karstenvogt wrote: I'm currently mixing a song and there is one question I can't wrap my head around: the crosstalk feature (probably THE key feature of CTC1) allows bleeding in from other channels. All this works pre, so before all the insert fx. Now I have several guitar tracks with amp simulations bleeding into their "neighbour" channels with the dry (!) guitar signal which absolutely makes no sense at all. In the analog world an engineer would have recorded the amp with a mic and that signal (with the amp) would have bled into other tracks. I think we need an option to switch between pre and post crosstalk

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Think in terms of bleed to the most minimum of levels.

You're right though. You should be able to place the effect where necessary. To some degree you can set the order of where you place the CTC-1 if you deem it's neessary, or as a separate submit, or group. As i recall, they recommend it be inserted first. St8ll, move it around, and compare. I can't speak on details as I don't have the CTC-1, but I have the Waves NLS. There, you can insert the NLS in a channel, typically first so it acts like a channel preamp, giving all post input preamp audio, that same preamp dynamic. But you still can place it where you like. The other part of the module is the mixer side. This is positioned at the Master (or you could locate it in a subgroup for isolation purposes). The possibilities are that there's a preamp, or summing way of getting the lush nothingness! i'll have to remember that term.

Remember, subtle is the premise on which these type of devices are built on. If you're hearing some part of an effect that's pronounced through other channels, you're typically running the bleed a little too high.

I've come to look at my NLS, as one of the most important plugin devices I own with an audio workstation. All of a sudden, EQ'ing is a bit less emphasized, and effects gain some real 'circuit' clarity, as they would coming through a quality mixer. That's quite significant.

The CTC-1 is conceptually the same, as the Waves NLS. Maybe a bit more one stop shopping, but very true at the core.

Go extremely subtle, almost to zero in audible effect or bleed, and you will gain the intended rewards of the CTC-1.

Rendering each track to a new audio track would be pretty cumbersome. Or am I thinking totally wrong here? Or how can I change my workflow to a better solution?

Well, frankly, I'd hate to say "wrong". The better path is, you're in the drivers seat. So drive. If you need to isolate some channels or effects from others, run a submix. For example, maybe you need just the bleed to be with the drums, and not coming through a vocal track. Make it work for you. Never buy into what you "should do". There is no should do. Break it down. When you think you have the right thing going, save it, and try it from another angle. Compare. Basically, whittle away until you're satisfied with the results. subtle counts.

Post switching is pretty ambiguous, because post switch to what? So hopefully the above concepts help you consider where you're even using the device.

There was a nice thread in the recent past from Mathewgorman about don't use an effect unless it warrants use. Think of positioning an effect in the same way. Say to yourself, what and where am I expecting results from this device.

Good luck

One could say also that they are simulating the effects of crosstalk right back at the multi track tape machine. And to be honest there would generally be more crosstalk there than the mixer.

So I guess in a way they are simulating the effect of untreated or un effected tracks back at that stage. Or even the mixer input stages. But I see also what you are saying because a guitar sound could have been effected and recorded at the multi track machine too.

Lokeyfly has got the right idea here. Don't be too heavy with the crosstalk setting. Use small amounts of it to begin with. That also applies to the character control. Even a setting of 1 is very obvious to me especially with the tube setting.

Also insert the shaper before you do any mixing. Not after.

You don't have to render all tracks either but say for this one starting with a clean gtr and adding FX track you could render that track only. Then you would have the effected gtr track being bled into the crosstalk.

Or you could render out a stem for that gtr track only, drag the stem into the session on another track and either mute or disable the clean gtr track to stop it from going into the console shaper.

Jemusic wroteOr you could render out a stem for that gtr track only, drag the stem into the session on another track and either mute or disable the clean gtr track to stop it from going into the console shaper.

I was going to create a new thread about a CTC-1 crosstalk/muted track problem, but the above comment gives me the entry I need

I was checking out the presets in CTC-1 earlier, and noted that as the crosstalk dial was higher in various presets, a muted track started to show up. At 100%, crosstalk included the muted track at the same level as other tracks.

If this is a feature, I do not see the logic -- it seems a muted track should be muted for all purposes. All insights are welcome.

What you're running into is the reason I've been using CTC-1 less.

It's trying to emulate the physical mixer world. But, in a physical world, you're not using guitar emulations, you've recorded the amp. The physical mixer has at most, an EQ, a gate and a compressor on every channel. Anything else will be sent out via inserts to external hardware.

To state it a different way, I don't want crosstalk from my vocals to be processed by a guitar VST.

If I do use the CTC-1, the way I get around the issue is to send my channels to busses without processing on them other than EQ and compression. Then I apply the CTC-1 to the busses only, with passthrough off.

... and why I completely gave up on it. Crosstalk = evil.