Recording & Mixing

Paul White explains the basic concepts behind FX chain order and gives examples of how these guidelines can be broken in order to achieve new and unique audio outcomes.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:21 - Basic Rules Of FX Chains
01:11 - FX Chain For Guitarists
03:03 - Phase And Distortion
04:19 - Compression And EQ
05:22 - Compression And Overdrive
06:59 - Reverbs And Delays
08:31 - Reverb And Distortion
09:30 - Parallel Configuration In Your DAW
10:37 - Where To Add Vocal Compression
11:23 - Summary

Paul White Biog
Paul White initially trained in electronics at The Royal Radar Establishment in Malvern then went on to work with Malvern Instruments, a company specialising in laser analysis equipment, before moving into technical writing. 

He joined the Sound On Sound team in 1991 where he became Editor In Chief, a position he held for many years before recently becoming Executive Editor. Paul has written more than 20 recording and music technology textbooks, the latest being The Producer’s Manual.

Having established his own multitrack home studio in the 1980s he’s worked with many notable names including Bert Jansch and Gordon Giltrap. He’s played in various bands over the years and currently collaborates with Malvern musician Mark Soden, under the name of Cydonia Collective. Paul still performs live claiming that as he has suffered for his music he doesn’t see why everyone else shouldn’t too!

http://www.cydoniacollective.co.uk/

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Auto-Tune may be a common plug-in for fixing vocal pitch, but in this episode Paul White explains the basics and demonstrates 7 tips to help you create a variety of alternative textured soundscapes.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:46 - Tip 1: Natural Sounding Auto-Tune
03:07 - Tip 2: Robotic Style Auto-Tune
04:27 - Tip 3: Adding Auto-Tune To Sends
05:12 - Tip 4: Controlling Auto-Tune With MIDI
06:17 - Tip 5: Creating Musical Soundscapes
08:55 - Tip 6: Using Auto-Tune For Double Tracking
09:47 - Tip 7: Using Auto-Tune On Pitch Bends
10:47 - Demo Showcasing Various Auto-Tune Techniques

Paul White Biog
Paul White initially trained in electronics at The Royal Radar Establishment in Malvern then went on to work with Malvern Instruments, a company specialising in laser analysis equipment, before moving into technical writing. 

He joined the Sound On Sound team in 1991 where he became Editor In Chief, a position he held for many years before recently becoming Executive Editor. Paul has written more than 20 recording and music technology textbooks, the latest being The Producer’s Manual.

Having established his own multitrack home studio in the 1980s he’s worked with many notable names including Bert Jansch and Gordon Giltrap. He’s played in various bands over the years and currently collaborates with Malvern musician Mark Soden, under the name of Cydonia Collective. Paul still performs live claiming that as he has suffered for his music he doesn’t see why everyone else shouldn’t too!

Credit: Vocals by Alice Rose Wild.

http://www.cydoniacollective.co.uk/

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Eddie Bazil takes us through some of the different uses for Dynamic EQ, including enhancing drums and vocals and separating elements within a mix.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:26 - What Is Dynamic EQ?
01:45 - Example 1: Sidechaining
03:29 - Example 2: Processing Drums
05:33 - Example 3: Corrective EQ
08:03 - Example 4: Creating Motion
11:09 - Example 5: EQing Multiple Vocals
14:24 - Example 6: Separating Elements Within A Mix

Audio Credits

Examples 3 and 4:

Many thanks to David Plummer and Becky Bremner for use of their content in this podcast.

https://www.smokinggoats.co.uk

Example 5:

Many thanks to Chris Timson and Anne Gregson for use of their content in the podcast.

www.eaglealley.co.uk

Example 6: 

Many thanks to artist Anna Kaona.
Track: Every time, recorded by Simone Fedi at Studio Volta Recordings.

Eddie Bazil Biog
Eddie Bazil launched his music industry career at the age of 17 as a synth programmer for a range of Electro / New Wave bands including Art of Noise, Spandau Ballet, Pet Shop Boys, Bobin, Paul Dee, DJ Krush, DJ Shadow, Jets Orchestra. By his 20s he was working as a sound designer for Akai, Roland Emu/Ensoniq, eventually signing on exclusively with the latter. Later, due to a growing demand for software instruments and libraries, Eddie started to develop libraries for various software manufacturers, including Native Instruments, Kiesel, Sound Effects Library, Arturia and Propellerheads. A meeting with Phil Allen, a Capital Radio DJ, resulted in the company Samplecraze, which Eddie has spent 20 years developing as an educational resource. At this time he trained in music production and soon gained a number of prominent contracts working with some notable artistes such as Busta Rhymes, Greensleeves, 9 Bar, SFP, Sleeveless, Chris Campbell and Gam Productions. He contracted to Island Records and Chrysalis as a producer and remixer,  plus was commissioned to write the score for Macbeth that ran at 2 Way Mirror at Alexander Palace for the Cambridge Shakespeare Company. His ongoing development of Samplecraze has led to him offering educational workshops and classes, releasing four books via PC Publishing and becoming a contributor and forum moderator for Sound On Sound. Recently he has established The Audio Production Hub for online education and been invited by the Recording Academy to become a Grammy judge.
https://eddiebazil.co.uk/

https://samplecraze.com/

https://theaudioproductionhub.pivotshare.com/

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

In this episode Eddie Bazil explores the various ways that delay effects can be used and applies these techniques to a finished composition.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:23 - About Delay Effects
01:57 - Example 1: Using Delay As A Reverb
03:38 - Example 2: Applying Depth To Drums
04:39 - Example 3: Using Delay To Create Motion
06:42 - Example 4: Creating Rhythmic Effects
07:58 - Example 5: Creating A Shadow Effect
09:21 - Example 6: Creating Texture
21:08 - The Completed Sequence

Eddie Bazil Biog
Eddie Bazil launched his music industry career at the age of 17 as a synth programmer for a range of Electro / New Wave bands including Art of Noise, Spandau Ballet, Pet Shop Boys, Bobin, Paul Dee, DJ Krush, DJ Shadow, Jets Orchestra. By his 20s he was working as a sound designer for Akai, Roland Emu/Ensoniq, eventually signing on exclusively with the latter. Later, due to a growing demand for software instruments and libraries, Eddie started to develop libraries for various software manufacturers, including Native Instruments, Kiesel, Sound Effects Library, Arturia and Propellerheads. A meeting with Phil Allen, a Capital Radio DJ, resulted in the company Samplecraze, which Eddie has spent 20 years developing as an educational resource. At this time he trained in music production and soon gained a number of prominent contracts working with some notable artistes such as Busta Rhymes, Greensleeves, 9 Bar, SFP, Sleeveless, Chris Campbell and Gam Productions. He contracted to Island Records and Chrysalis as a producer and remixer,  plus was commissioned to write the score for Macbeth that ran at 2 Way Mirror at Alexander Palace for the Cambridge Shakespeare Company. His ongoing development of Samplecraze has led to him offering educational workshops and classes, releasing four books via PC Publishing and becoming a contributor and forum moderator for Sound On Sound. Recently he has established The Audio Production Hub for online education and been invited by the Recording Academy to become a Grammy judge.
https://eddiebazil.co.uk/

https://samplecraze.com/

https://theaudioproductionhub.pivotshare.com/

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Eddie Bazil of Samplecraze gives us an introduction into the creative use of Phasers, with practical examples using drums, vocals and synth pads.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:25 - How Phasers Work
02:34 - Demonstrating The Stages
03:53 - Using A Phaser On Vocals
04:43 - Stereo Panning
05:39 - Phasing a Rhodes
06:35 - Advanced Phaser Effects
09:52 - Adding Delay
12:09 - Adding Reverb
13:45 - Using Automation

Audio Credit
Many thanks to David Plummer and Becky Bremner for use of their content in this podcast.
https://www.smokinggoats.co.uk/

Please Note Update
There is an error at the following time cues where Eddie mistakenly said Kilohertz instead of Hertz when referring to the LFO frequencies.
At 04:04 he says 20 Hz and then 1kHz. They should be 0.20Hz and 0.1Hz.
At 05:47 he says 4.2kHz and this should be 4.2Hz
Sorry for the errors.

Eddie Bazil Biog
Eddie Bazil launched his music industry career at the age of 17 as a synth programmer for a range of Electro / New Wave bands including Art of Noise, Spandau Ballet, Pet Shop Boys, Bobin, Paul Dee, DJ Krush, DJ Shadow, Jets Orchestra. By his 20s he was working as a sound designer for Akai, Roland Emu/Ensoniq, eventually signing on exclusively with the latter. Later, due to a growing demand for software instruments and libraries, Eddie started to develop libraries for various software manufacturers, including Native Instruments, Kiesel, Sound Effects Library, Arturia and Propellerheads. A meeting with Phil Allen, a Capital Radio DJ, resulted in the company Samplecraze, which Eddie has spent 20 years developing as an educational resource. At this time he trained in music production and soon gained a number of prominent contracts working with some notable artistes such as Busta Rhymes, Greensleeves, 9 Bar, SFP, Sleeveless, Chris Campbell and Gam Productions. He contracted to Island Records and Chrysalis as a producer and remixer,  plus was commissioned to write the score for Macbeth that ran at 2 Way Mirror at Alexander Palace for the Cambridge Shakespeare Company. His ongoing development of Samplecraze has led to him offering educational workshops and classes, releasing four books via PC Publishing and becoming a contributor and forum moderator for Sound On Sound. Recently he has established The Audio Production Hub for online education and been invited by the Recording Academy to become a Grammy judge.
https://eddiebazil.co.uk/

https://samplecraze.com/

https://theaudioproductionhub.pivotshare.com/

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

In this show Paul White guides you through seven reverb treatments, from simple to complex, and demonstrates how combining reverb with other commonly available plug-ins can produce creative textures and ambience in your music.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
01:00 - Tip 1: Using Ambience Simulations
01:46 - Tip 2: Using A Plate Reverb
04:06 - Tip 3: Combining Reverb and Delay
05:10 - Tip 4: Adding Texture
06:43 - Tip 5: Shimmer Reverb
08:31 - Tip 6: Pitch Quantized Reverb
09:53 - Tip 7: Using Reverb To Create Rhythm
10:48 - Combining All Of The Tips

Paul White Biog
Paul White initially trained in electronics at The Royal Radar Establishment in Malvern then went on to work with Malvern Instruments, a company specialising in laser analysis equipment, before moving into technical writing. 

He joined the Sound On Sound team in 1991 where he became Editor In Chief, a position he held for many years before recently becoming Executive Editor. Paul has written more than 20 recording and music technology textbooks, the latest being The Producer’s Manual.

Having established his own multitrack home studio in the 1980s he’s worked with many notable names including Bert Jansch and Gordon Giltrap. He’s played in various bands over the years and currently collaborates with Malvern musician Mark Soden, under the name of Cydonia Collective. Paul still performs live claiming that as he has suffered for his music he doesn’t see why everyone else shouldn’t too!

Credit: Vocals by Alice Rose Wild.

http://www.cydoniacollective.co.uk/

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Record producer and educator Mathieu Gendreau shares 6 top tips to help you mix drums like a pro.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
01:13 - Tip 1: Gating drums like a pro

05:51 - Tip 2: Adding weight to snare drum

08:58 - Tip 3: Ducking overheads to remove snare drum

11:51 - Tip 4: Adding brightness to snare drum using reverb

14:09 - Tip 5: Controlling a large drum kit reverb using a gate    

17:33 - Tip 6: Adding presence to snare drum using distortion and a top end boost

Mat Gendreau Biog
Mathieu "Mat" Gendreau, is a Canadian-born and Philadelphia-based music producer, composer, recording artist, label owner and educator. He is the founder and program director of the Rowan University Bachelor of Science in Music Industry in Glassboro NJ, USA, and he records under the names JAXX DE LUXE, Expo 67 and Plastic Operator (with bandmate Pieter Van Dessel).

While graduating with an MA in Audio Production from University of Westminster in London, Gendreau cut his teeth as an in-house engineer at Mute Records in the early 00’s, He was also the main studio engineer for producer Arthur Baker. Over the years his music productions have been released by labels such as EMI, Mute, Virgin, Sony, Tommy Boy, Ministry of Sound and Universal, and he’s worked with many artists including Lenny Kravitz, Goldfrapp, New Order, Arthur Baker, Tommie Sunshine, CLIENT, Erasure, King Britt and Josh Wink. 

His band Plastic Operator caught the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJ Rob Da Bank with the song "Folder" in 2005 and the single was signed to Sunday Best Recordings. In 2007, Mathieu launched his own label, Fine Day Records, and released Plastic Operator's album "Different Places" to critical acclaim. The band performed live in many of Europe's largest clubs, events and festivals including Bestival (Isle of Wight), Razzmatazz Club (Barcelona), Petrol, Culture Club (Belgium) and Paris Fashion Week. Mathieu has produced numerous remixes, including "Chains of Love - Plastic Operator remix" for chart-topping band Erasure (Mute/EMI). His club smash hit Booka Shade vs. Plastic Operator “I Won’t Back Down” was released on Ministry of Sound/Hed Kandi.

In 2018, under his house music moniker JAXX DE LUXE, Mathieu signed to legendary house music label Nervous Records with the single “I’m Taking You High – Feat. Aphra”.  Later that year his JAXX DE LUXE remix of Lenny Kravitz's "Low" was part of a remix package that pushed the single to Number 1 on the Billboard Dance Music Chart. 

Another of his recent efforts as a recording artist is a downtempo instrumental electronica project under the name Expo 67. The Expo 67 EP "Never Without You" was released on Fine Day Records / SONY The Orchard in 2019.

His work as a composer has been featured in films and videos, television programs, advertisements, and video games for Ubisoft, Autodesk, MIT, WYBE, Coca-Cola, Radio-Canada Television and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Games Awards.

Rowan University Music Industry Program : https://academics.rowan.edu/cpa/music/divisions/MusicIndustry.html

JAXX DE LUXE: https://ampl.ink/em4YP

Expo 67: https://ampl.ink/Qo4NK

Plastic Operator: https://linktr.ee/PlasticOperator

Discography: http://www.finedaymusic.com/p/discography.html

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

In this episode, Canadian Producer and Educator Mat Gendreau shares his 5 top tips for using parallel processing techniques on voice, bass and drums to help you get a professional polish and more energy in your overall mix.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:23 - What Is Parallel Processing?
01:50 - Tip 1: Adding A Professional Polish To Vocals
04:57 - Tip 2: A Hi-Frequency EQ Boost and Compression
06:12 - Tip 3: Compression, Distortion and a Hi-Pass Filter
09:47 - Tip 4: Chorus and a Hi-Pass Filter on Bass
12:43 - Tip 5: EQing New York Compression

Mat Gendreau Biog
Mathieu "Mat" Gendreau, is a Canadian-born and Philadelphia-based music producer, composer, recording artist, label owner and educator. He is the founder and program director of the Rowan University Bachelor of Science in Music Industry in Glassboro NJ, USA, and he records under the names JAXX DE LUXE, Expo 67 and Plastic Operator (with bandmate Pieter Van Dessel).

While graduating with an MA in Audio Production from University of Westminster in London, Gendreau cut his teeth as an in-house engineer at Mute Records in the early 00’s, He was also the main studio engineer for producer Arthur Baker. Over the years his music productions have been released by labels such as EMI, Mute, Virgin, Sony, Tommy Boy, Ministry of Sound and Universal, and he’s worked with many artists including Lenny Kravitz, Goldfrapp, New Order, Arthur Baker, Tommie Sunshine, CLIENT, Erasure, King Britt and Josh Wink. 

His band Plastic Operator caught the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJ Rob Da Bank with the song "Folder" in 2005 and the single was signed to Sunday Best Recordings. In 2007, Mathieu launched his own label, Fine Day Records, and released Plastic Operator's album "Different Places" to critical acclaim. The band performed live in many of Europe's largest clubs, events and festivals including Bestival (Isle of Wight), Razzmatazz Club (Barcelona), Petrol, Culture Club (Belgium) and Paris Fashion Week. Mathieu has produced numerous remixes, including "Chains of Love - Plastic Operator remix" for chart-topping band Erasure (Mute/EMI). His club smash hit Booka Shade vs. Plastic Operator “I Won’t Back Down” was released on Ministry of Sound/Hed Kandi.

In 2018, under his house music moniker JAXX DE LUXE, Mathieu signed to legendary house music label Nervous Records with the single “I’m Taking You High – Feat. Aphra”.  Later that year his JAXX DE LUXE remix of Lenny Kravitz's "Low" was part of a remix package that pushed the single to Number 1 on the Billboard Dance Music Chart. 

Another of his recent efforts as a recording artist is a downtempo instrumental electronica project under the name Expo 67. The Expo 67 EP "Never Without You" was released on Fine Day Records / SONY The Orchard in 2019.

His work as a composer has been featured in films and videos, television programs, advertisements, and video games for Ubisoft, Autodesk, MIT, WYBE, Coca-Cola, Radio-Canada Television and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Games Awards.

Rowan University Music Industry Program : https://academics.rowan.edu/cpa/music/divisions/MusicIndustry.html

JAXX DE LUXE: https://ampl.ink/em4YP

Expo 67: https://ampl.ink/Qo4NK

Plastic Operator: https://linktr.ee/PlasticOperator

Discography: http://www.finedaymusic.com/p/discography.html

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Canadian Producer and Educator Mat Gendreau shares his top 5 tips on processing reverbs to fit with your song tempo and to avoid overpowering a mix.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:21 - Treating Reverb As A Track
00:53 - Tip 1: EQ Your Reverb
04:38 - Tip 2: Adding a De-Esser
08:05 - Tip 3: Changing Reverb Tonality
09:50 - Tip 4: Adding A Gate
13:22 - Tip 5: Delaying A Reverb

Mat Gendreau Biog
Mathieu "Mat" Gendreau, is a Canadian-born and Philadelphia-based music producer, composer, recording artist, label owner and educator. He is the founder and program director of the Rowan University Bachelor of Science in Music Industry in Glassboro NJ, USA, and he records under the names JAXX DE LUXE, Expo 67 and Plastic Operator (with bandmate Pieter Van Dessel).

While graduating with an MA in Audio Production from University of Westminster in London, Gendreau cut his teeth as an in-house engineer at Mute Records in the early 00’s, He was also the main studio engineer for producer Arthur Baker. Over the years his music productions have been released by labels such as EMI, Mute, Virgin, Sony, Tommy Boy, Ministry of Sound and Universal, and he’s worked with many artists including Lenny Kravitz, Goldfrapp, New Order, Arthur Baker, Tommie Sunshine, CLIENT, Erasure, King Britt and Josh Wink. 

His band Plastic Operator caught the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJ Rob Da Bank with the song "Folder" in 2005 and the single was signed to Sunday Best Recordings. In 2007, Mathieu launched his own label, Fine Day Records, and released Plastic Operator's album "Different Places" to critical acclaim. The band performed live in many of Europe's largest clubs, events and festivals including Bestival (Isle of Wight), Razzmatazz Club (Barcelona), Petrol, Culture Club (Belgium) and Paris Fashion Week. Mathieu has produced numerous remixes, including "Chains of Love - Plastic Operator remix" for chart-topping band Erasure (Mute/EMI). His club smash hit Booka Shade vs. Plastic Operator “I Won’t Back Down” was released on Ministry of Sound/Hed Kandi.

In 2018, under his house music moniker JAXX DE LUXE, Mathieu signed to legendary house music label Nervous Records with the single “I’m Taking You High – Feat. Aphra”.  Later that year his JAXX DE LUXE remix of Lenny Kravitz's "Low" was part of a remix package that pushed the single to Number 1 on the Billboard Dance Music Chart. 

Another of his recent efforts as a recording artist is a downtempo instrumental electronica project under the name Expo 67. The Expo 67 EP "Never Without You" was released on Fine Day Records / SONY The Orchard in 2019.

His work as a composer has been featured in films and videos, television programs, advertisements, and video games for Ubisoft, Autodesk, MIT, WYBE, Coca-Cola, Radio-Canada Television and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Games Awards.

Rowan University Music Industry Program : https://academics.rowan.edu/cpa/music/divisions/MusicIndustry.html

JAXX DE LUXE: https://ampl.ink/em4YP

Expo 67: https://ampl.ink/Qo4NK

Plastic Operator: https://linktr.ee/PlasticOperator

Discography: http://www.finedaymusic.com/p/discography.html

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Mike Senior's Expert Tracking & Mixing Tips

Many project-studio users seem to go to enormous lengths to reduce spill, but this frequently proves counterproductive, undermining the final mix. In this episode, Mike Senior demonstrates several ways spill can actually improve the sound of your productions, as well as making the mixdown stage quicker and easier.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction

01:22 - Tonal Enhancement

05:58 - Blend Enhancement

08:29 - Salvaging Mix Problems Using Spill

10:37 - Top Tips For Mixing With Spill

Credits
This month's episode features audio examples from the following productions:

* Marcus Boeltz, Christian Bolz & Tobias Knecht (band-tracking session)

You can read about this one-room recording session in the following Sound On Sound 'Session Notes' columns:

https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/session-notes-multi-purpose-recordings

https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/session-notes-editing-full-band-recordings

* Spektakulatius: 'Forever Young' & 'Is You Is Or Is You Ain't'

Download the full raw multitracks for 'Is You Is Or Is You Ain't' from https://cambridge-mt.com/ms/mtk/#Spektakulatius

Read about the recording, mixing, and mastering of all these songs in the following Sound On Sound 'Session Notes' & 'Mix Rescue' columns:

https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/session-notes-spektakulatius

https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/mix-rescue-spektakulatius

https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/mix-rescue-spektakulatius-0

* Jesper Buhl Trio: 'What Is This Thing Called Love'

Download the full raw multitracks from https://cambridge-mt.com/ms/mtk/#JesperBuhlTrio

Read about my mix of this project in the following Sound On Sound 'Mix Rescue' column:

https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/mix-rescue-jazz-trio

* Trafficker: 'My Father Never Loved Me'

Download the full raw multitracks from https://cambridge-mt.com/ms/mtk/#Trafficker

Read about my mix of this project in the following Sound On Sound 'Mix Rescue' column:

https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/mix-rescue-trafficker

* Brushes Held Like Hammers (band-tracking session)

You can read about this one-room recording session in the following Sound On Sound 'Session Notes' column:

https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/session-notes-reducing-spill

* How To Kill A Conversation: 'Mute'

Download the full raw multitracks from https://cambridge-mt.com/ms/mtk/#HowToKillAConversation

Mike Senior Biog

Mike Senior is a professional audio engineer, regular SOS contributor, and author of the best-selling books Mixing Secrets For The Small Studio & Recording Secrets For The Small Studio. He runs the Cambridge-MT educational resources site (including the web's largest free multitrack download library) and hosts two monthly independent podcasts, Project Studio Tea Break and the Cambridge-MT Patrons Podcast.

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts