Baby Audio Smooth Operator Is A Cool Mixing Tool

Smooth Operator by Baby Audio is a dynamic de-resonating EQ that can transparently reduce unwanted spikes in your audio. Somewhere between a dynamic EQ, multiband compressor, and more. I think it's neat, and this video shows you why!
Check it out for yourself here: babyaud.io/smo...
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My name is Jeremy, and this is Red Means Recording. This channel is a place to make music and to talk about the tools and techniques to make music with. We'll use synths, drum machines, modular gear, and software.
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[@danabarnes4751]

From one teacher to another, you’re a natural educator. Nice video. Thank you!

[@johnghadimi]

The first 10 mins were gold. That intro was the perfect setup for SO.

[@krazykalle4518]

Damn, I think I learned more about music production and mixing in this than many other videos that actually focus on these aspects :D

[@MarioGodoyMusic]

“Looks cool, but do I NEED a new plugin?” “Oh, by the way, we can change colors” “😮 I’ll take two”

[@VTOLKits]

When i hear "Smooth Operator" i think "Sade" from the 80's :-) Thumb up!

[@ldersch]

This is the best Smooth Op tutorial I've seen...and I think I've seen them all. My knowledge of the plugin just doubled in 20 minutes. Well done....I can't wait to dive into it again. Thanks

[@stackerman2800]

I really thought baby audio was gimmicky based on some of their design and one knob plugins but they're actually fantastic... their new reverb is incredible.. just took my favorite spot over Valhalla Vintage

[@hannesbengsch5515]

That first drumloop instantly triggered the unfinished sympathy "hey hey heyyey" vocal in my mind

[@whatevil]

Reminder for everyone that when you increase the video resolution you also reduce the compression of the audio and increase the quality, if you really want to hear the difference. KZbin had me at 480p default and I didn't think of it for a little bit because the video part of this vid is less important.

[@ToyKeeper]

Be sure to right-click and choose "stats for nerds" to see what codecs it's actually using. The best encoding changes every few years, but at the moment the highest audio quality is usually opus (251). Is also worth checking the volume/normalized info sometimes. It should ideally be as close to zero as possible, but not above zero. For this channel though, Jeremy knows what he's doing, so it's almost always near-perfect. Anything from -3 to 0 is very good, and this video shows -0.4.

[@wocmultimedia]

Thanks a lot for your clean, clear and smooth audio explanation. This is a video easy to watch entirely.

[@SammiLucia]

the different colours have different sounds 😊 they're for a purpose. great rundown, ty

[@gleannmhuire]

Excellent piece Jeremy. Comprehensive, cohesive and coherent!!

[@Hammer2000]

Very cool, good tutorial beyond just what Smooth Operator can do, appreciate learning more about attenuating frequencies that might stick out in a sample

[@allancerf9038]

Red Means Recording - Outstanding. Not only is the review the best I've seen (if advanced) but some reviewers are simply wrong on how to use it; particularly regarding the Focus control. I'm sure you know that the plug-in was unacceptably flawed. To their credit, Baby Audio reacted to White Sea Studio's complaint and fixed the plug-in. While I'm not terribly sure it's quite the all-in-one fix many say, dude's like Hugh Robjohns do - so what do I know? I have it and use it.

[@shelshant]

Really smart review! Great work

[@zenoalteamusic]

What a tremendously good explanation, my compliments sir! Thank you!

[@jammintoast]

Baby audio also made my favorite plugin, MAGIC SWITCH

[@edwardbosloper2445]

This is an outstanding video. Thank you

[@rohitsharma1534]

amazing tutorial to actually explain what this plug in does! amazing

[@enchanterthetim]

This is great, I bought Smooth Operator on sale, but bounced off of it. I knew i wasn't using it correctly and was just getting some bad sounds out of it. After watching this i'll take another crack at it!

[@EricDFreak]

Nice alwayd love to see you talk about plugins, keep the amazing work

[@scotu]

I’d be interested in your take on gulfoss honestly. As a beginner, I tried it and was blown away until I noticed it was boosting the volume in output by default. Now I’m a little skeptical/unsure of its effectiveness.

[@srirangdhawale5242]

I’m currently making some Ben Bohmer style tracks for an act, and this plugin is EXACTLY what I need! Also, you mention the ‘feeling’ part of critical listening. I find it much harder to do the same nowadays because of my tinnitus. I have to kind of ‘manage’ how much time I spend doing that (which is the only workaround I’ve found working for me).. Any tips? Any help would be much appreciated!

[@RedMeansRecording]

Monitor at low volume

[@srirangdhawale5242]

I guess I needed to hear that. 😋

[@RedMeansRecording]

Also, switch between your track and a reference track at the same loudness level to get a proper feeling of how it should go

[@silofuse]

NICE! Thank you. Stay Cool!

[@Hansba_guitar]

great approach and txh for tut

[@Saphira_Paix]

The process of SO is not to get rid of sound 😅 ✱ Intelligent plugin that automatically eliminates harsh resonances and brings out clarity ✱ Adapts to your audio in realtime to combat fatigued frequency areas ✱ Lets you sculpt your track’s tonal character while maintaining a balanced frequency spectrum ✱ Offers the fastest workflow for achieving resonance suppression, compression and EQ’ing in one process

[@chromosundrift]

wow ok interesting yes makes me realise how much I have to learn in production

[@AggroPicasso]

Thank you very much

[@katywings]

Not sure about smooth operator, but man, i like that last track 😋

[@zmmmzmmmz]

Does the hobbyist need something like this or does any daw have stock plug-ins that can be massaged?

[@robertoalaniac5303]

Damn that track is awesome! Where can I find it?

[@RedMeansRecording]

It's not out yet!

[@connerogrady5035]

I have this, very nice

[@afterthewar54]

Waitaminute... CAT!

[@coolguymcgee123]

I've watched like 10 Smooth Operator tutorials and can't hear a difference in any of them. Same with Soothe. Guess I'll just have someone else mix my songs lol

[@ettiennelane9173]

Why is Smooth Operator referencing white noise??? Gullfoss and Soothe reference the pink noise slope with good reason. Does Baby Audio know that the human ear prefers pink noise over white noise? Compare the spectral slope of any commercial mix with that of the pink noise slope. If you pull Smooth Operator down in its default setting, all sources sound thin. The reference is supposed to be the pink noise slope. Please fix this Baby Audio.

[@WildAnalog]

If you feel strongly enough about the above issue, email them; they listen to feedback. Complaining in a comments section doesn't solve anything.

[@Srcsqwrn]

I don't understand why these videos have so few likes/views??

[@RedMeansRecording]

Same

[@Srcsqwrn]

@@RedMeansRecording You're so informative and entertaining. I hope things pick up speed again at some point. :c

[@aleksandarstojceski3139]

It's good but only two points to work with??

[@thegroove2000]

Bob james gets rinsed. Classic breaks.

[@AlcyoneHere]

Soothe 2 but cheaper

[@edgarm6017]

the comment i needed

[@RedMeansRecording]

Not wrong