Where did your Genelec "The Ones" aka "new monitors after 25 years" go?? Less than 1 year after that video: they are nowhere to be seen in your videos. To me, that says: sponsored video, back then. Not cool.
Record into plugins? No! Not unless their dsp plugins like UAD Neve preamp, or API, SSL, etc. Preamps only if they are dsp sourced(uad, etc.)! Don't record into plugins! Now if you wanna experiment, go first it. But I wouldn't. You can try putting a low cpu usage reverb or delay on the headphones buss for tracking to hear it only in the headphones, but besides that I wouldn't! And to do that you need a very low latency plugin, otherwise it'll fuck it all up for the vocalist(and I'd only do 1 on the headphones for the vocalist only, unless it's dsp processing through your interface!).
How did older songs, like, say, the Bob Dylan or the Beatles songs, end up with very little extended low end? Was it because of the lack of recording capacity or was it done deliberately? Whenever i use vintage-gear emulations like tapes, consoles, or saturations, I'm still left with full range. If i try to high pass, it doesn't sound the same as the Beatles songs do. What's the reason for that and how can i achieve it?
Learning that you can put limiters INSIDE the mix transformed my mixes. Using limiters just makes things more polished and modern. I especially rely on limiters for clean ambient guitars, and drums. It just catches the runaway pops and smacks in the guitars and puts them exactly where they need to be. With drums, I could never get my snares to fit in the mix right. If they were loud enough, they popped several dbs higher than everything else. If they were balanced, they sounded wayyy too quiet. So I use a limiter and just push the snare down until the limiter is just tapping the top of the kick, and bam. My snares sound right.
"I could never get my snares to fit in the mix right". With a lot of mixing you'll do it right. You are focusing on the sound you hear (snare) in the mix, you should be fucusing on the sound you'll get when the mastering phase is complete with all the compressors and the whole army of tools pushing the snare and highs up. So, the sound you hear in the mix "right" (snare) is too lould or has EQ done wrong, too bright, harsh etc. It's not easy, but you'll get there. If you're talking about choice of leaving snare alone without comp. or limiting than you're right. It's a must.
Incorporating my wife into my studio business has been great solution for spending more time together. She takes care of all the paper now, which I hated doing and took time away from me recording. And Warren you are definitely not wrong about the time it takes to become successful, I work a 110 hours in 2 week period with my career and then do music in between in my off time . Been doing this for 12 years now trying to keep the balance!
I have a “hybrid” template for mixing. I have a “base” template with all my bus channels set up (without plugins on them), all my delay/reverb channels set up (with plugins on them), and my mix bus monitoring plugins (along with a limiter). I also have have “channel templates” where I already saved the different plugin chains I use most often so all I have to do is choose what I want from a list and it loads up. This gives me the benefits of templates with the flexibility of “starting from scratch” because I still have to make a conscious choice between many options in order to put plugins on my tracks/buses
Balance is so key in life! Everything in life and you said it well Warren. I've been in music since 9yrs old so 55 years and love it, but it doesn't come before God, my wife and family. We need to prioritize everything in our lives and then balance accordingly to have a great foundation in order to live a good and successful life. Great subjects as always my friend. You Rock Warren!🎸🪕🎶🎶🔊🔊
Hi Warren, I really appreciate you for making this video about music family and work, I balanced these 3 things for 30+ years and still going stronger than ever, there were many times when my life partner couldn't hold a job so I had to make sure I became an asset and indispensable for the company I worked for, I knew there would be many many rainy days and lost many loved ones on the way but I never ever ever took a break or hiatus from music, I just love writing arranging singing engineering too much it's in my DNA it's who I am, and when my kids grew up I inspired them to love music and gear as much as I do, if I leave this earth tomorrow at the very least I can say that I loved to live, lived to love, I felt real love in my life and I inspired someone else to do the same ❤
Warren, the question of whether or not I'm just too old comes to mind a lot. I love the digital realm because that's the only way I could possibly afford to do it. The other point about having time for it is always an issue. Thanks for what you do, you've done so much for my education in my state of maturity.
Well in Drum & Bass mixing into a limiter is a crucial reference as it’s a loud genre that’ll end up being limited in mastering. So without mixing into a limiter a lot of things you thought were right can end up too loud and up front; you can reverse engineer that way. I understand different genres that won’t be necessary but it’s an example of horses for courses.
@@Producelikeapro I have a Plugin Alliance subscription but haven't really gone that route before, that is, using the aforementioned emulations on a lot of individual channels. I may change my work flow. I know David at MixBusTV likes SSL's channel strip plugin and one of the Audio Animals guys uses a UAD tape plugin first on most channels when mixing. I'm even thinking about doing more bouncing to real tape via Mix:analog, but I do like how plugins let you edit in context and real time with greater ease. It's not easy having to individually process (granted, perhaps Mix:analog is best suited for bus processing and mastering).
Great FAQFriday, with some truly hard questions that will need careful consideration to work in the business. Thanks very much, very informative. Cheers
I mix with a limiter on the mix bus but it is just for loudness. The very first thing I do, after loading in the audio files and dropping my non-fx plugin chains on the individual and bus channels, is get good levels and panning. THEN, the first plugin I turn on is the limiter. I set it so it doesn’t do any actual gain reduction. It is basically a giant volume knob
I’d say try 4track cassette recording first. If you can get results u like you’re ready for daw but you’ll miss tape bc screens are pretty taxing to stare at !
I love the conversation about learning to record and mix, especially at an older age. RUclips is an amazing resource to learn all about it but at the same time, I think it can make a lot of things sound a lot more mysterious and difficult than they actually are. Content creators need to make content, so (in my view) they tend to make a lot of videos on the super fine details that frankly (in my opinion) don’t often matter. Especially in the beginning. Personally, I love microphones. I’ve always had a fascination with them. I collect them and geek out on their differences. I watch videos about them and lust after expensive models (that Lauten Audio Eden WILL be mine one day!). However, I’m the first to tell someone new to recording that you don’t need a packed mic locker. The best mic for the job at hand is the one you have in your hand! A beginner likely can’t hear the subtle differences between 2 LDC mics anyway! For what is worth (and I have produced approximately zero hit records 😂) don’t sweat the small stuff, throw up a mic and start recording. The most important piece of equipment in your studio space is artist!
Like others have mentioned I'll do the actual final mix without limiting/dynamics, once I'm happy with the final I'll pull up VERY gentle comp/limiting for that final bit o' glue. Very occasionally that will get me to reach back into the mix and adjust some small thing - never very much. My mastering guy seems happy, so I'm happy.
I believe that putting a limiter (and maybe also a compressor) in the mixbus since the beginning of the mix is not for rock mixers or someone locked to a specific genre. I was listening to Bobby’s Owsinski webinar and he stated that he does that all the time. Knowing that Bobby is quite a legend in the field I suppose nothing more needs to be said (also many other guys follow that procedure). BTW I’m 64 years old and I do love to use the technology we have nowadays at our disposal, like the DAW’s, AI tools, etc.
For an album I was working on, I did use a limiter during the work-in-progress stage and it was really only for a volume boost (as I mix on the quieter side). The limiter I used was sonible's pure:limit as it could give me that volume boost in a straightforward way without getting too fixated on control. When I was done with everything and getting it ready for the mastering stage, the limiter was off and did the rest there. But to each his own. Similarly, I don't use templates but I will carry over channel settings and the like when I know I want some consistency, either within an album or across different tracks. But every project is a black canvas.
Great stuff as always Warren. Happy holiday season. DAW mixing is pretty interesting, add whatever plugins and as many sends as you want and never reach for patch cables. Then we add plugins into the DAW to get the analog sound, tape saturation, tubes, etc. we tried to avoid on analog gear.
My experience is that if your mix is almost done and you've already checked it on several systems and it sounds pretty good it's okay to leave the limiter on there and do tweaks to the mix or even more changes. But if it just doesn't sound right overall you've got to take the limiter off the limiter and restart.
Nearby 750k Subs….so… just a quarter left to go 🎉❤..Go for it Warren ✨Love your Content and you as a Person..very charming 😋 thank you for all your amazing Videos. 💫 Your Channel rocks!
Putting Limiter on mix bus is a must if you're doing EDM music or something similar wih high energy, not from the start, but somewhere in the middle of mixing where the drums and bass are already "alined" with all the compressors, side- chaning, eq etc. but just a little so you can see and "predict" what will happened when you go into the mastering "all out" stage. And you can also leave the little amount of limiter or compressor just to glue things up a bit if needed. It's a case by case desition but if you're working on high energy stuff is best there is something on a mix buss. I would definitley not put any kind of EQ on a mix buss. This is the worst desition you can make unless is something high high end stuff but even than I wouldn't do that, because you're limiting yourself going into mastering phase. You can put a ton of eq etc. later. A limiter on mix bus is like havig and army recon team so you see what will happened (what awaits you) behind enemy lines when you enter the post mix teritory, haha.
You should try adding a high shelf and low shelf with dynamics turned on at the very start of your master chain. Streaky made a video on this. It really helps add slam and dynamics.
I hope that person can get past his PC dread, because the vantage on the other side of the fence is immeasurable in terms of creative potential. And this is a damn good time to do it
I feel like it depends on the genre and the dynamics of the actual song itself. I personally always mix into a limiter all the time but its really to see how the mix will sound when mastered so it’s always coming off and on during the mix process. But otherwise phuc a template cause even after gain staging the limiter itself is decided by the track itself. But nothing is set in stone.
I've done one that in the past and invariably ended up fighting things in the mix that were just the 2bus processing smearing things so I don't do it anymore. I'll had compression on when I feel I'm going somewhere with my mix, limiter, not really but never say never...
I've heard people talk about "mixing brain," where you get into that mental mode where you over-analyze your mix and nitpick every detail and lose sight of the overall sound. One way to tell if you're in that mode is to listen to a song that you've always liked and start picking it apart. Warren, have you ever found yourself suffering from "mixing brain?"
We use compressors/ levelers on the master buss, but not before the song is mixed and if there is some glue needed. And if we use them, they are not doing a lot, max -2 db, you can hardly see the needle move, but it gives a fuller and more balanced song. A limiter is used with mastering, but that is another kind of "beast" but also with the mind set, less is more. After so many years, Steve "Luke" Lukather is removing stuff from his pedal board. Just for that reason, less is more. Good luck all.
I mix exclusively on headphones as I don’t have access to a room or monitors, is it better to learn your headphones or always have something like Sonarworks in the monitoring chain?
Thanks for sharing Paul! Do you already know your headphones? If you do and get great results then there's no need to change, if however, you are still learning the headphones I would suggest trying Sonarworks and see what results you get!
The only real downside of the "old" gear IMO and recording to tape is cost of consumables and maintenance. And yes, biasing isn't a good time, neither is cutting and splicing tape, especially when you're tired and get it just a hint off and have to go back and start all over. Command (or control) Z beats that all day long.
Im always mixing into a pro l2, taking it on and off to see how its affecting the mix. I push it to see where the mix falls apart as well. The limiter comes off when i send to mastering. Too many suprises after mastering without this method.
Never too old to learn. Any Linkedin Learning course with "Essential Training" after any particular DAW's title will take you from complete beginner to intermediate. Concise, short videos so it's not overwhelming and ordered in a way that makes sense. It's my go-to for any software I want to learn quickly, best tutorials out there by a mile. First month free, cancel any time with no penalty.
Interestingly, whenever I've taught the older generation about how to use computers, there are two things they struggle with most: file management, and process instructions. It seems to be a hard concept to grasp that software is actually part of the filing system, and that it's a (for simplicity) near infinite hierarchical structure - I can only presume because the concept of tree structures is largely unknown by that age group (and shows how Turing was way ahead of his time!). And, that generation like to have instructions that start from some point and go through all the necessary steps to complete that one task. Whereas, the younger generation are much more used to the initial state where the instructions start being chaotic, and that the instructions may only be one step in a chain of many processes followed. An example of this is how the older generation can manage to send an email, but struggle with forwarding or attaching documents. But at no point will I ever say it's impossible for someone at that age to pick up, unless they have some deficiency that prohibits it, which can include themselves when they build up perception barriers that it is difficult, which is what I suspect your questioner has. You replied in a great manner to help counteract that, nicely done 🙂
Limiter no, buss compressor - yes. To each their own though. The ME can probably do a better job of setting a limiter than I on the master. Its good to have a limiter on the master to help inform decisions, set to unity gain - just to toggle in and out and see how balances are being affected by a couple DBs of GR so I can anticipate how it may sound down the road
Another useful one!!! Been thinking about this topic a bit lately. I came across a young guy who gives mixing tips quite awhile back mentioning the use of a limiter at 3db on the master during the mix process then removing it just before rendering. The claim? Perfect mix every-time! Not sure about that. The theory? To keep you out of level trouble and having everything perfect at the end? I've tried it in various ways and it seems to add more work and in some cases the mix came out sounding a bit dull requiring extra touch-up..... and chasing levels all over again. LOL. But for those who push everything into the red,...I can see how it might work. Limiter, comp and eq on master is fine for those mixing to templates as you stated. Nothing wrong with that if works for you or how you make a living. Cheers. 👍
I don't. It's funny though. All the extra work some folks make for themselves when you simply need to get it right in the first place. Job done! Cheers. 👍@@aleksamrkela831
How can I find someone to train me in my own studio. I own a studio in a commercial space. I want to increase my quality, but every instructor I've spoken to wants me to completely change my system or buy software/computers from them. I feel as if I'm being finessed.
Great question! It depends if you actually need new equipment or not. What is your gear currently? What are you trying to record? Live bands? Or in the box production work only?
I use ableton as a tape machine and rudimentary sampler/sequencer. with most sounds coming from sampled vinyl. But 90% of my processing after arranging is OTB. 24trk HDR + more guitar pedals and curated budget outboard gear with everything running through a console and mixed down to 2 track HDR.. Can provide links via email if needed
FAST, FAST,... NO FASTER!! Hi, Warren. Question. I am rearranging my home studio now that i start to understand what my favorite workflow actually is. I love to record fast. Play a line on my guitar and immidiately want to record a second guitar part for instance. Could be a double, but might as well be a twin part. The thing is, my guitar has 2 mics and some room mics and of course i print my di as well. (This also goes for my accoustic piano and several more instruments setup and ready to go) How can I quickly add all these tracks in one go, without having to add 3 mono, 1 stereo, add plugins.... etc etc etc.. it gets in the way of my creative process. (Using cubase, but hoping for a more generic answer)
Seemed to miss the meat of limiter on Monday d bus why or why not type discussion. You can add it later w/o mixing into it. I do it regularly on at least a dense mix. Why would you not? It’s probably ok either way but why was this briefed over so much !
Theres a damn if you do and damn if you don't . do what in the end makes your best mixes. We should keep a -6db total mix sum a the 2 buss with out one or mix with a limiter so your know whats being over compressed. Fab filter Limiter has a latency so dont record instruments or vocals with it enabled.
To old to learn computer recording 😂 I’m 66, I have been into computers since I bough a Commodore 16, embraced my Atari 1040, started windows on 3.1, I know people who are 10 years younger than me that can’t use a computer and are scared to death of them. I feel I have an advantage having started in the analog world and then was given digital tools to use.
I believe the stereotype that we can become too old for something stems from the notion that as violinists or pianists, we should start in childhood to establish a name as a "master" in the classical field. This binary thinking is mistakenly applied to everything else. Mixing is the same as DIY or cooking. These skills can always be learned, and one can become proficient at them. The only thing we may not be able to do at a certain age is establish lifelong career contacts. However, that shouldn't be the focus at a particular age.
Never stop learning. Data shows it's vital to keep your cognitive abilities sharp and push age related decline and dementia away by learning new things. Don't know computer recording? As the Red Hot Chili Peppers sang: Never been a better time than right now! BTW, you're going to hear a lot of new music from older musicians now that record label gatekeepers are no longer relevant to reach an audience. Maybe we can get away from the built-in ageism that has been so limiting in music. Rock ever onward!
I don't see how the Limiter question is related to using a template and how it's related to mixing the same kind of songs all the time and using the same samples.... For me it seems like you avoided the question and answered a completely different question you made up.
We did a review on the God Particle (Jaycen was part of it too) and I interviewed Jaycen@@davidallanmusicI don't mix into a limiter, I would ONLY put it on at the end! Many people who do EDM like mixing into them as preserving an acoustic instruments sound is of course not a concern!
Interesting! It seems very obvious to me, sorry if it confused you! IF you have mixed for many years and have a template created, with bussing, sub groups etc feeding a master buss with compression, eq, (maybe even a multi band compressor) and then a limiter then using a limiter to mix into makes se use! However, if you're mixing from scratch without a system in place then I would never place a limiter on the master bus! Makes perfect sense to me.
@@Producelikeapro Thank you for the response. However, you explain that you wouldn't mix into a limiter without a template, but you don't explain why mixing into a limiter without a template is bad in your opinion. I would like to understand that.
@@Producelikeapro well, your video from last year had Matt Lange and Adam Steel using it on rock/metal. If I'm remembering correctly, they both loved it and considered using it their normal process.
Template mixing (or better yet, copy paste production) is what sucked the soul and swagger out of modern rock and metal recordings. In an era where we can get everything sounding perfect there aren't any perfect records anymore...
"the only thing that's different is the songs" Ugh. This approach is so boring to me. As such I really do think most commercial music from the '90s for instance sounds better than today's releases.
Some ‘90s stuff, agreed. However, the late ‘90s and early 2000’s is where is started to sound very samey! Not just pop, but rock too, every song with the same drums samples, same guitar sounds etc
@@Producelikeapro I wonder what was primarily behind that. The rise of mp3 format? When people stopped paying for music en masse, budgets for recording and marketing suffered.
MP3's weren't stopping sales then, free MP3's pushed people to buy albums! I remember The Offspring giving away their single and the the next week the album went to number 1!@@Brutuscomedy
Producers used the tools in Pro Tools very heavily in the late '90s/early 2000's and edited everything so tight, replaced the drums, recorded all the guitars for the whole album at once (so no tonal variation etc) and the mixer had their system which didn't vary from song to song@@Brutuscomedy
What are your questions that you'd like us to answer on the next FAQ Friday? Share below!
When recording directly "into the box", would you put any plugins on the input inserts?
Where did your Genelec "The Ones" aka "new monitors after 25 years" go??
Less than 1 year after that video: they are nowhere to be seen in your videos.
To me, that says: sponsored video, back then.
Not cool.
Record into plugins? No! Not unless their dsp plugins like UAD Neve preamp, or API, SSL, etc. Preamps only if they are dsp sourced(uad, etc.)! Don't record into plugins! Now if you wanna experiment, go first it. But I wouldn't. You can try putting a low cpu usage reverb or delay on the headphones buss for tracking to hear it only in the headphones, but besides that I wouldn't! And to do that you need a very low latency plugin, otherwise it'll fuck it all up for the vocalist(and I'd only do 1 on the headphones for the vocalist only, unless it's dsp processing through your interface!).
Based on your experience, do you think it is possible to mix with headphones alone?
How did older songs, like, say, the Bob Dylan or the Beatles songs, end up with very little extended low end? Was it because of the lack of recording capacity or was it done deliberately? Whenever i use vintage-gear emulations like tapes, consoles, or saturations, I'm still left with full range. If i try to high pass, it doesn't sound the same as the Beatles songs do. What's the reason for that and how can i achieve it?
Learning that you can put limiters INSIDE the mix transformed my mixes. Using limiters just makes things more polished and modern. I especially rely on limiters for clean ambient guitars, and drums. It just catches the runaway pops and smacks in the guitars and puts them exactly where they need to be. With drums, I could never get my snares to fit in the mix right. If they were loud enough, they popped several dbs higher than everything else. If they were balanced, they sounded wayyy too quiet. So I use a limiter and just push the snare down until the limiter is just tapping the top of the kick, and bam. My snares sound right.
Thank you! Why didn't you use a compressor instead though?
"I could never get my snares to fit in the mix right". With a lot of mixing you'll do it right. You are focusing on the sound you hear (snare) in the mix, you should be fucusing on the sound you'll get when the mastering phase is complete with all the compressors and the whole army of tools pushing the snare and highs up. So, the sound you hear in the mix "right" (snare) is too lould or has EQ done wrong, too bright, harsh etc. It's not easy, but you'll get there. If you're talking about choice of leaving snare alone without comp. or limiting than you're right. It's a must.
Dude this is the best ~10min overview of producing/mixing/engineering I've seen.
Wow!! Thanks ever so much
Warren, you are not only skilled and professional. You are also human and wise. Thank you!
Aw shucks! Thanks ever so much
Incorporating my wife into my studio business has been great solution for spending more time together. She takes care of all the paper now, which I hated doing and took time away from me recording. And Warren you are definitely not wrong about the time it takes to become successful, I work a 110 hours in 2 week period with my career and then do music in between in my off time . Been doing this for 12 years now trying to keep the balance!
I have a “hybrid” template for mixing.
I have a “base” template with all my bus channels set up (without plugins on them), all my delay/reverb channels set up (with plugins on them), and my mix bus monitoring plugins (along with a limiter). I also have have “channel templates” where I already saved the different plugin chains I use most often so all I have to do is choose what I want from a list and it loads up.
This gives me the benefits of templates with the flexibility of “starting from scratch” because I still have to make a conscious choice between many options in order to put plugins on my tracks/buses
Great technique for efficiency and consistency 🎉
Your comments about family are greatly appreciated. Well done.
Balance is so key in life! Everything in life and you said it well Warren. I've been in music since 9yrs old so 55 years and love it, but it doesn't come before God, my wife and family. We need to prioritize everything in our lives and then balance accordingly to have a great foundation in order to live a good and successful life.
Great subjects as always my friend. You Rock Warren!🎸🪕🎶🎶🔊🔊
Marvellous! Thanks ever so much Doug!
Very well done sir and yes we can still learn and grow at any age because music is timeless
Hi Warren, I really appreciate you for making this video about music family and work, I balanced these 3 things for 30+ years and still going stronger than ever, there were many times when my life partner couldn't hold a job so I had to make sure I became an asset and indispensable for the company I worked for, I knew there would be many many rainy days and lost many loved ones on the way but I never ever ever took a break or hiatus from music, I just love writing arranging singing engineering too much it's in my DNA it's who I am, and when my kids grew up I inspired them to love music and gear as much as I do, if I leave this earth tomorrow at the very least I can say that I loved to live, lived to love, I felt real love in my life and I inspired someone else to do the same ❤
Warren, the question of whether or not I'm just too old comes to mind a lot. I love the digital realm because that's the only way I could possibly afford to do it. The other point about having time for it is always an issue. Thanks for what you do, you've done so much for my education in my state of maturity.
It's never too late! I'm always learning something new! Love it!
Well in Drum & Bass mixing into a limiter is a crucial reference as it’s a loud genre that’ll end up being limited in mastering. So without mixing into a limiter a lot of things you thought were right can end up too loud and up front; you can reverse engineer that way. I understand different genres that won’t be necessary but it’s an example of horses for courses.
Interesting
Also, I think the more interesting question is whether we mix with console and/or tape machine emulations (and if so, which ones).
Great question! We will have to explore that more!
@@Producelikeapro I have a Plugin Alliance subscription but haven't really gone that route before, that is, using the aforementioned emulations on a lot of individual channels. I may change my work flow. I know David at MixBusTV likes SSL's channel strip plugin and one of the Audio Animals guys uses a UAD tape plugin first on most channels when mixing. I'm even thinking about doing more bouncing to real tape via Mix:analog, but I do like how plugins let you edit in context and real time with greater ease. It's not easy having to individually process (granted, perhaps Mix:analog is best suited for bus processing and mastering).
Great FAQFriday, with some truly hard questions that will need careful consideration to work in the business. Thanks very much, very informative. Cheers
Thanks ever so much Joey!
i like using compression for making shapes and limiting for controlling peaks...
GarageBand is a great DAW to start recording, very easy to learn… ✌🏻
Thanks ever so much for sharing!
The answer to that 2nd question was full blown life-coach material 🙏
I mix with a limiter on the mix bus but it is just for loudness.
The very first thing I do, after loading in the audio files and dropping my non-fx plugin chains on the individual and bus channels, is get good levels and panning. THEN, the first plugin I turn on is the limiter. I set it so it doesn’t do any actual gain reduction.
It is basically a giant volume knob
Thanks ever so much for sharing your process!
same.. facts
I’d say try 4track cassette recording first. If you can get results u like you’re ready for daw but you’ll miss tape bc screens are pretty taxing to stare at !
Thanks for sharing your opinion!
Hello, Warren! Catching up on a video of yours after a long time. It's such a pleasure. I hope you're keeping well!
Thanks ever so much!
I love the conversation about learning to record and mix, especially at an older age. RUclips is an amazing resource to learn all about it but at the same time, I think it can make a lot of things sound a lot more mysterious and difficult than they actually are. Content creators need to make content, so (in my view) they tend to make a lot of videos on the super fine details that frankly (in my opinion) don’t often matter. Especially in the beginning.
Personally, I love microphones. I’ve always had a fascination with them. I collect them and geek out on their differences. I watch videos about them and lust after expensive models (that Lauten Audio Eden WILL be mine one day!). However, I’m the first to tell someone new to recording that you don’t need a packed mic locker. The best mic for the job at hand is the one you have in your hand! A beginner likely can’t hear the subtle differences between 2 LDC mics anyway!
For what is worth (and I have produced approximately zero hit records 😂) don’t sweat the small stuff, throw up a mic and start recording. The most important piece of equipment in your studio space is artist!
Like others have mentioned I'll do the actual final mix without limiting/dynamics, once I'm happy with the final I'll pull up VERY gentle comp/limiting for that final bit o' glue. Very occasionally that will get me to reach back into the mix and adjust some small thing - never very much. My mastering guy seems happy, so I'm happy.
Thanks ever so much for sharing! I really appreciate it
i use a bud comp and clipper to make sure the drums punch the same
Marvellous! Thanks for sharing!
the balance of family and obsession lol..that was really well put warren
Very true Kip!
What a wonderful person……
You’re very kind Joe! Thanks ever so much
I believe that putting a limiter (and maybe also a compressor) in the mixbus since the beginning of the mix is not for rock mixers or someone locked to a specific genre. I was listening to Bobby’s Owsinski webinar and he stated that he does that all the time. Knowing that Bobby is quite a legend in the field I suppose nothing more needs to be said (also many other guys follow that procedure). BTW I’m 64 years old and I do love to use the technology we have nowadays at our disposal, like the DAW’s, AI tools, etc.
For an album I was working on, I did use a limiter during the work-in-progress stage and it was really only for a volume boost (as I mix on the quieter side). The limiter I used was sonible's pure:limit as it could give me that volume boost in a straightforward way without getting too fixated on control. When I was done with everything and getting it ready for the mastering stage, the limiter was off and did the rest there. But to each his own.
Similarly, I don't use templates but I will carry over channel settings and the like when I know I want some consistency, either within an album or across different tracks. But every project is a black canvas.
Loving faq friday!
Thanks ever so much!
Wonderful advice and observations. I know he does not sleep a lot. I’ve gotten email from him at3:00 am! Warren, you rock..
Haha thanks Joe! You Rock my friend!
Great stuff as always Warren. Happy holiday season.
DAW mixing is pretty interesting, add whatever plugins and as many sends as you want and never reach for patch cables. Then we add plugins into the DAW to get the analog sound, tape saturation, tubes, etc. we tried to avoid on analog gear.
I’d take a Bettermaker anyday!:)
Thanks for sharing!
your vids have helped so much
Thanks ever so much
Love your vids homie, thank you for being generous with your knowledge :)
Thanks ever so much
My experience is that if your mix is almost done and you've already checked it on several systems and it sounds pretty good it's okay to leave the limiter on there and do tweaks to the mix or even more changes. But if it just doesn't sound right overall you've got to take the limiter off the limiter and restart.
Nearby 750k Subs….so… just a quarter left to go 🎉❤..Go for it Warren ✨Love your Content and you as a Person..very charming 😋 thank you for all your amazing Videos. 💫 Your Channel rocks!
Aw shucks! Thanks ever so much! That really means a lot
What is this class you speak of? This video really resonated with me.
Hey Warren! Can we expect more mixing livestreams? I really enjoy these...
Putting Limiter on mix bus is a must if you're doing EDM music or something similar wih high energy, not from the start, but somewhere in the middle of mixing where the drums and bass are already "alined" with all the compressors, side- chaning, eq etc. but just a little so you can see and "predict" what will happened when you go into the mastering "all out" stage. And you can also leave the little amount of limiter or compressor just to glue things up a bit if needed. It's a case by case desition but if you're working on high energy stuff is best there is something on a mix buss. I would definitley not put any kind of EQ on a mix buss. This is the worst desition you can make unless is something high high end stuff but even than I wouldn't do that, because you're limiting yourself going into mastering phase. You can put a ton of eq etc. later. A limiter on mix bus is like havig and army recon team so you see what will happened (what awaits you) behind enemy lines when you enter the post mix teritory, haha.
You should try adding a high shelf and low shelf with dynamics turned on at the very start of your master chain. Streaky made a video on this. It really helps add slam and dynamics.
@@davidallanmusic I'll try that to once, thanks.
I hope that person can get past his PC dread, because the vantage on the other side of the fence is immeasurable in terms of creative potential. And this is a damn good time to do it
Thanks for sharing!
or is it very very.....very .......light black
Haha indeed
I feel like it depends on the genre and the dynamics of the actual song itself. I personally always mix into a limiter all the time but its really to see how the mix will sound when mastered so it’s always coming off and on during the mix process. But otherwise phuc a template cause even after gain staging the limiter itself is decided by the track itself. But nothing is set in stone.
I've done one that in the past and invariably ended up fighting things in the mix that were just the 2bus processing smearing things so I don't do it anymore. I'll had compression on when I feel I'm going somewhere with my mix, limiter, not really but never say never...
Great video! Is that console yours?
That is the Sweetwater Studio A console! Haha It's lovely! Here it is! It's NOT cheap! sweetwater.sjv.io/baQM6B
good response....5 yr olds are making music on computers....you're never too young or TOO OLD.
Haha exactly!!
Mix into VU meters and don’t worry about leaks until mastering
I've heard people talk about "mixing brain," where you get into that mental mode where you over-analyze your mix and nitpick every detail and lose sight of the overall sound. One way to tell if you're in that mode is to listen to a song that you've always liked and start picking it apart. Warren, have you ever found yourself suffering from "mixing brain?"
Good video, thank you!
Thanks ever is much Tim!
We use compressors/ levelers on the master buss, but not before the song is mixed and if there is some glue needed. And if we use them, they are not doing a lot, max -2 db, you can hardly see the needle move, but it gives a fuller and more balanced song. A limiter is used with mastering, but that is another kind of "beast" but also with the mind set, less is more. After so many years, Steve "Luke" Lukather is removing stuff from his pedal board. Just for that reason, less is more. Good luck all.
Thanks ever so much for sharing! I really appreciate it
I mix exclusively on headphones as I don’t have access to a room or monitors, is it better to learn your headphones or always have something like Sonarworks in the monitoring chain?
Thanks for sharing Paul! Do you already know your headphones? If you do and get great results then there's no need to change, if however, you are still learning the headphones I would suggest trying Sonarworks and see what results you get!
@@Producelikeapro thanks Warren. I’ve always had Sonarworks in the chain so ideally I should take it out and see how I go.
Some heavy questions in this episode.
Agreed. Thanks ever so much!
Black in pale!
Haha indeed
In Fender Sonic Blue to be more precise.
Marvellous!
Awesome said bro 👏❤
Thanks ever so much
The only real downside of the "old" gear IMO and recording to tape is cost of consumables and maintenance. And yes, biasing isn't a good time, neither is cutting and splicing tape, especially when you're tired and get it just a hint off and have to go back and start all over. Command (or control) Z beats that all day long.
Pro Tools guys will mention every other DAW other than Reaper 🙂 However great insight as always Warren 👍
I think I have around 50 videos on Reaper online! We even have the Ultimate Reaper Course we did with Adam Steel
Here's a few for you:- ruclips.net/video/gnbSMmTiDxk/видео.html&pp=ygUUd2FycmVuIGh1YXJ0IHJlYXBlciA%3D
One of the Adam Steel videos:- ruclips.net/video/fRvaw-zMmQ0/видео.html
Warren: I would never mix with a limiter on the mix buss
FL Studio: Hold my transients
True. I am still confused why they decided to make it the default. If it is not advised procedure
Im always mixing into a pro l2, taking it on and off to see how its affecting the mix. I push it to see where the mix falls apart as well. The limiter comes off when i send to mastering. Too many suprises after mastering without this method.
Thanks ever so much for sharing your technique
Hi Warren. Avid reader!! Do you mix at a loud volume or quiet or both?
Both! Loud for very short periods of time
many information on Your channel. THX +SUB!
Thanks ever so much
@Producelikeapro whats the best way to limit your cpu usage when mixing a audio file heavy mix with multiple plugins...
Never too old to learn. Any Linkedin Learning course with "Essential Training" after any particular DAW's title will take you from complete beginner to intermediate. Concise, short videos so it's not overwhelming and ordered in a way that makes sense. It's my go-to for any software I want to learn quickly, best tutorials out there by a mile. First month free, cancel any time with no penalty.
I miss editing tape….. so many razor blade finger cuts, sticky spicing tape, and finger prints!
I miss the romance of it, not the reality haha
Interestingly, whenever I've taught the older generation about how to use computers, there are two things they struggle with most: file management, and process instructions. It seems to be a hard concept to grasp that software is actually part of the filing system, and that it's a (for simplicity) near infinite hierarchical structure - I can only presume because the concept of tree structures is largely unknown by that age group (and shows how Turing was way ahead of his time!). And, that generation like to have instructions that start from some point and go through all the necessary steps to complete that one task. Whereas, the younger generation are much more used to the initial state where the instructions start being chaotic, and that the instructions may only be one step in a chain of many processes followed. An example of this is how the older generation can manage to send an email, but struggle with forwarding or attaching documents. But at no point will I ever say it's impossible for someone at that age to pick up, unless they have some deficiency that prohibits it, which can include themselves when they build up perception barriers that it is difficult, which is what I suspect your questioner has. You replied in a great manner to help counteract that, nicely done 🙂
Limiter no, buss compressor - yes. To each their own though. The ME can probably do a better job of setting a limiter than I on the master. Its good to have a limiter on the master to help inform decisions, set to unity gain - just to toggle in and out and see how balances are being affected by a couple DBs of GR so I can anticipate how it may sound down the road
Compressor on a mix bus while mixing is crazy
Another useful one!!!
Been thinking about this topic a bit lately. I came across a young guy who gives mixing tips quite awhile back mentioning the use of a limiter at 3db on the master during the mix process then removing it just before rendering. The claim? Perfect mix every-time! Not sure about that. The theory? To keep you out of level trouble and having everything perfect at the end? I've tried it in various ways and it seems to add more work and in some cases the mix came out sounding a bit dull requiring extra touch-up..... and chasing levels all over again. LOL. But for those who push everything into the red,...I can see how it might work. Limiter, comp and eq on master is fine for those mixing to templates as you stated. Nothing wrong with that if works for you or how you make a living. Cheers. 👍
People who use limiters not to clip their mixbus don't know how to mix. Pay no heed to them.
I don't. It's funny though. All the extra work some folks make for themselves when you simply need to get it right in the first place. Job done! Cheers. 👍@@aleksamrkela831
How can I find someone to train me in my own studio. I own a studio in a commercial space. I want to increase my quality, but every instructor I've spoken to wants me to completely change my system or buy software/computers from them. I feel as if I'm being finessed.
Great question! It depends if you actually need new equipment or not. What is your gear currently? What are you trying to record? Live bands? Or in the box production work only?
I use ableton as a tape machine and rudimentary sampler/sequencer. with most sounds coming from sampled vinyl. But 90% of my processing after arranging is OTB. 24trk HDR + more guitar pedals and curated budget outboard gear with everything running through a console and mixed down to 2 track HDR.. Can provide links via email if needed
Current Rig:
Studiomaster Mixdown 16:8:16
Alesis HD24 MTR
RME Digiface USB
Behringer ADA8000 Preamp/AD/DA
Akai s5000 x2
Outboard:
Comps
DBX 166 (x3)
Art Pro VLA (x2)
Lindell LIN76 (x2)
Alto CLE 8.0
EQ:
Ashly PQX 576
Behringer Ultracurve
Time Based Effects
Alesis Midiverb 4
Yamaha Rev 7
Eventide H9
Korg KP3+
Roland VT-4
Monitoring
ADAM T7V
Audio Technica ATH-M30
Keyboards
Hammond M103
Korg Wavestate
Yamaha MX49
Microphones
Shure SM7-B
Shure SM-57
Various cheap condensers
Y’all should get Jim Kaufman on the show.
FAST, FAST,... NO FASTER!!
Hi, Warren. Question. I am rearranging my home studio now that i start to understand what my favorite workflow actually is. I love to record fast. Play a line on my guitar and immidiately want to record a second guitar part for instance. Could be a double, but might as well be a twin part.
The thing is, my guitar has 2 mics and some room mics and of course i print my di as well. (This also goes for my accoustic piano and several more instruments setup and ready to go)
How can I quickly add all these tracks in one go, without having to add 3 mono, 1 stereo, add plugins.... etc etc etc.. it gets in the way of my creative process. (Using cubase, but hoping for a more generic answer)
Yeah. Balance in music isn't just a knob to turn. Oh, if only it were that easy. But like that knob, being out of balance is very disruptive.
Thanks Loren!
Seemed to miss the meat of limiter on Monday d bus why or why not type discussion. You can add it later w/o mixing into it. I do it regularly on at least a dense mix. Why would you not?
It’s probably ok either way but why was this briefed over so much !
Theres a damn if you do and damn if you don't . do what in the end makes your best mixes. We should keep a -6db total mix sum a the 2 buss with out one or mix with a limiter so your know whats being over compressed. Fab filter Limiter has a latency so dont record instruments or vocals with it enabled.
To old to learn computer recording 😂 I’m 66, I have been into computers since I bough a Commodore 16, embraced my Atari 1040, started windows on 3.1, I know people who are 10 years younger than me that can’t use a computer and are scared to death of them. I feel I have an advantage having started in the analog world and then was given digital tools to use.
I believe the stereotype that we can become too old for something stems from the notion that as violinists or pianists, we should start in childhood to establish a name as a "master" in the classical field. This binary thinking is mistakenly applied to everything else. Mixing is the same as DIY or cooking. These skills can always be learned, and one can become proficient at them. The only thing we may not be able to do at a certain age is establish lifelong career contacts. However, that shouldn't be the focus at a particular age.
Never stop learning. Data shows it's vital to keep your cognitive abilities sharp and push age related decline and dementia away by learning new things. Don't know computer recording? As the Red Hot Chili Peppers sang: Never been a better time than right now! BTW, you're going to hear a lot of new music from older musicians now that record label gatekeepers are no longer relevant to reach an audience. Maybe we can get away from the built-in ageism that has been so limiting in music. Rock ever onward!
Upgrading yer daw 24/7 is pointless staying with live 10 forever
🙂👍
Thanks ever so much
I don't see how the Limiter question is related to using a template and how it's related to mixing the same kind of songs all the time and using the same samples....
For me it seems like you avoided the question and answered a completely different question you made up.
Yeah, and they did several videos last year talking about how great Jaycen Joshua's God Particle plugin was, which is all about mixing into a limiter.
We did a review on the God Particle (Jaycen was part of it too) and I interviewed Jaycen@@davidallanmusicI don't mix into a limiter, I would ONLY put it on at the end! Many people who do EDM like mixing into them as preserving an acoustic instruments sound is of course not a concern!
Interesting! It seems very obvious to me, sorry if it confused you! IF you have mixed for many years and have a template created, with bussing, sub groups etc feeding a master buss with compression, eq, (maybe even a multi band compressor) and then a limiter then using a limiter to mix into makes se use! However, if you're mixing from scratch without a system in place then I would never place a limiter on the master bus! Makes perfect sense to me.
@@Producelikeapro Thank you for the response. However, you explain that you wouldn't mix into a limiter without a template, but you don't explain why mixing into a limiter without a template is bad in your opinion. I would like to understand that.
@@Producelikeapro well, your video from last year had Matt Lange and Adam Steel using it on rock/metal. If I'm remembering correctly, they both loved it and considered using it their normal process.
Template mixing (or better yet, copy paste production) is what sucked the soul and swagger out of modern rock and metal recordings.
In an era where we can get everything sounding perfect there aren't any perfect records anymore...
"the only thing that's different is the songs"
Ugh. This approach is so boring to me. As such I really do think most commercial music from the '90s for instance sounds better than today's releases.
Some ‘90s stuff, agreed. However, the late ‘90s and early 2000’s is where is started to sound very samey! Not just pop, but rock too, every song with the same drums samples, same guitar sounds etc
@@Producelikeapro I wonder what was primarily behind that. The rise of mp3 format? When people stopped paying for music en masse, budgets for recording and marketing suffered.
MP3's weren't stopping sales then, free MP3's pushed people to buy albums! I remember The Offspring giving away their single and the the next week the album went to number 1!@@Brutuscomedy
Producers used the tools in Pro Tools very heavily in the late '90s/early 2000's and edited everything so tight, replaced the drums, recorded all the guitars for the whole album at once (so no tonal variation etc) and the mixer had their system which didn't vary from song to song@@Brutuscomedy