SigMod tips & tricks
In May 2019 we ran a competition for users to send us their most creative, weird and wonderful signal chains including SigMod. The winner received our NUGEN Producer bundle, and runners up received a $100 voucher. If you need some inspiration for how to use SigMod, check out the examples below!
NUGEN examples...
Mid/side reverb
Here, the first instance of SigMod converts the signal from stereo to mid/side, and the second converts it back again.
The reverb is set up in dual-mono, meaning each side is controlled independently. But because of SigMod either side, the “left” channel is actually processing the mids, and the “right” is processing the sides.
The "left" (mid) channel has been bypassed, with an extreme reverb on the "right" (side) channel. This creates a wide ambient reverb in the sides of our stereo signal, whilst retaining the clarity and transient detail in the middle.
Multiband guitar crossover
Here, SigMod splits the signal into 3 frequency bands, allowing each band to be processed completely independently - even if the other plug-ins in the chain do not have multiband functionality.
The first band is sent via Receive 1 to Monofilter, which applies a high pass cutoff and a taper into mono for the bottom end.
The second band is sent via Receive 2 to a fairly heavy compressor, tightening up the midrange.
The final band is sent to SEQ-S, which takes a notch out of some problematic frequencies and boosts the very top to compensate.
"Reverse" gate
Instead of using Protect for its intended purpose - muting unpredictably loud material in order to avoid damaging your speakers or ears - you can use it as a kind of "reverse" gate.
The loudest material will be muted and the quiet parts will get through. This is unlikely to be something you'll use on every mix, but it can create some interesting effects.
In this example, SigMod is placed on an aux track, which is receiving a stereo drum mix (the untouched drum mix is also routed directly to the master bus).
With Protect's reset function set at its shortest (1 second), and a "blown out"-sounding distortion placed immediately after SigMod, this creates a pumping effect on the drum mix not dissimilar to the sidechain compression found in a lot of dance/electronic music.
User examples...
Winner
I had the challenge of mixing a track which had been constructed from loops. Unfortunately the source loops were very close to mono, and the loop was a combination of drums, percussion and some keys, so I couldn't just apply a normal Stereoizer to widen the mix, nor enhance the separate elements. Luckily SigMod came to the rescue!
I relied on SigMod to separate out the individual elements. I then applied some stereo widening tricks to turn some elements into stereo, whilst preserving quality for mono reproduction.
My SigMod chain:
1) Source track > SigMod 1 acting as a Crossover + a Tap > SigMod 2 as a Crossover
2) Low pass from SigMod 1 > SigMod 3 using a mid/side trim to pull the sides down
3) Tap from SigMod 1 > an EQ and Haas delay, results in widening the high end in parallel
4) High pass from SigMod 2 > SigMod 4 which has dual mono VST3 Inserts
5) SigMod 4 > the left and right mono VST3 go to two separate multi-band EQs; these have alternate band frequency boosts and cuts which increase the width for the separated hi-hat
6) SigMod 5 is on my master output to protect my speakers and ears, and in this case was critical for checking the mono mix.
At the end of the all that I managed to successfully create a mix which satisfied both the requirement for mono compatibility and had an open stereo sound.
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The $100 voucher for runners up is valid until 30 November 2019 and can only be used in the NUGEN webstore to purchase products which exceed the value of the voucher.
The NUGEN Producer bundle (worth $499) includes 8 elite plug-ins delivering deeper control over your full production workflow. Mastercheck, Stereoizer, Monofilter, Visualizer, ISLst, SEQ-ST, Stereoplacer & SigMod
For more information visit the product page.