DVCO Too Powerful? (Drowning Out Other Sounds)

IronCobra · 2023-10-28T00:41:45.547Z

Hey guys!

I’ve finally decided it’s time to dig into the DVCO and use it more in my patterns.

However, it didnt take me long before I started asking myself if I’ve been using it correctly. I have a little bit of overdrive on the amp, and a small amount of distortion on the master channel.

The problem start when I have basically anything else playing other than the DVCO lol. It drowns everything out to where I can barely hear any other tracks. Is this normal? Am I doing something wrong here?

I’ve tried turning the volume down on the DVCO track, up on the other tracks, messing with the filter on the DVCO or other tracks, etc.

In my example, I have the DVCO on track 2, and some cymbals playing on tracks 10 and 11. When I mute track 2, the cymbals are crystal clear. When I turn it on, they seemingly disappear.

The only workaround I can think of is to track the DVCO separately in Ableton and mix everything in there.

Any help or insight with this would be amazing. I know a lot of people here love the DVCO and know way more about it than myself!

Claid · 2023-10-28T01:50:00.119Z

Apply filtering to tame the low end and make it sit in the mix. Bring the levels down so it doesn’t dominate.

your_lamp · 2023-10-28T01:52:06.722Z

Hey there, I’m not a DVCO expert by any means but I can relate to the issue you’re describing. I really like the sound of the DVCO but it does tend to eat up a lot of the mix.

I think the Rytm is one of those machines where it helps to be extra careful with gain staging. You can really transform the sound of a pattern by either pushing it hard into the master chain or dialing it back. There are multiple distortion stages and INF decay envelopes by default and it just all can get really messy quickly if you don’t keep an eye on it.

So maybe try dialing all your track levels to 0 and going up from there, maybe think of the halfway point as your 0 level so you give yourself plenty of room to adjust either way. Dial back the decay envelopes on DVCO so you free up some room in the mix/pattern and then add back in what you need. I know these are basic tips my point is, I think they matter a little more on Rytm since it’s an inherently dirty machine (in a good way).

SoundRider · 2023-10-28T10:21:34.916Z

IronCobra:

I’ve tried turning the volume down on the DVCO track, up on the other tracks, messing with the filter on the DVCO or other tracks, etc.

You describe a typcial mixing situation, which is independant from the sound source.

If sound sources generate sound, which overlaps with other sounds, this issue always exists, particularly if the sound source in question is “rich” or “fat”. But wasn’t that exactly the reason we got it?

Changing the volume of such a sound, or the others, will not get us anywhere. Most synth filters will also not be helpful, because they are supposed to shape the sound creatively rather than to tame it.

A typical mixing solution to address this issue would be:

Use an equalizer, and allow only those parts of the sound to pass, which are needed for the role of the sound, but without compromising the overall timbre.
Use a compressor to tame the volume if it’s overlapping, but only if and when it’s needed (keywords: parallel compression, side-chain compression, ducking)
Or a combination of both.

Jeanne · 2023-10-28T10:29:53.556Z

IronCobra:

In my example, I have the DVCO on track 2, and some cymbals playing on tracks 10 and 11. When I mute track 2, the cymbals are crystal clear. When I turn it on, they seemingly disappear.

Try to deactivate the compressor and master distortion to investigate the problem

Octagonist · 2023-10-28T10:56:41.515Z

There’s a bug in the assignment of channels in/out of the main outputs. If you set a track NOT to be in the main mix, and then toggle it back in, sometimes it messes up completely and comes out of the main mix at full volume, regardless how it’s set.

This is definitely an obscure edge case, but if you have toggled tracks in/out of main in that project, you might have triggered the bug.

lesstalkmoredisco · 2023-10-28T11:29:26.192Z

I personally don’t really like using the DVCO as main regular mono synth voice, but more often use it creatively for weird sounds or atmospheres by using the high/bandpass and lfo’s. That’s on the Syntakt though, which has one more lfo on the DVCO I believe and might have a bit updated DVCO.

dtr · 2023-10-28T13:50:36.133Z

Jeanne:

deactivate the compressor

That sounds like the most probable to me.

IronCobra · 2023-10-29T05:20:09.861Z

I think I MAY have found the root of the issue here. Or at least part of it.

It might come down to my lack of understanding regarding signal flow/audio routing in Overbridge.

In Ableton, I have one track per AR track. I also have an FX track that is everything flowing from the AR master track.

I still need to test this to confirm, but my theory is that I was doubling up on each track without realizing it. In my AR’s Audio Routing settings, I had every track on (green) under the Route To Main parameter. This is on top of having each track in Ableton via Overbridge. Maybe that’s why everything was getting drowned out?

I’m going to keep each track off here and open that project again to see if the DVCO still overpowers everything. I’ll let ya’ll know what happens!

Octagonist · 2023-10-29T13:26:36.946Z

IronCobra:

I’m going to keep each track off here and open that project again to see if the DVCO still overpowers everything. I’ll let ya’ll know what happens!

Before you do that, save the project as a new one and make the changes in the new one. Muting the tracks out of MAIN output is the start of the workflow that can trigger the bug I mentioned.

IronCobra · 2023-10-29T14:54:58.408Z

Oh good catch man!

I will for sure do that.