Studio Workflow with Chris Lord-Alge
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- Опубликовано: 7 май 2020
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Mitch Gallagher joins Grammy Award-winning engineer Chris Lord-Alge for a look at how he uses his SSL console in his studio. We'll discuss the benefits of mixing with an analog console vs. in a DAW, the artistry of analog workflows, and much more.
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would have been great if he showed his process on how the session prep is done. How and what DA he using, What and how he prints too apart from saying focusrite red. All he did hear was say about 10 fingers on a console again never seen him work like that - its always working on sets of things one at a time. Which is the same way as working on anything non ssl when mixing. You guys let him talk way off topic.
If you’ve never been able to mix on a console then i would understand the skepticism but it’s truly a different experience. I miss it daily. Anyone who sees this as him “justifying” anything is missing the point. He was asked to show his work flow and he’s giving us very real information. His methods are EXTREMELY efficient and there is something to be said about having your fingers on 10 faders and not one cursor dragging up one mouse or line of automation. His assistant is also a big part of the equation but he/she is obviously not the brains.
used to mix on a console...SSL.
Don't miss it.
But that's just me.
Mitch is a pro, as always. CLA is a legend.
Chris is my lighthouse. Every time i listen to him talking, my mind gets opened by far. Chris tells us the n.1 rule in this job: make it so simple (and this involved many years experience and research probably) that you end up focusing on the art, not on the frame.
“Option Anxiety” - BRILLIANT! That answers SO much.
I wish more mix engineers could express these ideas the way Chris does.
Mitch: So I had some questions about your workflow...
Chris: YES
This summarizes all my philosophy and describes my whole workflow
I've recorded a few albums at an analogue studio. Mixing time was always fun, there would be two or 3 of us controlling level and pan on different instruments as we recorded the mix to cd before going off to mastering. Was certainly more fun and committal than today's digital tweak for life approach.
That said , im in the digital domain now. Organisation is key. Great tips and video for mixers.
Chris Lord-Alge breaks it down and keeps it simple. Though I'm on a Digital DAW, I still work from top to bottom, Left To Right. It's truly awesome that I work the same way. I feel that I've been on the right path all the time. I'm using templates so that I can focus on the pictuire that I'm painting. Thanks Chris for the confirmation.
Chris Lord-Alge is such an amazing engineer and I hear what he is saying. Although like he also said I can't afford an SSL Console, so I try to do the same thing but in Pro Tools. So I know where everything is and it is easy and fast to get to the fun parts of mixing! The first thing I always do when I get a mix is organize it to what I know. What an amazing engineer and teacher, try and take things from classic songs and apply that workflow to modern technology and do it in your own way, but by keeping your basics of your craft.
I appreciate CLA because he can tell you something that will change up your habits in a majorly excellent way and yet he presents it like it is basic common sense, so that you're saying "hell yeah!" and "wait, I knew that!" in the same breath. He really is a gift to the industry. And for those of you who comment that he is hating on anything new, you need to watch the video a second time; what he is saying is "this works for me, this is why, you ought to be using the same concepts in YOUR workflow."
There are a lot of CLA videos by now, but this is probably my favorite one I've ever seen. Sort of the hit factory mentality of workflow. Anyone can do it, even in a DAW or a small room. You just make some choices and some personal standards, go ahead from there. I think it's brilliant. Well said Chris.
*CLA* is the man and go to guy. I remember him ranting about people calling themselves mixing engineers mastering engineers because they have a computer with Pro-tools and plugins. He said to be a Mixer you gotta earn it. I don't even considered my self an Engineer or Mixer as I'm primary a Record Producer that helps bring a song togther. I wear the Engineers hat in my own studio to cut down on cost for many of my own clients that are independent that have smaller budgets. I'm so use to working behind a big analog console as a Producer and found that I miss touching those nobs and faders. I wanted to bring that back into my work flow in my home production studio with DAW control surface when tracking vocals and starting a mix. Ain't nothing like moving faders up and down like a console than using a mouse. It speeds up my work flow a lot.
Agree with you. I think credentials should be earned and mean something. Too many people call themselves audio engineers yet have 0 technical qualifications. It’s just scary that some people don’t know the extent of their “un-knowledge”
@@zerolelouch22 Yes the same thing that can be said about many young people that program beats and sells them online calling them so called Music Producers without first understanding the role of Producer and what they actually do that bothers me. To be a Producer you have to see it all the way through and have a vision for a song since Producers put in way more work than someone that just make beats as they have a large responsiblity in the studio that sees the entire production process of a song from the beginning stages all the way to the final mixing and mastering process. They help realise and Artists vision that works closely with the Engineer, Musicians. Songwriters and Artist in the studio. I feel that there are more Programmers these days than great Producer's.
Cla is such a new York guy lol. He got that showmanship and intensity
isnt he from jersey
This is exactly the mindset that I have, and what I had in mind when I asked Patrick if he was interested in creating a new automation mixing system for the Behringer digital consoles. 3 years later we have AutoMate and total recall of over 10,000 parameters, in 15 seconds, not minutes. Every one of those parameters are automatable and not just the faders.
CLA is one of the best mix engineers around. However, the vibe I just got from him was 11.5 minutes of GET OFF MY LAWN.
If you get to know him more you’ll understand that he’s not trying to be rude at all... he grew up in jersey, and that’s how they show love.
Daniel Duskin haha true
LMAO 😂😂 I think he’s just sick of the passion being taken out of music nowadays, and everyone with a computer thinking they’re a producer/musician. Sure it’s possible, you can do literally anything with pro tools and the obscene amount of plugins in the obviously over saturated plugin market, but what’s the point of you have a computer do it for you, and never hear, create, listen, screw up, or have success on something physical? #GetOffMyLawn 😂😂
lol, agreed!
@@jonathancrowell4805 today everyone is: engineer/producer/writer/mix engineer/performer/etc…more likely they’re not though
Thank you Sweetwater for the video and Chris for your insights. So many of the songs I loved growing up were mixed by CLA.
I think by far the most important message of this video is to not lose sight of the song and creativity of mixing. What enables you to keep sight of the song and stay creative is different for everybody. For CLA it is using an analog console and analog hardware that he spent a lifetime learning and collecting and perfecting.
For so many including myself, we always only work in the box. Back in 2006 when I bought my first Tascam us-122 interface that came with a free version of Cubase LE I spent countless hours fooling around with the software until I started figuring some things out. RUclips wasn't around and most things you just had to noodle around with and figure out yourself.
You can have option anxiety with anything, and I think that applies equally to analog hardware and software plug-ins. It's just easier to acquire an abundance of plugins versus analog gear because plugins are cheaper. Either way it comes down to mindset and willpower, can we be happy and stay focused with what we have versus what we think we want or need? Sometimes we have to learn that the hard way and realize we've lost time focusing on the paint brush instead of the painting. Which isn't to say tools are not important, because they are, it's just learning to strike that balance. And sometimes a pendulum has to go both ways to learn where the middle is.
I think something else that can help make the process more creative and meaningful is the joy of discovery. And I think that's reduced in today's world of RUclips and online tutorials. Our first instinct at this point is almost to RUclips a tutorial on a plug-in or a technique instead of noodling around and figuring it out ourselves. I'll raise my hand often of being guilty of that. Not that being stuck in a rut is a good thing and beating your head against the wall is to be encouraged, but as I mentioned above the pendulum in the middle is usually a good spot.
Just a few thoughts of mine.
I absolutely love watching this guy do his thing!! One of my favorites to watch. Wish I could afford his services!!!!
Oh man. I KNOW I have option anxiety. I simply have never heard it that way before. Thanks to both of you. I will stop over thinking stuff as I produce. Thanks, again, to the both of you. This was eye opening.
Chris’s mixing style, creative setting selection, and workflow choices are the reason my mixes sound decent today. Good job for this one, Sweetwater. CLA looks like he lost a bunch of weight too!
That was a good and informative interview.... great job Mitch... thank you
Interesting insight. Another universe for me really. Thanks Sweetwater!
Although I stay in the box these days. I would'nt kick this set up out of bed. Great video!
This workflow makes the job easier and yields better results. Thanks for the insight guys!
i can vouch for Josh at Salant Sound. Its also a lot easier on the artist so be able to see the work the engineer is doing, and create together. More transparency = less confusion, and better final product.
Robbie Valentine thanks robbie! We should rock a single for fun when this is ova!
Learned alot.thanks Sweetwater.
Thanks Mitch great video..back to basics
Wow pretty Inspiring!!! Makes me think more about mixing
Come on Chris, the recall of analogue desks is never gonna be 100% the same, let alone the price.
Other than that he (Chris) is right about plugins causing option and building anxiety.
Master at work
“It’s like a Mustang fastback, I don’t even need the mirrors, just punch it!”
Great interview.
Option anxiety! Well said! I definitely had been suffering from that.
Hey Mitch!!!! I love your explanation of all the gear you review! I’d love to see you work in your studio to!!!!
10:41 Excellent advice.!
Needed this
I had a RADAR in my studio for 7-8 years. When the time came that Computer DAWs were up to the task I became tired of transferring things to and from the radar to computer for more advanced editing, tuning etc. It was time to move on. It’s old technology. It works for chris as he plays it like a fiddle. But for those learning anew you can be just as proficient using a DAW, mouse and remote surface.
Great video!
I’m learning for these masters
Dude is a legend. But I'm not convinced that we're missing out by not having our hands on a lot of sliders. Then again, I'm a computer guy and super comfortable with Logic Pro X.
he's probably afraid of change, for whatever his reasons, and I mean likely very good reasons, or he hates complexity and getting wound up in it
It’s a simple math equation... 10 is ten times more efficient than one. That is of course if we are comparing mixing with a mouse to mixing on a console and you have two sets of hands with five fingers on each hand. I know that sounds like a bold statement, so to keep it fair I have to admit that the computer can do tons that a console can’t do, but in the end it’s a complex set of factors, and it’s what works best for you. I actually started in the box in 1996-1998, and now I’m on an analog SSL console. So my timeline is in the reverse of CLA.
@@Jason75913 Well why would he want to change? after all the number 1 songs and records he's mixed. He probably shouldn't change anything.
I do like using faders, might be cause I'm an old fart that started in the analog world......
I don't mix analog/out-of-the-box, but use a controller (Qcon Pro-X & 1 extender = 17 faders total)
Mixing with a minimum of 12 faders is a must if you wanna be quick. It’s a feeling like nothing else.
The "plug-in anxiety" CLA talks about is real. Those things can become addictive, since each new one promises to be the all-in-one solution to all your problems.
I recently bought a few high-end bundles from a company I will not name less I be called a shill, and I've deleted probably 80% of the plug-ins I had accumulated over the past couple of years. I've kept a few that I know can give me specifically different results, but it has been a relief to bring up my effects tab and not see a thousand plug-ins.
Good talk love it
thats why i love hardwares
Summary? Gain staging is your most important mindset.
That's why I'm getting my SSL AWS 948
I opened Protools First and the whole world of mixing made sence because there were only a dozen essencial plugins= no anxiety!
Next I wanna get a physical controller/console
YES
Option anxiety also known as option paralysis. I found that i was constricted to built-in plugins of daws because i was afraid of option paralysis i would find myself in by getting a bunch of different compressor plugins (and no you can't use waves plugins for every sound in the world) and having to invest all the time needed to learn how they behave and how to use them properly at a given situation. And it was like that for me for years. It limited me as an engineer to grow and learn more. Not to mention how boring it actually is to learn how they sound when it's not real knobs you turn and change voltage with.
nice to see Cla10,in a previous video he had ns10s still
Amen!
Mustang fastback comment says it all to me. Wow!
Too many salty plugin guys in the comments! I don't think I'll ever be able to afford a big SSL, but I'm still good!
4:43
epic !!!
9:23 is the elephant in the room.. CLA danced around the answer, so I'm gonna put an SSL on lay away
CLA, luv u sire! Ure an inspiration.
I mixed on consoles for 30 years, I've never heard a perfect recall, especially if you are using lots of external valve gear.
There goes the legend about him working with his Waves plugins...
Hid you watch his interview about his waves plug-ins he says he designed them for people who are not total sound designer pros. He purpose built them to be simple and easy to use for the common user.
@@subtractivemusic of course, but I'm ironically refering to the Waves clips where he plays the business game saying he uses them all the time and how they are so much easier than the hardware and sound alike... Btw I use them myself and he's one of the greatest...
He did say he uses 5 plugins 🤔
MORE!
How does the SSL recall all the EQ settings? I mean, faders I understand, but does every EQ knob have a computer controlled servo motor too?
Found this about the SSL4000: The SSL was radically different from anything that had gone before. Every channel had its own compressor and noise gate, and the centre panel that housed the VDU and QWERTY keyboard enabled you to take a snapshot of the desk to be recalled at a later stage, by carefully matching the settings on the desk to those stored on the eight-inch floppy disks that were used by the first E series computers.
www.musictech.net/reviews/studio-icons-ssl-4000/
@@MrBluesmanJunior You're right. That's how it works. It takes a snapshot and you turn the knobs back to where they match the screen.
Recalls never sound the same.
“Option anxiety” - I’ll put into my “piggy bank”.
Hey very great video, I am in the process of upgrading my recording studio from digital to analog and I need a little help with a analog chain for rap vocals and R&B. I mainly just record vocals. My question is what is the best chain that I can invest in starring with the mic, mic preamp, compressor, EQ desser. Really need help so I don't purchase $5,000 dollars worth of gear and the quality isn't what I'm looking for. Looking for professional vocal recording equiptment. Can you help?
Hello! Our Sales team will be glad to look into your setup with you. When you have a moment, please give us a call at (800) 222-4700 or email us at sales@sweetwater.com. Thanks for the message!
This is how I mix but I don’t have ssl. What I do have is Allen & Heath GL series boards. I use a 48 channel board, oh wait. I have 6 of them should one die. They are going extinct due to the price of building and people wanting tiny little digital boards but I love analog. I bought 6 of them because I never want to do without! My room looks a lot like his and I agree with everything he says. The only place we differ is that I have a completely other board for automation. I’d love the ssl but it is bigger than I can have.
Universal Audio is definitely WORKING WITH the USERS of their LUNA Recording System!!
POison is a band that i liked to remember now seeing on wall
I don't use pro tools. Cubase and studio One for me. I have a recording template and a mixing template. The recording template has no plugins and the mixing template has all the plugins that I use preset and ready to go. CLA mix hub on everything. The mix starts out sounding good before I touch anything. Thanks CLA.
cool.
Lord of the Mix
Spank!!!
CLA reminds me of Fred from the Flintstones
Ok I agree but also not every studio has the capital to afford one on every room. The thing with technology is that it makes the tools more available to the masses without sacrificing on the quality of the final product. Before computers were readily available for every home, they were huge expensive machines only a few people could use. Now everyone has one in their pockets.
I love the comments by all the hating engineers in here 😊 literally hoping to touch even a 1% of his success ever 🤣
Here's a tip: you justify the tools by if they help you do the job. Period.
With all the tolerance differences , wouldn't you have to tweak a few things especially after all those years ?
Clawooooooo
There are just as many well known engineers, Schepps for one, who would argue that they are just as creative and emoting and free flowing mixing in the box. If every engineer had 100, 000 and upwards to spend on an analogue board, they can't fit into their living room and hire a space instead, then others may ditch working in the box. Feeling faders does not make you a better engineer. Understanding how the equipment works and knowing how to utilise each gadget is what counts. Is it a luxury to touch faders? Maybe, but it's a luxury most of us cannot afford.
Yes, CLA confirms that knowing how the stuff works (and where its sweet spot is) is what counts.
I was an early adopter and started in the box in 1996-1998, and only within the last decade have I slowly moved out into the console world (now I have an SSL and mix 95% outboard)... my experience is a bit unusual, but it might help understand some things.
First, I learned that I could mix (not edit, not tune, not prep, but mix) 4 to 10 times faster on a console, making the mixing process feel like an artistic performance, instead of a clinical chore.
Second, unfortunately, any editing, tuning, and prepping still takes the same amount of time and always tends to chip away at my good creative impulses, just as it did before. Luckily, the mix is quicker now.
Third, recalls: We're all afraid of analog recalls. If you design a setup that does not change much and use a console with Total Recall (like an SSL), it's pretty quick. Not as fast as merely opening a session file in Pro Tools, but in the 15 minutes it takes to recall, I listen to a podcast or make a phone call, and it's over in no time.
Forth, I've found that there is a definite sound difference. Still, while some of that is circuitry, I think most of that difference is in how you get there (workflow), and with that knowledge, it's reasonable to assume that SOME music could get a better result by restricting mixing speed (DAW mixing). But in my experience, fast mixing usually creates the best feel and effect (it sounds and feels more musical and less clinical).
And finally, and most importantly, what truly matters is what works for you! Schepps loves mobile DAW mixing because he can spend more time with his family by taking his laptop and headphones anywhere he goes. CLA loves the console because he wants to play the mixer like a piano in real-time. There is no right answer, but I can share my experience as others can share theirs.
I have videos on my channel of my process if you’re interested.
I think that what makes you a better Engineer is whatever suits you and makes you comfortable in the process.
@@DanDuskin The point in my previous comment stands. If we could all get our hands on our own custom board, it would be a good thing, I don't doubt that for a second. for those who have controller boards a similar tactile experience can be obtained, so all this is a little redundant to even make comparisons, which was my initial point. The tone of this video seems to clearly be bashing home the notion that mixing in the box is folly. Given that the idea of a controller desk is totally missed. Yes the full audio summing sound isn't really present, the mixing work I have done with Ray Davies and other artists have shown me that a video like this doesn't clarify any art of mixing, other than to ride the faders in real time, which is obviously good, imho, but as I say, this can be done in other ways. I have seen studios at the BBC using vast consoles on sessions I have done as a glorious summing box not touching the faders keeping them static and doing the mix in the box and visa versa. In this video, it's nothing new, plus the guy promotes plugins and his own brand, then seems to laugh at people being able to only work in the box, which kind of alienates the very people he's marketing his plugins to. Sorry that is just how the tone of this video comes across. Simply observed. Is a bigger studio still needed to record full ensembles, most likely yes, although most German radio and recording sometimes record individuals in totally separate studios and sync it all together later so the mixing is done in an entirely different process with a much smaller footprint. What works for each individual is one thing and budget is the is another. It is clearly implied that for those who do work in the box, they are missing something, possibly, who knows. Playing the desk as if it is an instrument, yes this can happen, but don't forget get, due to individuals working at home, not only are they producing and mixing their own stuff, many artists are playing most of the instruments and laying the tracks down themselves, so I believe their is plenty of instrument playing all round in all areas as well as riding the faders and because the person has played that flute, bass or guitar for example I am pretty sure they feel the music and how they want to blend their instruments. That said if they genuinely know nothing about compression and eq'ing a real mixing console isn't going to help either. As aforementioned, it is also down to budget, so this is not much help to those who cannot get to their own 88 channel Neve or SSL.
@@soyuninge9356 Which is why stating one or the other is redundant.
CLA is a 🐐
🐐🐐🐐
Regardless what your workflow is... Always pay attention and learn when someone of CLA caliber speaks..
option anxiety!
due to poor ability to focus on tasks because they didn't allow grown-ups to train them as kids on how to not get distracted
lol
he who knows a lot of stuff.
Of course only one fader can be enough! It's just a different approach. Maybe I'm not as fast as CLA and maybe sometimes I stray from the path while I'm mixing, but I get there - no question! As long as the mix serves the song all is fine (assuming the mix is completed at some point). 😎
When is the CLA DAW coming out?
Guess Waves pissed him off. That said....he makes sense.
he definitely is a good salesman. but basically, first down on the road, he's a great engineer.
7 minutes of CLA justifying the SSL on his Studio
GatoPaint 😂😂
Every time
His track record speaks for itself, he doesn’t need to justify anything.
Like a dinosaur saying "what comet?"
Let it go CLA.
CLA is a great engineer I won't argue that, but some humility would make him a better teacher and human being...we shall never forget about the human factor....in that sense people like Mick Guzauski and even Tchad Blake is what set the good from a real master...
DEFO
All CLA does all day is smash limiters, hit records and groupies.
Everything is level dependent....that's d bulls eye statement.....CLA is King!!!!
Scheps is a perfect example of why CLA is just getting himself off on the “analog over everything” shtick. He has all that gear and never changes the settings? That’s why some of his newer mixes don’t stack up anymore. He’s talented but you have to adapt and learn the new tech. Otherwise it goes from “ooh CLA mixed it” to “oh another CLA mix that sounds like the last one...”
🤦🏿♂️
If that particular mix won a Grammy, would you try to do it again?
@@MixChecks No because you get stuck with a dated sound. Are we still following the grammy winning trends of 20 years ago? Where Sting and Santana were winning Grammys? No. We've moved on and the sonic quality and landscape has changed entirely. Can't mix everything the same exact way. Music is supposed to be artistic and change, not sound the same like its being pumped out by robots
Rock is not popular as it use to be
An indie band would rather go work with Brauer as they should i can imagine Cla turning a love song into a hate speech he might be a good mixer but his energy is off
His suggestion is to buy a $250k SSL?
You can get a used SSL 4K for $30-50k. Not too long back I was bussing out of PT into a FOH Allen & Heath that I got used for less than 1 grand.
@@DanDuskin Yeah but there's clearly a reason you stopped doing that.
I think you got the impression that I downgraded. No, I went from in the box to the Allen & Heath, then upgraded to an SSL AWS 900, and I am planning to upgrade to an SSL 4064 G+ in about a year. I.e., I’ve been moving from fully in the box (computer) in 1996-1998, to transitioning to a console in 2013, to now a professional SSL console, and next to a large format console. I have nothing against computer mixing, but I wouldn’t say one way is superior... everyone has a different workflow that feels best for them. I have videos on my channel of my process if you’re interested.
No. It’s to make a template in your DAW and mix everything in the same place. Put your vocals in the same spots and label them the same and color code them the same.
@@DanDuskin Fully in the box in the late 90s huh, that might explain why you dislike it. DAWs have gotten a LOT better. Also, do yourself a favor and don't use Pro Tools.
with all due respect (and their achievements are great and all) but all these old school mixing engineers that stick their nose up at modern engineers mixing in the box with plugins really need to stop living in the past. Not everyone has the thousands of dollars or even the space for huge mixing desks and analog gear (or even wants it based on their workflow) , technological advancements have allowed for the progression of audio engineering. I'm currently working on PhD research proposal on this.
Modern technology is here to stay and no amount of sticking your fingers in your ear and acting like your gigantic desk is going to change how things evolve.
Seems like the new guys are the hurt ones in the comments. He just showed his workflow and encouraged people to try some simple analog console as a part of their setup...
There goes all talk about waves plugs and Slate.. yeah, he uses them NOT 🤣🤣
Did Sweetwater legit fly Mitch and a camera crew out to LA to interview CLA for an 11 minute interview?
No...
Mrpres17 looks like he prolly did this and the Black Lion Audio Bluey vid as well
1st
Never seen him use 10 fingers on faders - In all the videos he does about mixing, why he bashing other workflows is beyond me.... Maybe his just pissed that things are affordable for all and he ain't current in the world of mixing!
The thing that gives me a headache is the older mixers that say ‘big console is the only way you can create’ (thankfully it’s few) that don’t realize there are options out there to create a work flow like his ITB. I think CLA is one of those mixers that feel that big console is the only way to go.
@@alejandrodilger423 his an ass
CLA’s style of speaking gives me anxiety
75% of the world speaks much more anxious
it's music to my ears
He just hating on newer engineers
Few hits 😂😆😆😆..dude
Consoles are great but they are becoming more and more archaic. Schools like FullSail and Berklee place their focus on recording using a DAW. I disagree with him: most songs on the radio these days are done inside the box. Good or bad that’s just a fact.
DAWs are great, but they lack the sound of great transistor or tube preamp and eq. Most songs in the radio sound horrible.
SSL ADHD
Always learn a lot listening to CLA. But good lord he's such a bloated egotist. I had to remove my row of Grammies because it was intimidating the artists. Sure bro. This is the boomer era of arrogant engineers that are on their way out and I'm pretty relieved.