Here are two audio files that provide demonstrate the effects-ducking techniques described in the main workshop article in SOS October 2025:
www.soundonsound.com/techniques/cubase-14-keeping-ambience-effects-under-control
Cubase 1025 Ducked Effects Audio Example 01.wav
This example demonstrates the possibilities offered by the automated ducking approach based around a simple compressor plug-in as described within the first half of the workshop. A short song extract (verse and chorus) can be heard four times as follows: (1) the song section but with the vocal dry (no reverb or delay effects applied); (2) as before but with a static level of reverb (from RoomWorks) and delay (from MonoDelay) applied using relatively modest Send levels; (3) also with static Send levels but set higher and the effect is clearly being applied too heavily; (4) with exactly the same high static Send levels as (3) but with the side-chain activated instances of the Compressor plug-in being used to automatically duck the amount of the effect being returned to the mix when the vocal is present.
Version (2) works well enough as a static effects mix (and could obviously be adjusted to personal taste) but it means the reverb/delay is present throughout and, in some contexts, this might compromise the clarity of the lead vocal. In version (3), the static reverb/delay level have deliberately been set too high, and the vocal is lost within the ambience created. Version (4) uses the same high Send levels as version (3) but, in this case, as described in the main article, instances of Compressor have been inserted after both RoomWorks and MonoDelay with the compression triggered by the side-chain input from the vocal track. As a result, the effects are both ducked automatically whenever the vocal is present. However, controlled by the compression Release speed, the ambience effects are blended back in in-between words or phrases in the vocal performance. Again, the level of this can be adjusted to taste.
Cubase 1025 Ducked Effects Audio Example 02.wav
This example demonstrates the possibilities offered by the automated ducking (frequency-based ‘unmasking’?) approach based around dynamic EQ plug-in as described in the second half of the workshop. The same short song extract is used and can be heard twice as follows: (1) starting with exactly the same Send settings used in parts (3) and (4) of Audio Example 01, the instances of Compressor used on both the RoomWorks and MonoDelay FX Channels has been replaced by instances of Frequency 2 configured using the settings shown in the screenshot in the main article; (2) for the second pass through the playback, settings are as for (1) but with the NOVA plug-in (again, with the settings shown in the screenshot in the main article) used instead of Frequency 2.
Again, you can customise the final level and dynamics of the effect ducking to taste. The dynamic EQ approach means that, at any instant, the automatic effect ducking is more specifically targeting those frequencies most strongly represented in the vocal track. The differences between the Frequency 2 and NOVA options are fairly subtle and, equally, the differences between the simple compressor and dynamic EQ versions are relatively modest. However, both approaches can achieve useful results and, if manual automation of effects Send levels across multiple vocal tracks and multiple effects is not your favourite mixing task, automatic ducking — using the approaches described here or, for Pro users, by using the Envelope Follower in the Modulator options — might streamline that process while still achieving improved clarity of the vocal in the overall mix.