Date;Friday, February 9, 2024
Loudness_Value;-16.96 LUFS
Max_Momentary_Loudness;-13.35 LUFS
Sample Rate;44.100 kHz
Average RMS (AES-17) Left;-14.88 dB
Average RMS (AES-17) Right;-15.08 dB
Max. RMS;-12.77 dB
True Peak Left;-3.19 dB
True Peak Right;-3.36 dB
Bit Depth Left;24 bit
Bit Depth Right;24 bit
Here is my Monthly Submission:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZGJGUA ... sp=sharing
Well where do I start. I’m happy this month the submission is a EDM/Trance type project as it really brought me back to my younger club days and house parts with house music bumping… Lets just say I had a lot of fun mixing this one and felt I went surgical with some of the details.
General Session:
- I imported tracks into a session. naming, grouping colorizing, deleting dead space..etc.. general pre mixing maintenance…
Channels were grouped to like instruments and tied to VCA faders for each group.
All channels sent to a Mix bus, which fed the stereo bus.
Gain matched all tracks set to pink noise at 17db to even out tracks to same audible level with plenty of headroom to work with. Turned off the pink noise and went to work.
The samples all really sounded quite clean so there wasn’t a whole bunch of sample cleanup needed at all. I really wanted to take the listener on a journey and pictured myself back in my 20s in clubs how I would want to hear it bumping over the system… I wanted the mix to take me there…
Most of my mixing was spent on automation. Every single instrument that had a hint of a solo, where the focus was on it, I used multiple types of automation to really create the feeling.. to emphasize the build ups and extend the silences.
I used:
- LR panning automation
Stereo Wideness automation
Volume Automation
Wet/Dry automation
- A delay feedback automation on the RIDE.
And other plugin related automations.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kDgExTE7JRosZRYM9
Much of the automation was used to create buildups and transitions, also I used a lot of automation on the radio vocals to create the effect I did.
The RIDE: Since the song submitter wanted a crazy change to the ride, I EQ and compressed it to liking, I hit it with radiator to give it fuzz and distortion, and I used 2 delays and a stereo modulator, plus waves s-1 stereo imager to really give this sizzle, higher end brightness and cut some of the muddy low out to give it more snap on the low mids. Using automation and during the buildups I tuned different plugins to change the tone, FX and sound of the RIDE To give it building energy with a long almost annoying delay that automates towards the peak energy transitions.
- All tracks were sent directly to the Mix Bus
Almost all tracks got a channel strip: either AMEK 9099, Lindel 69, or Sheps Omnichannel..
Since some of the channels strips and other plugins give that vintage “hiss” I used a gate on every channel to silence any noise.
To See the Drums
https://photos.app.goo.gl/WRuwcfiUQwGxRptZ8
Not much was really done to the drums other than stereo field positioning, a channel strip or a distortion plugin was used on most drums. The drums and percussion all sounded really good so mostly volume, panning and stereo wideness panning automation was used on the tracks. A little EQ to tune for each one, noise gates to keep silence.
Kicks, Bass and one of the synths that has lows, I used a new plugin I just picked up called Kick Shaper by WA productions and wow… absolutely amazing. It’s a combo of different effects, dynamics, equs and other bass related setting to quickly scope the sound you want. I went with a more house music kind of kick punch since I grew up with that sound and it fit..
Low frequency channels: low end eq to cut off rumble and help to cut frequency clashes. Waves s-1 to position the different low end sounds in different places in the stereo and delay field. Automation was used on Bass and low synths to create movement buildups and stereo field position.
See Synth Inserts:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/7SN9VtbbfYnCGK7X8
Synths, FX and Sequencers..
I really wanted to make each instrument “solo”/showcase special. Instead of really focusing on changing already good sounds I focused mostly on EQ position and clarity, presence in the mix, motion (use of volume automation, Stereo widening automation and stereo field position) and use of reverbs and delays to create motion, depth and vibe. I used a lot of delays, reverbs and stereo panners.
Channels had very little direct effects/inserts: A channel strip, eq or distortion to tune sound to liking. Waves S1 for stereo widening and automation and some of the channels had low end eqs, and reverbs, panning tools.
I crated a few FX sends in which some were tied specifically to a channel and some were used more globally on many tracks:
FX sends:
- FX global Drum Saturation: Waves Abbey Road Saturation.
FX Bass: saturation decapitator, gate, waves s-1 imager. automated volume and stereo width, as well as had wave rbass to really add low warmth and thump to some of the low freq channels and the bass.
FX VOX – This send was created specific for using Valhalla Supermassive to create the radio echo on the main vocal sample. Automated for stereo position and volume.
FX REVERB – mids and highs: Waves R verb and a EQ to high/low cut to focus on mid range. Mostly used to help position certain tracks out in front of the mix.
Master Fader: DC offset plug set to cut extreme lows, Steinburg Brickwall Limiter, set to -1.3, no gain.
Monitoring Plugs: Waves WDM, Waves VU meter, Waves Analyzer.
Software: Cubase 10.5, on a 2011 custom built AMD phenom x6
Mixed in Sennheiser HD600 cans, checked on 3 other sets of headphones and in Foxtex PM5 monitors.
I hope the song provide likes what I did...
Also... consider listening to this mix with headphones.. it wont' disappoint
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