Reply To: LENZMAN AMA
LenzmanHey Scartip, thanks for your questions..
this is not necessarily related to the production video, though do you have any tips on getting loud, punchy mixes prior to mastering stage?
for example, do you mix with a limiter on master fader?
Do you use any metering plug-ins throughout the process to keep an eye on levels?
Any specific or recommended compression/limiting plug-ins?
I wish I could give you some in depth nuggets of wisdom here, but I’m really not the most technical producer out there. In some ways that’s always prevented me from doing sample packs and tutorials. But later I realized that there are probably lots of people like me, where that isn’t their strength, and I kind of thought it might be nice if I did get out there, because I can show people that it is possible to have some level of succes with your music even if you are lacking in that department.
Now to get down to your questions: with mixing stuff, I go through a lot of trial and error, sometimes it kind of just works out, sometimes I have to spend a lot of time getting them right. But I will tell you that using busses for Drums, Bass, Music and Vocals greatly helps getting a good balance. I tend to use some compression on the Drums bus, and also a slight compression on the Master so things gel together better. But at the end of the day, I send my pre master to a mastering studio with LOADS of headroom, and they will make it loud.
As for plug ins. I don’t have enough experience to recommend any. I’ve been on Reason for so long. And have used Ableton along with it for a while now. But as Reason has only supported plug ins for a few months, I can’t really say I’m an expert on the matter.
One thing I will say about plugins. Try and limit the amount you use. I like to focus less on the tools and more on the sculpting.
I know that’s not very helpful, sorry!
