Pensado's Place #80 - Mix Engineer Chris Lord-Alge

In the 80th episode of Pensado's Place, Dave and Herb are joined by multiple GRAMMY Award-winning Engineer, Producer, and Master Mix Engineer, Chris Lord-Alge! Just a short list of artists Chris has worked with include: U2, Snow Patrol, Sheryl Crow, Dave Matthews Band, Savage Garden, Green Day, Whitney Houston, Alanis Morissette, Bon Jovi, Faith Hill, Melissa Etheridge, Tim McGraw, Fleetwood Mac, Pink, Foo Fighters, Black Eyed Peas, Tina Turner, Stevie Nicks, My Chemical Romance, Bad Religion, Nickelback, Daughtry, and many, many more...
For more comprehensive information on Chris Lord-Alge including his full discography, visit his website here:
chrislordalge.com/
**Additional Missing Show Credit: Sound Engineer: Efrain Flores***
To enter to win an Mbox Pro + Pro Tools:
pensadosplace.tv/avid
To enter the Mix With The Master's sweepstakes:
pensadosplace.tv/mwtm
To enter to win a copy of Izotope's Alloy 2 Plugin:
pensadosplace.tv/izotope
To get a 10 day free trial of iZotope's Alloy 2: izotope.com/alloy
For all of our episodes, contests, news and other opportunities, check us out at: www.pensadosplace.tv
Subscribe on iTunes:
iTunes Video: itun.es/iV97k2
iTunes Audio: itun.es/iVX6Zc
Please 'Like' and 'Follow'...
twitter: / pensadosplace
facebook: / pensadosplace
Art Institue of California - Los Angeles: www.artinstitutes.edu/los-ange...

[@devingrubbs]

Wow, there’s a question from Colt Capperune in this episode. Fast forward 8 years and now he’s out here dropping gems on his own channel and making records in Nashville. I shouldn’t be surprised, though, Colt shouts out Pensado’s Place all the time! It’s cool to see the impact this show has had on upcoming producers.

[@MrTommySullivan]

"No one is ever going to solo the vocal" - that is very very true, and boy does that philosophy save time.

[@str8frmthacr8]

Exactly. I used to solo mix everything...together? sounded like SHIT! Lol. The guy who taught me laughed so hard when I played it all together. Talk about a kick in the nuts, lmao. Lesson learned.

[@AboveEmAllProduction]

ever heard of remixing, acapellas

[@holidaycomplex]

@@AboveEmAllProduction you don't mix the song for the remix

[@AMB666]

Even his voice is saturated! Very analog. Just kidding I love him.

[@jwes4588]

He got CLA Vocals surgically installed in his neck via microchip

[@ludwigmack]

whattt xD

[@hasichabeatz]

i think we need NS1 here 15:34

[@drinkinslim]

Wow, this was so good, even 8 years later in 2020.

[@RawUndergroundMusic]

Chris Lord-analogy

[@calebwright6896]

hooly shit i been thinkin the same thing for a while!

[@mazzoccotube]

Pensado rocks! So down to earth. So sharing. Ego? Not. Thanks!

[@paulpouwelsmcmillan]

Pensado is such a humble and nice guy, such a pleasure in someone that is interviewing.

[@aussie_philosopher8079]

I still think brother Tom Lord Alge has mixed the best mixed contemporary rock album of all time, Live: Throwing Copper! Absolutely superb in every way.

[@kowboiirecords3117]

CLA's lingo and references are amazing... I would LOVE to have a chat with him one day. He just spews usable wisdom using the vaguest off-the-cuff comments. Inspired!

[@dx_armitage]

The mix king of metaphors.

[@TheSageCommander]

40:56 You're welcome.

[@574x9]

Yep, that's exactly why I came back to the vid, thanks.

[@ChuckBassSwag]

Legend

[@zbox98]

His voice and mannerisms remind me of Will Arnett

[@Vinniemelodyssey]

Watching this video while doing a mix prep for CLA!! So exciting

[@MichaelMarucci]

It's really cool to stumble upon this again 8 years after CLA originally answered my question (48:50). He was absolutely right, and I'm happy to say that I'm making a great living producing and mixing records of all kinds; death metal, electro swing, country, hip hop. I wouldn't have it any other way.

[@RTCLR123]

Good stuff, have fun!!

[@dangdrjay3011]

Good shit man!

[@JesseNemitzPro]

I do believe this KZbin channel is the single biggest collection of PRACTICAL modern musical/audio recording knowledge ever assembled by man.

[@brians1025]

I’ve ‘joined’ in on this one a couple of times... I love it. Some real Sweet Gems if you know how to really listen to what these Pros are sharing here. Truly lucky to have the ability to learn, learn, learn... and all it costs is my time. Thanks, Bob C. (absent, but still in the room!), Dave, Herb, and of course CLA! 😎

[@mickeymiguel2726]

Good show

[@redrubyermishow2729]

Great Discussions Here, Dave is so generous with sharing his skills. Thanks!

[@PendelSteven]

37:48 Speaking of Rob Cavallo, he is probably the reason why I got interested in mixing / producing. Ever since I had two versions of Welcome to Paradise, 'cause I bought Kerplunk!, I was like: why does this version of the same song sound so different? So thanks Rob Cavallo. Later, still growing up, I was like: why do so little people like Nimrod. ? I actually love how it sounds, read the booklet, saw a name there: Chris Lord-Alge. Which I guess made me realise I care about how it sounds more as how "good"the album is. So thanks, CLA.

[@eleckson]

I think he wants to kiss Pensado, he keeps puckering up. Lol

[@subtractivemusic]

Morgan_Fucking_Freeman I laughed so hard at this

[@Venomforyall]

Such a great interview, gotta love Dave, so humble, open minded and always asking the right questions.

[@OUTSHADES]

Finally i saw CLA without the cap. Now I can die in peace

[@imconorirl]

I love how humble Dave is

[@chumbawumba797]

Fantastic episode...thank you all so much for doing this.

[@smirnovnice1]

Dave, you the man. You have taught me so much and I went to school for this too

[@dimidjpm5269]

Dave, great interview - Chris is such a great producer, thanks for sharing

[@joeyxl3456]

This is thorougly enjoyable. Thanks to all involved.

[@MattCellittiMusicTutorials]

Love you guys, thanks so much as usual...keep em comin!

[@RolandDeschain1]

CLA without his cap on! It's like Superman without his cape.

[@Ctouch09]

Hands Down One Of The Best Episodes!!!! Much Love & Respect To Dave, Herb, & CLA.

[@RichRobinson]

Dave Pensado, you're the man!!! Thank you for making this happen!

[@floydisbest]

I really love the tip to monitor and mix at low levels. I will admit it takes self control to hold back on inching up that knob! Maybe I'll adopt his policy, but modify it with, at the end of the day, crank it an you'll be extra proud of your mix!

[@SkyFelixMusic]

Matt Ten Clay Its a tip that a lot of young mixers/producers seem to not understand. It's way easier to get proper levels when your monitors are low. If you crank them, your perception of how far apart things are just becomes non existent.

[@starchild7473]

85 dBspl is the ideal level for monitoring.

[@calebwright6896]

bro the compression ratio and attack batters box was next level.

[@forthesakeofmotion]

So glad you produce PP Dave. Keep it up, fantastic to watch!

[@DJVictorTrevisan]

One of my favorite`s episode so far, learned so much from the interview !!

[@thechannelitrollwith1645]

surprisingly the most concise and detailed answers I've heard from CLA. if leading with assumptions was a strategy, it worked wonders because CLA spent at least the first half hour being so candid trying to rein in topics that he couldn't go off on tangents.

[@111ent]

Yippeee!!! This was AWESOME as always!!! "Thanks" Dave, Herb, Will and Crew!!! "Touch The World"

[@BenjaminSchippritt]

A thousand thanx for sharing such great information! Your show kicks ass and I really learn a lot!

[@jimgravesus]

Man, I love the 21st century. This information is invaluable for those of us who don't have big budgets and have to mix our own stuff. Thanks!

[@dperry913MusicTracks]

This interview is a thing of beauty. :-) Thanks, guys!

[@operasinger2126]

Thanks, guys! "No one is going to solo it!" lol.

[@KernRamsdell]

I learned so much from this great interview. Thanks Dave!!!!

[@newbiadk]

once again a great show whit some great guys

[@kukulalibor]

I´ve waited for this show. Awesome.

[@ArthurStone]

Respect, guys! Great interview with Chris...I really appreciate the insight and entertaining stories. Pensado's Place is developing as THE definitive resource and that puts Herb's vision for the show into context. True success requires hard work as well as great ideas and your commitment to the show is testament to that. Thank you : )

[@j.wolfman5221]

Love his attitude. "The material is there - Go!". A terrific point. Enough with messing around with this and that, just get on with it.

[@MonteMusicChannel]

really good episode, thank you !

[@KaiserMoC]

I love to listen and watch pro's talk. Thanx guys :-)

[@pieterjansenvanrensburg5010]

CLA wave plugins fuck yeah

[@maximeetsebastien]

I loved when Dave told Chris: Don't be humble. I was like no risks at all :)

[@ONOLBS]

Thanks Dave & Herb....your videos have been awesome for me as I was always wanting to learn about audio engineering but financial difficulties never allowed me to. Now I work with at risk youth and always encourage clients to subscribe to your videos for the amazing inside info. We all love it and constantly share as a group on the latest PP advice. Keep it up & Thanks

[@blazeluminous5186]

CLA Vocal plugin is so useful. lol

[@jaktheknife]

"the vocals are like that fin in the ocean" lol cool vid guys learned a lot thanks very much.

[@MegaMixking]

My fav so far. Bravo

[@williamwrenner]

best show ever

[@TheConditionedHuman]

This and 40's episode are my favorites!

[@Archaic1Eye]

Great work guys!

[@victornevares]

Fantastic!

[@kowboiirecords3117]

They are def On Something, lol.... another level of mixing. CLA is the most competitive person in the business.... remember when he bum rushed the Grammy stage for Green Day in 05-06'.... Classic. He was getting his and that was that! I admired him so much, as brash as it may have seemed to some, for his cavalier attitude.

[@Guitarkid1991]

Best comment ever. I just watched that video cause of your comment and it made me laugh non stop lol.

[@ModernMixing]

Another Amazing video from the PP team. I think every engineer can attribute atleast some of their knowledge to Dave!!

[@prodbyowls]

Thank You!!

[@joema6550]

At 47:45 Dave does his awesome Arnold Horshack impression. I love your childlike enthusiasm Dave. I see that quality in a lot of top performers, which isn't a surprise really. You guys got where you did by hard work, but also by being totally into what you do and loving it each and every day. Thanks for all of the great info, as well as the laughs. You guys are awesome!

[@3171jay]

Excellent Episode!!!!!! Vintage!!!! BookMarked..

[@Wicktones]

THX Chris!

[@AmagrasMUSIC]

Two monsters together ... so different yet

[@kozihoppy]

Amazing show!

[@nickirirs]

Awesome CLA show and finally someone mentioned Rich Costey on this show!

[@osx86touch]

51:40 Colt Capperrune! Crazy how he asked this years ago and now he's had huge success, including here on KZbin

[@jasonkiwah]

Thank you Dave i have learned a lot,since i got in touch with pensado's place Jason Kiwah 3 in one studio Uganda

[@wafflestoast5228]

This is awesome.

[@JakeAntelis]

love this show and thanks for having cla on! @26 minutes on the mention of the big paramore drums the record that has that was produced and mixed by David Bendeth called riot..dave wasn't sure which record but im pretty sure he was referring to riot and the one cla did was the brand new eyes while it's great to it's not the one with the huge drums! rock on.

[@k6ification]

love this show!!!!!!!

[@Mattross52]

"you guys wanna use your l1, l2, l3's to make the cd loud go ahead, i'm not doing that.. Let's do it. I'm game." Dude, balls. Fucking balls. This guy is a man.

[@JrumBeats]

CLA is a really cool dude, really enjoyed this interview.

[@markjacksonmusic21]

Brilliant Dave!!!

[@kaystrings]

I LOVE CHRIS LORD-ALGE'S MIX ANY DAY ANY TIME

[@monsterjazzlicks]

Really appreciate that a lot dude. i will check those out. i am new to this scene so any advice is very helpful.

[@Spidouz]

EMT 250, EMT 246, EMT 252, Sony DRE 2000, AMS, Yamaha Rev-1, Rev-5, Lexicon 224, Briscati M7... that's the ones he mentioned ;)

[@st33Npuist]

Love this old episodes more than the new one.

[@mariotelaro]

this is so good!

[@TheEvolversOfficial]

awesome show!

[@monsterjazzlicks]

Yep, its all about the Drums and Guitars !! lol Those pointers were very helpful thanks.

[@Musicmonk84]

Thank goodness I've been mixing at low monitor levels. Thank you Chris Lord-Alge for confirming that technique :D

[@JustinBousquetMusic]

Pensado just reminds me of Dr. Steve Brule. I can just feel how awkward CLA must feel.

[@th3gr81]

This inspired me, now I’m ready to work.

[@nfijef]

I just wanna know what y'all used to compress all the vocals from this video? Do tell.

[@TheShpmusic]

I love C.L.A attitude and personality what brilliant engineer he is.

[@MrConorLumsden]

It's like Eeyore and Tigger having a conversation. Brill!

[@larichmarcus4952]

can you guys start upload rough mix thats not mix or master online so that we up and coming engineer can work on it and compare it to finished mix

[@nebstaism]

I wonder how many Ralph Lauren polos shirts herb owns ... it would have to be in the thousands by now 😂

[@nowyfolderzesponawesele225]

Chris is of course a legend, great engineer - incredible sound. But in my opinion no one had a greater impact on contemporary music than Max Martin. Is any chance to bring him to the show?? Please!! :)

[@bryanfrombuffalo7685]

Paul stanley looks great

[@BongasBongas]

This show is now just repeating itself

[@NeologicStudios]

right at 50 minutes: totally agree with CLA's answer to this question regarding cross-genre mix tips. Regardless of genre the question had to do with creating "energy" in the sonic signature of a mix and the key to that is drums, anything with vocals general rule of thumb is make sure they're heard. Bring the energy out of the drum and vocal tracks and that alone will greatly improve the mix.

[@CaptainVelveeta]

This is on a sticky note in all caps on my mixer: "no one ever hears anything in solo"...so elementary yet so profound.

[@MrHeff1214]

YES!!!

[@tmmmedia731]

Know how things should feel and sound there’s your extra confidence it’s that simple

[@OMALIE360]

i enjoy this... love CLA...

[@Anvillgroup]

Chris Lord-Alge ! how did I miss this video

[@BillBrolse]

+B Cypress You didn´t ;)

[@joeyxl3456]

Chris is great