The Brute Limiter

So here is a video I did showing some examples of the Brute Limiter from Inward Connections. I had a session few months ago with an artist named Venus that my engineer friend +D. Lyles brought  up to Nashville to record at Quad Studios. This was my first time really putting this limiter to work and it impressed everyone in the studio. Originally we had the vocal running through an la2a and not only did the Brute beat it out, it remained on every vocal we tracked for the rest of the night.

25 new features in studio one 2.5

problem solving as engineers

Some of the most underrated features of an engineer to me is problem solving, troubleshooting, and creativity. Anyone can sit at a desk and hit record and stop, but when problems arise is when engineers really show their worth to me. In the studio problems have to be solved quick because the artist is on the clock. In mixing you've got more time to think and go through options. Sometimes taking a step back and looking at the situation with all your options can provide a solution when your first thought is this can't be done.
For example in this mix I'm currently working on, my client pointed out a pop in the middle of the song. Then came those three words every engineer hears......."Can you fix it?" When I checked it out I realized it wasn't a digital pop, but a pop caused by the way the other artist featured on the song was saying a particular word, It was like a high pitched lip smack. Ok, so this is normally an easy fix. Grab the word from another hook and paste it over the one with the pop. Well I soon realized EVERY time the word was said in the song there was the same pop. At this point I was about to say its in the recording and there is nothing I can do about it. I had actually typed that in a reply in the email, but then before I hit send I said to myself is there anything else I can do before giving up.
So I got to brainstorming and came up with the following ideas.

1. fix it with eq.......... naw, eq cut could compromise the vocal
2. zoom in, find the pop, delete it.............could work if I paste in a portion so there is no gap there. Would be time consuming but possible. 
3. use an effect to mask the pop..........mmmm......reverb, delay, or distortion wouldn't fit the song
4. what if I masked it with another instrument........dammit the music is a 2track mix. 
5. what if I faded in just the beginning of each time he says the word thus reducing the pop..............AH HA! In theory not only should this work, but is also the quickest resolution. Lets try that!

Fading in the beginning of each of the words worked. And took me less that 5 mins to apply the fade to word 9 times across 3 hooks. As engineers (though sometimes we have to) we should really hate to say the word's "I can't". So next time your faced with a problem you think you can't solve, take a step and go weigh your options. Like I said anyone can sit at a desk and record someone, but problem solving, troubleshooting, and creativity is where an engineer really earns his worth to me. 

10 things pro tools 10 can do studio one 2 can't

10 things Studio One 2 can do that Pro Tools 10 can't

Radial Q3 review

Quality Does Matter

Let's talk quality. Quality costs, and quality sells. I don’t know when and why but somewhere along the way some artists and engineers are under the assumption that quality no longer matters. Maybe they are making the excuse that they don’t have the high end gear professional studios have so they shouldn’t be held to a high standard. Maybe they realized that the quality of music (mainly hip-hop) has decreased over the years and think that it's the new standard. Maybe it's because people are just too cheap to pay someone to do quality work. (Yes I said it). Now I’m not knocking anyone for not being able to pay premium prices to get work done, but there is a nice median between affordable, and good quality work. Everyone has a budget of how much they want to spend on a project, and there are plenty people out there (including myself) that can give you quality for what I would call affordable prices. It's no secret the rates studios charge has gone down over the years to due to the popularity of the home studio. And I’m sure engineering rates have dropped due to the plethora of people getting into engineering over the last decade.
When asked for some feedback on a mixtape someone wanted me to listen to I had to question the quality of it. The mixtape sounded like a bunch of raw recordings. After pointing this out the artist told me, “Well it’s just a mixtape.” I replied that mixtape songs need to be mixed to. Putting out a mixtape or album without any mixing and mastering is like showing your car at a car show that has not been washed and waxed and is covered in mud. In this analogy the mixing is the washing and the mastering is waxing. So make sure your music is washed and waxed before presenting it. Remember you only have once to make a first impression. Just like you won’t get taken seriously with a dirty car at a car show, you won’t get taken seriously without some form of quality control for your music. Now I know there are people who are just recording for fun who are not caring about the quality because for them is just a hobby. I’m speaking to those who want to release their music in hopes of making money. Or the people uploading music online trying to create a buzz. Trust me, with bad quality you will acquire a buzz for the wrong reason.  If your music is good, and has good quality, people will listen and will buy it.
Quality costs. If you expect someone to do quality work for you, expect to pay for it. Because when you get that quality product, you're going to want to sell it. Just remember, quality still matters, excuses don’t.

Welcome To 1979. An All Analog Studio

This weekend me and Darius Lyles went to the Gear Slutz 10 year anniversary party at Welcome To 1979 Studios. Welcome to 1979 is an analog studio. No Computer, no pro tools, no software. just vintage gear and tape machines galore. This studio will make you want to own a tape machine. The console is an MCI and the first one I've ever seen in person. I'm thinking of doing a session here for the experience of analog. Here are some pics I took. You can check out the studio's site at http://www.welcometo1979.com

Affordable 500 Series Modules

Alta Moda Audio recently announced their successor to the am-20, the am-25, which is a four band parametric EQ. It seems like every time you turn around there is a new 500 series module announced, but this one is listed at only $499. And has a special introductory price of $299! A few posts ago I did a write up on Lindell audio who is releasing three 500 series modules at $299. I know a lot of people complain that 500 series gear is too expensive. If a few more companies can come in at this $299-499 price point things can get interesting. Chameleon Labs is already there with the 581 mic pre for $399. And you can add Radial to this group with their Power Pre ($499) and their Komit compressor ($499). If you go $100 up you can get modules $599 like the Radial Q3 (which I own and love) and JDK audio V14. JDK audio also just announced  their 500 series pre based off the R20, and a compressor based off the R22, the V10 and V12. Likely these will both be priced $599 to match the V14. Black Lion audio is gearing up to ship their auteur pre in the 500 series format for $349. Looks like some really cool units are coming at an affordable price tag.

Waves H-comp Overview

Waves Street Team

I am now a part of the Waves Street Team! Check me out as well as the other members at http://waves.com/content.aspx?id=12038

Companies That Offer Academic Discounts

Lets be real. Audio school is not cheap, no college is really. So as a student (and even after graduation) you're always looking for a bang for your buck deal. One thing a lot of people forget to take advantage of is academic discounts while in school. This should be listed right up with perks for going to school with hands on experience and networking opportunities. If its one thing I know besides audio it's how to save when making purchases, even if its 10%. (Yes 10% does make a difference). Some academic version purchases I’ve made while I was enrolled at Art Institute of Tennessee Nashville include Sonnox Elite bundle and Digidesign  Avid Pro Tools upgrade. I know I got more but thats what I remember off the top of my head right now. If you're wondering what an academic version is its the full version of a software or plugin offered at lower price to students and teachers.  Below I’m listing some companies I know that offer academic discounts as well as links to find out more information. Normally all a company or dealer needs is a copy of your student ID and your most recent schedule and you're good to go. So if you're a student, next time before you buy a plugin or software, check to see if they offer an academic discount. Be sure to read fine print. Some academic versions out there are only for schools and not students. Of course this isn’t everyone so check with dealers and companies before purchasing to see if they offer academic discounts.

• Waves Audio
• Waves offers 35% off select bundles
• http://www.waves.com/content.aspx?id=10662
• Sound Toys
• Sound Toys offer an academic bundle for $249. That is 60% off list price and includes almost if not all of their plugins
• https://www.soundtoys.com/edu/
• McDSP
• McDSP offers many bundles for a discounted price. Looks to be 40-50% off. Click on student order form on the following link to see all the bundles offered at the discounted price.
• http://www.mcdsp.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=24&Itemid=100022
• Avid Pro Tools
• Avid offer Pro Tools academic for $295, more than 50% off regular price.
• Pro Tools academic also gets you get 4 years worth of free upgrades. That is not a typo. 4 years of free upgrades! Right now the upgrade price is $299
• Avid also offer Mbox bundles with Pro Tools Express ( a lite version of Pro Tools) for a discounted price to students.
• http://apps.avid.com/education/
• Presonus Studio One
• Presonus offers Studio One Educational for the following prices
• artist version - $49
• producer version - $99
• professional version - $299
• It seems these educational versions are only offered through dealers and not from Presonus web shop.
• http://studioone.presonus.com/shop/
• Izoptope
• According to this link Izotope offers 50% off to students on their plugins on their website store. I’ve seen Izotope Academic listed at dealer before so check there to.
• http://www.izotope.com/support/portal/index.php/kb/article/306-Educational_Academic_Discount
• Ableton
• Ableton offers 40% off for students and teachers
• http://www.ableton.com/edu-discounts
• Sonnox
• Sonnox offers their Elite bundle for $630 on academic discount
• http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/OxEliteNatEdu/

Companies and Products I Would Love To See Develop For The 500 Series

After half way filling up my new API lunchbox, I got to thinking of which companies and products I would love to see develop for the 500 series. So here is a wish list of 5 of those companies and products.

1. Summit Audio - The TLA100 is one of my favorite vocal compressors. And I’ve always wanted to use Summit EQ’s (I recently got the new Softube Summit Grand Channel). If Summit could find a way to shrink their products into the 500 series you can put me down for one of each. Summit is known for their tube gear so this would be quite a challenge.
2. Tube-tech CL 1B - Oh the classic blue beast. Tubetech opticalness in 500 series. One word. Yes! Tube-tech has their own proprietary modules similar to the 500 series, but sadly its not 500 series.
3. Empirical Labs 500 series pre - The mike-e is one of my favorite vocal pre’s and channels strips. If Dave Derr where to make a 500 series pre with say the saturation from mike-e I’d be on it like LED’s on all the other Empirical Labs gear.
4. Dave Hill Designs - Dave Hill gave me the most impressive demo at Gearfest this year at Sweetwater. If Dave was to make anything 500 series no doubt it would be great. For those who don’t know Dave Hill he is more known as the mastermind behind the Cranesong gear.
5. Solid State Logic - Because SSL makes the X-rack,modules, their own proprietary smaller modules, I doubt we’ll ever see them design for the 500 series. In my opinion the 500 series is way more popular than the X-rack stuff. I think SSL could make a killing with the 500 series format, especially if they did their EQ.

These are of course dreams but the Empirical Labs pre I can see really becoming a reality. What companies or products do you want to see in the 500 series?

API price increase may raise JDK sales

Just a theory here, but if you were trying to decide between the legendary API gear, and their more affordable brand JDK, then the recent API price increase may help you make your decision. I'm in the market for a stereo compressor and been strongly considering the JDK R22, and giving the API 2500 a light consideration. Before yesterday these two compressors where separated by $1,500.  Few days ago some API gear got a price increase. The API 2500 has gone up to $2,800. With more distance between these two brands people who were considering API may now try the JDK, Its hard to pay more for something you've been looking at a certain price for so long. People who really want API will buy API, so I don't think the price increase will hurt  their sales. But for those who were struggling between the two brands may find a pleasant surprise in the lesser known JDK audio gear. I still use my JDK R24 every mix I do. Hopefully the JDK stuff doesn't go up to because I will likely be adding more to my rack. 

Sweetwater Gearfest 2012

Gearfest 2012 was another great experience for me, once attended with my friend D. Lyles. This was my third time attending the event and I had just as much fun as the last two years. I got to see a lot of familiar faces, chat with some important people, and drool at sale prices at every tent. I noticed some products weren’t on sale for as low as they were the previous year. Sales were still were still good and you’d have to be a fool to come and not buy anything. I always put together a wishlist of what I want but after seeing other products on sale it makes it hard to make a final decision. Though I’m not in the market for a new mic the Miktek C7 was on sale for $749! Thats $150 off regular price. Another great sale was the Radial Q3 for $529, down from the regular price of $599 (which I actually ordered last night). The workshops last year I think were “ok” but this year they were good. Though I spent most my time in the tents with manufactures, I got to check out seminars from George Massenburg, Fab Dupont, Mike Wells, and one from Mojave showing off their mics in different configurations on acoustic guitars. Gearfest isn’t a place where new products are introduced, but It caught me off guard to see the new Daking Hybird compressor for the 500 series in Geoffe Daking’s lunchbox. Geoffe told me last year he was working on it but I didn’t expect to see until NAMM or maybe AES later this year. He said its called a hybird compressor because its VCA that acts like a FET. He said it was shipping now (though I haven’t seen on it any sites yet, including Daking’s) and he actually offered to sell me the one right out of his lunchbox. Dave HIll gave us a demo of his Europa mic pre and Titan compressor. I was blown away at what the Europa could do. You really could hear a difference with each knob twist. I ended up leaving gearfest with a API 6 slot lunchbox, Chandler Little Devil Pre, and tascam pr-10. People I noticed I didn’t see this year were Waves, Slate audio (and digital), and McDSP. Overall though another successful event for Sweetwater and I look forward to next year. Gearfest, unlike other similar events, is completely free. All you need to do is get there. With events like NAMM in LA and AES in NY out of reach for me, Fort Wayne is a tolerable 6 hour drive for me from Nashville. If you're like me and can get to Indiana faster than NY or LA I highly recommend checking out Gearfest next year. I forgot my digital camera so I had to take pics with my galaxy nexus, but here is a link to some photos I took. https://plus.google.com/b/113269535296910365369/113269535296910365369/posts/FLbNQUfxLGG

Sweetwater Gearfest 2012 Wishlist

Sweetwater's Gearfest 2012 is coming up and of course I will be in attendance. Last year picked up the JDK R24 and couldn't be happier with my purchase. Here is whats on my wishlist for this year. Its hard to decide on what to purchase next but I don't feel I really need anything, but also don't want to buy gear that won't see regular use. Depending on deals going on I'll be leaving with an order placed for on the following. 

1. tonelux V4 roadster w/ little devil pre
2. tonelux V4 roadster w/ tonelux mp5a
3. Miktek C7
4. dangerous bax eq

After researching all the 500 series racks on the market I've decided on the tonelux V4, and the little devil pre has been on my wishlist since it was announced. If the little devil is not on sale and the mp5a is then I'll likely go with that. If Tonelux isn't running any specials thenJDK R22 can fill my want for a new stereo compressor, especially one thats good on vocals. Also haven't ruled out the Miktek C7, I have some projects coming up this summer and Miktek makes some of best mics I've heard. Lastly the Bax eq on sale I would consider it. 

You've Just Lost A Sale

I tell people over and over how engineering is more than  just running a recording a session, its also about personal communication. I've met millionaire's in this industry andwhile there are some assholes out there, the majority I've met are humble, down to earth, and the nicest people you will ever meet. Keep being a douche and see how many clients you attract. I bring this up because I had emailing a pro audio sales rep back and forth a while  about 500 series gear. I've been interested in it but not fully committed to it yet, and of course I won't spend my money until I'm 100% sure thats what I want. I have been strongly considering the API 6 slot lunchbox, but after attending Nashville Recording Workshop few months ago I became drawn to the Tonelux brand. So I emailed the rep about his thoughts about the Tonelux gear and this was his reply. 

" Thanks for your email. It's been a bit over a year now that we've been going back and forth over and I've been offering insight and advice to you. Are you nearing readiness to make a purchase with us? "

There are 3 things I took from this. 

1. He's annoyed with me
2. I'm wasting his time if I'm not spending any money
3. He didn't answer my question in the reply therefore he is done answering until I spend some money

Now I understand his point, but back to what I was saying there are ways to talking to people. There are better ways to get his point across. For example he could of said

 "I think Tonelux stuff is great etc, etc. We've been going back and forth about a lot of 500 series gear foe awhile, have you narrowed them down to any? We still have some deals going on."

I think you would agree that sounds better then the "your wasting my time" attitude he gave off. And to answer his question yes I am ready to make to a purchase now, but because of this I won't be making it with him and his company. I'll take my money to Sweetwater, who is my usual dealer who sells the same gear and has never me feel like I was wasting their time. If you help I will gladly spend money with you because I know most of these sales people get commission. I don't blame the company for this but the person, and that's why he will not be getting this sale. I'm curious to know if he would of known I've spent over $10,000 with Sweetwater would he still come at me like that. I understand we are all out to make money, but one thing I realized about being in audio is that people won't spend money until they are ready to. That goes from booking studio time, to mixing fees, to gear. So don't ever treat someone like they are wasting your time. Because most times when that happens, just like in this case, thats the time that person is ready to spend money. Again, personal communication and how you talk to people is huge in this business. And thats why this sales rep has lost a sale. 

Apple Buys Redmatica!

many have not heard of Redmatica but to me this is a big deal. I bought all of redmatica products about 5 years ago and they are basically steroids for Logic. Keymap Pro adds incredible useful features to the EXS24, pro manager lets you arrange all your sounds for Logic, and auto sampler samples hardware and automatically maps it as an exs24 instrument. I sampled all my favorite korg triton sounds with it. I thought this company was dead because its been many years since I received a update to any of the programs. If Apple ties this into Logic it will be a huge step in the right direction for them to show they are still serious about Logic. With other daws like Studio one and Pro Tools updating to new versions on an annual cycle Logic is way over due for a new version. But if they tie this into the next version of Logic now, how much longer will we have to wait for Logic 10? Check out the videos on Redmatica's site to see what it does and why I am excited about this. http://redmatica.com/Redmatica/Videos.html

SPL De-esser Collection Review

I know I said I was done with buying plugins unless they were a game changer, unique enough, or something I didn’t already have. The SPL de-esser collection fits two of three,  the unique and something I don’t already have. The first reason I purchased this is because it does m/s. I’ve been doing a lot of mastering lately and this would be perfect if I needed to de-ess vocals while mastering. The second is that it only has two frequency settings (male and female) unlike most de-essers which allow you to dial in the exact frequency you want. So why would I want a de-esser with “less” options? Because it will either simply work, or not. Instead of spending time dialing in the frequency, I try the two chosen for me. If it doesn’t work, then I go to a different de-esser that's more precise.

The de-esser collection comes with two plugins, the SPL classic de-esser, and dual band de-esser. The latter being a de-esser that has a lower band of 1.44k. On the SPL classic de-esser the male frequency is 6.4k, and female is 7.2k. In the dual band de-esser male is the same 6.4k, but female is set to 7.6k. The dual band is interesting to me because I never thought sibilance to be as low as 1.44k. What makes this more interesting is the bands interact with each other. If using both bands together the signal is processed by the low band first and then by the high band. Kind of like using a compressor in series. Because of this the low band affects how the high band processes the signal.

Another great feature is the auto threshold. On the dual band it's always on, on the classic de-esser you have a button to engage it. What this does is automatically change the de-essers threshold depending on how the input signal varies allowing for the best performance. Without this feature you’d spend time dialing in the right threshold to cover a whole vocal take, or even automating the threshold for louder and softer parts for smooth de-essing.

One thing I noticed with these de-essers is there is no way to audition what the de-esser is seeing. Most de-essers have this and it's helpful for getting the de-esser set just right. By listening to what the de-esser is seeing you can easily adjust the frequency until you hear strong sibilance coming through. This is isn’t a deal breaker but I find it odd this feature was not included.

In use I found it quicker to get dialed in than any other de-esser with just having male or female settings to choose from. With the dual band I figured the low band would remove some presence from vocals being so close to that 2-4k range but it didn’t. If you don’t have any other de-esser plugins I wouldn’t recommend this one because you may need to get precise with it, however if you have others this is a great addition, especially if you mix and master. I have not had to use it in m/s mode yet but when the time comes I’ll be ready. For more information visit www.plugin-alliance.com

My Favorite Saturation Plugins

After softube released a free saturation AAX plugin for Pro Tools 10 users, I realized just how much I use saturation plugins. They do a great job of adding some bite and thickening up anything I need them to. They also help tracks cut through in a mix.  So here are my favorite saturation plugins and how I use them when mixing. 

1. McDsp Analog Channel - This was my first saturation plugin. It didn’t get love from me until I read the manual and really understood how to use it. Analog Channel is two different plugins. The AC101 emulates class A amplifier circuits like preamps, and the AC202 emulates tape machines. I use AC202 more than AC101 but both are great and extremely versatile. AC202 in vintage mode thickens up thin vocals. Sometimes its too much, but when it is the more subtle modern mode will do the job. I also use AC202 on strings to give some attitude. Most strings I get to mix sound boring and thin, and eq most times will not fully do the job. Sometimes the AC202 is the only plugin that I put on strings in a mix. It sees action for me on drum bus as well. Being able to shape the eq curve really come in handy as well.
2. Decapitator - Another extremely versatile saturation plugin, and arguably the most popular. SoundToys gives you 5 different analog modeling styles. My favorite is E, followed by P and N. I use decapitator on my mix buss, strings, and sometimes drum buss. One of my favorite features is the tone knob, which allows you to make the signal darker or brighter. Its what really makes this a coloring tool for me. That knob can sometimes replace an eq for me. I never  used the punish the button before, but I can think of some cools ways to use it for effects.
3. Softube Saturation Knob - Even though I’ve only been using it for a week I have to list this as one of my favorites. At first I thought this was just the saturation taken from the focusing equalizer, but a quick shootout with the two quickly proved me wrong. The focusing eq can be pushed a lot harder before it starts to distort. So far this plugin has seen use on vocals and mix buss for me. Next time I get some strings I will try them there to.

Definition of Audio Terms In My Own Words

Listening to engineers describe how gear sounds can sound like  foreign language sometimes. When I describe how a piece of gear sounds I usually stick to six basic terms which all have opposites; vintage, modern, dark, bright, clean, colored. While we hear terms like warm, tubey, smooth, etc. all the time, I’m going to try to help you understand these terms in my own words. Now remember, how a piece of gear sounds is totally your opinion. What is bright to you may be be dark to someone else. For example, I let a studio in town borrow my JDK R24 for a few weeks because they were looking to get a new stereo eq. The studio told me the eq was too dark for them. Too dark?!?! The JDK is one of the brightest eq’s I’ve ever used. Everyone has their own opinion. So lets get into breaking down some of the popular terms, and remember, this is how I interpret these terms in my own opinion, as everything usually falls into the category of my  basic terms. Speaking of those basic terms lets start there.

1. Dark -  this means the signal sounds vintage, to understand what vintage sounds like listen to some old recording and study the tone. Dark sounding also falls under colored, which we’ll get to in a sec. A dark tone to some may sound dull but depending on the material you're working on it could be just what you need. Dark to me works very well with rock music and hip-hop (not rap, yes there is a difference). As an example of dark vocals listen to some Wu-tang. You can make a signal darker by rolling off some of high frequencies. Examples of some dark gear to me are the Universal Audio solo 610, Universal Audio la2a.
2. Bright -  this means the signal has more high frequencies. If you want to make something sound brighter add some high frequency to it. Bright being the opposite of dark can be great on some vocals. Too bright will result in harshness. If you want to hear harshness boost that high end as far it can go. If your ears are crying in pain then you're experiencing harshness. Bright can also improve clarity if done correctly.
3. Clean -  clean means your signal is pure and accurate. This is a modern sound, the opposite of vintage. For example a clean mic pre means it doesn’t change (or color) your sound. So what you put in is what you get back. Solid-state or transformerless is generally clean. Examples of some clean pres to me are the Avalon 737 pre, empirical labs mike-e, and API pres, even though they aren’t solid-state or transformerless.
4. Colored -  this is the opposite of clean. Coloring your sounds means changing the tone from the original signal. Colored can be associated with vintage and sometimes dark. Different gear has different colors. If you listen closely you can hear differences between different pieces of gear. The Neve 1073 is one of the most famous channel strips ever because of the color it adds to a signal. Color generally comes from gear with transformers and tubes. Though some tube gear is clean (like the avalon 737) tubes are mostly associated with color and warmth. Same goes for transformers. Some gear can have transformers in them and still sound clean because the transformer doesn’t produce a lot of noise. For example, my Empirical Labs Mike-e is a clean pre though it has a transformer input, it's a low noise transformer. Anything claiming a British sound should have some color to it.
5. Muddy -  this the second hardest term to explain, but here we go. Mud is a build of low mid frequencies (200-500hz) that makes the signal sound cluttered. Mud is not a positive thing and should never be taken as a compliment. It took me a long time to distinguish what mud was.
6. Sterile -  sterile means ultra clean. This is good for say orchestra where you usually want as little color as possible. Sterile can also come off sometimes as “too clean”, meaning its so clean it's boring. These type of pres are crystal clear though. Examples of sterile pres to me are Millenia and Grace pres.
7. Transparent - this another word for clean and it's mostly associated with compressors and eq’s. A transparent piece of gear means its not going to impart any color on the original signal during its processing. If you're happy with the tone of your signal but need to further process it then you need to reach for something thats transparent. My Chameleon Labs 7720 stereo compressor I use for buss compression is an example of a transparent compressor. Also Daking FET and JDK R22, and the Speck ASC eq are known for being transparent.
8. Smooth - this to me differs in compressors, eq’s, and mics. For compressors smooth means its compressing but you can’t really hear the compression, even at high gain reduction. The Summit Audio TLA 100A is the smoothest compressor I’ve ever used. Any compressor, except maybe aggressive ones (more on that next) can be made smooth with the right settings, but compressors like the TLA 100A does for you on its own. Opto compressors are known for being smooth. Because of their smooth character they are widely used on vocals. Examples of opto compressors are  the la2a, Manley ELOP, and Tubetech CL1B. Plugin examples of smooth compressors include the Softube version of Tubetech CL1B and Summit Audio TLA-100A and the McDSP 6030 ultimate compressor Opto-C, Opto-L, and British C.  Smoothness has to do with the knee of the compressor as well. If your compressor has the option to adjust the knee try using a soft knee for smoother compression. On EQ smooth means you can get away with high boosts without hearing any harshness. My JDK R24 to me is a silky smooth eq. On mics smooth means there is an even frequency response. Some mics will hype (or boost) certain frequencies to help achieve a certain sound. Because of this sometimes a different mic can be a substitute for eq on a source. Be careful you don’t judge a mic off its frequency response because a mics sound has to do with a lot more than just that. Mic pres, though often not shown, have a frequency response to. So a smooth mic pre, like a smooth mic, will have an even frequency response meaning certain frequencies aren’t jumping out at you.
9. Aggressive - in a mic pre this means in your face, very forward sounding. The API 312 and 512 have been described as an aggressive mic pre. In a compressor this means it really clamps down on a signal even with gentle settings. My JoeMeek TwinQ I previously owned had very aggressive compressors. Even with a slow attack, low ratio, and high threshold those needles would almost slam. I could never get a gentle compression action set up with them. Though the JoeMeek is a optical compressor, FET compressors are known for being aggressive and being capable of a very fast attack time.The most famous FET compressor is the 1176. The FET compressor from Softube is an emulation of an 1176. While I’m able to control it better than the JoeMeek TwinQ compressors, it's still an aggressive compressor to me.
10. Warm - this is the one you all have been waiting for. Warmth is the most used word when describing the sound of a piece of gear. Its the hardest one to describe because people who have no idea of what warmth is use the term freely. So what warmth is to  you and how you perceive it will be different from others because the term is used so loosely. Dave Pensado (shot out to the Pensado Students Facebook group) says warmth is another word for dull, and I partially agree. Where bright deals with high frequencies, warmth deals with the low to low mid frequencies. Tubes are associated with warmth because they add harmonic distortion (the good kind of distortion) to the those frequencies. This is what people are referring to when they say tube warmth. Where I partially agree with Pensado’s statement is that a warm signal can sound a little on the dark side, and like I mentioned earlier dark can be associated with dull. So now we have warmth, the word everyone loves to use for a good sound, and dull, a negative adjective in the same sentence describing a signal.

I hope I did a good job explaining these terms in my own words and this helps other understand what these terms mean. The only way to get your own definition of these terms is to listen to the gear and make your own assumption. Companies like Softube do a great job at emulating hardware in software, so demo some of their plugins and study how each sound different. If you're looking at getting some new gear and didn’t know what to go with then use this to help decide on what you need based on the sound you’re after. And you can always email me for my opinion on gear if you need it.

Lindell Audio new 500 series products to retail at $299!

I was browsing on Alto music’s site and came across the new 500 series from Lindell Audio and saw the price was $299. My first impression was Alto screwed up the price listing. There is no way a mic pre with a pultec style eq, FET compressor, and a pultec eq can be $299 each in a 500 series. So to confirm this wasn’t an early April Fool’s joke I emailed Lindell Audio asking if this was the correct pricing and received this reply.

“Yes it’s very true, we are being very aggressive with our pricing. $299 is the price. We expect to ship in late July.”

So there you have it, For well under a grand you can get three 500 series modules for the price of what you normally pay for one. So this makes me wonder. If Lindell Audio can make aggressively priced 500 series, why can’t anyone else? I often notice the price of the smaller 500 series products are not far from the rack versions of the same unit. My audio friends close to me know I have been contemplating getting a API lunchbox and some 500 series pieces for a while. With these products from Lindell Audio I am very tempted to buy all three. Products like empirical labs docderr, Chandler Little Devil Pre, and Inward Connections Brute makes me step closer to the 500 series, but the Lindell Audio 500 series makes me take a huge step.  


For more info visit http://www.lindellaudio.se/

How I Use McDSP MC2000 Multiband Compressor While Mixing

Why would you pay for something and leave it behind? Don't Forget Your Session Data!

Why would you pay for something and leave it behind? Would you go to a game store and buy a video game and leave with just the receipt? Thats whats your doing when you leave a recording session without your session data. Quite often I get artists who want me to edit their songs by making a clean version or want me to mix it, but all they have is the rough mix from the studio. The rough mix in a way is like your receipt from the store. It shows what you purchased as a rough mix shows what you did at the studio that day. So when your friend says bring the game over so we can play, you have to say well its at the store. Same as when I ask “do you have the session data?” And the reply is “it’s at the studio.” When it comes time to do more with the song and you don’t have the session data, then you ultimately have to re-record the song, or as in my analogy you have to repurchase the video game again. When you leave the session there should be at least two people who has your session data, and one of them is you as the artist. If you have a personal engineer then they should keep a copy as well. If you’ve hired an engineer that works at the studio then the studio should keep a copy on file. Most studios will have you sign an agreement saying they will keep your session on file for X amount of days, months, etc. If you decide you don’t want to work with that engineer or studio anymore you can bring your session data to another studio and pick up where you left off. And you should never pay extra for your session data from a studio. If a studio tells you they can’t give you the data and try to charge you for it I would not do business with that studio. I have not seen this happen but I can see a studio doing it to make sure they keep your business. If they are the only ones with your session data then you have to go back to them to record. I wouldn’t be surprised if a studio has attempted to pull that off. Bottom line you should always get your session data before leaving a recording session. I know everyone is happy to get the rough mix of what they did but the session data is far more important. Its yours, you paid for it, so don’t leave it behind.

3 Ways to Spot an Amateur Engineer's DAW Session

3 Ways to Spot an Amateur Engineer’s DAW Session

3 ways to tell if your DAW session is professional or amateur. If you fall victim to any of the following then consider doing these in your next session and watch your sessions become more efficient. Also your mix engineer will thank you.

1. Not labeling your tracks - This is the biggest one. When I get a session that has audio 1, audio 2, audio 3, etc I send it back to the artist or engineer that sent it to me, or I charge extra to label the tracks myself. As a mix engineer in my opinion its not my job to label your tracks, and by doing so it takes time away I can spend mixing. Labeling your tracks will keep your session organized, and good organization means more time, and more time equals more money.
2. Session is at the default tempo of 120 bpm - Having the correct tempo in a session is good for two reasons. 1. Its makes it extremely easy to copy and paste hooks through out the song and move verse’s around. Without the correct session tempo you will be stuck nudging tracks around trying to get them placed properly. 2. With the correct tempo the mix engineer will be able to set up tempo based effects like delays.
3. sends and buses not labeled - This one, like not labeling your tracks, has to do with organization. If you set up a headphone mix or reverb bus for the artist, do yourself a favor and name it. After a couple of sends it can get confusing on which sends are sent where.

These three steps will help speed up your sessions in the studio. I was assisting on a recording session one day and the lead engineer told me to turn down the send of the reverb on the vocal. I go to do it and there were four sends set up on the vocal........unlabeled. So now instead of going right to the reverb I have to play process of elimination to find the reverb send. And trust me, the longer you take to do something in the studio, the more the artist or client can start to wonder or assume you don’t know what the hell your doing. If you ordered at a fast food restaurant and the cashier took 10 minutes poking around the register trying to put in your simple order what would you think? You’d first think what is taking so long, then you’d assume they didn’t know what they were doing. Its the same way in the studio with a client  for the time. Your behind the register and they are giving you their order.