Mixing Orchestral Strings - Masterclass Realistic Orchestral Mockups

[@gh0stwrit3r]

If you're interested in the Waves plugins that I use (API 550A Equaliser, S1 Imager and NLS) and planning to buy them. If you use this referral link you'll get an additional 10% discount! 🔥 www.waves.com/r/nfe2v2

[@striverfor7628]

Notes for myself 0:32 Plugins Span, Insight - iZotope, Imager - iZotope. Always mix your tracks in mono. 1:19 4 plugins on each strings track. Phat FX (stock Logic Pro X plugin), API-550A - Waves, S1 Imager - Waves, EW Spaces II - EastWest (reverb plugins). 2:52 The effect of these plugins on a single track can be small. But all the little differences can add up to a big effect of the total sound. 3:35 First track, listen with plugins off. First, demo with Phat FX off then on. 4:59 The plugin adds warmth, analog flavour. Only bass enhancer and distortion of the plugin turned on, with the mix level at 63%. It's very subtle. The plugin is used on all strings tracks and with the same settings. Find an analogue flavour plugin. E.g. NLS - Waves. Use it with the NEVO setting. 7:01 EQ plugin API-550A - Waves. Demo with it off then on. Effect is subtle. 8:18 S1 Imager, for width. Demo with it off then on. Effect is subtle. 9:01 Settings 9:22 EW Spaces II - EastWest. Demo with it off then on. Check if you have enough reverb by playing the track with the reverb on then stopping the track and seeing how long the reverb continues (how realistic is it?). 10:52 EW Spaces II filter. Use a high pass filter because you don't want reverb on the low frequencies. 11:30 12:14 Demo of all string tracks with all plugins off then turned on one by one. Big difference. 15:03 Wrap up. It's about the small adjustments adding up to a bigger effect. Don't make the mistake of making big adjustments with each plugin on each track, it doesn't end well. 16:20 Next time, woodwinds, brass and percussion.

[@omariuscp]

are you always supposed to mix your tracks in mono though? Genuinely curious, and also are you supposed to mix your strings in mono too?

[@CHRISTOPHE_ORSILLIA]

Je découvre votre chaîne KZbin, la plus intéressante que j'ai pu voir parmi celles existantes sur le sujet. Vous êtes formidable 😊 J'apprends tout le nécessaire qui me manquait. Un grand merci ! ❤ Un grand merci !

[@LuisHumanoide]

For someone like me who only uses Eq and Reverb, this is an interesting thing to learn

[@gh0stwrit3r]

Thanks Luis! Those are the most important ones for strings. The other two can definitely make your mix sound better or more personal. Worthy to give it a try in my humble opinion. What kind of DAW are you using?

[@Diegosaurio]

Very helpful video, thanks a lot. I would recommend when A/B- ing to compare the plugins (from 12:25) what you turn off your mic so we can clearly listen to the difference, you ramble too much trying to find the words in english to describe what you´re doing. Just throw a couple of Text boxes, much more ear friendly. Thanks again.

[@gh0stwrit3r]

Thanks for the tip Diego!

[@musicismylife4679]

The best ! Thank you so muche!

[@slippingmiao2727]

Thank you so much for this mixing video, so cleaner to improve my mix!

[@gh0stwrit3r]

Great to hear! If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.

[@lupusnigerprodanddistrodol9305]

I'm on windows system What can I use to replace phat fx instead of NLS?

[@wesleycurryii3341]

Following you on this. Very insightful, and hoping this will add the final polish to my mixes. As a self taught mixing engineer / virtual orchestra composer, your show is incredibly helpful and I am hoping it will add the final polish to my 3 years studying how to achieve the realistic orchestra goal with my music. I cannot thank you enough. Especially for being rich and gracious enough to go into the plug in settings. (Something no one is willing to do, which I understand, that most pro engineers spent 10’s of thousands of dollars learning this information). I hope someday I can talk with you. Your music is fresh, exciting, and greatly interesting in scope, an example of what any orchestral composer that is serious should listen to and learn from. Wes.

[@gh0stwrit3r]

Many appreciated Wes! Just paying it forward 🙏 I really hope the videos on my channel will give you some guidance how to get that realistic orchestral sound that we all deserve. More and beautiful music in this world is what we need. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Greets, David

[@GuitaristAmberSky]

Awesome explanation & demonstration video! Love the way you explain the different effects/plugins and then let us hear the sounds of the various effects/plugins plugged in and then turned off. :-)

[@gh0stwrit3r]

Thanks Amber! It’s quite a project 😅

[@PaulCassidyOrchestrations]

Another excellent tutorial, David. Your channel is rich in useful content, I hope you continue to grow!! 👍👍

[@gh0stwrit3r]

Wow Paul, thank you so much! Are you following me along with the masterclass videos? What do you think, should I do more of these videos/series?

[@PaulCassidyOrchestrations]

Yes keep doing them. When I first started out there very very few tutorials such as these, and there still aren't many good ones. It is helping people to move forward a lot quicker than I did. 👍👍

[@Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay]

Curious how it is considered standard practice to be rolling the bass end off reverbs to the extent it is done. Those frequencies are as much subject to the sound of the room as all the others, if not more so because they tend to have more power and are more omnidirectional so hit more room surfaces sooner. We obviously need to control them and stop them accumulating in muddy resonant peaks but it's a mistake I often see to roll them off too high and try and exclude them from reverb altogether, which is probably worth a mention.

[@JinnieJMusic]

It is surely a very helpful lecture. Thank you so much!

[@gh0stwrit3r]

I hope it is 😉 How are your wrists doing?

[@JinnieJMusic]

@@gh0stwrit3r It's getting better. Thanks for your concern.

[@liechtensteinaudio]

I would recommend to clear strings from resonances a bit. I definitely hear some annoying frequencies.

[@gh0stwrit3r]

Thanks for watching! I’m really curious what kind of frequencies are annoying to you. Can you give me a time slot in this video where I should be able to hear those resonances?

[@liechtensteinaudio]

​@@gh0stwrit3r For example, 1st Violins on 7:20-7:45. I, personally, don't like that whistling sound somewhere around 400 and 800 Hz. Seems like 1st and 2nd harmonics. The best way is to use parametric equalizer (Fab Filter Pro Q3 is great, because it has nice visualisation) - just make a narrow band, boost it a lot and pass it slowly through the whole spectrum. When you find some resonance, turn off the equalizer and try to hear this harmonic without boosting - if you hear it and find it annoying, then lower it (but, surely, not too much, or the sound can become thin, just untill you're satisfied). Most of unpleasent resonances are in the low mid range. This is, actually, a good technique for any instrument. By the way, I also prefer cutting low frequencies with HP filter under 100-150 Hz on high instrumets.

[@gh0stwrit3r]

+Liechtenstein Music Allright, I’ll listen to it this evening when I’m at home again. The cut of the low frequencies (EQ Clean Up) is already done during composing. You can watch it in this video, how I do that (I use the FabFilter Pro Q for that) -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/inmZfZqPd7F1mJY

[@fancha831]

Good stuff

[@gh0stwrit3r]

Thanks fancha!

[@AllanGildea]

Thank you very much David. So helpful.

[@gh0stwrit3r]

You’re welcome Allan! If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Wish you a great weekend!

[@leedleedo4658]

Can you give me With mix box only. ❓

[@darryl2304]

Great vid. Are you just using the stock string instruments in Logic. You have made them sound lovely.

[@gh0stwrit3r]

Hi Darryl, these aren't the stock string instruments from Logic. It is Spitfire Audio Symphonic Strings. My go to string library 😀

[@TopdemoFr]

Nice video ! But for the reverb, wouldn't it be more realistic if you send your differents instruments to just one reverb plug-in (as if they were in the same space) rather than having multiples instances (and saving CPU too...) ? Or have you a particular reason to do it this way ? Thanks !

[@gh0stwrit3r]

You're absolutely right! But as I mentioned in this video, this one is not about the use of buses and routings. That would become too complex for this series of videos. But I do have another one which goes really in-depth -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/qaPOlX1nlLeJo6s

[@TopdemoFr]

@@gh0stwrit3r Splendid !

[@DeathofInferno]

i want to know the frecuency you focus for the eq on the low string

[@roieshpigler]

Thanks for the great video Is the east west reverb match better than the logic reverb? How do they compare?

[@gh0stwrit3r]

The Logic stock reverb is pretty good, but I personally like the EW Spaces reverb plugin for orchestral music. It’s a bit cleaner. Tomorrow (9 April) I’ll release a new video on the channel about the combination of 2CAudio Precedence and Breeze2.5. Another reverb linked to a spatial plugin. That works awesome too!

[@macky-HomelikeMusic]

Very professional and beautiful work!😊🎶✨So comfortable sounds too.Have a wonderful day!~Macky:)🎶✨

[@gh0stwrit3r]

Wrapping up my latest project and then I’ll start working on the orchestral version of one of your improvisations 🤗

[@macky-HomelikeMusic]

@@gh0stwrit3r Thank you very much!!!😌😊 By the way, I can upload your orchestral version in December at the earliest. That's because there are already 8 submissions scheduled for November. So, if you completed it within the month, I want it in December. Can you agree with me:-)? Therefore, a Christmas-style arrangement may be good(I have written a my little thought). Please your consideration!

[@gh0stwrit3r]

@@macky-HomelikeMusic I'll do my best to get it done before the end of this month! And if it is possible, it'll have a Christmas sound too :)

[@macky-HomelikeMusic]

@@gh0stwrit3r Thank you for replying and very kind commented!!😄🙏 Have a wonderful weekend!~Macky:)🎶✨

[@ThereseLefebvreComposerPianist]

So...I will never be gifted in this ...but enjoyed watching and seeing how it's done ✌😎

[@gh0stwrit3r]

You'll never know! I keep saying it ... the biggest and most successful film composers are great piano players 😉 Wish you a great weekend Therese!

[@ThereseLefebvreComposerPianist]

@@gh0stwrit3r Never say never right?? 😉😉 ...great weekend to you too! 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶

[@florent_manzoni]

Nice! Very helpful :-) I make these mistakes: enormous reverb + EQ on each instrument ^^ To control the art of mixing a lot of practice and time are nedded. See you next week ;-)

[@gh0stwrit3r]

I simply can't add anything else to your comment. You spoke wise words 🤓 Have a great weekend!

[@groefelo8631]

Hi David for sure a very helpful video. It looks complicated :). I like string sounds. Many greetings Liam

[@gh0stwrit3r]

What you do behind the piano looks complicated to me too. I need a lot of lessons to reach your level 😁 Have a great weekend Liam!

[@emanuel_soundtrack]

Phat Fx is by default suggested to strings in Logic Pro

[@gh0stwrit3r]

Thanks Emanuel, I didn't know.

[@shsh1466]

Hi David. Good tutorial. But is not it better to assign one Reverb for similar instruments with the same settings via a FX channel and send it to them?! Or you guess this trend is better and why?

[@gh0stwrit3r]

You’re definitely right about this one! But I wanted to keep it simple and not talk yet about busses, sends etc. It’s a serie of videos for beginners and I thought this was enough at first. But using a reverb plugin on an auxiliary track (bus) and using sends to that from individual or group tracks, is the way to go ... eventually 😉

[@KonstantinoPolizois]

Which strings do you use David? They look great

[@gh0stwrit3r]

Most of the time I use Spitfire Audio Symphonic Strings (like in this video) or the Spitfire Audio Chamber Strings. Now and then (in specific genres) I also use Jaeger from Audio Imperia (Hybrid/Epic) or Spitfire Audio Tundra (the more quiet stuff).

[@watchinguse9231]

Hi David, thanks for the tutorial about orchestral mixing and I really learned lots of things from you. Recently, I want to buy a better reverb plugin which is for orchestral composing(strings, piano etc...) but in limited budge… Any suggestions for four reverb plugins below according to your extensive experience? >>Aether/ B2/ Breeze/ TC VSS3 Native

[@gh0stwrit3r]

Hi, great to hear that you appreciate the videos 🙏 About the reverb question. I haven’t used TC VSS3 and Aether, so I can’t say anything about those. B2 is awesome, but very cpu heavy and quite old. I love Breeze 2.5 in combination with Precedence. That will give you all the tools to build an unique spatial environment. So from these four I would go for Breeze. But please take a look at Spaces II too. That’s still my main reverb for any orchestral work. Another option (I know a lot of people use that) is Valhalla Reverb. Seems to be good too. Similar with Fabfilter Pro R. That one seems to be really good too. Good luck with your choice! If you would go for a product from 2CAudio -> I can arrange a discount code. Same for any Fabfilter products. So throw me a line by mail or messenger if you want use that option.

[@watchinguse9231]

Hi David, thanks for the whole suggestion, and it's really helpful!! I prefer to choose a reverb plugin performing more realistic and natural, so maybe space II or fab R is a better choice I think(? It seems cool to have a combination with Breeze and Precedence but worried for the reverb effect what I expect for. Thanks a lot again❤❤❤ (BTW, I owned Valhalla room, really great but want the better one)

[@arcanumarcanum8978]

Hi, Old chap! i 've got a question. Do you transfer all midi into audi with eq and panning as per your table Orchestral Template Week 5 - Show Opener? I mean do you already eq before making wave files?

[@gh0stwrit3r]

I indeed do basic EQ cleaning before bouncing the midi into audio files. Also the panning. This is the way I’ve set up my template. So when composing it already sounds much better. After bouncing the midi to audio I’ll do some more EQ-ing to make it even sound better (specific frequency cuts and boosts) during mixing.

[@polarmx7890]

What if my tracks are in stereo?

[@marcduchesne906]

I may suggest you treat your room... Very boomy.

[@gh0stwrit3r]

If I only could and know how to, I would 🤔

[@franciscoaragao5398]

Muito bem. Muito útil.

[@gh0stwrit3r]

Thanks Fransisco!

[@LuxxenoMusic]

Awesome

[@gh0stwrit3r]

Awesome is good 😎

[@guyp3599]

Does this work with REAL strings? I have some and would love to know

[@gh0stwrit3r]

Hi Guy, yes that will work too. Record the live strings, import the audio recordings in logic (or any other DAW) and start mixing. You can follow the concept I explain in this video. I can imagine that you would want to include a sub-step though, like preparing the audio recordings and clean them up with software like iZotope RX. There is a video on my channel about that too. Hope it helps! And if you're willing, I would love to hear the result!

[@louiscorbett3278]

this was only about adding effects to the strings, nothing about how it fits in the mix.

[@gh0stwrit3r]

I guess you have a point here Louis. I did the balancing before. It's explained in another video.

[@riktascale4]

What is a mockup??

[@iggswanna1248]

no matter what i do to mix, when I go and listen in my car, sounds horrible, very muddy, completely absent of highs, and all mids and bass... my monitors are the Yamaha HS8....

[@gh0stwrit3r]

I've been there! I know how frustrating it can be. Of course I don't know what is causing this problem for you, I don't have any information about your project. But the rule of thumb here is: if you can't fix it in the mix you should go back to your composition. So check the orchestration choices and balancing. Make sure your mockup sounds good without any mixing and listen to it in mono to verify. Then start the mixing process. Orchestral music doesn't always need a lot mixing when the orchestration is on point. Hope this makes sense, good luck!

[@exysness]

I think you should add "electronic" strings to your title, for those of us who work with real life strings this isn't helpful at all.

[@gh0stwrit3r]

I'm sorry that you expected something else. But it wasn't helpful at all? The methodology behind the mixing should work for real strings too. At least, I think so ...

[@exysness]

@@gh0stwrit3r I'm afraid not, there's a lot of "grain" in real strings and I was looking to find out how professionals smoothen it to make it smooth and ambient. Nevermind though, fella, I was just annoyed at the time of posting the comment so it sounded a bit salty.