Analog Mixing in

This is a long format video of me demoing the new set of Monomono devices for #Ableton Live while mixing a fantastic track by ‪@NedRush‬ Rude_Nhs - Kinetica. New Console×80 set of devices are inspired by legendary British consoles and are aiming to deliver #analog #mixing experience in Ableton Live.
I've decided not to edit the video, but rather show a complete mixing process. Also I don't know how to edit. Also I'm lazy. You can purchase the new devices starting July 1 at monomono.audio and Isotonic Studios.
Here're the time stamps so you can jump around and skip stuff:
0:00 - Intro
1:58 - First Listen & Mixing Basics
3:08 - Balancing the Levels
10:40 - Mix Plan
20:50 - Channel Strip: Pre×73 & EQ×73
33:40 - Compressor on Bass: Comp×54
42:12 - Mixing the Track
1:02:31 - Temporary Limiter on Main Out
1:11:14 - Mixing Debrief
1:15:00 - Introducing Console×80 Summing Device
1:24:40 - Soft Clipping & Vintage / Modern Summing
1:26:40 - Master Bus Chain
1:33:33 - Comparing Mixes & Finishing Touches
1:39:56 - Final Thoughts
1:40:30 - Console×80 Hidden Trick
1:44:50 - Outro
Thank you for watching and sending love! Also purchase our devices.

[@bigfuzzztv787]

ABSOLUTELY MARVELOUS EPISODE. #subscribed

[@NedRush]

It’s not possible to have an unhealthy obsession with John Barry.

[@PretendPassing]

the compressor sounds incredible.

[@PretendPassing]

wow! the entire product is on another level. it was not boring for me. it was a very nice showcase. the remaster from the track is great as well. i purchase it now.

[@monomonoaudio]

Thank you so much for watching! Appreciate your generous comments and if you got any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

[@TheMicksteph]

To be honest I don't have words to describe the entire presentation. My head just exploded with every tone and color created in the mix and with every new device you introduced. I had to go all the way and at this moment just waiting for more news. 🔥

[@monomonoaudio]

Thank you so much! Glad it was enjoyable. Not much long to wait! :-)

[@perchancemusic]

That mix sprang to life! Looks like a masterpiece Monomono, will buy as soon as available.

[@monomonoaudio]

Thank you so much, appreciate it! Yeah, the mix came out alright, I think. I should have probably kept it a bit more dynamic, just a couple of dB less pushed into the mastering chain, but otherwise, it's alright.

[@dexbarstad2423]

Just copped the first three plugins and they do the thing man, it's kind of unbelievable! I'm wondering if you have a page where I can contact you for mastering / mixing rates?

[@monomonoaudio]

Wow, thank you so much! I really appreciate your interest and I wish I had time to take any mixing and mastering work, but I’ve stopped doing any commercial work for a time being, cause it is just very difficult to make commitments and deliver on time. I also have so much exciting stuff I’m working on and very excited to release. Hopefully at some point it will be possible!

[@dexbarstad2423]

@@monomonoaudio hey keep dropping max devices like these and you might be putting some ME’s out of business anyways haha excited to grab this next batch 🤘🏼

[@annasintijaivanova141]

🔥🔥🔥

[@RJ1J]

Were the drive and EQ derived from impulse responses? Or is it an algorithm?

[@monomonoaudio]

Thank you for your question. It's not IR based, but a combination of multiple filters and transfer functions.

[@tommy2nes]

I have heard people talking about gain staging in DAWs that keep your levels going into an analogue modelled plugin should be around -12 - -16db because thats the sweet spot for them to work at. You don't seem to follow this rule here and are sometimes ramming the inputs. Does that mean this advice is BS or is it that your plugins work differently? Thanks

[@monomonoaudio]

Great question, thank you so much! I tried not to go into deep explanation of the gain staging in the video, cause it can get very technical and very long, so I appreciate this opportunity to talk about levels a bit more. Short answer: the saturation curves are tuned to audibly saturate at about - 11 dBFS (Vintage mode) and -5 dBFS (Modern mode) and clip around +9 dBFS. This is mostly done to provide convenient interfacing with stock plugins and stock devices as in many of them the starting points are 0 dBFS (threshold of the stock compressors for example). This is also done to have a bigger margin for error if you have a little limiting understanding of gain staging. I think most digital "analog" gear is trying to match hardware levels (assuming +4 dBu - nominal studio level in analog domain - 0 dBu equals ~-20 dBFS - -16 .. -12 dBFS essentially matches +4 dBu in hardware), but I thought a better approach would be to match the saturation to the production workflow with stock plugins and how they are designed to interface with producers. Long intro: If you consider how the analog gear works, it all has various dynamic ranges - basically safe levels between the noise floor and level where signals start to distort. In analog recording all components of the signal chain - preamp, eq, console summing amps, insert or output section, going into outboard, then onto a tape - will have different dynamic ranges and subsequently provide different headrooms. So what gain staging in analog environment means, is that engineer has to adjust gain at each stage of the signal chain to maximise the loudness of the recording while importing as little artefacts (distortion) as possible. Unless artefact is an artistic choice of course. Nominal level for professional studio hardware is usually +4 dBu (which roughly and generally matches -16 dBFS in digital domain). With introduction of better components, better tape formulas it actually shifted higher and some engineers in studios even adjusted the 0 position on the VU meters. With 32-bit processing the situation changed considerably to +4 dBu became 0 dBFS in a way. People generally (and I want to emphasise generally here) tend to aim for a signal level slightly below 0 dBFS on the master bus now. That's because all interfaces have their own max output, so for whatever the interface you've got, 0 dBFS will basically mean maximum level for the interface to safely pass from the digital domain into an analog domain (speakers). In production in a lot of cases, samples you get from various sample libraries are normalised - meaning, they usually hit around 0 dBFS on peaks. Modern plugins and compressors which are not based on the hardware also tend to have 0 dBFS starting points as well. Without going into too much technical details, due to 64-bit processing inside Ableton Live, you can pass the signals between your devices, between plugins and tracks safely even if they are +40 dBFS (due to 64-bit processing) - so you can have signals way above 0 dBFS inside Live (before they hit Main out). The way I structured the saturation is that when your signal hits 0 dBFS - it hits the upper range of the sweet spot (at least for me) anything below 0 dBFS will sound gradually cleaner, anything above that, will step into distortion territory fairly quickly. The exception is the Consolex80 device, which unlike the rest of the devices can actually act like a clipper which soft clips the signal to slightly below 0 dBFS. So if you mix and master yourself, you can clip it on the Main bus and push your tracks with track faders in or out to dial the overall saturation. In my mastering process, I tend not to use a lot of compression (1-2 dB of gain reduction at most! if any) and instead I use soft clipping to hit the levels I need. In this mixing video I 1. wanted to match the level of original mix, so I've used Optocomp to make the mix louder and 2. I've used Tape to clip the signal in the end. That's why I've put out the soft clipping on Consolex80 in the end of the video and let the Tape do the work. Hope this makes sense and answers your question. And pardon my rambling. Don't hesitate to ask further questions and voice your concerns.

[@gautreaux]

@@monomonoaudio Your answer to this question is a pearl of wisdom. Thank you for sharing the thinking behind your calibration decisions. You have made the equipment foolproof, so to speak, by considering the most likely use cases for music producers and "modern" music making. I'm glad to know this and will be happy to use this approach.

[@Artek604]

Is this a presentation of the plugins? Because they can be barely seen in the corner of the screen. Most people watch videos like this on phone or laptop, not on a huge 4K studio monitor. Also, they're nowhere to be seen on your website?

[@monomonoaudio]

Thank you so much for your comment, appreciate your feedback. Apologies for the inconvenience, this is the first time I'm doing anything like this and my editing skills are too limited at this point. Hope you're able to see something useful from the video. The devices are out on July 1 and more information will be posted then. If you're curious to look at them up close and see the comparison with hardware, please feel free to jump to our instagram page to check it out.

[@Artek604]

@@monomonoaudio No editing necessary. Just record your videos (in the future...) using higher scaling. Just check Ned's own stuff - it's all nice and easy to clearly see :)

[@monomonoaudio]

@@Artek604 Will do my best. Thank you!