Archive for 'plugins'

When it comes to recording and mixing with computers, there’s a lot of “magic” that can happen with the use of some helpful plugins. Vocals can be tuned, drums can be tightened (and replaced), and even guitar amp settings can be switched. I’m all for using all of the tools available to us in the studio. But regardless of how great technology is these days, there’s still one thing that no plugin can fix after the fact: a lack of passion.

The “Magic” Of Recording

I don’t care how expensive your microphone is or what converters you have, if you don’t capture a great performance brimming with passion and energy, you’re doomed. All you’ll be left with is a sonically well captured boring performance. You can clean and polish up the recording all you want, but at the end of the day it will still be flat.
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Have you ever sat down to mix a song and you began by inserting plugins and tweaking knobs randomly? I know I sure have. Why do we do this sometimes as mixers? What do we think we’re actually accomplishing by jumping in at full speed? All we’re doing is simply changing the sound. Big deal. Even my 3 year old can do that.

Start By Listening

Before you start throwing plugins around aimlessly in a mix, start by listening to the tracks a few times. Close your eyes if you like. Identify in your mind the strengths and weaknesses of the song. How do the drums sound? Flat? Punchy? Muddy? What do the vocals sound like? Dynamic? Consistent? What does the mid range sound like? Harsh? Mellow?

If you’re really smart you might pull out a pen and some paper and begin writing down your first impressions of the tracks (even if you recorded them), because as Grammy winning engineer Dave Pensado says, “There’s only one time to hear a song for the first time.” These initial notes on the strengths and weakness of the track will in essence tell you what to do in the mix.
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When it comes to using reverb in a mix, there is an OK way and then there is a smart way. I want you to use reverb the smart way. Now it matters little to me which reverb you are using or how much reverb you like on your tracks. This isn’t a subjective thing, this is a technical thing. If you use reverb the way I’m about to describe you will have more control over your sound and save your computer power for the rest of your mix.

The OK Way To Use Reverb

If you’re like me when I first got into mixing, I considered reverb to be just like any other effect in my plugin list. When I needed it on a vocal track, I literally opened up an available insert and slapped down my stock reverb plugin on that track. It makes perfect sense. I want reverb on the vocal, so I put reverb on the vocal. Just like I would with an EQ or compressor. But there a few major problems with this method.
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Recording and mixing has become increasingly a software driven world. With mixing consoles and tape replaced by DAWs, outboard gear replaced by plugins, and records replaced by MP3s, everything seems to scream “software is king.”  But with all the investment I have made in software over the years, it seems to me I have gotten more value out of my hardware.

Hardware Is Backwards Compatible

Have you ever updated your DAW to the latest version only to realize that it doesn’t work with your current computer’s OS? So then you update (potentially paid) your OS only to find out some of your plugins no longer work on the new OS. Ugh!! Now you potentially have to pay for an update of those plugins that are in essence the exact same thing you’ve been using for a few years, just compatible. Yep. Been there. Done that.
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When it comes to mixing vocals, there’s one thing I try to keep in mind each and every time: the vocals should rule the verses. No matter how many awesome tracks that might have been recorded, when it comes to the verse sections of a song, the vocal should not have to fight with anything else for the listener’s attention. The verse is the best place to introduce the tone, vibe, and lyrical direction of the song so make sure the vocal gets a fair chance at it’s job.

Sometimes we have to learn things the hard way. Such is the case with me and mix buss processing. Over the years I’ve been guilty of slapping a plugin on my master fader, cranking some knobs to hear drastic change, and then calling it a day. At first it seems like magic. With one EQ or compressor you can totally change the sound of your mix. But the truth is, those drastic changes were hurting rather than helping my mix.

A Little Goes A Long Way

Here’s the reality of doing any kind of processing on your mix buss: you’re little moves add up big time. If you make a 1db boost with an EQ on your master fader in a session with 40+ tracks, you are in essence applying that 1db frequency boost 40 times and in 40 different ways! Think about it, every track in your mix eventually dumps into your mix buss, so any processing you do  on the mix buss is multiplied across all of your tracks, for better or for worse.
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When it comes to plugin settings, I personally don’t care what the numbers are. I’m not really interested to know what threshold or ratio my compressor is at, or what frequencies I’m cutting or boosting on my EQ. I don’t care whether my reverb is a plate or a room. No, those things are meaningless to me. What I care about is am I getting the sound I hear in my head.

The Numbers Are A Burden

When I say the numbers, I’m talking about the settings on a given plugin. When I began my recording and mixing journey years ago I was obsessed with knowing what the pros did to get their great results. I felt this immense pressure to learn the optimal compression and EQ settings to imitate their success. In reality, there IS no optimal setting and so I was chasing a fantasy. I was carrying an unneccessary audio burden.
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Have you noticed just how much attention is placed on plugins and other software trying to perfectly emulate their hardware counterparts? The idea is sound: try to re-create the analog world with the power of the digital domain. The best of both worlds right? But in reality it seems to me things have gotten way off track and we as studio owners fall for the marketing hype big time.

Is Older Really Better?

Generally in the modern audio world, companies are trying to emulate older vintage gear that was used before things went digital. We have emulations of compressors, EQs, reverb units, consoles, tape machines, preamps, you name it. But why do we need to emulate the older stuff? What’s wrong with the new plugins that were created from the ground up in this digital age?
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Did you know the meters in Pro Tools can tell you two different things? In one setting (pre fader) the meters will show you the actual audio signal either coming into Pro Tools or playing off the raw audio. In the other setting (post fader) the meters will display the current signal level after running through your plugins and the fader volume. In today’s video I show you how and when to use these setting.

A great mix without a great vocal sound, is no great mix at all. Maybe you think the key to great vocals is a better channel strip plugin or a secret compression technique. Ironically getting killer vocals starts not with gear or technique, but rather a simple philosophy.

No One Hears Anything In Solo

If you’ve listened to any major rock mixes in the past 20 years you’ve likely heard a Chris Lord-Alge mix. The guy is a monster mixer who always seems to get the punchiest mixes with in your face vocals and drums and I’m a huge fan of his work. Recently on the every insightful Pensado’s Place, Chris said something that is critical for us as mixers to understand if we want great sounding vocals.

No [listener] ever hears anything in solo. Period. So the only way to get a great vocal sound is when it’s competing with everything else in the mix. – Chris Lord-Alge, Mixer (Foo Fighters, Green Day, Dave Matthews Band, Switchfoot)

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