ahjteam
Anssi Tenhunen
Try do the limiting in parallel, so that you can maintain the dynamics, but get some of that body you get from the limiting. That brings more life especially to the drums.
Automation for dynamic mixes
- Thread starter Rob Logic
- Start date
Try do the limiting in parallel, so that you can maintain the dynamics, but get some of that body you get from the limiting. That brings more life especially to the drums.
greyskull
Member
- Mar 22, 2006
- 6,072
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I do a bit of an Andy Wallace, and ride the overheads, room mics , hats and ride through the song,
Oh up and down for louder/more exciting sections, room up/down for slower sections, hats and ride in and out when theyre being played.
Sometimes ride kick and snare depending on the section.....
So much easier with a control surface. do all that in one pass of the song, and Feel it as opposed to guess it drawing it in.
Oh up and down for louder/more exciting sections, room up/down for slower sections, hats and ride in and out when theyre being played.
Sometimes ride kick and snare depending on the section.....
So much easier with a control surface. do all that in one pass of the song, and Feel it as opposed to guess it drawing it in.
at my home studio i have to draw them, its shitty as hell i love having a multi channel control surface the single channel ones done really do it with the precision on the pans....
So would this be done on a drum aux or any additional mix bus for the total mix? I've never put a limiter on the drum bus before, just a couple of compressors and usually call it a day. I did use a parallel compressor for the snare on this mix though to good use in my opinion.
Spectivum
DisMember
Hi, I am looking for advice on the kick track (VST) specifically, wonder if you automate the fast double bass parts. When velocity is the same these always fell louder than a single hit because of the repetition, I wonder if there is a way to automatically decrease the loudness feel based on the speed of the kick? so it would be gradual based on the duration between 2 hits.
if that is not possible I guess I have to manually edit but how?
I could adjust the velocity in the hits but that would trigger a different sample. or I could decrease the volume at those parts. or should I use a modified sound from another instance of the VST.
thanks a lot.
if that is not possible I guess I have to manually edit but how?
I could adjust the velocity in the hits but that would trigger a different sample. or I could decrease the volume at those parts. or should I use a modified sound from another instance of the VST.
thanks a lot.
you hear about automating vocals ALL the time when you are talking about the big boys - but i don't get it.
now, i have almost all my different vocal parts on different tracks, verse1/verse1 DBL - chorus1/chorus1 DBL - verse2/verse2 DBL - and so on and so forth
and i set them as they are needed for each part.
are you guys that are doing a ton of vocal automation just using like one or two tracks for your vocals? I always feel like im making a noob mistake by not automating my vocals but I just don't see the point. each part is at the volume it needs to be and they are all compressed to fuck and back anyway.
now, i have almost all my different vocal parts on different tracks, verse1/verse1 DBL - chorus1/chorus1 DBL - verse2/verse2 DBL - and so on and so forth
and i set them as they are needed for each part.
are you guys that are doing a ton of vocal automation just using like one or two tracks for your vocals? I always feel like im making a noob mistake by not automating my vocals but I just don't see the point. each part is at the volume it needs to be and they are all compressed to fuck and back anyway.
TheDriller
Member
^ even if there is many tracks of vocals i automate pretty much syllable-by-syllable.
It allows for a lot of control before the signal goes to any compressors or limiters.
It allows for a lot of control before the signal goes to any compressors or limiters.
in order to hit the compressor harder or softer? i like how it sounds when you are hitting the comp hard(especially the new CLA comps I just got), so I guess I could see riding it to hit the comp hard all the time, but you'd need to have them post-fader of course
TheDriller
Member
[UEAK]Clowd;9537869 said:
It's to hit the compressor more evenly in general, and to hit it harder or softer selectively.
basically, just taking a very dynamic performance and throwing a compressor on it usually sounds a bit un-even, you get the thing being slammed in some parts and barely compressing at all on others, and thus the tone drifts all the way from clean to "battered" and back again all over the place.
Automation allows for those volume differences to be smoothed out to whatever degree you want before reaching for the compressors. You can always do another round of automation after the compression stage to make certain parts stand out and so forth.
interesting. im gonna have to mess around with this. maybe all the vocalists i have recorded in the past just aren't very dynamic.
what's your workflow for doing this? just throwing the comp on a pre-fader insert? or sending it to another track and muting the original?
TheDriller
Member
[UEAK]Clowd;9537937 said:
depends,
In Logic i used to automate on one track and then output to another for compression, and then automate the volume of that second track for more "broad strokes" stuff like bumping up the volume during a chorus.
In Reaper i tend to just use folder tracks to achieve the same thing.
EDIT: just to note, it's easy to go way overboard with this kind of treatment, but I feel it can do wonders for intelligibility with vocalists who have consistency issues.
The goal is always to get a 'static' mix that's 90% there, and then use automation to bring it to life. You can use it to create the illusion of dynamics, contrast, excitement. On drums, go through and automate any fills or hits that aren't coming through. I always automate (ride) the overhead track by hand to bring out all the crashes. Automate bass when compression isn't getting you all the way there. Vocals are obvious, you gotta make sure every line is audible and intelligible. But you can do so much with it... don't shy away. automation is one of the things that set apart the 'men from the boys' IMO, and with a DAW you have no limits. Automate EQs, effects, etc.
One big tip I have for automation is to try and do it without looking at the waveform - especially vocals. It's easy to go in there with your mouse and draw a ton of stuff and actually automate the life OUT of it. If you're struggling with automation and you have a control surface, turn the monitor off and ride some faders. You'll rely more on your ears and your instinct and end up with a more exciting mix, pretty much guaranteed.
One big tip I have for automation is to try and do it without looking at the waveform - especially vocals. It's easy to go in there with your mouse and draw a ton of stuff and actually automate the life OUT of it. If you're struggling with automation and you have a control surface, turn the monitor off and ride some faders. You'll rely more on your ears and your instinct and end up with a more exciting mix, pretty much guaranteed.
tempe
Captain Midnight
Now that is some fantastic advice. Pretty much the way I approach things although I've found mixes that particularly with harsh vocals only that don't feel like they need a lot of automation for level purposes, and I feel like I should be doing more :S I generally jsut keep going until there's some life in the performance.
Great tips guys.
Here is another....
If the drummer is doing a bit of fast drumming and at another part of the song plays slower.
Automate more bass on the kick and snare at the slower parts to make these hits more powerfull. When the fast parts comes in take them back down otherwise you might get a lovely bass buildup.
Automate the compressor on the 2buss. Maybe more compression o the chorus and raise the make up gain to put some volume back.
Charles Dye had a great tip on a "too loud moment!"
On some part of the song raise a instrument a little bit too loud to make it stand out and grab the attention from the listener.
Here is another....
If the drummer is doing a bit of fast drumming and at another part of the song plays slower.
Automate more bass on the kick and snare at the slower parts to make these hits more powerfull. When the fast parts comes in take them back down otherwise you might get a lovely bass buildup.
Automate the compressor on the 2buss. Maybe more compression o the chorus and raise the make up gain to put some volume back.
Charles Dye had a great tip on a "too loud moment!"
On some part of the song raise a instrument a little bit too loud to make it stand out and grab the attention from the listener.
morpheusmultimedia
Member
- Aug 5, 2008
- 114
- 0
- 16
I do automation pretty much on everything. mosty vocals fx returns, OH and cymbal mics, tomm fills and so on.
I also automate the guitars - especially on parts where they are playing alone. also when I want to emphasis a beginning of a part I do a little bump on the first beat of that bar to pop out a little bit more.
I also automate the guitars - especially on parts where they are playing alone. also when I want to emphasis a beginning of a part I do a little bump on the first beat of that bar to pop out a little bit more.
Ermz
¯\(°_o)/¯
The only real way to do it automatically is to set a compressor with a release time that's longer than two subsequent kick hits. The Waves SSL Channel compressor is great for this because it doesn't go any faster than 100ms, so you're essentially automatically ducking any double bass parts.
Otherwise yes, most of us automate the hell out of the drums between most sections. When you mix sample-heavy, you lose a lot of the dynamics that you take onto yourself to bring back into the song.
Otherwise yes, most of us automate the hell out of the drums between most sections. When you mix sample-heavy, you lose a lot of the dynamics that you take onto yourself to bring back into the song.
Spectivum
DisMember
ahjteam
Anssi Tenhunen
This one is pretty handy to calculate it: http://web.forret.com/tools/bpm_tempo.asp
For example 1/16th note at 220bpm is 68ms and 1/8th note is 136ms
