Turn Mono To Stereo With Analog Delay Plugin

What is Headroom? Learn!

Mixing Acoustic Guitar Recorded With A Shure SM57

Preparing A Mix For Mastering With Studio One Pro

Enough With The Gear Grabbing.. Make Some Music!

It's a common ailment.  Most of us suffer from it.  Gear Envy, Gear Grabbing.. whatever you want to call it. At one time or another we all go through it. I've read about it, watched videos about it and no matter how many times I say to myself  "I'm done for now", there always seems to be some piece of gear or software that grabs my attention.  

Here's the latest situation... I'm in the process of rearranging my studio room.  I've got acoustic panels ready to be installed. I've spent time planning out how the room will be organized. The last missing piece being a new studio desk that will fit my workflow perfectly. In fact I wrote about my plans to build one the other day.  Honestly, I've been thinking about this stupid desk for weeks now...What size do I need?  Will all my equipment fit?  Will my mixer fit on the desktop? How cool will it look with the racks on the desktop! Will there be enough room for my monitors...etc, etc.   Looking and searching without find the perfect design. Since I felt I was going in circles I decided to take stock in what I have now.

I have a 54" x 24" desk space and I've set it up to fit 2 screens, a Mac Mini, keyboard, mouse, trackpad, Faderport, external drives and a 16" x 16" mixer.  It's a little tight but it gets the job done.   I have two speaker stands that hold my studio monitors which are adjustable to multiple heights.  I also have a 8U rack that I have sitting on top of a small table. It has plenty of rack space for my gear and a few extra spaces for growth (more gear grabbing in the future).

Alright.. its not the coolest looking workstation but that's my studio rig and I kinda like it.  So now I have to ask myself.  Why do I need a new studio desk?  The one I have now fits everything I have and then some.  It's enough space to work.  The answer is.. I don't need one.

The set up I have now works fine. Sure it would be nice to have the RUs right on top of the desk but with the set up I have now its a simple turn to my left to make adjustments.  OK so my mixer is set up on the corner of the desk with a little over hang... so what.. it's stable and right at my finger tips.  So that's that!   The quest for a new desk is behind me, at least for now.  Now I'll have more time to make music.

Wow.. I feel better already.

Fred

Subtractive EQ Mixing Session - Cleaning Up Your Mix

Here's how I do subtractive EQing when mixing song. I'm using PreSonus StudioOne Pro as my DAW. Note: In this video I highlight subtractive EQing. I've also boosted quite a bit of tones in this mix. There are many differing opinions on both subtractive and additive EQing. My thought is that a combination of both is likely in most mixes. For example If I listen to a mix and hear harsh tones/harmonics I usually want to get them out with sub EQing. Also, if I want the lead vocal to find it's space in the mix I usually add a few db in the 3k-5k range on the Lead Vox Aux... etc, etc.

Tutorial: Bus Automation In PreSonus Studio One 2

Here's a great tool.. Bus automation on Presonus Studio One 2 Professional. Very useful...

Improve Your Workflow With DAW Session Templates

You can get your new projects moving faster if you create a standard template which includes your framework for recording and mixing. For me its an evolving process and I'm continuously updating my template as I learn new techniques and get new ideas. Check it out...

Home Studio - Mixing With BBE Sonic Sweet Plugins

These BBE Sonic Sweet plugins ROCK. Check out this video demo/review I posted today...

Learn about LCR Panning

Check this experiment I put together to show how LCR Panning can help you create more pro sounding mixes.  This is not a new technique by any means.  It's been uses since mixing boards had three panning positions, Left, Center and Right.  With the advent of the variable panning pots I guess its tempting to use different parts of the stereo field.   However, it always seems to come back to LCR...

Bass DI With PreSonus TubePre V2 Preamp - Setup And Test

Studio One 2 - Turn Mono Tracks Into Stereo

De-Essing with Presonus Studio One 2

KRK KNS 8400 Pro Headphones Unboxing & Review

New EP Session Update 12-19-11

We've had too many sessions to continue naming these posts by the session number so we'll go with the date instead.  We spent time last night finishing up two of the acoustic tracks working on panning, note correction and a few other things.   I upgraded to Studio One Pro and I'm starting to learn about it's mastering features.  This will make things so much easier.   One more song to record and we should be working on final mixes and mastering next week.

EQ and Compression Techniques For Drums in Mixing

By Sarit Bruno   

Even though the drummer plays the entire kit as a single instrument, the miking of individual drums and cymbals can make for a very complicated mix scenario. The reason I reference country and rock music specifically has to do with the fact that in these genres the sounds of the individual drums and cymbals are not only singled out by individual microphones placed on each of them but also their sounds are exaggerated to create an even more dramatic effect.

Consider, for example, the tom fills in Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight." By contrast, jazz drums are often treated as a more cohesive, unified sound and it's not unusual to use a simple pair of overhead mics to capture the sound of the entire jazz drum kit.

In this article, I'm going to go drum by drum providing EQ and compression settings that will, hopefully, provide you with a jumping off point to getting great drum sounds in your mix. Because of its all-in-one mixing board channel approach, I'll be using Metric Halo's Channel Strip plug-in with its EQ, compression and noise-gate to illustrate my comments about various EQ and compression settings.

Kick Drum

As the heartbeat of the contemporary drum kit, the kick drum sound we've grown accustomed to hearing is both boomy and round on the bottom and has a nice, bright click in the high mid range. It's the balancing act between EQ and compression that gives the kick drum its ability to stand out in a mix. Beginning with EQ, the best way to accentuate the lows and highs is to remove some low-mids. I'm a big believer in cutting as opposed to boosting EQ to achieve a desired effect. As a result, I tend to pull somewhere between 2 to 4db at between 350hz-450hz. Then, after removing some of this low-mid mud from the sound, I can enhance the clicking sound of the beater hitting the head of the kick drum by boosting around 2db in the 2k-3k range. I'm providing approximate dB and frequency range settings because depending on the kick drum, mic placement and, of course the drummer, all of these settings will vary. Use these general ranges as a jumping off point and then trust your ears.

As far as compression settings go, the trick is to preserve the transient attack of the kick drum with a fast but not too fast attack time (9ms in this instance) and then a quick release (11ms) so the compressor is ready to respond to the next kick drum hit. The ratio I use is a relatively mild 2.5:1 and I adjust the threshold until I hear the kick sound I'm searching for. Finally, in order to give the kick drum sound some separation from the rest of the kit, I use a noise gate and adjust the threshold to allow the kick sound to come through while essentially muting the majority of the other drum/cymbal sounds. Also, while setting the attack to the Channel Strip's fastest "auto" setting, I allow for a long (400ms) release.

Sub Kick

This particular miking trick is one that can be used to bring great low-end presence to the kick drum. By way of explanation, a short stand holding essentially the woofer of a speaker is placed in front of the kick drum and picks up predominantly the low frequencies. When blended with the kick drum mic, the sub-kick generates great power in the lowest part of the frequency.
In order to accentuate the most important elements of the sub kick's sound, I tend to use a low pass filter approach to my EQ that removes all frequencies above 500hz and drops off even more dramatically below 100hz. This is to make sure that only the essential parts of the sub kick's sound come through. The sub kick should be felt more than it is heard. In terms of compression, a ratio of approximately 5:1, a relatively slow attack (120ms) and medium fast release (57ms) allow the sub kick's tone to stay present and full underneath the sound of the kick drum's regular miked sound. Then, I'll use a noise gate with a fast attack (20ms) and slower release (200ms) to keep out any other kit sounds that might otherwise bleed into the sub kick sound.

Snare

Along with the kick drum, the snare drum is essential for driving a rhythm track. Poor EQ and compression techniques can leave it sounding thin, dull and generally uninspired. In order to accentuate the best parts of the snare sound with EQ, I'll boost the low end of the snare by 2-3dB at around 80hz, cut 2-3dB between 350-450hz and then boost again, if necessary, for more high-end brightness, by 1-2dB at 5k. These three EQ points are a great place to start to sculpt an interesting snare sound.

Compression on a snare is a real balancing act where too much will take away the energy of the performance and too little will make it practically impossible to find an appropriate level for the snare in the mix. I use a ratio of 2.5:1 with a very quick attack (2ms) and release (11ms). If you're finding that you're losing the snap of the snare, slow your compressor's attack a little but remember that slowing the attack too much will take the compressor too long to grab onto the sound and will leave the snare much less manageable in the mix.

Adjust the threshold settings until things sound right to your ear. This basically allows you to decide how much overall compression you'll be applying. Don't overdo it or the drum will lose its energy but don't go too lightly or the snare won't stand up in the mix. Gating the snare is a trial and error process as well. Depending on whether the snare approach in the song is aggressive or soft will have a lot to do with your threshold settings. Like on the kick drum, I use the very fast "auto" attack and a slower release on the gate in an attempt to keep out the ambient sounds of the cymbals, toms and kick.

Hi-Hat

While obviously a cymbal, the hi-hat is often used more as a rhythmic element than a tone color like some of the other cymbals in a drum kit. Making sure it has its own sonic space and speaks clearly without being too loud and distracting is what EQ and compression are about in this instance. For EQ, I'll again use a shelving approach at around 200hz that will effectively clear out low-end information that is non-essential to the hi-hat sound. If I'm interested in bringing in a bit more high-end shimmer and sizzle, I'll boost between 1-3dB between 6k and 8k again using my ears to tell me what's working. In general, I tend to stay away from compression on the hi-hat as it tends to find is own dynamic range without too much additional help.

Low (Floor) Tom

A well-mixed set of toms can make all the difference between drum fills that are exciting and those that go by without catching the listener's ear. Starting with the low tom, I tend to look for the places in the frequency range that bring out both the boom and the snap (similar to the way I approach the kick). In order to accentuate the low quality of this drum, I've found that a dramatic cut (12dB) at around 500hz allows the drum to speak clearly. Also, to add the high-end snap, a semi-aggressive boost of between 4-6dB at around 3k will do the trick. Compression also adds a lot to this equation. A ratio of around 4.5:1, a slower attack of 120ms and medium slow release of around 90ms will help the sound remain full and resonant. For the threshold, I simply adjust until the tom rings properly. Gating is another major factor for toms as the large diaphragm mics placed on these drums tend to pick up a lot of the extraneous sounds from the rest of the kit.

I set the gate with the quickest "auto" attack and a slow 400ms release and then adjust the threshold until I'm hearing only the low tom come through when it's hit. For the "tweak heads" among us there's a slightly more accurate and labor-intensive way to do this. By going into the actual sound files in your DAW and deleting all but the tom hits themselves, you can create a perfectly gated tom track.

High (Rack) Tom

Like the low tom, the high tom has it's own frequencies that should be cut/accentuated to bring out the sweetest parts of the sound. For EQ, I'll do another big cut of around 10dB at 600hz and I'll make a similarly big boost of around 7dB at approximately 2k. For compression, I use a slightly more aggressive 6:1 ratio slower attack (100ms) and a quick release (25ms). As with the low tom, I'll gate the high tom using the identical gate attack (fastest "auto") and release (400ms). The key to the threshold is to adjust it until only the high tom punches through keeping the channel essentially muted for the rest of the time. A final note on the toms, as all tom sizes, tunings and even drummers are different, you'll need to play with these settings until you find the sweet spots.

Overheads / Room Mics

Given that we've made a real effort to isolate and enhance each of the individual drums in the kit, overhead mics serve the dual purpose of capturing the cymbals and integrating the blended sound of the kit back into the sound of the drums. I pay attention to three specific EQ points in order to give the overhead mics a clean, balanced tone. First I'll use a high pass filter (shelving EQ) at the very low frequency of 40hz to clean up any unnecessary sub-sonic rumbling. Then I'll pull around 5dB at between 100 and 200hz to prevent any low-mid buildup. Finally, if necessary, I'll enhance the overall brightness of the cymbals/kit with a small 1-2dB boost at around 5k. For compression, I'll set the ratio at about 3:1, the attack at around 110ms and the release at a slightly quicker 70ms. The threshold should be adjusted to make sure that the overhead/room sound blends with the overall kit mix. Finally, adjust the volume of the overhead mics in the mix until you pick up just enough of the room to put some air and depth back into the kit.

Limiting the Sub Mix

A final trick to add punch to the overall drum kit is to send all of the individual tracks to a stereo sub mix and place a limiter like the Waves L1 on that stereo auxiliary track. By adjusting the threshold until the attenuation is between 5-7dB, you'll find that the kit has a really satisfying overall punch and presence.

Conclusion

While I've been painfully specific about EQ, compression and gate settings, it's important to remember that every mix situation is different. Use all of these settings as a jumping off point and then use your ears to tweak the sounds until you're happy. Good luck!

Sarit Bruno manages content and editorial line for Audiofanzine.

AudioFanzine offers benchmark testing/reviews of products, software or instruments and articles of a tutorial nature, all of which are systematically illustrated by exclusive videos or audio extracts. Addressing a universal audience, both amateurs and professionals alike, http://en.audiofanzine.com addresses musicians as well as sound engineers, home-studio recording enthusiasts, and audio and lighting engineers.

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Music Production Bass EQ Tips - How to EQ Bass

By Gugulethu Mokwebo   

Today I want to share a few music production tips about how to eq a bass. What you don't know will always hurt you, Whoso neglects learning in his youth, loses the past and is dead for the future. You live and learn, At any rate, you live.

The bass is the soul of a track so without the soul the song will sound dead, so I hope with these guidelines I will be able to help you get to know how to use the eq to get a great sounding bass. If you are recording it yourself you really need to get a good sound from the source, never try to fix a weak recorded sound in the mixing stage.

Bass refers to the lower end of the frequency spectrum. If you are still learning your way around eq use a frequency analyser. You need to familiarize yourself with the eq parameters. You need to handle it with care "The world of bass equalization can be a powerful ally or a dangerous enemy..."
When you are using an equalizer you must always remember to cut before you boost. Cutting between 200 - 300Hz will get rid of the muddiness and allow you to get away with more compression later in the mix. Cut the bottom end of the bass around 40Hz to get rid of lower end rumble, this part of the bass is not mostly audible but you can feel it.

1KHz - 3KHz will make the notes clear which will also help the bass sound punch in the mix. And for presents add between 800Hz - 1.2KHz. Removing the low end of other tracks during mixing will create more space for the bass not to clash with the rest of the tracks. Get a good eq effect, eq also adds a little distortion and warmth. Distortion adds harmonic content to your bass sound, this will give it extra vibe.

Know your speakers! This is crucial, add a sub to your pair of monitors, it will also help improve your equalizing skills. The room you are using can also be the problem as to why you can't get the sound you after, so try to listen to your favorite songs and compare the low end with your tracks.
Short notes will create more space in the mix unlike long tale notes, so less is indeed more my friend. This also applies to eq (less is more). Keep your bass in the center of the stereo image for maximum power. If it's not broken then don't fix it, do everything with a reason as to why you need to cut or boost. Hope this will help you learn how to eq a bass!

Thank you for checking out this article please also check out the video version here http://musicproduction-and-djing-lessons.blogspot.com browse this site you will find a lot of good stuff that will help you improve your producing skills.

Peace!

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The Basics Of Panning Drums

The panning of drums in your mix is EXTREMELY important.  They are the foundation of your rhythm track and need to be in the right area of your mix.   After a lot of reading I found there is definitely a consensus on some fundamentals of panning drums.  Like... Kick and Snare are ALWAYS in the center. 

Here's a video clip of those concepts.   These are not hard fast rules.  They're more guidelines on where to start.  I urge you to experiment, especially with cymbal placement.  Enjoy!

New EP Session 6

Further work done tonight on the mix of the main song. In particular the guitars. We layered additional tracks for the rhythm guitars which gave it much more full sound. We also re-EQed the drums and guitars which removed much of the mud and brought all the tracks more to life. We're almost there.. Just a few more tweaks here and there.

New EP Session 5

Spent some time mixing today. Realized that overall volume was too low and had to adjust. Mixing on my new KRK Rokit 5's is great. Will do a review on these later.

Trying to get all the drums right. Noticed too much sizzle on the crash and open hi hat so made a few changes to correct. Also worked on a few transitions. It's sounding great. Almost there.