Fade/Volume Control

[robowist]

I've been listening to the Haunted Mansion compillation and have been impressed by the deft use of fade in/fade out effects on some of the tracks. You can, of course, adjust volume levels smoothly and finely on the mixer, though the mixer screen has no record button. So how do you record smooth and fine fade ins and fade outs?

The Volume grid often produces poor results, with adjustments being less-than-smooth and often producing clicks. The KAOSS pad #2 (using the record function) does a bit better job, though even here I often hear clicks and jumps (as opposed to smooth slides) between volume levels.

Are there other ways of controlling volume/fade effects which are smooth and fine, or is the KAOSS pad #2 the best way to manage this?

[Sinqlogue]

There sure is!

You can connect (modulate) a triangle or sawtooth wave to your VCA IN. This controls the volume level over time of your selected synth. The frequency of the volume/fade effect is related to the position of MG FREQ knob and BPM.

[QauNuckShin]

If you want to fade the whole track, you can use the DS's volume control, like I do at the end of my track Undefined Behavior. Also, if you're recording your track with one take for each instrument, you can use your editing tools for fading channels (I don't do this - it feels like cheating, and makes it impossible to play live).

You can manipulate the EG attack or decay&sustain, respectively, for some kind of smooth fade ins/outs.

You mention trying the KAOSS pad - have you set it to smooth ("SMT", I think)? Don't forget that you can program the KAOSS pad in the sequencer instead of recording - it gives you less precision, but perfect timing, and the precision bit may be hidden by the "smooth" setting.

The last way I can think of is using the MG with the sawtooth wave connected to VCA IN (which Sinqlogue posted while I was writing this post).

Each way has its pros and cons. You'll have to choose different ones for different situations.

[Sinqlogue]

The last way I can think of is using the MG with the sawtooth wave connected to VCA IN (which Sinqlogue posted while I was writing this post).