6 Nuances You Feel, Not Hear

Have you ever believed that there’s just something badass engineers do that the rest of the world isn’t privy to? Are you disappointed when everyone on forums seems to agree that engineers are just using really good judgement and generally using basic processing?

Well, don’t get your hopes up too much. 95% of a great mix stems from great decision making and the use of basic processing that everyone has access to. But, that last 5% does contain a bit of secret sauce. Secret awesome sauce. Every seasoned engineer will have their own recipe. I certainly have mine.

I want to share some personal techniques. These are little things I do that really add up over the course of a mix. Each one of these techniques are based around one idea: you don’t really hear it when it’s there, but you miss it when it’s gone.

By building these subtle effects into my mix I create something that elevates the overall sound without dramatically changing it — which is often a desirable goal when mixing. They also amount to some of the things which just seem to separate a finished mix from a rough mix in that way that’s hard to put a finger on.

1. Fast decaying reverbs

One of my principal approaches to mixing is to create depth and polish.

Often times I may want something to have a 3D image and “glossed” tone, but I don’t necessarily want to hear an audible reverb or delay.

Tucking very short reverbs into generally dry sounds very quietly can add just a bit of depth and hi-fi-ness to the source sound. I’m constantly experimenting with algorithms, timing, and various other settings and I recommend you do the same.

The only generality here is that I tend to lean a bit more toward early reflections with medium diffusion (when diffusion settings are an option). There’s also a few presets in the delay plugin by FabFilter called “Timeless” that I like for this purpose.

You don’t need a lot of this stuff. I’m turning my returns down as low as -15 to -20 dB below the source sound. Just enough so you miss it when it’s gone!

2. Subtle distortion or saturation

A touch of distortion can really make a sound pop in a mix.

If it doesn’t sound “distorted” but brings a bit of harmonic energy into the fold I’m usually into the idea.

Not to sound like a FabFilter commercial here, but I like to experiment with Saturn because it gives me very fine control over the specifics and degree of the distortion.

3. Micro panning

Finding movement is paramount to a successful mix.

A tiny degree of panning, almost too little to hear unless you solo the source, can go a long way in this regard.

This is a go-to move for sequenced hi-hats (I’ll tend to pan quickly). And very useful for background pads/noises as well (a slightly slower pan is usually good for the sustainy sounds).

Delay returns are also a great place to play with moving pan positions.

4. Subtle volume rides at section changes

Volume automation is not just good for evening things out — it can also be great for creating contrast. Next time you’re going from the verse of a song to the chorus try a few of these little techniques.

Bump the chorus up on your submix/master fader channel by 1 dB. Bump the very first moment of the chorus up 1 dB above that, and quickly return it back down. Find a sustaining element right before the chorus and start pulling it up a bit in level creating a subtle crescendo movement.

Even the vocal reverb/delay return can be good to bump right at that transition point.

5. EQ/Compression/Distortion on reverb and delay returns 

I have a cool video tutorial on this but felt that it was worth mentioning here.

Reverb/delay returns are elements in the mix just like anything else. Coloring the ambience in a slightly unique way can help create tonal complexity and augment the sense of depth.

6. Removal of unwanted sounds

A great deal of what you’re hearing in a great mix is what you’re not hearing.

The removal of bleed and mouth noises, the reduction of breathes, the taming of plosives and sibilance. All of these excess sounds add up to one things: distraction.

Not to say breath noises don’t have their place — but you’re the master of the playback so be decisive about what you don’t want, what you do want and how much.

Ultimately we as engineers are doing our best to get the music through the speakers in the most captivating way possible. Sometimes that’s about the big picture. But it’s also about all the little things, the subtle decisions we make, that amount to something bigger than the sum of its parts. That’s why I may do things that the average listener probably won’t consciously hear.

How to Split Frequencies in Ableton Live

Becoming a Music Producer: Part 1 – What Does It Mean?

Dubspot contributor Michael Emenau discusses some definitions and misconceptions about the career of the music producer, and sets you on your way to understanding the many paths a producer can take in today’s market. Also check out the rest of our “Becoming a Music Producer” series, part 2 ”Network, Gain Experience and Find Work!” and part 3 ”Developing a Career and Making Money”.

Acclaimed record producer, arranger and composer Quincy Jones at the 1990 Grammy Awards.

The term “producer” has evolved greatly from the early days of recorded music. Back then, the producer was more of a project manager, gathering various specialists together (engineer, mixer, arranger, composer, musicians) and directing them through the process of making a single or an album. That’s not to say the producer was strictly hands-off. A producer could also be the composer, arranger, or even mixer. What a producer did not do however, was play all the instruments, run to the console to push record, then, after mixing and mastering the album, work on a promotion plan.

Today, it’s become the norm for a producer to be a jack-of-all-trades who writes, arranges, tracks, mixes, masters, and does web design while twittering the entire process. There are clear reasons for this shift: affordable technology has made it possible to create a high-quality product at home, and the demise of the recording industry has shrunk artist support to the point where inexpensive productions are necessary. We all have the opportunity to make whatever we want, and doing it ourselves is often the only option.

Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson. Jones produced some of Jackson’s greatest albums including Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad.

WHAT DOES A PRODUCER DO?

Let’s start off with some definitions. (Bear in mind that any time I refer to the “artist,” I mean a band, solo act, singer, rapper, DJ, etc.)

Some potential roles of a producer are:
Engineer – Sitting behind the console, or in front of the computer, recording and mixing tracks
Composer – Writing music for the artist
Arranger – Collaborating with (or working for) an artist to make a recorded version of their composition
Remixer – Taking multitrack stems from a recording and making a new version
Musician – Performing instrumental or vocal parts for the tracks being produced
Mentor – Passively following the direction of an artist and making suggestions
Project Manager – Making sure stuff gets done: hiring, organizing, and shepherding the vision through to a finished product
Therapist (my personal favorite) – Understanding an artist’s vision and talents, and leading them down a path to success

There are many possible roles, and many different roads that all lead to the same place: to create a body of music which is satisfying to the artist and the producer. Whether you are writing, mixing, placing microphones, hanging out all night at a club with MCs, or automating the multi-band subharmonic parallel compression for the kazoo solo, you are producing.

We hope that the public will also love what we create, but it doesn’t always happen that way. Often, the “killer albums” we make end up going nowhere, while our successes come totally by surprise. To be commercially successful, some argue that it’s best to make music in the realm of what is currently popular. Artists may ask you to “make a track that sounds like the newest Skrillex or Chris Brown track.” Try not to get caught up in all this, because:

1. You will always be one step behind what is actually happening
2. You need to be proud and believe in whatever you are producing
3. When you follow your instincts, you will develop your own signature sound (one of the nicest compliments I ever received was “Wow, that really sounds like an MNO track”)
4. Artists will search you out once you have developed your own sound. I sometimes get gigs based on a track I made ten years ago. Remember, every track you produce is a calling card for the next gig.

Electronic music producer Skrillex at the 2011 Grammy Awards

The reality is that, as a producer, you need to be in it for the long haul. Your style may change over time, but the core of who you are should be present in every track you make. Find your voice. I know it sounds cliché, but one of the greatest joys of producing music is to see your voice develop, strengthen, and become more distinct over time.

How do you develop the Skills To Be A Producer?

The most important quality of a successful producer is love of music. The curiosity and passion to listen, explore, and experiment with all aspects of music will give you the skills you need, and seriously, if you don’t love music, don’t be a producer. There are much easier ways to make a living.

Learn to play an instrument (or seven). Take some lessons and put in the hours–even a little knowledge of an instrument will go a long way in the studio. Musical instruments are the original building blocks; the more comfortable with them you are, the more depth your productions will have. Virtuosity is not the goal. Strum a simple chord progression on the guitar, play simple melodies and chords on the piano, and start hitting some drums. Try thumping along on a bass (I learned how to play bass last year and it improved my programming skills immensely). Get a feel for what each of these instruments does, and the groove and flavor they add. These four instruments have been the building blocks of popular music for the last 60 years. Understanding their workings, and you will be able to better communicate with those around you.

“A skill that separates a mediocre producer from an exceptional one is actual musicianship. A producer’s ability to contribute meaningfully to a recording session is directly related to his or her understanding of the craft.” – Evan Williams 

Celebrated electronic music duo Daft Punk “from sampling disco records to creating disco records” | Photo by Nabil Elderkin with Warren Fu or Wax Poetics.

Listen to as much music as possible. Listening should not be a passive activity; it is your job to have a large palette of sounds and ideas to draw from when making music. When you’re in the studio, listen to the voice in your head that says “try adding a cello like in that Haydn Symphony,” or “add some of that freaky buzzing drum stuff that you heard on that Gnawan ceremonial music.” The results will not always be what you want, but you’ll be moving the process forward, and finding your way towards the perfect sound.

• Don’t write anything or anyone off. Every genre of music has some validity to it and is worth a listen. If nothing else, figure out why you don’t like it, and what you want to avoid in your own productions.
• Listen not just to melodies and harmonies, but to the structure of songs. Do they have a verse/chorus/verse approach, or do they seem to go on and on? Often, music that seems to go on aimlessly has some structural element that you are not noticing.
• Listen to the mix. What sticks out? What makes a song memorable? Dissect the instrumentation, and see what the different elements do to the production.

Become educated with recording software and the recording process.  I recommend you learn one or two programs thoroughly, rather than dabble in multiple platforms. Make the computer your creative musical instrument of choice. I start my projects in Ableton Live because I find it quick to get down ideas, but prefer the mixing workflow in Digital Performer. Fortunately, most plug-ins will work in any host. So, whether I’m in Live, DP, or Pro Tools, I still use the same compressors and reverbs. There is no right or wrong DAW–at this point they all sound great. Just figure out which one most effectively transforms what’s in your head to something the world can hear. Another area, often sorely overlooked, is understanding basic studio techniques. Learn about signal flow, gain staging, microphone placement, and preamps. It’s a lot easier to make a great mix when the original tracks sounds good. Go to school, read every audio magazine, ask questions of every person who seems to know what’s going on. Learn, Learn, Learn!

Get in the game. It is not required that you have all these skills functioning at a high level before you go off and start producing tracks. In fact, producing music will help you see the holes in your knowledge, and will inspire (or force) you to learn more. I came into producing through my experience as a studio musician. I know producers who started out DJing, composing, playing in bands, or writing songs, while others were computer nerds with little musical background. What they all had in common was a desire to make great music.

It takes a long time to get your skills down. There is no guarantee that you’ll produce big hits, but persistence will give you the chance to be heard. Keep trying, keep learning, and keep making music!

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Michael Emenau a.k.a. MNO has worked professionally as a musician (vibraphone, percussion, laptop), producer, remixer and arranger for 25 years, playing such diverse genres as, jazz, rock, drum’n’bass, salsa, techno, country, Hindustani, gospel, baroque and orchestral music. He has recorded on over 150 CDs, composed music for eight films, toured internationally, and lived on three continents. Michael was the house studio mallet percussionist for Sony Records (Japan) in the 90s, was a founding member of the award winning “Jazz Mafia” as well as working as a producer/remixer for Six Degrees Records in San Francisco, arranged and produced contemporary multimedia productions of the 16th-century composer Henry Purcell in Paris and is now writing a musical based on the life of Dionysus and dividing his time between Montreal and New York.

11 Ableton Operator tips and tricks

Make the most of Live's excellent FM synth

Computer Music14 minutes ago

Frequency modulation (FM) synthesis allows for the creation of a huge array of sounds, ranging from tuneful and harmonic to dissonant and chaotic.

This is all made possible through the interplay between so-called oscillators designated as carriers and modulators. The frequency of one such oscillator - also called an 'operator' in FM terminology - is modulated using another that is also in the audible range, resulting in a more complex waveform.

Even using simple sine waves as the raw waveforms of the operators can result in timbres that are rich in harmonics. Increasing the amplitudes of the modulators will give increasingly harmonic-rich signals.

Taking the template laid down by classic digital FM synths like Yamaha's DX7 and SY77 considerably further, Ableton adapted this concept for their own Operator instrument, which is a €79 add-on for Live, or included as standard with Live Suite.

Combining the concept of FM with both additive and subtractive synthesis (which, curiously, do not cancel each other out), Operator is your gateway to a universe of complex timbres, all dialled in via an interface that is intuitive and simple to, well, operate.

With a solid selection of basic waveform types to choose from and the option to create your own using the waveform editor, you can arrange Operator's four oscillators in several predefined routings - known as 'algorithms', in a nod to the very similar system employed on the DX7 - to synthesise a wide variety of musical and non-musical tones.

Here we offer eleven handy tips and tricks to help you make the most of Operator's huge sound-sculpting capabilities. For loads more on making the most of Operator, check out the March issue of Computer Music (CM201), which is on sale now.

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Custom waveforms and sampler

In addition to the simple waveforms available in Operator, you can create custom waveforms using the waveform editor. You can also save these custom waveform for later use as .ams files by right-clicking on the waveform editor and choosing Export AMS. One of the advantages of this feature is that you can drag these AMS files into other Ableton devices such as Sampler for use with their modulation capabilities and other processing functions.

Automate the algorithm

Usefully, Operator lets you map the algorithm selector to a Macro control or a MIDI controller. Changing the algorithm will have a significant impact on the result since it changes the global behaviour of the instrument. Therefore, you can start experimenting with changing the algorithm on the fly - try mapping the algorithm to a MIDI controller or an LFO for far-out results.

Sample And Hold

Operator's LFO can be set to output a range of waveforms, and one of the more interesting available waveforms is Sample And Hold (S&H). This signal uses random values chosen at a rate determined by the LFO, to create sci-fi-style sound effects as well as introduce random, unpredictable modulation to your sound.

Using the Coarse parameter

One of the main controls in Operator's oscillators is their Coarse parameter. Note that Coarse is a frequency multiplier and not an octave selector. This means that the frequency of the oscillator will be multiplied by its Coarse parameter. So if Coarse is at 1, an A4 note will be 440Hz; if the Coarse is at 2, the frequency will be 880Hz (an octave higher: A5); if Coarse is set to 3, the frequency is 1320Hz - E5; and so on.

The fifth oscillator

Typically, Low Frequency Oscillators (LFO) have subsonic frequency values. This means we will only hear their effect and not their actual sound. By setting Operator's LFO range to HIGH, you can push the LFO into the audible range, as for as 12kHz. You can think of Operator's LFO as the fifth oscillator.

Global time control

One of the other useful global controls in Operator is the Time parameter. Using this knob, you can scale all the envelopes' timing up and down. This can be used to change the sound drastically or can be modulated using the LFO for a more dynamic effect.

Built-in waveshaper

There is a built-in waveshaper in Operator's Filter panel. You can select the waveshaping curve via the Shaper menu to access the Drive and Dry/Wet controls.

CPU saving tips

Operator is an optimised native Ableton instrument, and its CPU usage is pretty low. Even so, when using several instances of this instrument, you might need to maximise CPU usage for a better overall performance, such as when performing live. You can do this by disabling the features that are not used, and most of Operator's CPU-intensive features such as Filter and Spread can be disabled.

Anti-aliasing

Digital FM synthesis techniques can result in aliasing artifacts when creating timbres with a lot of high frequency information - sometimes desirable, sometimes not, depending on the patch you're creating. To this end, Operator has a togglable high-quality antialiasing filter in the Global section, as well as the global Tone filter that can be used to curtail runaway treble frequencies as much or as little as you like.

Go negative

Playing with Operator's envelopes, you will notice that some parameters can be set to negative values; for example, you can apply -50% in the Filter Envelope. You can think of it as flipping the envelope upside down, so that a slow attack will cause the filter to gradually fall from its initial position, rather than rising, as with a normal, positive modulation setting.

Feedback

We already know that we can modulate an oscillator's pitch using one or more of the other oscillators, but there is another option: any oscillator that is not being affected by the others can modulate itself. You can control the amount of this modulation by adjusting the Feedback parameter in the envelope section of each oscillator.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/allsynthsecrets.htm

Mythbusters: Subtractive vs. Additive EQ

Posted on October 29th, 2013. Written by Matthew Weiss.

If you’ve been out and about on the internet then you’ve probably read that subtractive EQ is generally better than additive EQ. In other words, it’s better to attenuate than to boost.

And you have probably read all sorts of reasons for this: less phase shift, sounds smoother, more accurate, doesn’t require active gain, etc.

Well, I’m here to tell you that a great deal of that is false.

Let’s start by dispelling a few myths.

Myth #1: Subtractive EQ incurs less phase shift, or less noticeable phase shift

This is untrue. The degree of phase shift is 100% controlled by the amount of cut or boost. In fact “phase shift” is almost synonymous with “equalization.” They are inherently part of the same process.

Now, are the artifacts of said phase shift less noticeable? In objective technical reasoning, no, they are not.

And here’s why: If you exclusively use boosting to create an EQ curve on a source and then recreate the exact same curve using only attenuation, and then level match those two outputs exactly, you will get identical signals.

A simple way to test this is by taking any sound source and a shelf filter. Mult the sound source. On one, use a hi-shelf to boost up some high end. On the other, use a low shelf, set to the same corner frequency with the same slope and attenuated by the same amount. Then boost the output volume of the low-shelfed signal up to match the hi-shelfed signal and flip the phase. They will completely null.

What’s important, is to use an EQ where the parameters match up equally. For example, this will work with the Waves Q EQ, but will not work with the Waves Ren EQ.

What this demonstrates is that the phase shift and artifacts produced by that shift are based on the curve and degree of equalization, not whether the equalization is positive or negative.

Myth #2: Subtractive EQ Sounds Smoother

Ultimately the truth to this is based more on application than reality. It tends to be easier to mix additively – boosting up things you want more of.

The problem with this is that it leads to a lot of compensational boosting. By that I mean boosting up lots of frequency ranges when really we just wanted to hear less of one frequency range. Or we will boost up a frequency because we aren’t hearing enough of it, when in reality there’s something from another instrument that’s getting in the way.

These issues aren’t inherent to additive or subtractive EQ, rather, they stem from using additive EQ when subtractive EQ would be a better approach.

Myth #3: Additive EQ is Less Accurate

This is something I hear a lot, and quite honestly I’m not even sure what it really means.

I believe this myth stems from the idea that it’s better to “cut narrow and boost wide.” In reality you should boost or cut as narrow or wide as needed.

I think it’s easier to over extend the width of an EQ boost because that means more stuff is getting louder. And louder has that instant gratification effect of sounding better. Again, this is a result of application and not inherent to how an EQ works.

Myth #4: Subtractive EQ Doesn’t Require Active Gain

This one is based on the idea that because you are “taking something away” you don’t need to add power to do it. This is really only true in the simplest filter setups.

While it’s true that a simple resistor-capacitor circuit doesn’t need any power, most more complex circuits do. That’s not to say there aren’t complex subtractive circuits that work completely passively — there are a lot. But many EQs, no matter what you are doing, are drawing on active power. It completely depends on the EQ itself.

Lastly, digital EQs don’t use power. There’s no such thing as an “active” digital EQ, outside of plugins that emulate hardware.

Myth #5: Subtractive EQ Frees Up Headroom

This is half true. Subtractive EQ can and often does reduce overall amplitude, but the process is actually not amplitude based. You’re not exactly adjust the level of frequencies – you are adjusting the phase, and then getting a change in level at the band you are adjusting. But that’s not the same as adjusting the signal amplitude. In fact, on occasion you will use subtractive EQ and the result will be a boost to the signal amplitude! I kid you not.

So what’s the difference?

The major difference in subtractive vs. additive EQ is the thought process.

When you are using subtractive EQ, you are thinking “what can I take away to make this better.” Taking something away lends itself toward degrading a sound — so any time you take something away and it improves the sound you pretty much know you are making a good EQ move.

Additive EQ, conversely, is enhancing a signal, which naturally tends to sound better no matter what (particularly if you are doing it in solo mode). The real key to using subtractive or additive EQ is to have a good idea of what you’re trying to accomplish. The “solo” button can be very useful here.

Lets say you want to hear more upper mids in your guitar lead. Solo the guitar — does it sound like it has enough upper mids? If not, then use some additive EQ and boost those mids. If it does sound like it has enough upper midrange in solo, maybe there’s something else in the mix that has too much upper mids like a piano or acoustic guitar. Or maybe you really just want to hear the guitar louder, but when you turn it up the lower mids become overpowering. In these cases, subtractive EQ is going to be more effective.

I hope that clears up the reality of EQ. I have another article that dives deep into equalization here.