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Mute recording - Any workaround tips?

Discussion in 'MASCHINE Area' started by balletryne, May 26, 2015.

  1. balletryne

    balletryne NI Product Owner

    Messages:
    126
    Hi all,
    I really miss the opportunity to record muted sound/groups.
    How do you guys deal with it?
    Is it possible to do any automation? If so, is it any Maschine parameter which is possible to automate? Not interested in level automation, must be on/off kinda thing or bypass etc.

    Am open for any workaround...
     
  2. jpeg

    jpeg Forum Member

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    3,088
    track u mix out live into your DAW and do mutes on the fly
     
  3. balletryne

    balletryne NI Product Owner

    Messages:
    126
    Was hoping there was a decent workaround in Maschine since Im trying to get independent from the DAW.
     
  4. Mr36

    Mr36 NI Product Owner

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    8,454
    Another option is to use a plugin that can mute (e.g., Sonalksis FreeG, even Guitar Rig, gain/EQ with bypass etc.). You can then either modulate the mute parameter via the Maschine controller or (as recently mentioned in the other thread mentioning this) with an external MIDI controller (e.g., if you prefer mapping to a button) if the plugin supports MIDI learn/mapping. One drawback is that this will only be audio mutes and not MIDI mutes. The other main drawback is that this is not muting Maschine per se and so not using the mute mode, which may or may not be a problem.
     
  5. Tooshka

    Tooshka NI Product Owner

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    1,682
    Or use a plugin with sidechain, then your mutes are on a pad on Maschine and can be sequenced like any other sound ;)
     
  6. balletryne

    balletryne NI Product Owner

    Messages:
    126
    Thanks man:)
     
  7. balletryne

    balletryne NI Product Owner

    Messages:
    126
    Tooshka, can you describe that abit more?
     
  8. Tooshka

    Tooshka NI Product Owner

    Messages:
    1,682
    Its a basic side chain technique, just use a sound on a pad to trigger a sidechain on a plugin elsewhere.
    I will do a video tutorial at some point, it is an easy way to do trancegates and so on too
     
  9. InversionOfControl

    InversionOfControl NI Product Owner

    Messages:
    33
    What plugin would you use to do the muting? I thought it would work with the Gate effect in Maschine, but the behaviour is actually opposite, i.e a midi note makes sound audible rather than muting it.

    I had a look at Sonalksis FreeG but it looks like it needs to install loads of crapware DRM stuff so didn't try it
     
  10. balletryne

    balletryne NI Product Owner

    Messages:
    126
    But what I dont understand is this:
    Lets for example say I have a group which include all my drums(kick, snare, hats, percs whatever). In that Group I have, for the simplicity, one pattern. That pattern is 16bars. And its packed with midi(the kick is going instantly, the snare is going mental and the hats are running wild).
    I want to mute the kick between bar 2 and 3.
    I also feel like muting the hats between bar 5 and 6.
    And for some reason I want to mute the whole group between bar 12 and 13.

    How in the world could I solve this without having to remove the actual midi? Yes people, I could remove the midi, but my hope is that I can mute the sounds/group instead. Thats the reason for this thread, in case some of you are trying to be a smarta$$ :)
     
  11. Mr36

    Mr36 NI Product Owner

    Messages:
    8,454
    I'm not a fan of the download/installation process (for a free plugin) either. But it doesn't install anything you don't tell it to. I used the offline installer and then just install FreeG. If you need this kind of tool, it's a good one and it's worth it.

    You have several workaround options:
    • MIDI map the mute parameter of a plugin and record modulation for it from the Maschine knobs
    • Control the mute parameter of a plugin with an external MIDI controller via the plugin's own MIDI learn function and record the incoming CCs
    • Sidechain setup (as per Tooshka's suggestion)
    • MIDI controlled plugin suggestion, but using the Maschine pads and a (virtual) MIDI cable to loop the MIDI back into Maschine and control the plugin - this, however, would require either a MIDI converter (e.g., Bome's) or for the mute plugin to accept MIDI notes as controllers (it would be quite cool and performance-oriented though, fairly flexible too)
    All of which, however, will be audio mutes and not MIDI mutes as can be done with Maschine's own muting. One way to get around it is to just remove the MIDI (;)), but then create variation Patterns in different Scenes, which can then be switched between. However, this is pretty convoluted. Another would be to resample the MIDI via a MIDI loopback device and manually enable/disable record at the right times, but this is even worse and even less flexible. :p
    The best current method for MIDI muting is, unfortunately, to remove the MIDI. I do realise you don't want to do this, but erasing notes while the sequencer plays (ERASE + pad) is kind of like momentary mute automation for a Pattern. Might work for your needs (or someone else's) or might not.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  12. balletryne

    balletryne NI Product Owner

    Messages:
    126
    Thanks Mister,
    I havent thought about the ERASE functionality. Totally missed my radar.. But that is actually a good idea. It will be similar to muting Sonalksis FreeG except that the actual midi information is being removed.
    Gonna work fine, but needs a good workflow, i.e always have a backup of the pattern, and use the undo frequently I assume:)

    Good inputs! I am still curious about the sidechaining, but satisfied with all your help Maschineheads!
     
  13. Mr36

    Mr36 NI Product Owner

    Messages:
    8,454
    Definitely. Make it second nature to duplicate Patterns when you're making significant changes and variations. It's like second nature to me when I add anything to Patterns. Well, after the initial run at getting something going anyway.
     
  14. roboto

    roboto NI Product Owner

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    142
    When I started making music with EMAGIC NOTATOR (pattern based sequenzer) on Atari, track mutes in patterns were always dependent on the position in the arrangement. This means at different arrangement positions you could have different mute settings based on the same pattern. That has worked very well and was better than a track automation.

    Applied to the concept of the MASCHINE: "Pattern 1" in "Scene 1" can have different mute settings than the same "Pattern 1" in "Scene 2" and so on. So you do not have to duplicate patterns if you want to play the same drum pattern without hihats for example.

    I hope my explanation is somewhat understandable. Sorry for my english if not.