Today I’m answering a handful of random recording and mixing questions covering a wide variety of topics. One of my TRR readers, Luis Garcia, who teaches recording in Peru sent in a list of questions from his students and I thought everyone might be interested in hearing the answers as well. We cover it all from de-essing to mastering and everything in between.
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My name is Graham Cochrane and I'm the founder of The Recording Revolution, one of the world's most loved audio recording and mixing blogs with over 200,000 readers each month. 
For Recorderman technique, do we use only 2 mics (the overheads) or 3 mics ( 2 overheads + 1 kick)? I have seen your video on this but wasn’t sure if a separate kick drum mic was also being used. If recorderman requires at least 3 mics, what is the best technique to record drums if I have only 2 inputs on my audio interface? Thanks!
Recorderman is initially supposed to be two mics total. I still use this as a starting point for drums much of the time and then add close mics on the kick, snare, toms, etc as needed or available. If you only have two inputs on your interface then just do the recorderman traditionally. Or go with one mono overhead and one kick mic.
Hi Graham,
Great post! I was just wondering what was the difference between a channel strip plugin and a «normal» plugin. I know that on the SSL you have the EQ and the compressor on the same plugin, but other than that, is there a significant sonic difference between a channel strip and a EQ plugin plugin followed by a compressor plugin?
Kind regards,
Stephane
No difference.
Thanks
There can be differences. E.G. some channel strips can use the EQ as a side-chain for the dynamics. Also, different channel strip designs may have the EQ & dynamics ‘tuned’ to each other. Also, if we are talking hardware or deeply emulated plug-ins, there will be specific coloration from the transformers and op-amps used in a given channel strip.
But following Graham’s argument to keep it simple and not spend on the newest whiz-bang plug-in in the assumption that it will make your mixes better, I’d agree that the differences I mentioned are not something the ‘home studio’ engineer should obsess over.
I also went through a period of getting the newest xyz plug-in.. and though plug-in development is getting better all the time, I wholeheartedly agree that, for getting things done, a small collection of tools is better than an unwieldy menu of 30 EQ plug-ins, 30 dynamics plug-ins, etc.
Just a quick question, but as I was watching through this I kinda came to realize that I’m not really on the ball with compressors. I know how to get the obvious things out of the way (i.e. when a singer suddenly gets loud, I know how to work around those) but other than that, I don’t really know how to go about a compressor. I generally just tweak and listen until things sound ‘generally okay’ but I usually leave it at that – if I’m not particularly satisfied with some parts even with the compressor on, I go ride the volume fader.
Any ideas on how to go about ‘developing an ear’ for compressors?
Experience really. The more you use a compressor and fiddle with the attack settings the more you realize that it can do quite a few things.
Or you can just go to http://jumpstartyourmix.com/ and get Jumpstart to Compression. I got it when Grhahm had the Black Friday sale and it was a great investment
One working principle about compressors that is constantly misstated is the action above and below the threshold (and, by extension, the attack and release settings):
So many manuals, articles and mixing books say something like this: When the level exceeds the threshold, the compressor starts compressing.
Also: Attack is how quickly the compressor acts on a signals after it exceeds the threshold. Release is how long it takes for the compressor to stop compressing a signal after it drops below the threshold.
There is an implication here that once the signal exceeds the threshold, it is constantly being compressed at whatever the ratio setting is. This is wrong.
Another implication is that the compressor keeps compressing until the signal drops below the threshold, and that this is when the release setting takes effect. This is also wrong.
In fact, most if not all compressor designs continue to compress the signal above the threshold based on the attack, release and ratio. In other words, just because a signal is above the threshold for 20 seconds, this does not mean that the attack and release settings have no effect for those twenty seconds. In fact, the compressor is consistently acting on the level fluctuations of a signal above the threshold.
Put another way, as quoted from Roey Izhaki’s book ‘Mixing Audio’: ‘One crucial thing to understand is that attack and release are applied on gain reduction, and that the time stage, where these are applied, is unaware of the threshold setting. Many sources state incorrectly that the release occurs only when the signal drops below the threshold. In reality, both the attack and release affect gain reduction (and in turn signal level), even when the signal changes above the threshold.’ (pg. 280 , Mixing Audio : Concepts, Practices and Tools by Roey Izhaki, Focal Press, 2008).
I point this out to emphasize that the attack and release settings have a bigger role than many might think. They dictate the gain reduction ‘contours’ even when the signal is above the threshold for a long time; therefore, they have a huge effect on the dynamic profile, the sound of the compression.
Also, depending on the compressor design, the threshold will also vary above the threshold. Some compressors clamp down harder the higher the level is; others ‘give up’ at some point above the threshold, and the compressor starts to go back to ‘unity gain’. And the intensity of the signal fluctuation above the threshold, combined with the attack & release settings (+ the compressor architecture) will give a wide range of compression effects.
I highly recommend more research into the inner workings of compressors, and in particular recommend the book mentioned above. You may find you will get much more out of your compressor collection, be they hardware, software or both. When the engineer gains insight into these subtleties, that is when a more diverse collection of compressors will become a meaningful investment.
I would love to see a video detailing your eqing process on different types of individual tracks. Such as individual drums/cymbals, guitar, bass, and vocals. I feel like I have difficulty hearing troublesome frequencies, even when I sweep. It would be nice to hear of some common problem areas. I know it varies, but maybe on something, 80% of the time a certain frequency causes it to sound muddy for example.
Thanks
To add to that, I found this on the blog, it is a year or two old, but these are the types of tips I am looking for on EQ, they are very specific.
Here was part of your post.
Want your kick drum and bass’ bottom end to pop out? Then cut out all the sub 150hz stuff on every other track using a high pass filter. It’s like you peeled back a wall that was covering up your low end. Now the kick and bass have room to shine.
The same is true as you move up the spectrum. Is your snare drum having a hard time sticking out from behind that wall of guitars? Maybe you could sweet around and notch out a mid frequency on all the guitar parts that was covering up the snare. A few seconds of tweaking and you’ll easily carve out a “hole” for the crack of the snare to cut through
Hi Michael, I cover a lot of this in my REthink Mixing series: http://www.rethinkmixing.com/
I don’t work for them – but AudioDeluxe has good pricing going right now on the Slate FG-X ($124.99) and on the Waves Center ($214.99, but really about $170 after using their Waves BUND20 coupon code). For those who might think, I wanna use what Graham is using.
I know Graham isn’t pushing anyone to buy anything, but if it’s what you “want” (not need), the pricing is good right now.
Hi Graham, great tuff as always. I’m pretty new to mixing and learning as I go along, right now I have a couple of songs near ready to being mixed. I’d like to enter a songwriting competition so I’d like the songs I will soon have to be mixed better than I can do. Do you recommend any companies where I could send my songs to for mixing?
Jim
Hi Jim,
There are a lot of guys who do mixing. Kevin Ward from MixCoach.com does it. Joe Gilder at HomeStudioCorner.com does as well. So do I.
Cheers,
Thanks Graham, appreciated
Nice advice, as always. The only thing I would emphasize differently is, if you have an idea which DAW software you prefer, pick your software first, then use that softwares requirements to choose your computer accordingly. Doing it the other way around can cause a problem. If you, for example go out and buy a Mac and you want to use SONAR, you will be bummed. Ditto if you go out and buy a PC and decide you want to use Logic. So, pick your software, then follow the system requirements to choose and outfit your computer, ESPECIALLY if you want to use Pro Tools. Buy a computer that is not specified (or even an unspecified hard drive) at your own peril! Check the Avid website for compatible models and do not stray from that.
Regarding the loudness wars, I am a freelance recording engineer using Harrison Mixbus primarily on a Linux platform using 16 channel firewire I/O. I also work at a Cumulus radio station. In order to import a wav file into the station’s automation software (the software that puts us on the air), we can only import a 44.1kHz wav normalized at 80% loudness. That’s right, every audio artifact must be normalized at 80% of 100%, or the system simply will not accept the file. We have everything from the 1930’s to current cuts on the computer. They all sound the same from the automation software as far as loudness goes. The newer stuff might be a thicker mix, a bigger wall of sound, but loudness is always the same. The automation software doesn’t like any differences in loudness, and the creators of the software set it up for 80% normalization to get around this issue. It kind of blows the loudness wars right into the river as far as I am concerned. Cumulus swooped down and bought 2 Rock stations (large market), 2 Country stations (medium market), 1 oldies station (large market) and 2 am stations in our area, all using the software that was created and sold by Cumulus. I am a trained engineer, and I can’t hear any loudness differences at the hottest section of these mixes. If there is a difference it pretty much gets compressed out at the transmitter anyways negating any differences by design. By the way, WSN is a Cumulus station.
Just FYI.
Great video! Is just an approach and every time is different with each song, Find the spot and work around it and listen what works with the song.
Hi
Is there a chance you could post a quick bio or video. Specifically regarding how you managed to make a living from music and mixing/mastering? Once the knowledge and skill is up to a high standard, how did you take it further and make a living from it?
Hi Barry, check out my latest podcast as we discuss this to some degree: http://simplyrecordingpodcast.com/episode16/
Hey Graham,
Always nice to hear or see something new from you.Keep it going & best of wishes!
Thanks!
I have peavey Revalver. I am confused on gain staging. I have preamp trim on studio live 1/4 volume. Do push it close to max then insert compressor or what? Also, when I turn up the volume on the Revalver plugin it changes tone a lot …how do I keep the lush tone and get levels up to -6/-12?
You want to set your guitar or modeling hardware gain first, then adjust the final preamp gain into your audio interface to an appropriate level. Just like if you miked up an amp. Get the amp to sound good (at whatever volume it takes) and then use a mic and preamp to get a manageable signal into your DAW.
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