hi
time for another one of my vitally unimportant queries.
i was just wanting to know, i am getting to the point where i want to actually start mixing music down but i find that i have used so many different plugins over the past year or two that i would like to narrow it down to just a basic plug in chain when i am starting each project. i just was curious what do you folks use as a start. for example would you have say a compressor, an eq, on each channel. if so is the order of the plugins important and should i use a limiter on the master channel etc?
just wondering, thx for any info and advice
ps. i use mainly fl studio and reaper for more complex projects. although it doesn't matter what daw i guess... or does it?
pps i mainly make electronic stuff with very occasional live instruments and vocals.
thx

 

No query is unimportant.

I only use a preset/template for my drums (mainly snare, HH and kicks). The rest, I really play with as I go. Sometimes I remember a nice specific type of compression or EQ that I've used and I open the actual song to check it out. I usually do something similar if it is what I am looking for but, other than drums, I like to see how it flows.

I'm sure you'll get better responses from others, but that's my experience (I am not an EDM, Dance, House, etc. kind of musician, though).

Have fun!

 

Theres two different ways to do this imo, if you are comfortable with your own 'unique' sound that you get from your production techniques then use the "comfortable" way. If you are still figuring out what your sound is then use the "creative" way. Or make both of these templates and use whichever you feel like using depending on your mood.

The Creativity Way:
I would say to maximise creativity, just setup your bussing and routing in your mixer, add a limiter to your master, and if you have an analyzing channel or a "selected" channel (if you are using FL) then put your analyzers (spectral,FFT, stereo imaging, RMS meter) on there. I think having no other plugins is the best way for you to not fall into the same old production techniques that you always do, which can give you a new sound.

The Comfortable Way:
Nearly the same as the creative way, but you add in your favourite eq's & compressors etc and also set up predetermined sidechain routes. I would also set up specifically bussed things for drums similiar to Demon such as a transient shaper on the drum master, as well as a multiband compressor, as well as maybe an EQ and some tape saturation.

Another point to make is, the ordering is really important for your plugin chain, as it is a "chain". This means that the first plugin in the chain will affect how the audio so when it hits the next plugin, that audio has already had some change happen to it. My usual step (for nearly everything is to EQ first, then compress).

 

Sometimes I would go for a way to help the workflow.

Using a template with a session already built like this:
5 audio trck + 5 midi trck + DRM BUS + BASS BUS + MELO BUS + VOC BUS all these bus routed in a master bus called SUM, then the MASTER.
Beside these trcks I 've got several AUX for send FX all routed in a Master FX.
On busses you can add a spectrum visualizer of your choice ( there are many good tools like this, as SPAN Plus, Blue Cat Audio … )
But after this setup, I can't add EQ, COMP etc, on this basic setup … 'Cause it depends so much of the sound, the arrangement, music style, your inspiration, to make it short.
So there I'm joining SyNtH where it's about creativity mixed with precision .

Here are my to go plugins which I use often:
Almost all Ableton built in plugins
All Slate Digitals plugins
Pultec Bundle and dbx100 from UAD
Waves C1 bundle & C6 Bundle

The rest obviously depends a lot of the sound material, the music.

Cheers

 

i use template groups saved under a personnal folder for things im sure to do for each song:

- one group for the 3-4 VST i always use with the drumkick (Waves JJP Drums mono, then ohmicide, then Pro Q2 mono, and a lot more vst... but these 3 give me a preview of the kick VST i use, as BigKick or RP Punch)
- a basic ableton simpler piano that i save under my personnal file (so i load it faster) when writing some new melodies
- a drum rack that i filled with different shapes of white noises (for electronic music it is useful)
- a drum rack with each kind of drums sounds (but one sample per slot, not the 127 samples method that is too big to load quickly), for each song i write a midi clip with ableton push, then i change one by one the samples on this drum rack.

the rest is made depending on ideas i get by listening to something.


another thing i use: i created my own "template songs" so i can maximize chances to achieve a song before getting stuck in the 8 bar loop that you never end. Instead of getting a 4-8 channels template as a start (midi, midi, audio, etc...), i draw on a single midi channel the number of bars i would like to hear in my song, and then i fill these bars with additionnal channels. With this method you always know where your song is going and how long your instrument has to play. obviously you create as many templates you need to draw all kinds of songs you want (2', 6', 8', 10', etc).

that is how it looks like (i have for now 6 different starter tracks like these):
http://img11.hostingpics.net/pics/211018example1.png
http://img11.hostingpics.net/pics/900040example2.png

if you have a loop in your mind, then you just have to write it under this midi clips and so the track is already nearly made =)

 

Generally I have some basic Track templates as a starting point (orchestral, jazz trio...) but I have no templates for mixing/mastering because I often build them up only after I have finished polishing the track/composition and I have bounced the tracks down to audio.
What I do already have instead are premade presets for fx chains in Sonar (so if have a basic compressor/saturator/tape chain effect that works for a fingered bass I save it and the next time I am doing something similar I try it on the track). I find these more useful than a premade template for mastering because I always change a lot of stuff depending on the overall mix which can be made of the same instruments but very rarely of the exact same fx chain.

 

My set up changes all the time, depending on what I hear/don't hear and what I want to hear for each song. I prefer to automate my mix to cut down on how much processing I need, so where and how I use EQ, compression etc. depends on where I think it needs to go. And I love tinkering with different effects. I mean, what's the point of having so many toys if you don't get them out of the box? lol ----Rarely use the same reverbs or delays. Save early, save often, and save a safe basic version somewhere so if you get out in la la land, you have a basic starting point to get back to easily.

 

When using a template, your efficiency gained is inversely proportional to your creativity.

Therefore you should only include in the template things that you've done every time on the last 20,30,50 tracks etc.

My personal template for production in FL includes busses for drums, instruments, bass which feed into a pre-master. Each buss only has an instance of Statson, and the Glue. I also have 3 reverb sends prepared.

I use this template because it eliminates some tedious routings, yet I can still use it for any type of music from orchestral to heavy metal with only minor adjustments.

I'm beginning to transition into S1 for production (since I use it for recording/mixing/mastering final songs), and the template is still the same, with the addition of the instrument, Impact.


For mixing full songs in S1, I don't use a template, instead I keep a "reservoir" of my favourite plugins on the master channel.

 

My templates consist of drums, bass, harmony and melody. I have one set up for guitars, and one for synths.

IF anything sounds decent, only then will I think about other plugins or FX. My entire focus in on producing a 16/24 bar verse/chorus idea.

 

I only use templates when I start to record because if you wanna make a good job in mixing and mastering you have to use your ears and see what the instrument, the music, the audience and the musicians envolved, the orçament wants, ask e really could do with material.
I just can imagine that exist presets for the final job because its really very particular and personal.

 

i'll pitch in with something others havent mentioned yet.

i use different templates for different situations.Each tailored for the task at hand.

varrious degrees of "jamsession templates",
mixing templates
sound design template etc.

the differece between the files are the setups of routing and aux/sends and what tools i need to use all depending on what im working on. From simple to more complex.

Start simple, and go from there.
Keep refinning your template over time as you evolve and keep including the tools/ways that work for you.

 

now that is a good idea.. never though of that before. finishing a track from nothing must be the most common obstacle i come across on many forums. thx for that : )

 

yes, i still have to get around buses and submixes.. just looking on youtube for some tuts now : )

 

thanks for all your advice, some good info to keep me ploughing on.