Using Delay as Reverb

Reverb is a great way to create depth in a mix.  It can also add texture and change the attitude of the song.  What is “reverb” though?  Wikipedia says

Reverb is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air.

So, at it’s root, reverb is basically a bunch or echoes (delays – in music mixing speak).  I’m sure a lot of you know that already, but do you use that knowledge?

(more…)

2-Buss Processing – Now? or Later?

What’s a movie without an ending?  What’s a house without some paint?  What’s a cake without the icing?  Unfinished.  That’s what a mix is like without 2-buss processing.  There are a couple schools of thought on how to add that final touch to a mix, though.  The old-school way is to barely add any 2-buss processing during the mix.  You might add a small amount of compression to the 2-buss, but never any limiting.  The new-school way is to get the mix to sound as close to the final product as possible…using whatever tools you have: compression, eq, and limiting.  Now, if you were making a cake, would you send it to someone else to put the icing on?  Me neither.  I’d make it the best I could before I let anyone see it or taste it.

(more…)

Quick Q&A #1 – Depth In The Mix

This is a post using emails between myself and Miguel.  If you have a question for me, feel free contact me.  I’ll do my best to answer it, and it might even end up on this blog!

Miguel: Lee,

I’ve been checking out your blog. I just wanted to know how do you achieve that depth to your mixes? Especially with Drums and Bass. Thanks

(more…)

Plug-Ins That Rock #2 – Lexicon PCM Native Bundle

Reverb is a bland topic. It’s not as exciting to talk about as an awesome preamp, mic, or eq. It just isn’t. Even so, It can separate the killer mixes from the crap. That seems like an odd statement with today’s mixing style (we’re definitely not talking 80′s reverb here), but I covered the importance of non-intrusive fx in “Using Effects as Glue”. So, it would stand to reason that a great reverb is necessary to achieve the desired effect, and the Lexicon PCM Native bundle is just such a reverb.

(more…)

Get Snared

If I had to pick one drum (out of the entire kit) to sound good,
I’d pick the snare. It’s probably the only drum that the normal person ever pays attention to. If someone claps along with the music, they’re probably clapping in time with the snare. I used to spend a ton of time working on my snare sound. I’d solo the snare’s close mic(s) and get them sounding the best I could. At the end of the mix, though, I was never that happy with my results. What was the deal? It sounded good enough solo’d, but it either felt too distant, weak, or waaayyy too loud when I was done with everything. My problem was I had been ignoring some of the most important snare sources in a mix: the overheads and room mics.

(more…)