K
K-dub
Well-known member
Hi, my name is Kev and I admit I never met a limiter I didn't like ... 
In truth, the change in my whole approach has flipped 180. I've gone in near complete reverse from mixing w/ the levels pushed to mixing with them WAY down. I actually got tired of hearing the shout of the limiters. I wanted a more traditional old school feel - where things sound "real" in the space rather than just "up close and personal".
I likened it to making things sit natural w/ air around it - so you can hear the air in context w/ the content versus having the content pushed up, in super zoom fashion, to fill the "viewer" that is the sonic stage.
I start w/ the drum track each down around -24 db. That's about -12 db down from where I used to start. I then build them so that they're clear and balanced and not trying to pop my speakers out of their cabinets w/ volume. I use parallel compression. I compress the individual tracks (kick/snare/toms - not OH or HH), and a soft compression on the master drum buss itself, while employing secondary compression through an overarching effects bus and aux channels. The drum master bus usually winds up in the -18 to -14 DB range when complete. On their own (prior to the overall Mastering compression) they're natural and actually not all that loud as of this point.
But the compression employed is ONLY to tighten - not to squash the sound.
Once the drums are done, I add the bass - and again, employ compression and limiting on the individual track - BUT once it is an even and open sound, I mix it in w/ the drums so that it is clearly audible, yet STILL UNDER the clarity of the drums. BASS WILL MASK EVERYTHING IN THE MIX if you let it.
Finally the upper parts are blended in - AGAIN so they're not loud enough to mask the drums. This is critical to being able to hear the air. Use the drums for reference. If you begin to lose them in the mix, you're too loud w/ everything else.
I tend to also use a compressor and limiter scheme on the master bus - as I master as I mix, but that's a different topic.
Give a listen to this example and you'll kind of pick out what I'm talking about. Listen to the drums against the background.
In truth, the change in my whole approach has flipped 180. I've gone in near complete reverse from mixing w/ the levels pushed to mixing with them WAY down. I actually got tired of hearing the shout of the limiters. I wanted a more traditional old school feel - where things sound "real" in the space rather than just "up close and personal".
I likened it to making things sit natural w/ air around it - so you can hear the air in context w/ the content versus having the content pushed up, in super zoom fashion, to fill the "viewer" that is the sonic stage.
I start w/ the drum track each down around -24 db. That's about -12 db down from where I used to start. I then build them so that they're clear and balanced and not trying to pop my speakers out of their cabinets w/ volume. I use parallel compression. I compress the individual tracks (kick/snare/toms - not OH or HH), and a soft compression on the master drum buss itself, while employing secondary compression through an overarching effects bus and aux channels. The drum master bus usually winds up in the -18 to -14 DB range when complete. On their own (prior to the overall Mastering compression) they're natural and actually not all that loud as of this point.
But the compression employed is ONLY to tighten - not to squash the sound.
Once the drums are done, I add the bass - and again, employ compression and limiting on the individual track - BUT once it is an even and open sound, I mix it in w/ the drums so that it is clearly audible, yet STILL UNDER the clarity of the drums. BASS WILL MASK EVERYTHING IN THE MIX if you let it.
Finally the upper parts are blended in - AGAIN so they're not loud enough to mask the drums. This is critical to being able to hear the air. Use the drums for reference. If you begin to lose them in the mix, you're too loud w/ everything else.
I tend to also use a compressor and limiter scheme on the master bus - as I master as I mix, but that's a different topic.
Give a listen to this example and you'll kind of pick out what I'm talking about. Listen to the drums against the background.
