Auria plugin advice

Matt_Fletcher_2000

Hi,

It would be amazing if anyone could give me some advice on my first proper steps into world of Auria plugins.

I know they are excellent value - but they are more than "a few pounds" that most apps cost - so I don't want to buy things I won't use that much. I'm also a beginner when it comes to mastering / mixing - so I want to start basic.

I'm going to be bringing in complete track stems from Gadget. Probably to save space on my 32GB Air i'll be grouping similar tracks together in Gadget and just having, for example, a stem for: Kick; Snare; other drums; sub bass; bass line; mids; highs or something (7 tracks will be about all the space I can manage I think). I'm making 'bass music' I guess... Liquid D&B (lots pads and piano/strings/real instruments), experimental beats type stuff etc.. I want to still do a lot of creative modulation etc. in Gadget while i'm composing - so I want Auria simply for some final polish and some stuff I can't do in Gadget because it has limited effects slots (e.g. a filter, delay, reverb)

I already have MicroWarmer which I bought in the Black Friday sale - and it seems like a decent limiter solution for now. I also have Wow and Turnado plugins from Sugar

I'm also cool using the built in Auria effects where they are ok. I doubt i'll be digging that deep and doing an 'special effects' in Auria for now. I just want to polish tracks.

I'm thinking to start off with:

• ProQ - for the most basic mastering task of EQing
• A filter for filtering drums in and out etc... (probably most of the other filter modulation stuff i'll do in Gadget where possible - but you never know). So do I get Volcano2 and skip Micro because it does the same and more?

That might be enough... (that's already 38 English pounds) but..

• Maybe Timeless (£15) for great delay if the built in delay isn't good enough
• Is there a reverb one or is the built in reverb ok?
• Feel I probably ought to be side chain compressing (ducking) my bass with my kicks and snare - so Pro C (£23) - or is there a cheaper option or can I do this with one of the above?

Any advice? Anything glaringly missing?

Thanks in advance for any help...

mrufino1

Pro q and pro c are excellent starting points (and ending points!). With the stock plugins you can get a great mix. With those you mentioned, you can get a great mix a little but easier.

Your thinking is right on track.

firejan82

I would probably get Pro-C and Pro-G first just because they add some creative sidechaining functionality that is not available in Auria without them. You can do basic EQing in Auria, I personally don't ever need to be surgical with it but Pro-Q makes more sense visually than the EQ knobs. I'm sure you know this but you can use Wow for that filtering, no need to get Volcano yet.

Peanutcram

Saturn and Timeless are my favs. I don't get much out of the PianoVerb2...

JohnnyGoodyear

I get a lot of eq out of Q. I've found Microwarmer a lot more useful than I thought I would at the start (in other words, I use it). The plugs i enjoy the most, or find myself being creative with beyond 'just' mastering etc are def. Volcano 2 and Timeless. Saturn also brings good things.

The suggestion to check out the Worrall tutes is good, I learned a lot, but more than anything realized (again) how very little I know...

MusicInclusive

My suggested order, Pro-C, Pro-Q as a "given" then some or all of Timeless, Volcano, Saturn to suit, then look at Pro-MB, Pro-G, Pro-L and also MicroWarmer.

MusicInclusive

Rereading your OP, for drum filtering, Pro-G.

Tarekith

Q, C, & L, in that order Timeless is loads of fun if you want to get lost in delay settings, if you're just going to grab presets there's probably cheaper IAA options.

Martygras

@mattfletcher it is always a different list from each person's needs and genre, but I think Auria's real strong point is that we can all use it in completely different ways. That's the sign of a well thought out DAW IMO. Each list is very similar, but you can see what some of us put our love towards. We all seem to agree on the bread and butter add-on's, but when it comes to effects and mutation, well that's a different story.

Timeless 2 and Saturn could take a lifetime to explore properly though. I can't seem to incorporate Turnado or Wow into my music. I am probably not using them to their fullest though.

JohnnyGoodyear

@Martygras good post.

Matt_Fletcher_2000

Hi,

Thanks so much everyone- all really useful and very much appreciated...

So i'm thinking now:

• Pro Q (because the visual aids will definitely help me do it properly, and I might need some precision surgery on some clicks Gadget's bass annoyingly sometimes produces)
• I'm gonna leave Volcano2 for now and see what I can do with Wow - that was great advice so thanks @firejan82. Always better to learn the stuff you have rather than get new stuff!
• I'll probably get Pro C instead since i presume that the best tool for side chain 'ducking' bass so you can hear the kick and snare cleanly?
• I'm thinking since I have MicroWarmer I can make do with this as a limiter for now and not get Pro L
• I don't really know what Pro G does exactly, to be honest - so I suspect that might be good to leave for now
• I have plenty of IAA FX apps for delay and reverb (which I never use) so that's a great suggestion @Tarekith - again, using what i've already spent money on. I assume the built in delay and reverb aren't terrible either?
• I'll check out DCAM EnvShaper at some point - not exactly sure what that is for at this point .

Other more creative stuff (like Saturn and Volcano) i'll move onto once I have the basics down and i've learn Auria and basic mastering/mixing properly (and saved some more cash).

Thanks again for all the help.

JohnnyGoodyear

Good luck Mister Fletcher. And much fun to be had and that's all before Auria PRO

Martygras

@JohnnyGoodyear said:
Martygras good post.

Thank you very much.

Matt_Fletcher_2000

Thanks @JohnnyGoodyear.

Quick additional question, can you pitch down or pitch up (or speed up/slow down) audio in Auria (either with or without proper time stretching)?

firejan82

@Matt_Fletcher_2000 I'm glad it was helpful. One thing to take into consideration before you get Pro-Q is that FabFilter are working on Pro-Q2 for Auria, source: https://www.facebook.com/fabfilter/posts/923439744335344 (top post + answer) It'll probably be more expensive and Pro-Q is already advanced enough but still...

JohnnyGoodyear

@Matt_Fletcher_2000 said:
Thanks JohnnyGoodyear.

Quick additional question, can you pitch down or pitch up (or speed up/slow down) audio in Auria (either with or without proper time stretching)?

You can drag and stretch wave sections as desired. Does slow down or speed up depending...

Peanutcram

@Matt_Fletcher2000 if you are into side chain, ducking check out Pro-G as well.

Matt_Fletcher_2000

Thanks... so I can't really justify both Pro C and Pro G.

Anyone want to stick their neck out and say which is best if I want to duck bass on snare and kick hits? (Before I wade through the YouTube clips and Google)

mrufino1

Pro c. The "trance" track I did in gadget and mixed in auria that you listened to last month used pro-c to do that. In a DAW I don't see as much need for a gate since it's so easy to mute sections of tracks, so unless it's for gating effects I think you'll get a lot more use from pro-c.

For compression though, also don't sleep on the channel strip as the compressor works really well.

My best advice is to mix a song and only get a plugin if there's something you want to do that the stock effects won't do. Then you'll know exactly why you are using it in addition to how.

Matt_Fletcher_2000

Thanks @mrufino1 that's great advice. I know I want to duck the bass with side chaining (I did this a bit in BM2 a while back actually) so on that wise logic I know I want Pro C now.

Pro Q I reckon I will find a lot easier than the default dials because I'm coming from experience of EQing visually with AudioMastering which I found really nice (although of course just on the whole mix).

I really loved the quality of your liquid bassline on your trance track so I'm totally sold on that!

gsm909

Any idea when Fabfilter or PSP will be having their next IAP sale?

[Deleted User]

@Matt_Fletcher_2000

Get em all!

KING

In preparation for 'Auria Pro' I decided to "Get em all!" (Fabfilter) but I chose to get them in a laid back fashion, (slowly). 1 every week or so..

Two reasons:

1, It doesn't (feel) so expensive... and in comparison to the desktop, it's not.

2, I am able to learn deeper about the one I have just purchased, instead of spreading my focus/leaning energy on a load of plug-ins at once.

Today, again I was looking through the plug-ins on offer, and realised that eventually I will have all of them, (In time), not only fabfilter.
But I'm getting fabfilter out the way first. (For me it's the full package, as in, getting all of the FF's).

I started with Pro-Q last year, and started to buy more since the Auria Pro announcement.

So, so far, in order:

Timeless 2.

Saturn.

Volcano 2.

Pro-C.

Pro-G.

Pro-MB.

Pro-DS.

MB & DS Bought last night.......Hehe, (1 every week or so.. right!).

2 Left:

Pro-L.

Micro.

And when Pro (Auria) comes out there will be more..

Auria!!
Today is the first day of 3 months of Spring... :-)

eustressor

If you plan to do any mastering in Auria, pro-L and Pro-MB ... Honorable mention for OldTimer. After suggestions from some of these fine folk, I've found it's a great compressor for parallel compressing bass. I could (almost) pass my old beater Washburn for a Rick! With strings half their age!

Will

Saturn and Timeless are really special and much broader than what it says on the tin. Worth a youtube!

JohnnyGoodyear

@synthandson said:
Matt_Fletcher_2000: the DCAM EnvShaper lets you alter the attack and sustain of the transients of a sample, making a beat "punchier" for instance. The other day I used it for a sample of a 1930's diesel engine. Although the original sample was beautiful by itself- just waiting to be used as a drum beat but a little bit too noisy between the single hits-, using the EnvShaper on it made it a lot more transparent kind of similar to the effect of a noisegate.

Awesome Engineering Nerdery of the Week Award right here. Well done