We will see tomorrow

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    So of course I watch one video of Rick Beato getting giddy as a 15 y/o over some Rush song and as I am as impressionable as wet clay I can't help but get enthusiastic too, even though not once in my life have I ever been a Rush fan and Geddy Lee's vocals are definitely an acquired taste. So ironically here I find myself putting out todays noodle is a bit of an homage at trying to emulate Geddy's vocal stylings and take in a few learned things from Rick's analysis with some drum micro timing edits to try and build more natural sounding tension and release.


    Overall the result come out very loud and like it's compressed like anything, but I really don't have any compressors on the master for this, and the signal is peaking -12db in Reason. On top of this this is the first time in ages I haven't used a single Isotope plugin anywhere at all on this. Maybe Monkey_Man will come in to say "I told you so" and that it's louder sounding just because it doesn't have a compressor or something.

    Quote from Per

    Maybe Monkey_Man will come in to say "I told you so" and that it's louder sounding just because it doesn't have a compressor or something.

    Yeah, that.


    Transients don't only provide punch, but also the impression of volume, and nothing (generally) destroys transients more than (especially multiple) compressors.


    Personally I'd only use compressors on individual tracks when specific vibes that cannot be achieved any other way are required. IMHO it's preferable to use transparent limiting or volume automation if levels vary wildly.


    Then, on the master bus, minimal, tasteful compression and limiting can be used for bringing up the quietest elements whilst making sure not to make them work too-hard. If it's a good mix, 3db or less of each processor should suffice.

    Yeah I guess it is slowly going in to my thick head. I get it, I just like the instant gratification a master bus compressor gives, it reduced the amount of mixing I have to do, everything comes forward.


    So far I find I absolutely have to use a compressor on bass and vocals, theres times I feel I could get away without compressing the bass when the volume is even enough but when I add compression somehow it brings out the missing upper mids definition in a way that I can’t achieve with eq.

    I'm with you 100% on bass and vox brother. In almost every mix they require levelling.


    A quick way of implementing volume automation for them if you want to preserve tone is to use Waves' Vocal Rider and Bass Rider plugins. They use lookahead coding to enable fuss-free levelling. Interesting that vox and bass are the only two plugins they've released that do this 'cause it fits with my (our?) philosophy that those two elements absolutely require it. Bass, because it's weighty-and-foundational and fluctuations would affect a mix's overall energy inconsistently, and vocals 'cause their intelligibility is paramount.


    Due to the loudness-war influence and cheap-entry costs, I'm of the opinion that limiting has become the de facto cheat for mixing these days. Peeps tend to think that they're able to achieve more-pro-sounding mixes due to the cheap options available now, whereas IMHO what's actually happening is the art of mixing is being lost, giving way to cheap and thankfully not-so-nasty results. Sure, levels can be controlled easily but I reckon the art of carving elements up, mainly with high and low-pass EQ, in order to use the spectrum for maximal separation has been sacrificed.


    The ear / brain divides the spectrum up into, IIRC, 31 bands, so the old-school idea is to get things to sit in discrete ones, be they individual for an element or indeed multiple, but at the same time to avoid overlap where possible. This would yield maximal intelligibility / focus / separation of mix elements above any other approach. This is why the traditional live-sound graphic EQ has 31 bands.


    Hopefully there's something in that for you brother.

    I'm not a big Rush fan as well, especially not for the vocals. Still the instrumental skills and the taste when they're playing are outstanding and indeed nice to listen to. Anyway Per, another great track and I like the approach and your experiments a lot. Again inspiring

    Quote from Per

    So of course I watch one video of Rick Beato getting giddy as a 15 y/o over some Rush song and as I am as impressionable as wet clay I can't help but get enthusiastic too, even though...

    And by the way I like your language Per. Often your descriptions are as lyrical as any musical content...

    Thanks deadman42 its always good to go outside of your comfort zone when creating as you learn new things. As I’m really just beginning learning how to use my voice I get to play around and try out all this stuff.


    I’ll look out for those plugins Monkey_Man although leveling that way doesn’t sound dissimilar from what a compressor with slow attack and release would be doing.


    I used to do a lot of hi/lo-pass frequency carving as matter of course but I’ve found myself using my ears more and now I prefer to avoid touching them except where really necessary to eliminate muddy lows mostly. I then use a side-chained EQ such as in Neutron to carve just specific overlap on the snare and kick if I want them to have more clarity, though not on this track because I didn’t feel it needed it and I wanted to get that mid 70s sound where I don’t think they were doing that stuff yet.


    The two things I personally have identified as my biggest mixing weaknesses are getting things quieter and arrangement, which probably go hand in hand. But better arrangement pretty much eliminates the need for carving. The quieter thing is a tricky one as often it’s about perception more than fact, actual volume change doesn’t always sound quieter and can if too extreme can create a lack of intelligibility. It’s about the changes in sound things have when played quietly and having something to indicate that louder is a possibility. It!s easy to sound full loud, much harder quiet.