Mixing With Mike Mixing Tip: Using Attack and Release Settings to set Position in a Mix

[@bedtimeread]

Awesome, so you take a measurement of a 1/4 note, you select your compressor tone, use attack to position the instrument in the mix, and release to either showcase the room or to elongate a sound.. but in either case you always want to see a constant gain reduction, you are not just peak controlling but you allowing the tone of the compressor to be always present. I'm finally starting to understand that a gain fader controls the entire volume of an instrument and the compressor gives you a double "gain fader" attack to control the initial transient and release to control the body all of that to position it in the mix!! Mike, this is a huge aha moment for me.. and I've been producing for over 10 years.. thank you!!

[@stylzkeyz]

Wooowwwwww Thank you! Understanding a mathematical approach to attack an release settings has set me free. Im big on fading in Protools. And I found that the attack and release setting are nothing but start fades and end fades. Now I can use them with mathematical precision to shape the sound and the feel of my music and vocals. Thank You

[@mixingwithmike]

+Stylz Keyz Cheers!

[@hey.gert1]

i have no idea what took me that long to find your channel. i've probably learned and understood more in the past hour than i did in the months before. thanks a lot!

[@Achase4u]

This really blew my mind. I have heard about depth being important to a mix but not this method to help achieve it. Next level stuff!

[@shrunkenheads_jamz]

wow, finally someone makes sense and understanding out of compassion application for those of us who are novice (at best) sound engineers.

[@christianbarretoespinoza1862]

Hello Michael. In many years I've been searching exactly this. Thank you at all. You're the fucking best in all KZbin. Cheers!

[@elasticoGomez]

This information is a gem 💎

[@wyrlismike]

great vid mike. ive been thinking about this topic lately and this helped reflect what i was thinking

[@jamescreekmusic]

Cool as usual. Time ago you've also showed something like that. It would be wonderful if you could go a bit deeper on the relationship between the bpm of a song and compression release settings in milisecs. How to approach it, calculate it, etc. Thanks Mike, you're great.

[@mixingwithmike]

Thanks James! I have been getting a few questions along the same lines, so I guess a new video is in order!

[@piotrpatrzalek5011]

Thank you Mike. This is very rare out there to find so meaningful tutorials. I have a question if you don't mind. Can formula: 7500 divide into Tempo of the track be applied here ? What you get is 1/32 note (if I'm right).

[@mixingwithmike]

Thanks Piotr! I think that calculation gives yo a 1/128 note. That is good for reverb predelays and realy short slap times. If you divide the tempo into 60 then you will get a 1/4 note time in ms. simple division by2 will get the other musical note values in ms. Or just download a tempo to ms chart from the internet and you are good to go. Cheers! Mike

[@jaynm26]

Mike how are you calculating Release time? Can you do a video showing how you do that? I do it the old fashion way with Qtr Not/BPM

[@joolm4976]

Excellent

[@sameeradilhan3389]

Thanx.... good work

[@TallerdelSebaRehbein]

Thanks! Great lesson

[@sonnybrasco9735]

Mike do you do mastering? You're a dope engineer

[@mixingwithmike]

Cheers! Yes, I do. Contact me at this link. www.mixingwithmike.com/contact-us

[@alxiroi]

Your tuts are probably the best advance tuts on youtube. Once again great job. Can i suggest a lesser difference in volume between your voice and the level of the music ? ( constructive criticism ) I found it hard to hear what you are showing when your voice is at 10 and the music at 5 :)

[@mixingwithmike]

+Alexis Roy Thanks Alexis! I appreciate the constructive criticism. Because all of these vids are shot in a live class setting, sometimes the levels are less than ideal. Maybe this is worth a post session adjustment... Cheers! Mike

[@_allcap]

Another great video! One question, why did you take the compressor off the DRUM buss? I understand you used it to get the basic settings but what is the difference between leaving the comp on the buss vs on the individual channels (or both)?

[@eranddroory9987]

Another great one - Thanks Mike :-)

[@mixingwithmike]

+erand droory Thanks again erand!

[@ferminsy]

Thanks for this very useful vid - can you tell me what drums you're using? The snares sound particularly wonderful.

[@mixingwithmike]

This was from a long time ago, I don't recall. Sorry :-(

[@opsjesse]

As in depth as these compression videos are, i wish very much there was a bit more time spent on the "low threshold" amount, and more specifically how to dial that in for this technique. Am i just starting at a 2:1 and playing with both thresh and ratio to get the consistent gr? Or starting with even lower ratio?

[@alxiroi]

Hey Mike. Question for you. So from watching a few of your other vids i know you use this technique to set up your tracks on the front to back axis and to make them move with the groove of the song but what about busses. Do you use the same approach to sculp the balance some more? Are other compressors further down the chain use more for coloration then anything else ? ( Sorry i know it's a long question that may require and long reply ) Thanks

[@mixingwithmike]

Hi Alexis, I typically process on the stems if needed and the mix buss almost always. The stems compression pulls the group of instruments together and the Mix buss compression pulls everything together. The approach is based on what is necessary or best for the stems and mix. Cheers! Mike

[@Seany06]

Yes, Satin is in another league! Cool vid, never really used saturation on vox much, were they driving vocals into tape in the 80s?

[@mixingwithmike]

***** Hey Seany06, Some engineers would, if it fit the style of music and the dynamics of the vocal performance. The priority of recording at high levels to tape was as much about keeping it as far away from the playback tape hiss than it was about getting tape compression. In general, Engineers back then compressed much more on the recording side than they do today with digital. I used a limiter and 2 compressors in line as part of my standard vocal chain. None of them would work hard but the cumulative effect made a big difference with the consistency of levels. I would also ride the levels to tape during the recording. Cheers! Mike

[@Seany06]

Michael White lol, I just got the response to this on my gmail and noticed it's on the wrong video! That's what happens when I have multiple tabs of your videos open, I was actually responding to the tape compression video, doh! Thanks for the response though, I will respond on that video, thanks. :) Great vids BTW, was lucky enough that someone posted a link on GS and I found them!

[@mixingwithmike]

Yea, I figured that's what happened, no worries! Glad that you are enjoying the vids! Cheers! Mike

[@psysword]

whats with the crackles

[@ank2305]

video learning is awesome but can you please lower the instruction volume a little low as it is very loud

[@mixingwithmike]

Sorry, this is an old video.

[@bsmith8166]

Lots of clicks and pops in the audio

[@marceloribeirosimoes8959]

Great video! Nice tips. But you're sounding like a too-loud headphone... :-))) The play makes your speech a lot louder... :-))) ...who never did that? But, besides that, really cool, and made me laugh a bit... Thanx a lot, Michael.

[@yeenar]

cant hear any difference whatsoever