Episode 12 Part 3

[@PhillipRing-gw2yx]

As a fan of both your mixing and writing... these are fantastic for someone recording at home! Please keep doing these!

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

More to come!

[@dustinpayton5937]

Thanks for these Ken!

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Glad you like them!

[@denverrandy7143]

@@KenAndrewsMusic Hi Ken, I came across a great album by "Mary Halvorson" called "Maid with the flaxen hair" she's a jazz guitarist with a lot of experimental "noise" elements.But,it hit me with that tingle down my spine like Failure does to me.And,that doesn't happen very often...Cant wait to see you,Greg and Kelli out on tour soon again.Stay safe,Godbless and Goodnight.👍🤘

[@PMTluke]

Love the new album KEN just found it today ! Hidden gem ! ❤️🎄happy new year ! Love the fantastic sounds since 94’ and love these videos and this channel ! You rock Ken !!!

[@ozzfan458]

Ken, we love your use of noise in a lot of your records. Can you do an episode on how you treat artefacts such as synth noise, guitar feedback, and other weird shit in your mixes. Thanks and love your work

[@robertreynolds9961]

This^

[@astorkrantz3187]

These are amazing really, giving away millions of dollars of knowledge for free! Thanks!

[@mrparkinson]

Love these videos. Thanks for doing them Mr Andrews!

[@luckylayne]

Happy new year Ken! This channel is an absolute gem.

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Wow, thanks!

[@KennethJGreen1]

Been binging on your channel over the past week or so (also been doing the same with Wild Type Droid). All great stuff. Thanks for doing this!

[@Louiedrumslessons]

Quit giving up all the secrets, & let the world scratch their heads.

[@shanepeterson2152]

Learning more and more with your videos! Thanks for all the insight!

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Awesome, thank you!

[@alfredolecuona7284]

Gracias Ken!!! Feliz año!!

[@halfpierecordings]

Loving these videos Ken. A highlight every time these come out. Cheers

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@drewskie4681]

Thanks Ken these videos are awesome!

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Glad you think so!

[@Cloudtalahari]

Loving these episodes!

[@dnaglitchgaming6565]

Keep it up Ken 2021 and beyond!

[@nedim_guitar]

Oh yes! I'm happy I didn't go to bed yet! I just got the notification for this video. It's half past midnight over here, and I'm ending my day with some music nerdiness. Awesome!

[@vonapathy]

Nice! A new video to start the new year. I hope the year treats you well, thanks for all the music and all the knowledge.

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Happy new year! and you're so welcome

[@Errcyco]

I feel like you are a top tier engineer/producer that just happened to be a famous musician before that lol. Awesome as always man, too neat we get to see your process.

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Wow, thanks!

[@Errcyco]

@@KenAndrewsMusic anytime my dude, and thanks again for sharing all this with us.. unreal getting to see how you think and process, 🙏

[@jaysonscott187]

Damn Ken. Crankin 'em out. Thanks man.

[@evanmcgregor3758]

Hi Ken! I heard you on master your mix podcast and loved it so checked out your channel. This is great! My favourite comment was something that is quite simple but actually quite profound "part of mixing is reducing options as you progress in the mix"... I think this is one of my biggest problems- I get overwhelmed with options and ideas, and sometimes just create more and more possibilities for myself- of course this is sometimes good to enhance creativity but there has to be a limit too, or nothing gets finalised. I also find it hard to 'freeze' or print tracks as I always want that option of going back. But now that I think about it all these options are just slowing me down. I'm going to try to commit to my decisions in future. I think that will help a lot. Thanks Ken

[@therudeawakening51]

Thanks for these Ken! After watching Part 3, I realized how good it was to have the thoroughness of all the work you put in laid out. Keep it up!

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

My pleasure!

[@dogmaticvox]

Awesome! This was great!

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Thanks so much!

[@jai-alaitrifecta7457]

Ken, I could listen to you explaining how to make toast in a toaster. I’m learning so much regarding mixing and applying your tips/tricks daily. Thank you so much for the keen knowledge. Happy new year, sir!

[@IanHolwood]

Awesome series. Can’t wait to see more.

[@nolanneal]

This is such a gift!! I wish you’d make more! My fans tell me the same thing. Haha. - but sometimes (most of the time) I’m just NOT in the mood to edit video for 18 hours... (because I’m not as “avid” on Adobe or Final Cut as I am on Protools) I thought about trying media composer - but I have a feeling it’s gonna be too intense for simple video editing like I’d need for my mixing & production vids. Anyway! Great work brother!!

[@jackwoodward89]

Thanks for doing these vids. It says a lot that you publicly share your expertise when so many people are secretive about their methods. You had mentioned in another video or podcast recording drums as close and dry as possible then using a series of different reverbs to create the room sound. I thought that was really interesting as the common thought is that you need a good live room for a good drum sound. If you ever find the time to do a video on that, that'd be the bee's knees.

[@TrueFallacy]

These are so rad Ken, thank you 🙏

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Glad you like them!

[@frnx0077]

The man. Thank you!!!

[@SLAVECO3]

HNY and thanks for sharing Ken!

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Same to you!

[@juanticimo]

Thanks so much Ken, these are always so helpful. Valhala plugins are quite a bargain, glad you pointed those out. Swooped up a few, thanks

[@barrygorst5951]

Great stuff Ken. Keep it coming!!

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

More to come!

[@julienvauxion4037]

Happy new year !! Wishing to everybody the best to come

[@nedim_guitar]

Thanks, right back at you, bro!

[@diegooliveirabenjamin]

HNY Julien

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Same to you!

[@jaysonscott187]

Hi Ken. Have you thought about making a video on achieving various tones? As a fan, that tries to play, that would be a lot of fun. Maybe like an old gem, or maybe a newer one where you have used the fractal. Or both. Like what parameters and such to dial in. If you ever do something like this, make sure to dumb it down! Either way thanks sir!

[@lern2swim]

NEED MOOOOOORE!

[@ACFFoster]

Really enjoying these videos. Lots to takeaway here but one thing that's stuck with me is how you're adding groove and feel into a sampled drum performance by what you play over the top, that was a big eye opener for me. Thanks Ken!

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

really cool you connected with that technique. timing between instruments is completely relative. quantized drums can sound groovy if your bass overdub moves around a bit, for instance.

[@ACFFoster]

@@KenAndrewsMusic yeah totally, also good to not judge a performance by how on the grid it is. Mix by ears not by eyes.

[@christanmartinez1238]

Happy near year! Amazing content as always, Ken! Love seeing the process behind it all!

[@gastongazaba3867]

very interesting videos Ken, sincerely i didn t know that you are not only a musician. i feel very identified by your thinking of what music production would be and how you think it

[@Yisus03i]

Great Ken, ✨

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@DeadPerspective]

Awesome, I was looking forward to this again. Happy new year!

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Same to you!

[@LightsandMotion]

loving it

[@heartworkmusic_]

Incredibly helpful. Love how minimal some of the moves you're making are. Definitely something for me to keep in mind moving forward with mixing. Thanks Ken! Loving the channel.

[@catharsisecho]

Excellent! This was such a generous deep dive into my favorite song on the EP. Thanks as always, Ken. I hope the new year brings fulfillment and prosperity to you and yours.

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Same to you!

[@nachshonrorick]

Super helpful! I’ll rewatch and take notes 👍 - would love to see a deep dive on your EQing process across all instruments, especially with the Pro-Q - maybe you’ll make a complete e-course in the future?! All the best 🙏

[@fuzzyhi5621]

Awesome thanks for the knowledge straight up explanation!

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

my pleasure, thanks

[@dani_aalstein]

Loving the content Ken, thank you so much for sharing these informative videos! It's so interesting to see how you produce music, it really inspired me to revisit and work on some of my own tunes again :) Your music and the Failure records are hands down some of my favourite records to listen to, the music is just brilliant! I have always been fascinated by the chords and chord progressions of your songs and Failure's songs, maybe in the future you could talk about the process of choosing chords and how you approach the songwriting of a new song? Anyway, I really appreciate you man, cheers! 🌟

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Thank you so much Daan. Means a lot.

[@gilbertrockstv8557]

Lots to talk about here Ken, but first I must say, nice range on those background vocs! Love the simplicity of this track. Happy new year!

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Much appreciated!

[@googleplekx]

Loving this Ken!!! Thankyou!

[@BD-me4nk]

The year is off to a great start, Bitcoin making records and even better, Ken dropping amazing videos!

[@peteroconnor5792]

You're Amazing Ken; keep going & Massive Happy New!!

[@gargolyer]

Ken, this is just straight awesome. Been doing this stuff on the side for years and it's cool to see the same or similar conclusions reached for how to approach a mix/session. It's real easy to get "lost in the sauce" and feel unsure about the way I'm doing something. These videos help bolster my confidence and show me new approaches (or remind me of things I learned and long forgot, haha). Perfect timing too as I'm working through recording, producing, and mixing an ambitious album with some long time friends. Already putting this info to good use! I really appreciate your channel, your work, and wish you well in 2021. Fast becoming my favorite audio engineering channel. PS - Second on Valhalla DSP - one of my favorite plugin companies out there for big reverbs and delays. Been putting Brainworx's SSL 9000 J and Shadow Hills Class A Mastering Comp emulations through the paces too, loving both so far.

[@JonJourdan]

Always the best content.🤘

[@strunch]

Interesting how the visualization of sound waves can be juxtaposed and arranged in an architectural sense. Thanks for sharing.

[@robertreynolds9961]

If you think about it....music is archetectual..... Your building huge atmospheres with vibrations placed and sometimes not so placed into thin air! With all its randomness and purposely oriented characteristics...its the most beautiful form of architecture....abd is almost mystical.

[@froghawk]

Wow, this just goes to show that less is more... I was surprised how minimal the processing was in the mix stage. Job's a lot easier when your tracks are great to begin with!

[@jonathan.linton]

Fantastic series - thanks for sharing. Did you do the mastering?

[@balkanesequalk]

Thanks, Ken, always intriguing and informative. If you're looking for ideas for future episodes, I'm sure many fans are curious about the recording of the ON albums, as well as Replicants. I'm also personally curious about the recording of Failure's 'Magnified' and the use of a session drummer (on some tracks) who seems to have largely disappeared from the canon.

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Thanks for the ideas!

[@wofesc]

Happy new year! Thank you very much for this series; it's been invaluable to me because it really showed how writing and mixing can be the same thing. Would you probably do another song from the EP? Maybe even the title song itself? Take care!

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Thinking about it. Working on a couple others right now.

[@BWP-u3y]

Love the transparent screen production... veddy cool indeed!

[@Eggbertman2001]

thank you ken have a happy new year

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Same to you!

[@chexmixsix]

Hey Ken quick question: Will Failure be producing any new vinyl copies of Fantastic Planet or the 1992-1996 box set? Thank you

[@Tripp_Lanier]

Thanks and please keep creating these, Ken. Would love to hear your take on tonal balance. I use some of your mixes from over the years as references and have always wondered why a particular album would be brighter/darker/thicker/etc than the other. Is this a conscious choice to determine the tonal "shape" of a record or ... ?

[@lahattec]

Since you like width on delays, maybe on some other aspects? Try changing that Pro Q3 high shelf on the Master buss to Sides only. I would be curious what you think of that.

[@drewskie4681]

Hey Ken! These videos were incredible man are you gonna do any more or are you only doing things on patreon now?? We miss you!

[@jasoncalieri1535]

This series of vids was outstanding! Especially for someone who records at home using many of the same plugins. Thanks so much for doing this. Maybe I missed it, but what delay plugins are being used for the vocal delays? They sound great.

[@deviousmind5072]

Hi Ken, did you recorded in 24 bits/48khz ? or other ?

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Yes, generally 24/48, although sometimes I get 24/96 files from mix clients.

[@jaysonscott187]

Hey also excellent job on the videos. It just hit me how your main focus is music and those interfacing skills sure carry over to Tubing. Pretty cool. Overall, hope these videos get more traffic than the fanbase. Were a relatively small little family. Peace man.

[@Vrekaro]

Amazing! I really feel like I would need to put your name in the credits when I release any material of my music in future hahahha. Thanks!!!

[@dereklane-bell3048]

Hey Ken! I'd love to see a video of you discussing producing Mae's The Everglow! I think that record has the best production of any album I've ever heard. It sounds so huge, and you can hear every element of each song. It's awesome!

[@jaysonscott187]

Oooh! Is this a gem i need to check out!? :)

[@dereklane-bell3048]

@@jaysonscott187 absolutely! Can't recommend it enough

[@jaysonscott187]

@@dereklane-bell3048 sounds good man

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Interesting, I think I may a backup for this. Will look into it. That is from 2004 I think.

[@earthpart3]

I have two questions I've always wondered about. How was the decision made to tune the high e string to d flat for blank? Why was the decision made to play in E standard for year of the rabbit as opposed to the e flat sound of failure? Best channel ever btw!!

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

I didn't play the guitar on Blank (Greg) but I believe he tuned the high E down to make the part work. YOTR used E because at the time all my guitars were E as I had left Eb behind when Failure broke up in 97. So now its a problem because I have a bunch of material in both E and Eb!

[@craigperkin1907]

An episode on stems which you eluded to earlier would be pertinent in the covid era.

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

The definition of stems? Why are they useful? How to make them? Just picking your brain on what you'd be interested in hearing about. I think there is a lot of confusion about what the word "stems" means in audio.

[@craigperkin1907]

Thanks for replying. Pretty exciting for me because I am a huge fan. I have been using the term stems incorrectly. So a definition would be good. You quickly referenced stems in an early episode and indicated that you had something to say about it. I'm sure you have some tools and tricks. The difference between stems and tracks and how to share them for collaboration.

[@robertreynolds9961]

Woah!!!

[@attila-botondrazman44]

This channel really is a blessing... Are you planning on doing any episodes on all the records you've mixed or produced, other than your solo material and the Failure records?

[@randomreviews6780]

Thank you!

[@lookaroundyou2139]

Ken ! I miss you. Hope you are doing well

[@NicholasGreenwood]

Ken, thank you. I've heard about "mixing quiet" in order to prepare a mix for mastering, but I'd like to get your take on it. Any tips there?

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Oh yes, I mix super quiet most of the time. When I'm doing drum kit and bass guitar I will sometimes listen loud to check the kick/bass relationship at high spl, but other than that I'm usually kind of quiet, and I also check on headphones, and the stock Apple wired earphones that used to come with their phones. It's much easier to evaluate the relative balance between instruments at lower volume levels. Also, in my experience, most of the time, listeners are not listening loud. Of course you crank it sometimes, but on average, people listen at medium to lower volumes, and this is where mix problems can really be heard. Also, people listen quiet on earbuds a lot, so checking a mix with earbuds is probably a good idea.

[@joshuagilbertdog]

Love the behind the scenes and mixing tips. Hopefully you don’t take KZbin comments as personal as much as you do on Facebook.. 😉

[@gilbertrockstv8557]

Hey Ken, forgot to ask...any reason you chose the Waves SSL bus comp over the UA? Both are on sale right now for a great price. Just curious if you chose the Waves version for any particular reason? Thanks Ken. Keep on crushing. I think I'm going to put out an LP on the side this year with a friend just to take a break from the tv show production. Thanks for your time and mentoring you put into these videos. :)

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

The UA one is cool, I have and use sometimes. I switch it up, might try a couple and see if one connects to the song somehow. My current fav is the IK multimedia one. All pretty great.

[@gilbertrockstv8557]

@@KenAndrewsMusic Rad, great to know. Thanks Ken!

[@iagol9737]

@@KenAndrewsMusic Hi Ken! Happy new year man! I've noticed you keep your release setting on 3 on your SSL master bus comp on every episode. Can you explain your preference for this setting vs the fastest position or auto? Thanks!

[@miketreadwell3640]

I've literally been listening to the solo stuff everytime I'm in my car since it's release lol Very good stuff, it's nice to be able to listen to different new music rather than hearing (even though I like it) modern metal, that genre is just so overplayed and still continues 💀 not saying it's bad but it's all sounding the same lol Thanks for doing what you do!

[@CFChristian]

Give Loathe a listen if you haven't already.

[@gangell9]

Ken, if u happen to read this, how do u know when a song is done? Love the channel!!

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

two things. 1) it just hits me. i get an emotional response 2) nothing bothers me enough to want to change it!

[@zachromanoff3933]

@Ken, what advice do you give to someone like me, also "entirely in the box" trying to cut my own vocals? It's pretty the only thing keeping me from finishing my EP. To much right and left brain colliding. LOL

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

I think simply going through the process of recording, comping, re-recording, comping again, is really the best way to learn how to record your own vocals. Its just a matter of learning through trial and error.

[@zachromanoff3933]

​@@KenAndrewsMusic You're right on the money with vocals. Trial and error, comp, recomping. I also found that the more time I spend on them, the better they sound ( and man it takes a long time ). It's frustrating at times because I want to move on to another song but keep tweaking and retweaking the previous. LOL. I'm finding myself removing tracks/plugins more than adding :-) Quick question: Do you print your guitar tracks after adding a sim or do you keep the plug-in running? - Thanks!

[@internetsurvivor]

what are the 100 stones that sparkle in darkness?

[@ThePhilipCast]

Awesome stuff! Any chance of a Jimmy Eat World song breakdown?

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Check Episode 4! But I have another one in mind as well.

[@ThePhilipCast]

Yeah, I watched episode 4 and that got me excited to see more. Thanks for sharing your talent and insight!

[@robertreynolds9961]

New video!

[@above-us-only-sky]

Hey man, dunno when you’ll be active on here again. Just wanted to give you two very enthusiastic thumbs up on the EP. Honestly some of your best work. Few things: It’s really nice that over the years you haven’t allowed yourself to get bored with your sound - then subsequently water it down to become something you’re not (silver chair, foo fighters, stone temple pilots, etc); curios about the mastering, your last solo (satellite) was quite a bit louder than this ep and much more polished. I personally love the raw sound of this current EP but can’t help but wonder if the different sound is from someone else putting the final touch on it - did you master this one yourself as well?; Lastly, fucking LOVE the formant shift in Too Many Thoughts at the end. One of the coolest things ive heard in this genre in a while. Keep up the good work man. Hope to work with you someday soon. We run in a few of the same circles :)

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

Not sure I agree about level of polish between Satellites and this EP. Maybe all the sound design on Satellites makes it feel more polished? As far as mastering, I did both. I think its down to my current tastes versus 10+ years ago. I like loud but now I find myself much less willing to introduce distortion at the mastering level.

[@bryanwhite4505]

you've come a long way since i saw you in San Luis Obispo for Magnified tour me and Kelli S were the only ones with failure shirts on lol Love episode 12 most of all@@KenAndrewsMusic

[@JoshFryer]

I've never been a super fan of Pro Tools (I'm a Logic guy), but with the new dark mode update, it looks SO much cleaner. Might need to take a second look at PT.

[@JoshFryer]

Ken, love these breakdown videos (and the EP)!

[@KenAndrewsMusic]

I think the new look in PT is amazing and actually is a very dramatic change to the whole work experience. I mean its what your eyeballs see all fricking day long. Matches up well with many plug-ins now.

[@JoshFryer]

@@KenAndrewsMusic 🎵 “then I saw her (inter)face, now I’m a believer!” 🎶

[@jadew.6786]

Im ready for class 📚

[@blahuhm6782]

5:13 You know someone at Valhalla is a little too pleased to hear you speak so sensualy about their plugins

[@buddyalbert5808]

Commit and Daw should be a new oxymoron. I shall apply your “Baked In” method. Thx!

[@axlband6771]

My dad has a picture of Ken and him after Failure played live at the Hurricane (email me if you want to see it)

[@vladyslavselin]

Can I call you God of sound?

[@Infinite_AM]

I thought this was the best song on the EP.

[@ThrashDawg]

First I gotta figure out chord progressions 😭