Circuitghost - new EP - All That We Lost

Good vibes friend :heartbeat:

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Thank you, mate :blush:

really nice vibe.

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Thank you :blush: got a new version going here which is the first one where I feel this might actually work. It’ll be a few days before I can share, tho, but it’s darker and drums are less complex but more pronounced. And I’m using the SiX to send various amounts of the CXM to the channels rather than all on the master.

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I think this will turn into something interesting, it’s cool that you’re also sharing snippets of the (as of yet unfinished) music along the way!

Out of curiosity: how much are you thinking about that certain club you’re going to play at? I mean, is it people sitting / eating / standing / moving / dancing?

At any rate, the way you describe the drums in the newest version (”less complex, more pronounced”) to me makes a lot of sense.

Keep at it! Will be fun to follow your journey!

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Thanks for saying :slight_smile: I’m considering the context all the time. This is a one off event, but it’s very appropriate for what I want to do, so I imagine that if it works, anyone else who’s interested, I’d be happy to come playing at their place, too.

It’s not a club as much as an event, but it’s an evening one, set in very spacious halls with a view over the river. There’ll be mingling, cocktails, chatting and stuff, and most likely dancing as the evening unfolds. Crowd won’t be so much an audience as part of the context, though the music and my performance will be present all the time. Perfect for me, cause I got stage fright, so no one will notice if I fuck up a bar or two, and yet I believe the music will be perfect for the situation (it’s a beautiful venue, lots of light and the sunset pours through the windows).

I have been specifically asked to come and play my two EP:s but with a more “upbeat take on it, considering the event”. They’re like, “Just throw some drums on it and you’ll be fine.” I’m like, “Tried that. Doesn’t work. At all.”

But I got time to get this right, it’s not until September.

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So here’s how I set it up - would love to know if I’m doing something wrong here as far as signal chain goes, this is new territory for me.

ST Cue Out 1 goes into the CXM and then back from the CXM into SSL SiX External Input 1.

Ch1 and Ch2 are dry. Ch3 and Ch4 are, as you can see, somewhat dialled down and ch5 and ch6 are somewhat more intense. The actual setting on the CXM is quite subtle, so while the variations on the ST Cue dials don’t seem like much, they make a difference.

Then the overall Ext 1 signal blends with the dry one, to create a nice balance, and all goes through the G-bus and main, from where I record straight into a Zoom H1n.

Does that make sense? It sounds great at the final output stage and recording, but there’s switches and knobs here I’m not familar with, so I might be mixing up monitoring with sends and stuff. So potentially, this could be made even better.

@circuitghost I was expecting to not like club versions of your delicate music but, to my surprise, it worked very nicely. Only thing I would say is to keep the drums as minimal as possible and to choose sounds that fit with the rest of the music. For example just a subdued, dusty, vinyl kick keeping the pulse, possibly with some crunchy (but lowkey) hats, some found sounds in between, etc.

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That’s exactly what I’m going for now. The Rytm and its Silk kick is just perfect for the purpose.

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Looks good! Now just crank that monitor knob and feel the beat :sunglasses:

One minor technical note: the SiX faders have the most “play” (sensitivity) around 0 dB. If you can gainstage everything so that at the volume you want each channel, the fader is close to 0, then you can make more fine-tuned adjustments

I.e. dial back those gain knobs on 3&4 and pump up the faders

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Your routing and setup looks good. I noticed you don’t have “cue post” in on foldback 1. I have those engaged on my SiX, but I can’t remember why. Great job boosting the return/ external input 1. I didn’t learn about that until a month ago. I kept wondering why all my FX seemed to be so quiet on the return. Oh well. Do you find that you overload the inputs of the CXM78? I used to have trouble with some FX when the gains/faders were up, but that could have been some other mistake I made. Or maybe the CXM has lots of input headroom. Glad to see you taking advantage of the SiX’s flexibility!

Cue Post: when engaged, the level sent to the cue out is post fader and then controlled by the channel cue level knob. When dis-enganged, the level is sent as 0 dB and then according to the channel cue level knob. A good use case would be if you want to fade in/out a track and have the FX follow the fade (probably would make sense for circuit’s setup). I personally don’t normally have cue post on, but I’m not sending them to a FX in that way.

As far as gain-staging goes: you can control the overall level sent to the FX (in this case the CXM) with the level control in feedback section. And then, as you mention, the return level is controlled by the EXT 1 knob in the monitor section.

Might be more appropriate to move some of this conversation to the SiX Routing Ideas thread :upside_down_face:

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Thanks for the tips. The SiX is so flexible, it’s astounding. I figured I was using the cue post for post-fader send to fx. That’s a whole other philosophical discussion, huh? haha. I’d love to hear about your pre-fader send use case. The thing I didn’t know was that you could control the level of the send (st/cue 1 or 2) with the level knob in the feedback (foldback) section. That really opens up some options for send FX. I agree, we should consider a separate thread for SiX routing ideas. Tips and Tricks at least. It’s as simple or as complex as you can make it.

I seem to lose some of the characteristics of the source when I dial back the gain, and I can’t increase the source output anymore. It’s pretty loud as is. Ch3 - 6 are meant to be quite subtle, really in the background but with the wide space the SiX (now combined with the CXM( can bring.

But I’ll give it a go, considering that following your last advise got me here, I’m gonna try this as well :slight_smile:

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The CXM seem to be able to handle quite a lot. I haven’t managed to make it clip yet and I’m pushing it pretty hard. Some of the other little Chase Bliss darlings I got here, I’ve made them crack, sizzle and pop many times. But the CXM seem to be able to handle quite the load.

If it works for you, it works for you :slight_smile: that was just another tip I saw from a Youtuber. I think it’s relevant if you’re changing the faders throughout the song, but if they’re pretty constant then there’s not really a benefit.

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Yes, the idea is actually to not change these settings at all through the remainder of the production. Find a reference setting for the track I’m working on now, and learn to work the source material to make it fit the SiX.

This method has its flaws, but to tweak the SiX every time I work on a new track and then hope I can recall the previous settings as I revisit older tracks again, I know for a fact that won’t work with my preset mind. So this’ll have to work.

In fact, that’s how I recorded All That We Lost and That Which Remained. I used one track as reference, tweaked it until I was happy, cross checked the mix in the Blackbox to make sure they all played out kind of the same before they went into the SiX, which almost by magic made them sound good by default once they entered the SiX. Only track had clipping issues, where I had to work the fader live to not distort the recording. Never did figure out why. But I know the Prophet 12’s sometimes nasty frequencies had something to do with it.

A little breakfast jam, trying out the new material on the family as the storm passed outside and sun came back to warm us all. I played, they had breakfast.

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I am really struggling to get the Rytm to sound right in the mix. It seems like it goes nuclear if you just flick the wrong button or dial in a number too much on a parameter.

I did a little experiment and went back to the SP-16 again, just because at least I know how to work that one to get it to sound good while finishing my first coffee, and prospects for keeping the Rytm for this project are looking bleak, all of a sudden.

I’m kind of journaling this progression now, real time, I don’t expect people to chime in or read this, I’m finding this documentation and progression to find my sound for what’s coming, is helping me a lot. And I’m kind of satisfied that new gear doesn’t bring the solution.

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That does indeed sound like the Rytm. :joy:

I’d say it bodes well that you’re recognizing this pretty early on though, ha

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