Before starting this project officially, I was playing around with different effects and figuring out how to reverse audio, which I was successful with.
I had to bounce the track in place, then open the region tab, which has a reverse option. From there I have the option of adding reverb or any other effects.
At the same time, I have been mixing Cody’s song from this year for my university application to Leeds Conservatoire, with his full permission. This has provided me with practice and set me up with confidence for this project.
General Research
6/3/24
I’m looking specifically into compression today, since this is something that I don’t really understand and it seems vital for general use and in particular mixing drums.
I’m using this video: https://youtu.be/Nx7G-p_My5w
So far I have learnt that the input gain can be used to adjust the level of the track before compression in case it’s too loud or quiet. The threshold is at what point compression starts being used, so anything above the set threshold is compressed and the ratio is the amount of compression relative to how far above the threshold audio is. This means a higher ratio equals heavier more evident compression.
Makeup is used to adjust the output after compression, it can be used if the compression takes too much away from the output level, though there is also an output gain option to adjust.
Knee control is best shown on the graph, but lower means that the curve will be sharper where the threshold is and higher means it will be smoother and result in a smoother tone.
Attack is the amount of time after hitting the threshold that the compressor kicks in. Release is the opposite, it’s the amount of time that it will take for the compressor to stop once the level drops below the threshold.
A limiter creates a threshold that means a signal won’t go above that level.
The distortion is used for when the signal goes above the threshold that is linked to the limiter, it has an off, soft, hard and clip range to choose from. Each compressor has a different tone for each option.
The mix is there in case you want to mix the dry signal with the compressed signal.
From what I’ve heard, each compressor has a bit of a different character and it sounds like whichever you use is down to what you prefer for different things, except for the classic VCA which has automatic attack and release since you don’t have the option to control them.
Other mixing stuff
How do I balance drums?
I found this video on balancing drums and generally making mixing drums a bit easier and logical, with certain steps simplified.
From this I’ll write out main points that I should take consideration of. Starting with, using a drum bus for organisation and to make some things easier. I should do this so that I can use the bus to apply certain effects to the whole kit as one instrument when needed and can clearly separate them from other instruments, in the order that I want.
I have a really bad habit of not really spending enough time on actually balancing and going straight into messing with EQ with a half decent balance. I really need to make the kit sound its best, starting with all channels muted and rising them up to an appropriate and fitting level. The goal is to make it sound as good as possible at each stage. Alongside balancing drums, I should level other instruments with drums after I have finished with balancing drums.
I don’t often pick up on ringing in drums because I’m still not familiar with how I want to mix my drums normally, but for this song I need to focus on it because the drums are very tidy and impactful. To find the ringing I should solo each track to listen closely, then go along and mute tracks one at a time to see if it is one individual track or if it’s multiple. To eliminate the ringing, I can use EQ to cut out the frequency at which the ringing is occurring. If this is on multiple tracks I could look at using EQ on the bus, but generally I would feel more comfortable doing individual tracks if it’s no more than two.
The person in the video above claims that cutting the EQ at 400hz on the drum bus makes it sound less boxy and gets rid of ‘annoying frequencies’, and boosts around 7k to bring in some brightness and occasionally elsewhere in the low end. This is something I can try as I rarely use a drum bus. Additionally, a little compression on the drum bus allegedly goes a long way on top of individual snare and kick compression.
The next thing is something I already do, compressing and EQ’ing individual tracks. Though usually I do this first, and I could try doing this as an after-thought as this should be more of an optional thing if it doesn’t sound quite how I want.
How do I make specific effects for the programmed drums sound right?
Honestly I’ve found that everything I need is in Logic, and even though it might not be perfect, I’ll have displayed experimentation and development in my confidence and ability to navigate Logic and be happy with my own creations. I have a very recent version of Logic Pro, with all standard packs and instruments, so I’m set up well enough to do what I need to.