Keeping Your Mix Fresh With Bass + Guitars By Charles Dye
Hopefully, many of you downloaded our first month's session, HDL6 Crease-Drums If you didn't do the download, let me take a moment to encourage you to do so. With the column, I can explain things only up to a point, and from there on I have to be able to show you with audio examples. By your downloading the actual session, we can really discuss every detail because we're hearing the same audio. Sign-up is very simple, less than five minutes, and from then on you simply login directly from the Pro Tools environment. I tried to anticipate some of the barriers to make this available to as many people as possible. The first was bandwidth. We posted the sessions at Source and in both compression options: Standard and Preview. I tested Preview and it sounds amazingly good compared to the original source. I highly recommend Preview to anyone. For the purposes of your trying out the EQ, compression, and effects examples, it's quite good. I recommend Preview to high-speed users as well, because you get to hear the session almost instantly, and can then download the Source tracks in the background. An Extreme Touchstone I have two reasons why I like to keep my mixes fresh. One very important reason is that it keeps the listener's attention. We definitely don't want people tuning out our mixes. But the second and even more important reason is that it keeps my attention. If I'm not interested in my own mix, how can I ever hope to reach the listener, which is definitely our goal. One technique I use for this is to inject a radical element into the mix. This is the commitment to a particular sound that I mentioned in HDL 4.When I first begin mixing a song, I search for an extreme touchstone, an aggressive commitment to a different sonic idea — often related to the point of view we discussed in HDL 6 — and I use this to help shape and guide the other sounds.
Going the opposite direction is another example. Contemporary background vocals have been dry the last few years, so drenching them in an old-style chamber reverb, I mean wetter than wet, more reverb than voice, would certainly be a commitment. I've actually already started to hear this one. Aggressive use of cheesy-sounding, gated reverb — like 1980's loud "baaahhhhk" — is definitely different. And when used on only one or two instruments, or in just certain spots in a not-cheesy song, it won't sound cheesy, either. It's about making a commitment. You never know where these concepts will lead you, but the good thing is that they lead you purposefully towards the end of your mix. You can always divert from the plan along the way, but having a concept provides you with a center for your mix. By the end what seemed like an extreme commitment at the beginning often turns out to be much tamer, but it has hopefully aided you along the way in creating some fresh and interesting sounds. How This Applies to Our Mix
I also use the vintage idea with other decisions that could give some of this circa 1977 flavor where appropriate. With effects, I will try to keep things sounding more retro — and simple. Reverbs were usually plates and chambers. Tape delays. Analog flangers. Things sounded more saturated. Fewer tracks, fewer parts, fewer things flying around in the mix. There was a conciseness to the songs and mixes of that era. So, I'm keeping all of these thoughts in mind when working. I've also found that one of the tricks to making retro sounds work is to make something sound how you remember it sounded. Not exactly the way it sounded by listening to CDs and trying to imitate them. Of course you could copy the sound, but the idea is to use it in a modern context. So, I try to make it sound like it may have been recorded in that period, even if it doesn't sound like any record I know. More Effects
Pitch Shifter — Split Harmonizer Effect I use the DPP-1 in an emulation of a pair of split Eventide 910 Harmonizers. Using a mono AUX Input and a Mono/Stereo DPP-1, I set one side to –9 cents with a delay of 14ms — and no feedback. I set the other side to +9 cents, a delay of 19ms, and no feedback. I then pan them hard left and right. Just after the DPP-1, I insert an LPF at 16k to roll-off the top end. This helps emulate the older 910's, which had less bandwidth. This effect does a very good job of widening mono signals, as well as thickening stereo ones. It can also be used with a stereo AUX Input and a stereo DPP-1, I just prefer the mono set-up. Wave Mechanic's Pitch Blender also works perfectly for this same effect. Chorus/Flanger
For this mix though, I wanted a stereo in + out flanger, so I used a stereo AUX Input. Keeping in mind the retro idea, I was looking for a vintage tape-sounding, relatively deep flange. I started with the Mutron preset and tweaked the rate + depth so it felt good with the track. I next inserted Analog Channel AC2 after MetaFlanger and tweaked it to sound real grungy (vintage, 7.5 ips, way over biased). And at the end, I inserted a FilterBank F3 HPF set to 128Hz to clean up the mud. Then, to get an analog tape-sounding feedback, I set the feedback on MetaFlanger to "0," created the feedback by using an AUX Send from the MetaFlanger AUX Input itself, and sent it back to the MetaFlanger bus. This way, every time it would feedback, it got grungier and more distorted, just as with a tape delay. I also cross panned them, so the left side would feedback into the right and vice versa. Delays
I use the DigiRack delays; they're really DSP efficient. I usually set the LPF to anywhere from 9k to 3k, and feedback to whatever's appropriate (0% – 70%). Again, going retro, I used Analog Channel AC2 after the delay to warm it up, and also, to emulate tape delays, I set the feedback to zero on the delays, set up an AUX Send from the delay channel to itself, and turned it up to get the desired feedback. I like to add effects to my delay returns via AUX Sends. With the 1/8 note, I was going for a very swimmy-flangie sound. I put a lot of my LexiVerb Snare Plate on it (-8.6 dB), and tons of the MetaFlanger Mutron Tape (+6.0 dB) — very washed out and just what I was looking for. > To give the 1/4 note delay a wider sound than its source tracks, I put the DPP-1 Split Harmonizer Effect @ -8.6 dB, and a lot of the Reverb One 1 '70's Chamber, as well (-3.7 dB). I also have a third delay which is a cleaner version of DDL 1, the 1/8-note delay. It has Analog Channel AC2 with the input backed off for less saturation, but no feedback and no flange — just some LexiVerb Vocal Plate (-18.8 dB) + the DPP-1 Split Harmonizer Effect (-14.5 dB). Bass + Guitars Tracks
Crease and I were once again back at OUT LINE Studios in Miami to record the bass and guitars for Live to Be in Love. We had a number of amps and guitars to choose from, and we were able to get many different guitar textures. First, to hear a mix of last month's drums, along with the bass and guitars, listen to the two examples below: Bass+Gtrs Before Processing|Bass+Gtrs After Processing I'm using a lot of plug-ins on these tracks, which might beg the question, "Why not get the sound you want when you recorded them?" Good question. I recorded these tracks a little cleaner intentionally because I wanted to be able to demonstrate how I use these plug-ins. Below, I discuss some of my reasons behind using the plug-ins and settings that I did, as well as how I set them up. For the exact settings of all the plug-ins, see the screenshots for each track or download the session from DigiStudio.
I love the 1959 Fender Bassman with the Big Cab for the low end. I adjust the drive so it has the grit I feel the song needs and then set the tone controls for the sound I'm looking for (bass, middle, treble). DaD Valve RenComp RenEQ DaD Tape Listen to a sample of the Bass:
Acoustic Guitar 1 + 2
Sometimes I use the Spanish Gtr settings, sometimes Acoustic Gtr. The Spanish has a hi-mid ring that worked well for this guitar. FilterBank F3 RenComp RenEQI love the sound of RenEQ on acoustics, especially the top end. It has a kind of "golden" shimmer. Its 16k reminds me a lot of the Pultecs. I cleaned up the low-mids and brought out the attack with the 2.1k and the shine with the 5.8k + 16k Analog Channel AC2 Aux Sends Listen to a sample of the Acoustic Guitars 1 + 2:
Clean Guitar 1 — Twin
When you want a track to have a flange sound, sometime there is just no such thing as too much flange. This together with DDL 1 with the 1/8-note flange and the MetaFlanger — Mutron Tape Aux Send really did the trick. DaD Valve RenComp RenEQ DaD Tape Aux Sends Listen to a sample of Clean Guitar 1:
Guitar Swells
I used this to really flatten out these notes. Pretty compressed. Aux Sends Listen to a sample of the Gtr Swells: These guitars are our main rhythm tracks for most of the song. With the 5150, we were going for a more modern heavy distortion, and with the Marshall we went for less distortion and more tone. Panned hard left + right. I don't normally use much reverb on distorted guitars, these days they are usually kind of dry and upfront, but for these I used a little of the 70's Chamber for that retro depth and space.
DaD Valve RenComp RenEQ DaD Tape Aux Sends Listen to samples of the Heavy Guitars 1 + 2: I love these two tracks. They sounded great just as we recorded them. Only needed a little smoothing. Panned hard left + right.
For the console saturation sound. Compressor Bank CB1 Aux Sends Listen to samples of Telecaster — Twin 1 + 2: This guitar comes in the second chorus to add some lift + shine. Panned left at 60. Analog Channel AC1 Compressor Bank CB1 Cleaned up the lows with an HPF and found a nice sweet spot in the mids for edge and the high-mids for shine. DaD Tape Aux Sends Listen to samples of the Chime Guitar: Flange Guitars 1 + 2
4-Band EQ II Just needed some EQ to really bring out the midrange of the flange. Aux Sends Listen to samples of Flange Guitars 1 + 2: Flange Guitar 3 In the Bridge as just a texture. Panned left at 60. Analog Channel AC1 Really drove the input (+15.6) to add extra crunch and edge. FilterBank E6
> MetaFlanger — Mutron Tape (+2.5 dB) This track needed to be sort of indistinct with no specific position, so I just poured on the effect. Panned the send to the effect right at 60 to balance it with the source guitar. Listen to samples of Flange Guitar 3: Clean Guitar 2 This appears only in the broken-down Chorus after Pre-Chorus 3. Starts out clean and gets crunchy. DaD Valve RenComp
Rolled off the top + low end again, cleaned up the low-mids again, and found a hi-mid sweet spot that worked for this one. DaD Tape Aux Sends Listen to samples of Clean Guitar 2: Next month, we will continue our mix with the keyboards. |
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