These three audio examples accompany the text in my SOS April 2023 Cubase tutorial article.
Cubase 12 Amplitude-based Effects Modulation - Audio Example JW 01.mp3
This first example illustrates the results of the workflow described in the main article. An electric bass part has been created, and comprises an eight-bar ‘verse’ section (lower intensity) and an eight-bar ‘chorus’ (higher intensity) section. For context, this is set against a basic drum pattern. The complete performance is then heard twice. On the first pass, the overdrive effect is bypassed so you just hear the original bass performance. On the second pass, the overdrive effect is active. Notice that where the bass is played louder, you can hear increasing amounts of overdrive blended into the signal. I’ve tried not to ‘overcook’ the processing so, in places, it’s quite subtle; it’s most clearly audible in the last four bars, where the original bass part is at its loudest.
Cubase 12 Amplitude-based Effects Modulation - Audio Example JW 02.mp3
This example illustrates the results of the same workflow described in the main article but, on this occasion, the overdrive effect is applied to a vocal part. Again, the example created comprises the same an eight-bar ‘verse’ section (during which the vocal has a lower intensity) and an eight-bar ‘chorus’ (in which the singer is pushing harder). The complete performance is then heard twice. On the first pass, the overdrive effect is bypassed, so you just hear the original vocal performance. On the second pass, the overdrive effect is active and, where the vocal is louder, the overdrive increases in intensity. Again, I’ve tried not to ‘overcook’ the processing, but you can hear the overdrive kicking in on one or two of the louder notes in the verse section and then more clearly in the chorus section where it is most clearly audible in the last four bars, the loudest part of the original performance.
Cubase 12 Amplitude-based Effects Modulation - Audio Example JW 03.mp3
This audio example shows the use of the overdrive effect in a somewhat fuller musical arrangement. The same drum, bass and vocal performance is used but with some simple guitar parts added for further context. Again, the complete verse/chorus arrangement is heard twice. On the first pass, the overdrive effect for both the bass and the vocal is bypassed so you just hear the original (clean) performances. On the second pass, the overdrive effect is active and, where the bass/vocal is louder, increasing amounts of overdrive are added to the sounds. Whether you prefer the ‘clean’ or the ‘overdriven’ version is, of course, a matter of context and personal taste, but hopefully the example serves to illustrate the potential of the approach.
