Mixing With Mike Mixing Tip: Adding Vintage Warmth Without Losing Presence

[@pauldousemusic]

Hey Mike & Crew!~ This is a great specific point of study for mixing with analogue emulations. I'm finding there's so many nice solutions out there to allow us to compensate some high end sheen to enhance the ever tempting nature of the "dark side" presented by our analogue plugs. Hear me out here. Forgive the analogy of Star Wars but the truth is that many of us are tempted by the enrichment the dark side offers using console emulations, vintage compressors, vintage E.Q. etc... The Jedi in the mixing community will carefully compensate. Try using Parallel e.q's for high end... Last time I checked the Pultec was exactly that. Try Kush's Clariphonic...Try Slates new custom series offering (My ears are digging the latter as of late) Just DON'T overcook. Ever had that experience 2 years later where your doing 1/2 the boost as you used to do? Keep that attitude in mind. Best of everything to the community~ Cheers Mike ~Paul

[@mixingwithmike]

+Paul Douse Thanks Paul! All Star Wars references are completely accepted on my end! Cheers! Mike

[@time2killtime]

Thanks Michael always appreciated

[@Matt-xe9dj]

Looks like you have the eq after the compressor on the channel. I've heard that the opposite is the best. Do you do this because it's a transformer based eq?

[@ossee85]

Matt their is no "is the best" just do what sounds right

[@NotImune]

Hallo Mike! I've been watching and absorbing a whole lot of your videos lately. I'm a mixing hobbyist since years and allready found quite a lot of mistakes in my practices through your demonstrations! Also your use of compressors is a real eye opener for me. If I may ask you something...There is one thing that I cannot find a professional opinion on regarding mixing... and that is using plugins like PanPot from Goodhertz as an alternative to the ususal panning. What do you think about these kinds of things? Do you think these can actually be a relevant option for common mixing or might one run into problems with this? Thank you!

[@mixingwithmike]

+Philipp Grünert Hi Philipp, Thanks for the kind words, glad that the tips are helping with your work! the PanPot is like a Binaural panner that mimics the way we hear instead of what a linear panpot does. These effects can be great in stereo but can also create some bad tonal shifting issues when summed to mono. I don't think I would address a whole mix using it, but rather use it selectively to address problem sounds or sounds that you would like to have stand out relative to other sounds in a mix. Cheers! Mike

[@dez945able]

GOOD ITS GOOD i have never sent any files of pro tools to anybody , so thats way I kind of you know..

[@oinkooink]

How do you take away harshness while maintaining presence?!

[@EdwinDekker71]

Cut some 2.5k or in that neighbourhood

[@oinkooink]

@@EdwinDekker71 Thanks. I was thinking maybe the 3-3.5khz area? Depends though right?

[@JG-to8sp]

Hi Mike, as always uniquely informative and powerful demonstration. If anyone can help me with this question, you can. I'm tracking for singer songwriter, very dylan-esq. I'm frustrated at trying to get a sense of stage, a distance of sorts, but without cutting out the balls. Listen to North Country Girl, it has the most beautiful acoustic, you can hear tons of character, yet it doesnt feel loud and in your face, it doesn't lack tone. If you have some perspectives on that, what the magic is - other than great dylan song, that would be hugely valuable :)

[@mixingwithmike]

+Jon Griffin Hi Jon, Without hearing anything, it is difficult to be exacting on the advice. Acoustic guitars are complex instruments and usually do not image well when over-compressed in a situation such as yours. The depth can be created with a combination of basic things. A fast attack, fast release compressor will help to cut down a touch on the transient without killing the dynamic. Follow up with a light limiter like an LA2A or LA3A to help keep it set back in the speakers. Stay on the warm ans soft side with EQ and avoid 2-8K boosts. Try to make the EQ adjustments broad and smooth. No predelay on the reverb. Try a short room or Early Reflections program that defines a space the listener can feel as being in the same space they are in. It should be felt more than heard. Let me know how you make out... Cheers! Mike

[@JG-to8sp]

Thanks Mike, I've followed a number of your tutorials in this regard. I rarely compress more than a couple of db these days and regularly use the LA2A. The Dylan mix I refer to sounds like it should be easy to achieve, it sounds like it has the low end rolled off as high as 180 - 230 and the highs cut down to 3K. My intuition says this is probably not likely, but I'm baffled, anytime I use top, or even leave what is there, it draws out all the peaks, cheapens the sound and is not the effect I'm aiming for, likewise the moment I add reverb I lose the intimacy of the performance. I think with compression, when I do fast I probably sit around 5-10ms, Release usually around 100, I might be still missing something but I would reckon on being closer than I am. What is eluding me, is how a song can be set back from the listener, without losing intimacy, the bass tone is there, but it is identifiable rather than loud. I can locate the toneality of the Dylan track, but when I look to do the same myself it ends up thin...hard to put into the exact words.

[@mixingwithmike]

Hi Jon, It is hard to know exactly what to tell you without hearing the original tracks. I would caution going for the same tone as the Dylan track as you will find yourself chasing frequencies instead of working with the acoustic sound you have. Different acoustic, different performer, different recording space, different mic. If your current approach is not working then try this instead. Bring up a Waves V-Comp 6:1 ratio, Auto Release, and get about 6db or so of gain reduction. That should balance the overall tone of the instrument so that your eq can be more effective. Make sure there is movement in the gain reduction meter, it need to pump a bit to be effective. One of the biggest problems with acoustic recordings is that engineers get too caught up in using small diaphragm mics very close to the acoustic to capture the sound. What you get most of the time is a phased out mess of smeared frequencies that have lots of high mid presence, a weird low frequency tone, and image horribly. It gives no leeway whatsoever for the performer to move without modulating the tone of the instrument. The best way to capture an acoustic to get a natural sound is to go large diaphragm mic 2-3 feet in front of the instrument. It takes about that distance for the sound of the acoustic to become whole. You will have to treat the recording space so that it minimizes early reflections. If the recording space is treated well, it works almost all of the time and allows a musician the freedom perform without being in a straitjacket. Cheers! Mike

[@cbrooks0905]

@@mixingwithmike, it seems you’re not too active on here these days, which makes me sad because this is hands down the best mixing channel on KZbin. You’ve helped me wrap up and bring full circle over five years of intense hyper focus in just a few short videos. I feel like I finally have a clear objective thanks to you. Now I can finally mix with a goal in mind instead trying to figure HOW to get to any goal and a professional sounding mix. This is the only mixing channel I’ve subscribed to that I’ve actually tried to watch all the videos. I’ve been subscribed for just about a week or two and have already gone through all the playlists and then some. I can’t thank you enough. I’d love to shake your hand one day. Cheers! Calvin P.S. I’ve just finished my first mix since finding your channel, and it’s no surprise that it’s my best one so far hands down. The functional compression and early reflections techniques were everything I was missing. 🙏

[@kye903]

I'm still not 100% sure what you mean when you mention how things "image"... Are we talking about depth or colour, or both, or something else..?

[@mixingwithmike]

+kye903 Hey Kye! When I use the word 'image' I am referring to a quality in the processing of a sound that makes it escape the speakers instead of sounding like it is stuck in them. There is an inextricable connection between our sight and sound and as a result, our brain images, in audible form, things it can recognize. It's sort of like seeing sound but not in a creepy tin foil hat kinda way. It is the real secret to mixing and mastering and opens up a whole world of possibilities when working with different processors. Think of it like making something that is 2 dimensional, 3 dimensional, if that makes sense. Cheers! Mike

[@kofiamankwa9258]

What plugins are being used?

[@mixingwithmike]

The V-series plugins by waves (Emulations of the Neve EQs of the 70s) and the Teletronix LA2A, an optical compressor from the 50s

[@kofiamankwa9258]

Michael White thank u sir

[@dez945able]

i did sent you an email ,thanks dez

[@mixingwithmike]

Got it!