No, not that monitoring. I’m talking about feeding a reverb-processed version of a singer’s voice back into her/his headphones as s/he is recording. Don’t do it For years I’ve preferred to give singers no reverb in their headphones. The intent is that they can clearly hear the details in their voice and thus deliver a [...]
Why you need direction and focus in your mix
by Kim Lajoie on February 7, 2011
Every mix needs direction and focus. Like almost everything else in life, you need to have a pretty clear idea of what you’re about to do *before* you do it. You have to go into it knowing what you want. If you don’t know what you want, how are you going to get it? A [...]
Make your synths bigger!
by Kim Lajoie on January 10, 2011
Everyone wants bigger synths, don’t they? What’s the secret? Is there some miraculous plugin or hardware device that the Big Names know about (and keep secret from all the anonymous internet jerks)? Or maybe it’s a special combination of side-chained multiband mid/side compression alongside fully parametric dynamic EQ and three different limiters is series (in [...]
Six ways to get bigger beats
by Kim Lajoie on September 13, 2010
Who doesn’t want bigger beats? Well, maybe your neighbours. But maybe you don’t like your neighbours. Who am I to judge? I just supply the tools. It’s up to you to use them ethically. Here are some quick tips: Depth. Separate your drums into two groups – main foreground drums (kick and snare) and secondary [...]
Reverb on the mix-bus
by Kim Lajoie on October 7, 2009
Under most normal circumstances, using reverb on the mix bus is no different to using a send on every track, with every send set to the same level. Usually this it not a good idea – it’s better touse sends to apply reverb in different levels to different tracks. Some sounds can ‘take’ more reverb [...]
Alternatives to reverb
by Kim Lajoie on August 14, 2009
Reverb adds two properties to sounds – diffusion and depth. While there are many ways of changing the balance between diffusion and depth, there are times when a more extreme approach is required. Reverb may not be the best solution if a sound needs a lot of diffusion but very little depth, or a lot [...]
Mixing with multiple reverbs
by Kim Lajoie on August 13, 2009
One way to contruct a subtle and complex ambience in a mix is to combine two different approaches to reverb. Going about this in an informed, deliberate way will result in a much more refined and appropriate sound than by simply stacking two different reverb algorithms (either in parallel or – heaven forbid – serial). [...]
Effects on a send
by Kim Lajoie on August 11, 2009
Sends are an interesting component of mixer topologies. They allow a combination of mixing and parallel processing. When several channels have non-zero gain applied to a send, they are mixed together, sent through whatever processing is assigned to the send, and then returned on a new channel. The processing on the send ‘hears’ a mix [...]
Mixing with reverb 3
by Kim Lajoie on August 10, 2009
Does it need short reverb or long reverb? Should the mix be lush or dry? Then start to ask the more difficult questions – Should be ambience be deep or shallow? Should it be natural or unnatural? Short / Long: Obviously, you’ll need to adjust the reverb time. That’s not all though – other parameters [...]
Mixing with reverb 2
by Kim Lajoie on August 6, 2009
Does it need short reverb or long reverb? Should the mix be lush or dry? Then start to ask the more difficult questions – Should be ambience be deep or shallow? Should it be natural or unnatural? The answers to these questions should be based on the song. Short / Long: This decision should primarily [...]