NOTION Music Forum

I placed Amplitube 3 into the FX chain of an electric guitar track in Notion 4. When the electric guitar track is played, there is a mix between the dry signal from the original samples and the wet signal from Amplitube.

There doesn't seem to be a dry/wet adjustment within Amplitube 3. Is there a way to adjust the dry/wet ratio of this plugin through Notion 4? Or could this be a problem resulting from a master send?

limcg wrote:I placed Amplitube 3 into the FX chain of an electric guitar track in Notion 4. When the electric guitar track is played, there is a mix between the dry signal from the original samples and the wet signal from Amplitube.

There doesn't seem to be a dry/wet adjustment within Amplitube 3. Is there a way to adjust the dry/wet ratio of this plugin through Notion 4? Or could this be a problem resulting from a master send?

When you insert AmpliTube 3 into the effects chain for a VSTi virtual instrument or a NOTION bundled instrument, it takes the input and then does stuff to it, but the original input is there and you can control how much of it is heard by various parameters in AmpliTube 3, where at the bottom of the AmpliTube 3 standalone user interface there is a "Mix" button . . .

[NOTE: This is part of the section at the bottom of the AmpliTube 3 standalone user interface when the "Clean Dly Reverb" preset is selected, and you can see the "Mix" control. But for other components in AmpliTube 3, mixing and blending is done based on the way other parameters of each component are set, which includes removing a component entirely so that it is 100 percent "dry". As noted "dry" and "wet" have specific uses, so for example if you want more treble, then you might turn the "Treble" control for an amplifier to a higher value, but if you want it to be neutral, then you set it to whatever the neutral setting happens to be, which for electric guitars with passive tone controls actually is 10, since tone controls for electric guitars and bases with passive pickups work exactly opposite of the way one intuitively imagines they work, where 10 actually is the "pass-through" or "do nothing to alter the original signal" setting, while lower values filter out the treble. But with an amplifier, which has active boosting components, the various tone controls ("Treble", "Mid", "Low", and so forth) can boost or cut, hence 10 on this type of active or powered tone control will be brighter rather than just being "pass-through" or "do nothing" . . . ]


AmpliTube 3 ~ Selected Module Control Panel (Partial) ~ Running in NOTION 4 (64-bits) on the Mac

You also can decide not to use the amplifiers, loudspeaker cabinets with microphones, and so forth, which you do via bypassing them or removing them from the AmpliTube 3 internal component chain . . .

To be clear on terminology, "wet" usually refers to reverberation and echoes, and it is important to note whether the NOTION Reverb effect is enabled on the Master channel in the NOTION Mixer, because if it is, then you will hear whatever reverberation it is creating . . .

AmpliTube 3 works the same in NOTION 3 and NOTION 4, but it is 64-bits in NOTION 4 (unless you decide to run NOTION 4 in 32-bit mode, in which case it is 32-bits) . . .

The advantage of NOTION 4 is that it is 64-bits, which maps to a larger workspace and smoother processing . . .

I have AmpliTube 3, NOTION 3, and NOTION 4, so if you can post a preset for AmpliTube 3, I can reply with specific information on which AmpliTube 3 controls to use for setting the "Mix" blend of the original NOTION Electric Guitar signal and the AmpliTube 3 enhanced effects . . .

[IMPORTANT: AmpliTube 3 does what you think it does, so it is just a matter of discovering the correct knobs or controls to adjust to do the "Mix" stuff, and the blending or mixing of original and enhanced is done in AmpliTube 3 rather than in NOTION . . . ]

Everything is there, so you just need to learn how it works, and if you do not want the modifications that happen when you run the Electric Guitar through amplifiers and loudspeaker cabinets with microphones, then this is possible, at which point you only are using the effects of AmpliTube 3, and they have "Mix" and blend controls at least at the series level, but some of them have "dry vs. wet" type blending when it makes sense, which usually is the case for reverberation, delay, and echo effects pedals . . .

Lots of FUN!

P. S. The way you get to the "Mix" controls for AmpliTube 3 when it is an effects insert for an instrument channel or track in NOTION is to switch to the NOTION Mixer, where you click on the name "AmplTb" at the top of the channel or track. This launches the standalone user interface for AmpliTube 3, and you then can set and adjust everything . . .

Thanks Surfwhammy! That completely cleared everything up for me.

limcg wrote:Thanks Surfwhammy! That completely cleared everything up for me.

Glad to help!

With the exception of Classic Studio Reverb (CSR), all the IK Multimedia VST effects plug-ins have 64-bit versions and work nicely in NOTION 4 (64-bits), as well as in the 32-bit version of NOTION 3 and NOTION 4 . . .

However, at present none of the IK Multimedia VSTi virtual instruments are 64-bit. which is annoying, but there is a "bridging" utility (JBridge) that the NOTION folks who use Windows report works very nicely, and there also is a beta version of JBridge for the Mac, which I am planning to test, since I have read a few posts from Mac folks who use NOTION 4 (64-bit) and write that the JBridge for the Mac works nicely . . .

[NOTE: The JBridge website does not mention Windows 8, so I think the logical focus is Windows 7 for 64-bit work in the Windows universe, but this is only a guess, since I do everything on the Mac . . . ]

JBridge for Windows (XP/Vista/7)

JBridgeM for the Mac (beta version)

Another possibility is to use Vienna Ensemble Pro 5 (Vienna Symphonic Library), which is intriguing, but it costs approximately $310 (US), plus approximately $35 for a Vienna Key eLicensor USB dongle, hence requires a bit of pondering based on the current budget here in the sound isolation studio . . .

[NOTE: Vienna Ensemble Pro 5 includes a 9GB orchestra sample library, and it appears that it is also is a standalone Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) application, although I just realized this and need to get a bit more information, but if it is a standalone DAW application, then it is all the more intriguing. Nevertheless, my primary interest at present is in its role as a "bridging" application and streaming audio server for purposes perhaps of "offloading" a set of work in the same way as doing some of the work in Reason 6.5 (Propellerhead Software) essentially "offloads" the work but in a way that occurs simultaneously with everything else, hence in a ReWire 2 session is nearly blissfully abstruse to the point of being a bit beyond surreal in terms of doing a lot of vastly intensive computing in real-time on the fly. And from what I have determined so far, Vienna Ensemble Pro 5 does not do ReWire (v1.7 or v2) but instead streams its audio via MIDI ports and channels, which is fine . . . ]


Vienna Ensemble Pro 5 (Vienna Symphonic Library)

Vienna Key USB Dongle (Vienna Symphonic Library)

Overview of the eLicenser (eLicenser.net)

FabFilter Software Instruments has some stellar effects plug-ins that support various technologies (Audio Units [AU], VST, VST3, AAX, RTAS and AudioSuite) for the Mac and Windows, as appropriately relevant based on the operating system, application, and allowed formats, where for example Audio Units (AU) is a Mac thing, hence probably is not available for Windows users . . .

If you like echo, the Timeless 2 is the ultimate echo effect plug-in; Pro-C is the ultimate effects control for doing "ducking"; and Saturn is excellent for adding a tiny bit of vacuum-tube blur and analog magnetic tape saturation to the Master stereo output of a mix, for sure . . .

[NOTE: These FabFilter Software Instruments effects plug-ins are a bit expensive, but they are excellent and well worth the price. FabFilter Software Instruments has had winter and summer discount promotions over the past two or so years, so you might watch for an upcoming winter discount promotion, but this is only a guess. Also, once you purchase one of their products or bundles, you get discounts on additional products, but overall even with discounts it maps approximately to $150 (US) per effects plug-in, which is fine with me, since nothing compares with or is even in the same ballpark as these three effects plug-ins. I mention them explicitly, because if you expect to do professional studio quality songs, then you need an advanced echo unit; you need to be able to do "ducking" for lead guitar solos and lead vocals; and you need a tiny bit of very specific vacuum-tube blur and analog magnetic tape saturation. For reference, I started with the Creative Bundle and then added Saturn and Pro-C at discounts, plus the Creative Bundle was discounted 25 percent at the time, although it did not include Saturn at the time. Twin 2 is a nice synthesizer and Volcano is truly strange, so it probably has potential for more electronic genres, and I use Volcano occasionally to add something surreal with the overall goal of making it difficult for anyone to get the exact same sound or tone . . . ]


Timeless 2 (FabFilter Software Instruments) ~ Echoes


Pro-C (FabFilter Software Instruments) ~ Ducking


Saturn (FabFilter Software Instruments) ~ Warm Tube Saturation

For sure!

And as noted, the T-RackS 3.5 Deluxe vintage effects units, including the new Black 76 Limiting Amplifier and White 2A Leveling Amplifier units, are available as 32-bit and 64-bit VST plug-ins, and I use them a lot (BrickWall Limiter, Opto-Compressor, Vintage Program Equalizer EQP-1A, Vintage Tube Compressor/Limiter Model 670) . . .

IK Multimedia's Classik Studio Reverb (CSR) is excellent, but at present it is a 32-bit only VST effects plug-in, which is annoying, because its Plate reverb is stellar . . .

Lots of FUN!

You can start Notion in 32-bit mode, just like you can with Logic Pro/Express so that you can use your 32-bit VST or AU plug-ins. You don't have use the bridging utility.

kpaul2020 wrote:You can start Notion in 32-bit mode, just like you can with Logic Pro/Express so that you can use your 32-bit VST or AU plug-ins. You don't have use the bridging utility.

Yes!

This is what I do at present when I need to work with the IK Multimedia VSTi virtual instruments, but there is more space available and better processing speed when everything is 64-bit, so I am hoping that IK Multimedia does a 64-bit upgrade for their VSTi virtual instruments pretty soon . . .

However, the good news over the past few days is that IK Multimedia has updated and enhanced its T-RackS product line with a new version called T-RackS Custom Shop, and it has all the IK Multimedia AU and VST plug-ins in 64-bit version, including 64-bit versions of the Classik Studio Reverb (CSR) units, and I did the upgrade over the weekend and now can use CSR in NOTION 4, Digital Performer 8, and Logic Pro 9 running in 64-bit mode . . .

Another reason the 64-bit versions are so important is that some of the VSTi virtual instruments have such heavy processing and memory requirements that they tend to overload the 32-bit application workspace very quickly, but this does not happen when these VSTi virtual instruments are run in 64-bit mode . . .

I have 64-bit alternatives to the IK Multimedia VSTI virtual instruments, but I like the IK Multimedia VSTi virtual instruments so really want them to be available in 64-bit versions, which is fabulous . . .

Fabulous!