut up the track into 2 tracks. one track with the regions you want dry, and one track with the regions you want effected. put the reverb on only the one track.

the second way, which is more advanced, but smarter, would be to automate the plugin. open up the plugin, click "Auto" and then you'll see a list of parameters that you can automate, such as Master Bypass, Size, Time, Wet/Dry, etc. (if it's a reverb plugin). Then you can add Master Bypass and/or the Wet/Dry to the list of parameters to be automated. Go into your list of automation views by clicking "waveform" on the track, where you go to view/edit your volume automation, pan automation, etc. You'll now see a new entry in the list with the plugin name and the parameter to be automated. Now just like automating anything else, you can tell the plugin when to turn on and off, when to change the wet/dry mix, etc. So even using the Master Bypass, you can just turn the reverb on and off at certain times, and the sound trails off naturally still. If you don't want the reverb to trail off, use the wet/dry mix automation and drop it down to 0% when you want it off.

[firsty33]

Awesome. I'll get that going right away, and follow your steps one by one. Thank you so much!!!

I'm sure I'll have more questions in the near future, so I'll ask you more if you don't mind.

Thanks again!! You've been extremely helpful!!

-Justin

[Chief Pronto]

Originally Posted by firsty33

Awesome. I'll get that going right away, and follow your steps one by one. Thank you so much!!!

I'm sure I'll have more questions in the near future, so I'll ask you more if you don't mind.

Thanks again!! You've been extremely helpful!!

-Justin

no problem dude. i'm not exactly new here, but i haven't posted very much.... just trying to get into the groove of being a more productive and helpful member. any other issues, i'll see what i can do to help!