Live Mix Session: 'The Chainsmokers' "Closer"

[@soulchorea]

One thing I notice from all these videos is the dynamic between the interviewer and the interviewee...like the interviewer still wants to be the authority figure because they probably remember dude from when he was just a student there, but now the student has returned after hitting the big time and is like "yeah I'm the teacher now; please fall back while I teach these students thanksssss"...it cracks me up, happens almost every time

[@joshfoster1409]

Why wouldn't you guys pull his audio from what he was sending out of the laptop? Having to hear his tracks through the mics in room is pretty confusing and sounds very low quality. Can hardly get a feel for what he's talking about when the kick sounds like a pop through the mics.

[@brenttauromusic]

From a store?

[@mx.r.taylorlindsey838]

Yea, I agree, very unprofessional, and the mics are just about to feed back throughout the video.

[@mx.r.taylorlindsey838]

I have what they need sitting in my laptop bag hahaha

[@LgShai]

exactly. Copyright and stuff

[@DuceIRae]

right.. at 1st I was like wtf.. why does the kick sound so terrible.. then I realized someone was being lazy and unprofessional .. and I thought full sail was supose to be the best.. the price of there school surely indicates that.. haha.. some cool insights tho from this...

[@AnthonySluissi]

Hey Full Sail University, Massive thanks for sharing this great edition. Really cool to hear the "behind the scene" of one of the biggest tune of 2016. Just one thing though! Next time you guys gotta give us the audio from the computer, this is crucial when doing a mixing event! I'm not gonna ask you to reup the vid but I'm sure next time you won't do that same mistake again! ;)

[@GeneoVanEngers]

What a awesome guy and he's got the new age of recording down. Keep it up man.

[@kaulinman9670]

massive session!! I wonder why ppl still complain in the comment section.. this is free awesome high value content that you are all getting for free... just enjoy

[@suffyonthebeat4922]

Session starts at 14:30 thank me later

[@anushaeditz]

Thanks

[@behindtheguitar25]

watching it in 2024 , still useful and knowledgable 😊

[@fullsailuniversity]

So true! Some advice never ages. 🔥

[@behindtheguitar25]

@@fullsailuniversity Yeah absolutely , btw do your university accept Indian students to study there?

[@fullsailuniversity]

We accept all types of students! You can contact our International Admissions Team by phone [phone] or email [e-mail].

[@behindtheguitar25]

@@fullsailuniversity ok Thanks

[@fullsailuniversity]

You're welcome! 😊

[@fullsailuniversity]

Thank you!!!

[@shamirbowman5256]

that unknown vocalist who backed out last minute made the biggest mistake of his life

[@rocklover3300]

Thank god she backed out. She's annoying

[@TheDropOfTheDay]

it was Camila Cabello

[@alexrallis4811]

havana was the redeeming track lol

[@garbygarb31]

@@TheDropOfTheDay who

[@DAISY-nj3mn]

Well you kind of have to think about it the song would have never been the same if she had a stayed on the track

[@jasonhobert498]

In case anyone is counting how much compression was added up on the female vocal: 1) 3-4db on the way in (ratio unknown) 2) Automating volume of each syllable 3) 6-10db at 4:1 ratio on the SSL channel (from the small clip in the video) 4) 3-4db (anyone know the default ratio on RVox?) That adds up to somewhere between 12-18db of compression in addition to automation. Assuming a 4:1 ratio on all compressors, that's somewhere between 48-72db of dynamic reduction (in addition to automation). THAT'S A TON OF COMPRESSION! ps - None of the above accounts for De-Ess compression.

[@pablo.capeto]

Jason Hobert sorry for the 2y necro, but i think the Gain Reduction that compressors show takes into account the ratio. So it doesn't make sense to assume a 48-72 dynamic reduction. It's 12-18.

[@bhargavivijayadas788]

He has produced for BTS'z Love Yourself Wonder's Euphoria

[@divadeomusic6149]

for all the kids with rich parents that support their passion

[@chasemormur]

im not rich, was on free lunch at school. and im going, paying all myself. 100%

[@DarrylBarnesDance]

Free lunch was lit.

[@mrvoxx]

whatever you want to accomplish in life is gonna need support and cash

[@jonaheaglefeather1440]

I grew up with my parents not having stable jobs and living off the state, now I’ve had a job for 7 years and going to Full Sail University, with help with financial aide. Luckily, I finally had the ability to go to school to learn what I love doing. Neither of my parents had anything to do with me going back to school. Everyone has a story. Don’t just assume spoiled rich kids get free rides. Some of us work hard for it.

[@daveblue3733]

Blame your own parents for not being rich.

[@MONEYMINDSET-ENTERTAINMENT]

This is so good. Thank you so much !

[@craigreeves5465]

In case some of you are asking it appears the session is 64 tracks not including the aux busses.

[@fullsailuniversity]

We are excited to have you apart of #FSNATION!!

[@davidthortucker1928]

Great insight, appreciating all the value. The comments on this thread are so whack. Everyone is trying to hate and criticize and there's no room in art for that kind of BS negativity smh. I'm just glad I got the insight

[@mrvoxx]

For all the haters. It's not about how good you are in writing songs or producing songs, it's all about feelings, the worst song in history technically could be the best-selling cuz of what it tells you emotionally.

[@thisischetan]

kids watching the music video. legends are here for entire project breakdown.

[@Thatguyy7439]

9:32 - it was Camila Cabello FYI

[@GFRyoutube]

rip to her

[@nero008]

You all should do more videos like this!!

[@808celebrity]

Thanks for sharing but the audio doesn't match up, which is kind of distracting, if you could re-upload id appreciate it. :)

[@Solo-vh9fm]

I'm fuming that YT unsubbed me from this channel. I'm glad I came across this video. I resubbed.

[@murphy9238481]

4:44 "Don't Bring Me Down" lol!

[@TheBlashMusic]

So this guy is essentially the fantom 3rd Chainsmoker?

[@Leotique]

yes

[@kelvynification]

Great pop track with very effective vocals. The mix seems a little dated now but was slamming when it came out. Cool interview:)

[@fullsailuniversity]

Such a fun interview during Hall of Fame!

[@alyxgonzales]

Mildly interesting. Not the best song to go over since Swivel pretty much just did quality control and fine tuning more than anything else. The questions asked by the students was the worst part though. Now I'm left with so many unanswered questions. Like, why does he like that SSL Waves plug-in so much and doesn't switch to UAD, Slate, or any of the other newer emulations? Why does he use HD 650 instead of more high end headphones like the LCD-X? How does he mix in a plane with open headphones without pissing everyone off? Why doesn't he treat his living room instead of just relying on the Genelec software? Why does he think Genelec is a bad name? I think it's a cool name. Why does he use Vitalizer instead of any of the newer imaging plug-ins that aren't like 10 years old? Was all the tuning done with the real time Auto-tune or was the manual mode used at all? Guess I'll never know.

[@franciscosalcido8951]

1:01:59 He said his mentor used that SSL Plugin so he inherently did the same!

[@alyxgonzales]

And what makes you think I don't already do that? My questions are completely out of curiosity.

[@joneslego3645]

the HD650 is already pretty high end with a flat response, even for someone like skrillex it should be more than enough

[@benbenzon]

Because you dont need the best top end equipment/plugin to make a good record

[@Drilltales]

Alyx Gonzáles well to answer your last few questions about how is he mixing with just his laptop and headphones, is like what he mentioned early on in the video, you do not need top equipment to mix a record. Producer Ronny J produced and recorded his songs with XXXTentacion with only the laptop speakers and some Apple earbuds. When Murda Beatz made Nice for what with drake, he only had a beats pill speaker and made the beat in an openly spaced out living room mansion. It all really depends on your ear and sound selection.

[@kristianandreasen3230]

37:10 what is he doing with this finger?

[@kylerich9904]

I agree with pulling output from the laptop. As far as the mics go, they have students running the show...

[@RevampedNetwork]

"they're some of the best producers in the business." *"SURE"* DEAD

[@mrvoxx]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH MY GOD!

[@HLordz301]

her vocals are comp liked crazy. that's a lot of editing...15:08

[@SkyFelixMusic]

Notice how he moves past any mention of Autotune and doesn't open the AT plugin to show how much it's actually making her sound listenable?????

[@666ACDCROCKNROLL666]

That vocal definitely wouldn't be that good if it wasn't already somewhat good in the first place. Impossible to fix shit, but it's very easy to take a great vocal take and make it amazing...

[@filiprangus5826]

Thank you for sharing, great stuff

[@fullsailuniversity]

Thank you for watching!!

[@SanVB]

Im wondering about the reverb of that room. A hall, with a decay of 1.5 seconds

[@davidwilkerson5265]

possibly the worst questions that could have been asked.

[@johnbanaag]

"i was noticing that your eqs don't have any visualizers to tell you what frequencies you want to take out, how do you approach eqing vocals"

[@franciscosalcido8951]

I laughed so hard at that question I was so disappointed that the student has never seen a SSL board AND THEY'RE GOING TO SCHOOL FOR IT.

[@benja303]

i swear Engineers are some of the most pretentious people you will ever come across.

[@225maine]

@@franciscosalcido8951 so you think they went to school solely to learn how to mix on an ssl board? 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@ProducerGio]

My biggest question is what apt let you mix?

[@CaffreyPlays]

Produce in logic, mix in pro tools, master in Abelton...What!!!

[@MichaelBCooper]

Caffrey definitely produce in Ableton

[@CaffreyPlays]

I'm not saying things I think. He literally said that in this interview

[@mrvoxx]

looks like it's working out for him, since the track is a monster hit?

[@DarrylBarnesDance]

The Course Director had the best questions. I hope they have a critical thinking class. I can answer these questions lol

[@vicco1466]

StemFlorTom.02 sounds like it's in "Something Just Like This".

[@Oninnss]

why does the audio is not sync to the video?

[@bigsean6045]

1:42 *This is all you need to know. You need to really WANT IT.*

[@FabianGia]

The one thing I don't understand is why don't they give you the full tutorial on how the vocal was processed, I hear that it was already given with a doubler or slap delay, so they should let you know how the whole process was done.

[@juanramon3223]

bro that kick be thumpin

[@centereddev]

55:30 lol great question

[@rajharsh3114]

Gray Smith 😂😂😂😂

[@rajharsh3114]

Gray Smith "He is finding the songs". They definitely rip off. 😂😂😂😂

[@Techdrome]

1:12:43 this is some serious frost voice :))

[@Antweezy]

can someone explain the difference between de-esser and dynamic eq? they do the same right? or is one compressing as well

[@gilormsplay]

Writers: Andrew Taggart, Ashley Frangipane, Shaun Frank, Frederic Kennett, Isaac Slade, Joe King.

[@vicco1466]

Gil Orms what's did Alex Pall do?

[@gilormsplay]

He's more of a fixer/pair of ears. Bernard Edwards did that with Nile Rodgers ("edit, edit, edit"). Pete Waterman did it with SAW etc.

[@EdwurdB.Writing]

Love how he selects from different takes the right sounding vocals. That's crazy the amount of attention paid to a certain way the female vocalist ,for example, may have said "hey".

[@TheBlashMusic]

For real! It definitely makes me want to step up my game when I record vocals.

[@naur5302]

what's the vocal chain he said in 1:09:36 hope someone can tell me thanks a lot

[@hihelloseul459]

Who's come here after euphoria?

[@michellezhang7414]

Hi Hello Seul me lol. But yeah closer is my favorite song form the chainsmokers and no wonder I really like euphoria

[@shivamsawant5420]

everyone

[@GajendraShakya563]

Very well explained!

[@fullsailuniversity]

We're glad you enjoyed it!

[@dcstudiosbcn1094]

Nice man ty

[@StriveForGloryRain]

I think I'm the only one that mixes in FL 🤦🏿‍♂️🤣

[@Gdogw22]

I’m wit cha

[@225maine]

It's definitely doable, but i don't think it's really geared for that though.

[@StriveForGloryRain]

@George Garrick it’s not much I can’t do that I could in any other DAW. I know it’s geared more towards production and i use it for beats as well but I’ve been able to get pretty pro mixes using FL

[@joshuaedo07]

This is slavery

[@JuanSeveso]

really inspiring

[@youngkim1529]

Could you update the English subtitles if you don't mind? I sincerely hope so.

[@dannydimercurio577]

I find it interesting that at 35:30 he uses multiple de-essers on a vocal to tame troubled areas. Why not just resort to a single multiband compressor like Fabfilter Pro MB? Either way I think it's cool that this goes to show you that there are no rules; do what you need to do to get the job done.

[@mattstevens4379]

im surprised he does no subtractive eq notching or multiband comp on the vocals

[@musicsmugglers7795]

Vocals 38:20

[@g.hmusicc]

That kick makes me wanna die honestly

[@5MA5H3R]

Just curious; why does the kick and hats sound so much different from the actual track? Is that just something that was adjusted during the mastering process? Are we just hearing the stage before? This sounds a lot different than the final track. ...

[@THOMASTAYIMOEHL]

How did he measure his speakers to the rooms? is it a plug in? anyone??

[@JaydenLawson]

I'd say the speakers have their own software that does it

[@virlthestrip8632]

vocals = 35:48

[@Submersed24]

can someone explain how he calibrated his speakers to his room? I think I will do that, myself.

[@OfficialDistinction]

The Genelec 8351 monitors he uses have a calibration function, they come with a microphone and software in order to automatically calibrate them to your environment. With knowledge of acoustics, your monitors and a microphone you could do similar DIY.

[@Ag89q43G0HyA]

is it me or the audio is messed up?

[@AICoverParadise]

How do you make the glitch sound?

[@prodbytytaan]

Which glitch sound?

[@Santoscuneo]

Sorry guys which monitores does he use?

[@phildott]

I don't know how it looks in pro tools, but aren't his audio tracks all above 0db? Look how flat they are at the top. In fl studio that means that the audios sample is going max 0db/above 0db

[@joshuaedo07]

No, he zoomed in the audio clips to see the waveform better

[@phildott]

@@joshuaedo07 thank you :) didn't know that's possible there.

[@satishreginald8888]

I feel like the main synth chords probably aren't nexus like he said they are. Just because if they were I feel like all the people who've tried making remakes would've eventually figured that out but no one has

[@StyleWithSteez]

Satish Reginald spire or serum

[@satishreginald8888]

+Nico Wheelock I personally think there're also probably some strings in there too but honestly I'm not sure. I haven't really heard anyone recreate the sound amazingly

[@StyleWithSteez]

Satish Reginald yeah and those would certainly be from nexus based on Drew's personal preference

[@satishreginald8888]

+Nico Wheelock hmm do you think that nexus strings would be better for this type of music than some samples, or just that drew wouldn't have bothered getting something else?

[@InLichtenDuister]

They can record en go live with obs even the audio can be at high quality when making such kind of video's

[@MM-xu4jg]

90 percent of good mixing and mastering is done by the producer

[@saqhan]

so the stems seems compressed and limitted to 0 db before mix? where is the space and headroom for mix? kinda confused..

[@jonasparsson6721]

It's not, he have just zoomed in on the tracks.

[@AldyWaani]

can you send me the stems? :))))

[@nafseltaeb]

Can someone tell me why Halsey's vocals were spit up into syllables? Did she record a bunch of takes and they chose the best from each? Or they did record each syllable at a different level so the highs would mix with the lows? Or some other reason??? Is this typical?

[@aconemusic]

nafseltaeb thats actually comping from a creative view...

[@jimlynchcodes]

how do you get the deep wubby sub?

[@namn.dev_]

Why the heck no one uses FL Studio???

[@virlthestrip8632]

21:33 welcome.

[@musicfactoryrecordingshvuk1549]

his name is brad barbie ?

[@shehananjana]

09:32 it was Camila Cabelo,

[@essany]

The fact that he's not taking advantage of the color coding drives me bananas. If he likes that workflow that's cool, but that would drive me crazy. Love this guy though. He's so talented.

[@DaCashRap]

What's up with the kick?

[@Kris.galang]

32:00 sounds like the Shaun Frank remix to this song

[@ivorymars3845]

I noticed that too!

[@Leotique]

King Pin & The Punisher on stage :)

[@ShaneEuston]

So he is the Magic Man behind the Chainsmokers.

[@Saidjebrane]

Worst Kick Ever / For god sake those Ques from the students makes me wanna slap someone

[@michaellarsen180]

Couldnt agree more, that top on the kicks makes me sick over time. ;)

[@QW2227]

Jr Adm lol

[@DanielHennellMusic]

The kick sounded strange because we are hearing what is coming of the speakers at the venue. In reality, it does not sound like that.

[@mattstevens4379]

ya way too clicky sounding from what I'm hearing on cans

[@allexfenty]

Exactly

[@F3ND1MUS]

keep on kraken

[@MrPilot9198]

Any way i could get that multitrack pro tools file? lol

[@MrPilot9198]

I was but would not mind getting my hands on it lmao!

[@TheViccoTube]

what was the name of his monitors?

[@goshorts]

TheViccoTube Genelec 8351

[@PURCELLYOUTUBE]

TLDR: Drew did all the work

[@luandfj4214]

35:00 vocal

[@asianH_tler]

I like how this guy didn't do anything to the mix. How about u interview who actually did the effects and compression, etc not just the guy who gave it "a half dB"

[@LennonJCihak]

ildjess Do you go to Full Sail? It's their Hall of Fame week, so they highlight their grads. DJ Swivel is VERY popular amongst the student body.

[@asianH_tler]

Lennon Cihak being "very" popular means nothing. Idk if u saw how many plugins he used... why? Bc the work was already done. Look at the waveforms they're already EQ'd, they already have FX, everything is done, this dude didn't do anything as far as I can tell. Even I could've done what he did

[@LennonJCihak]

ildjess Popular does mean something. The students are inspired (as I was) by the success of the grads, such as DJ Swivel. And to some that means more than having one or ten EQs on a track. I met Swivel, and he's a very humble, helpful, and intuitive guy. And thankful that he takes the time out of his busy schedule to speak to the students. The Chainsmokers work in a high-end facility, which is acoustically treated, so yes, they probably did do a lot of the mixing. And, like Swivel said, they're really good producers; they know what they're doing. Swivel specializes in vocals, which is probably why they sent it to him. On top of working with the vocals, they told him to mix it to get a fresh set of ears on the track. Drew, Alex,and Swivel are good friends. What's wrong with giving your friends work?

[@asianH_tler]

Lennon Cihak Lol ok bro

[@JemiBlackMusic]

He told you the song was mixed 3 times and he also said that there's a lot of back and forth between him and Drew prior to the final mix.

[@Younglouspiff]

This Song Got Almost 2 billion Views Bruh wtf 😱😱 (1,995,190,339 views)

[@anirudhbharadwaj6721]

u could've used fruity loops in your question

[@TheDude-vx6wn]

What speakers does he say he use? @19:08

[@PICO_BE]

genelec 8351

[@TheDude-vx6wn]

@@PICO_BE Thanks!

[@TheDude-vx6wn]

@@PICO_BE thanks!

[@gilormsplay]

He's more of a fixer/pair of ears. Bernard Edwards did that with Nile Rodgers ("edit, edit, edit"). Pete Waterman did it with SAW etc.

[@djcj]

53:00 great

[@georgespyropoulos2692]

This guy doesnt even use plugins on many tracks of the song..then whats the point of that video?I mean...what did he exactly mix?(music industry at its best)

[@ATOKHANG]

George Spyropoulos hahaha what? Are you bounded to the rules much?

[@spm1209]

My favorite story about this type of situation comes from Henry Ford hiring an engineer to figure out why his engine wasn't running as well as it should have. The engineer came in, spent a few minutes looking over schematics, and drew a chalk mark x over the part causing the issue. Said it needed to be re-engineered, and handed Henry Ford a bill for 1000 dollars. Henry Ford felt insulted. He demanded to know why it cost so much money for a few minutes of work and a chalk mark x. So the engineer gave him an itemized list: Chalk mark x = $1.00 Knowing where to put the x = $999.00 Henry Ford promptly paid the man. Point being. It isn't always how much effects you put on something. It's knowing what to use and where. I struggle with this constantly. One of my biggest issues is over-processing (Too many plugs). It's knowing how to get a take, what instrument to use, what octaves to play, what harmonies and instrumentation to use. What effects to use and where. It's knowing how to automate volumes, pans, sends, and FX to achieve a sound. In that end, this video was INCREDIBLE. on the surface, i felt the same. He didn't do that much. Until you realize all the back end work that went into this track. The throws, the automation, the clip gaining, and knowing where and when to use everything. That's what made this a pro mix. And he did it flawlessly.

[@OHHnoYOUdidntMAN]

this dude looks like a supervillian

[@ChrisHudgins]

Dude's nose whistle is making me feel bad emotions.

[@wallacehardiniii9038]

"and then, uuuhh"

[@thechosenone1426]

if alison remixed this song

[@Fresher2nudope]

IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH SIBILENCE, BOOST AT AROUND 9-16K FOR AIR. YOU'RE WELCOME!

[@DanYuleo]

This guy stole Sean Hannity's haircut! lol lol lol