Favorite Compressor...Why?

My personal favorite is the 1176. I prefer the T-Racks Black 76 over the CLA-76 or BF76. 

I like the sound a bit better; it sounds good almost on everything and it practically makes everything sound better. I sometimes put it in my chain just for the sound with no to little compression.

This compressor can be used on vocals, bass, guitar, and drums. The thing about the 1176 is it adds just a touch of attitude. The only thing I don't care for it on is an acoustic guitar.

The beauty about owning the three different plug-ins (all bought none cracked) is that they all have a slight different sound so I can bounce to the CLA or BF version to get those characteristics that I am looking for.

Lastly, my favorite thing about the 1176 is the simplicity. The only thing I think can be better is owning the hardware!

Universal Audio 1176

CLA-76

BF76

T-Racks Black76

Create a Dynamic Delay Effect

There is always more than one way to get somewhere, experiment.

If you don't have a dynamic delay plug-in or you like the sound of a different delay and need to create the dynamic effect here is how to do it: Side-chain

1.  Setup your delay how you would like it to sound in your mix.

2. insert a compressor with side-chain after your delay effect in the Aux track.

3. send your vocal track to an available bus

4. activate the key side chain on your compressor and assign it to the bus you selected

I understand there are plug-ins that already do this but this is so you can create your own if the plugin is unavailable or the studio you are working at happens to not have one or you can also take this guide and apply it to analog gear. Also keep in mind since all delays sound different and work differently if you happen to love the sound of a certain delay you can use this trick to get the dynamic effect for it instead of settling for a different one.

Hope this helps!

#EveryDetailCounts!

Learn from others

Don't be afraid to learn from others and say you can't do something. take the time to STUDY! Its very important to study.

I was sent this video by a friend of mine, a really good producer and an even better engineer! This video helped a lot in the understanding of not over thinking and just to do what needs to be done!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPH9LrLAmmo

#EveryDetailCounts!

Questions to ask when using references

So I got these questions from a book I read "Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio" by Mike Senior,  and they help a great amount to get that commercial sound you are going for.
1. How does the overall mix tonality compare?

This is something that can eas-ily be out of line, because it’s difficult to stop your ears from adapting to a skewed tonality while you’re stuck into detailed mix activities. If the tone feels wrong, then insert an equalizer over your mix to see if you can correct the frequency imbalance. You can subsequently apply this same EQ setting on your mix project’s master buss or rebalance the frequency response of individual instruments with reference to it.

2. How does the balance compare?

Concentrate primarily on the most impor-tant instruments here, because they usually offer the least leeway within any given musical genre. I usually make a point of checking at least kick, snare, bass, and lead vocals, but the more parts of the mix you direct your attention toward specifically, the more representative you’ll be able to make your own balance. Don’t just listen for overall levels, but also consider how much dynamic range each instrument has.

3. How does each instrument’s tone compare?

Again, concentrate primarily on the most important instruments. Also, if the tone of any instrument in your mix appears to be less appealing, then ask yourself whether there’s actually anything you can do about that without upsetting the balance.

4. How does the use of reverb and delay effects compare?

Listen for how well the different instruments blend with each other and how any different size reverbs have been used. Give a thought to overall reverb/delay lengths and levels as well.

5. How does the stereo image compare?

This is partly a question of the apparent width and placement of each individual instrument, but you should also consider how wide the stereo image is overall in different regions of the frequency spectrum.

Hope this helps!
#EveryDetailCounts!