Envelope - Sidechain - note source midi channel?

Messing about and I noticed the envelope effect has a sidechain option… I think I understand how to use this but I have a question about what channel it’s looking for a specific note on. All? Any? Is there a way to tell it which channel I’ll be sending the note on or does it just look for the specified note on any channel it is monitoring?

Because I run all drums on channel 1 and the bass is on channel 2.

Edit: I changed destination to velocity like the example said and changed the note number but it seems to monitor the setting and change it to F#7… So I don’t know what is supposed to be going on.

Edit 2: I had an automation lane on… that’s why it kept changing the note number… I deleted it. I’m still left with the question. Which midi channel number is it looking for that note on?

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Weird behavior… When as in the example I change the destination to velocity it looks like it stops monitoring the note… if you change it to something like say CC 7 it will appear to restart the envelope for every note played. Unless I’m missing something, something about the sidechain/destination seems broken… Can I get some official clarification on this?

I just tested it out a bit on a drum track and if I set the envelope sidechain note to the kick drum and the envelope destination to velocity it seems to work as described. I did have to adjust the depth to [-100%] to invert the envelope and then play with the offset to adjust the strength of pumping

I used a tr8s for the drums

Yeah, I tried that. Doesn’t seem to work with my combination of equipment… but then I haven’t messed with the offset. I guess I’ll keep fiddling with it.

and it does appear to override any previous velocity data that has been entered manually or via automation lane. I did adjust the depth (still negative) and offset and that almost seems to set the max velocity amount for any instrument not bypassing the fx chain

If set everything to how I believe it should work it just mutes the bass and does not appear to reset the envelope.

I will add that this was all done in a single track and I was using the kick to duck the other drum elements that are a part of the same track. I cant say how to use a note from a different track to trigger an envelope

You can do this using the Output effect. I described this in detail somewhere in another topic on this forum.

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Maarten

Dec 2023

So with the new Output FX you can send the sidechain CC message to another track! :smiley:

There is multiple ways to do it, but the easiest (for me) is like this:

Track 1 (drum machine):
FX1: Output → to the actual drum machine, so the midi is sent directly to the drum machine without the added FX (which we’ll filter out later)
FX2: Envelope → Sidechain set to the kick drum note / Destination midi CC of the volume/any other parameter
FX3: Filter → Filter out all notes and midi CC except the one set as destination in Envelope
FX 4-8: Output with destination to any synth(s) you want the parameter to be modulated by the envelope CC

You can also just set the track output to the destination, as the actual notes are not sent to this because of the filter in FX slot 3.

Still, it would be much easier and cleaner to just have an option to set the output port+channel inside the envelope FX… It would also make it easier to send different Envelopes with different midi CC’s to different outputs.
Hopefully in a future update :slight_smile:

oi, I remember that now, def uses a lot of fx slots - and I agree additional midi/cc cross routing would be more efficient as well as creatively magical

That looks like a logistical headache and a nightmare… Still no official answer… which are what I’m looking for.

Ok, so after more fiddling about I am pretty sure I figured out how to do this sidechain thing.
I was assuming that you put the envelope on the bass track and set the note for the kick… This doesn’t work… and mutes the bass.

To make a sidechain. put the envelope on the drums channel and set the kick note there. then invert the envelope, put wait and hold on, then set the destination to velocity… sure enough… It’s doing the thing.

I’m so glad I got this mentally sorted… it’s going to make stuff much better.

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