The Top 5 Things To Do Every Mix - Into The Lair #69

[@joflame737]

1. CLA-2A 2. Lexicon Reverbs 3 Fabfilter Pro Q 4. RCompressor 5.H Delay

[@el_padron_1795]

H Delay = God tier

[@BeattapeFactory]

cause its all on bay

[@Breakbeat90s]

@@el_padron_1795 H Delay and Echoboy aren't my best friends anymore thanks to valhalla delay 😎

[@psilocyberspaceman]

@CallMeFahu It's excellent to have without any compression. It just adds a great sound with its harmonics.

[@dangelobenjamin]

I literally don't understand this comment and how it's at the top.

[@nikobobich9726]

who are the 18 haters unhappy in life that dont appreciate a humble man like dave helping out the community?

[@frostmutant4882]

Niko Bobich I believe they´re a little jelly of that bricasti :P

[@XaXtXa]

+Niko Bobich right, if u dont like it, dont use it, i think these videos are fantastic pointers, tips, and sometimes just good things to consider even if they dont apply. BIG THANKS FOR THE VIDEOS! :D

[@flotopo]

+Niko Bobich , I totally agree with you! If there is one thing everyone can confirm is that Dave Pensado is a very humble man who has accomplished a lot and yet he still has a very down to earth attitude and he is incredibly generous in taking the time to make all of these videos for us. I mean all of us who love this craft have the opportunity to learn on a regular basis from an expert and a professional like Dave and we should be thankful for that. Thank you very much Dave Pensado for all the video tutorials you record. You're an inspiration and we're blessed to learn from you!

[@genuardimusic]

Amen! this man taught me 80% of what I know and use. Met him at NAMM, what a light this guy is.

[@jerometaylor4243]

My thoughts exactly!! LOSERS are who they are!!

[@Tabu11211]

Thank you Dave, for all you have done for the community.

[@cmiranda1234]

You are awesome. It's like watching the Bob Ross of audio production!

[@GreenJake33]

Christian Miranda BULLSHIT. Dr. Steve Brule 💯

[@elreyabeja4539]

For your ears!

[@ss4717]

Last night i was thinking the exact same thing!

[@Pseudoswede]

Samplicity contains all 137 main front panel patches from the Bricasti Designs M7. It's licensed with permission by a psychologist with specialty degree concentrations in psychoacoustics. Bricasti decided to let him do this if released for free, and in combination with any convolution reverb plug-in, it works like a charm.

[@nimanaemi7091]

how can we use them?

[@anonagain]

Thanks for posting that bit of info. I found them on the Samplicity site, have downloaded. Will have some fun tonight trying them out. :)

[@shldnbschmn]

...just discovered Pensado's place... ...thank you sir, for giving us your invaluable experience... just because you like to! ...i couldn't pay for the kind of time and dedication you spent learning this.

[@systematic-sound]

3. Waves: H-delay, H-eq, r-series (love it), center, L1 and 2... almost all the time. 4. Softtube: manyl trident a-range, amp-simulations, spring verb 5. And last but not least a freebe: smartelectronix s(m)exoscope (so i can see the dynamic shaping in real time)

[@bolttracks]

1. Slate VMR 2. Slate VTM (2 Bus) 3. H-Delay 4. VerbSuite (Bricasti M7 Impulses) 5. Logic Compressor for sidechaining

[@TheFRiNgEguitars]

Outstanding tutorial and sound clip. Man this sounds good through my vintage Sennheiser Headphones! Compression applied to the vocal really elevates it and just the right touch of sparkle on top... without sounding restrained. Beautiful work, thank you for sharing! BTW awesome reverb!

[@jasonluxmusic]

1. Distressor on the way in 2. LA2A plugin (waves or NI) 3. Valhalla reverb plugin 4. The built in EQ in cubase for the basic stuff, even though I have others for fancier stuff 5. API 2500 plugin or hardware unit usually makes it in on part of the drums somehow

[@brendin53]

1) SSL channel strip on just about everything 2) Parallel compressed drums with a waves 1176 3) Vocals usually get ran through a CLA-2A 4) Slate trigger has saved me when mixing for clients who did a poor job recording drums 5) Slate FG-X is golden when preserving transients when mastering 6) Tape saturation plug-in on the master fader does wonders!

[@Drew.DrivesYT]

1. Focusrite Midnight EQ and SSL Comp plugins on the stereo mix; slight bump in the low end, tiny dip in midrange, slight bump in high end, compressor gently grabbing the transients 2. Bus kick, snare and bass or a variant of the three (dependent on song) to a mono bus, emphasize the low, and compress the snot out of it, and use it as a fat fader 3. Flux BitterSweet on vocal buss, used sparingly 4. LexHall on vocals; easily my favourite reverb plugin right now 5. Saturation EXCEPT on stereo bus

[@TheBDD65]

Hmmm... my five things every mix... I'm a home mixer guy and in the box completely with Reaper as my DAW: - Slate VCC on every track - Drums first using Dave's method for "DBX" parallel compression - LOVE IT - Wide guitars, lots of complimentary EQ - Lead vocals send to 3 or more parallel compression plugins mixed together (a la Michael Brauer); each compressor set differently - Virtual tape on my master bus for compression and character, right now it's Ferric TDS

[@PaoloGiacci]

I'm in love with the Softube Tube-tech compressor! I'm so addicted to it that i could throw away every other comp plugin i have!

[@tomriley358]

Dave, thank you for your videos. I just stumbled across your lessons while studying the Haas effect. I will be checking out more! Great, great, great!

[@petermateer]

I like it that it's not rehearsed sounding, like listening to a real person talk to you in the room.

[@mikep6967]

This is super cool Dave. The best 6 min I spent with you so far.

[@systematic-sound]

Top 5: 1. Powercore 6000: Manly for the verbs... vss3, dvr2, nonlin 2. But also md3 and the brickwall limiter are great on the 2bus. Finally harmony 4, intonator and voice modeller (since im lacking a eventide h3000). 2. Uad 2 card: For all the retro stuff... manly compressors... but also tapesaturation: studer and amphex and of course the vog (love this thing!) and last but not least some eqs: cambrige (swiss army knife), pultec and neve 1073 (...)

[@jadedflux]

Dave, thank you for taking the time to do these videos. Truly thankful you share your knowledge with the rest of us!

[@JohnMontgomeryDoe]

Here's my list: 1. NY (or parallel) compression. 2. High pass everything but Kick and Bass, Low pass everything but cymbals and snare. 3. Kick, Bass, and Toms all get some kind of a cut around 315Hz. 4. For drums and vox especially (sometimes other stuff too), I use folder tracks with staged comp. Moderate comp. on the track itself, then lighter comp. on the folder track. Sometimes folders within folders. Usually comp. at each stage. 5. Bus reverb only (except vox)

[@DannyPolDiaz]

Mr.Pensado, you constantly teach me such helpful things with such a great demeanor. It would be so amazing to meet you and mix with you some day, you're an inspiration sir

[@SoundsAroundMe859]

I'm not Dave but i can tell you from my studio we have a mixture, sometimes a plugin is sufficient and sometimes more suitable but there are some outboard equipment that really make a difference. usually on a mix we will have used some outboard and some plugins depending on the project but yes in some cases the difference between having outboard compared to plugin can be like ford focus to ferrari

[@joninva1]

Love the facial expression when you say youre addicted to the shadow hills compressor... ha ha. Guilty. Ha ha ha ha Love it.

[@DrudgeAudio]

nice one! my top 5 would be 1) sub bass sine wave in the key of the track with a gate triggered by the kick 2) para compression on the drums through the Drawmer 1969 3) whole mix just passed through the TLA C1 compressor with possibly some soft compression 4) mix the vocals at the very begining of the mix so they fit, then mix them again at the very end 5) monitor in as many places as possible (including with beats headphones to make sure they dont ruin my mix too much)

[@frankhoward4485]

Dude, I don't know why you spend your time doing this ... but I'm damn glad you are. Many thanks.

[@moonhowler667]

Far be if from my place as a young man to ask a master to change how he does things, but I'd love to see you show your examples *without* the processing first. Either way, love your work and I've learned tons. Keep it up, I know you're an inspiration to the people I work with!

[@screendrem]

My list is almost exactly the same. The only thing I could add is: Use brainworks 2.0 eq to narrow low end and widen the top end. Izotope stereo imager, waves s1 and waves center can also work magic. Often on vocals I use logic's sample delay by a couple hundred samples to make those stand on top of the mix.

[@bobvog7123]

I love to see someone who is so good at what they do. Thanks Dave for sharing your knowledge and experience. :)

[@peterosipov400]

For absolutely every mix I use these 5 plugins: 1. Q10 2. C1 3. IR-1 reverb 4. Kramer Tape 5. L2 Maybe it's lame but I see how my mixes get better and better.

[@sonnyjennings9035]

I’d recommend a more transparent limiter like Fabfiliter or A.O.M. Limiters

[@peterosipov400]

@@sonnyjennings9035 man, it was three years ago :D I don't use any of these plugins today. And of course I agree that there are more transparent limiters, i.e. Voxengo Elephant that I use today

[@cooIfooI]

@@peterosipov400what plugins do you use today?

[@algertsulka]

peoples who go at university studying those nice tips should be proud, but we indipendet producer and audio engeeniers that never been in school to learn tips like that, we yeah we got you and other nice and great big mans that do those things, in the end of the day you are who run the audio engeenering history, so we say it loud : thank u very much for doing that for us. Love Algert Sulka (Albania)!

[@DANTHETUBEMAN]

you do things i cant hear, but i can hear it all in the end mix, this time i herd 2 out of three,,

[@darkskinwhite]

gotta develop your ears and train them. also depends what youre listening on.

[@soulsanctuarymusic1]

Good to hear someone who does this for a living be honest about it, I read some crap by a guy called Allen Farmelo about Sonic Varnish. While I agree in principle with the idea he proposed, that adding lots of subtle layers instead of drastic changes is key to a good mix . He twists it to make out that it can only be achieved using high end outboard gear.

[@imthewizardofoz]

good ole Pensado... gotta watch the old episodes every now and again. well, here's my top 5, in order! (I engineer mostly hip-hop and R&B btw) 1. Waves H-EQ 2. Waves API-2500 (tonal compression) 3. Slate Digital VMR: Revival (sounds better when it's last in the chain sometimes) 4. Waves API-2500 (dynamic compression) 5. IK Multimedia: T-Racks White 2A OR NI/Softube LA-2A (as limiter)

[@SebastiaanHooft]

Learned a lot. Useful info for when working on a track.

[@nickkapp1736]

I personally always use the PT-EQx from Ignite amps on every single mix I do. It does wonders on just about everything, from shaping a kick drum to getting a snare punchy to cleaning up guitars, it always sounds great.

[@nicodemosmusic]

CLOCK!

[@LewisRhymes]

Absoloutly, the increased dynamic range, and also the character is gives to audio is ubelivable, plugz are good, but you cant beat the analogue rack gear! Especially since Dave has some very nice equipment, you should do a studio tour dave, and talk about all your gear!

[@ScottFreebass]

love these videos. too bad KZbin ruins the audio quality so it's impossible to hear what his processing is actual doing.

Since I make Progressive House: 1. Get rid of resonant frequencies on my synths/pianos 2. Lexicon RandomHall on a bus send on the synths with a heavy sedition but only for the drop 3. Always bump my claps/snares with a little saturation and maybe 200Hz bump in Pro-Q 2 4. Always compare it to a song similar by a respected artist to see if my song sound to full or too empty, etc... 5. AOM Invisible Limiter after the Pro-L does wonders, crank it up until it starts distorting, then pull it back and you've got a winner ***

***** I agree with you completely, a lot, if not most, of the Progressive House songs out there are extremely cheesy and genetic. But at the same time there are many artists who make extremely goo Progressive House, like Stadiumx, Deniz Koyu, Mako, DubVision, etc... That set themselves apart not so much by the sounds they use, or their mixing skills, but because their tracks are much deeper and melodic than the rest.

***** Oh and I'm not that into Big Room, it's cool but it's not my style

[@ketchupbreads5052]

+Décio Arruda good tips. Lets not forget proper gain staging

ketchup breads Well, I don't see the importance of that actually. As long as you only peak in the master channel and not in individual tracks/busses there's no problem with peaking because then you can pull it back in the end before going to the compressor.

[@ketchupbreads5052]

+Décio Arruda i humbly disagree.

[@jasonjames1038]

Your the best Dave! Big thanks for all the tips here.

[@ChristianLarese]

I think it makes a big difference. Also, a lot of little improvements added together make one big improvement.

[@anatolymolatchenko4113]

music works in sentences, questions and answers.

[@Eric_DiRisio]

Lexicon Pcm is also another great reverb plug, although I must say that Manny's new reverb emulation from Waves is really surprising me every time at how close it is to the Bricasti. Truth is, there's no such thing as a bad piece of gear or plugin, they are all just tools to make the creative process of making music more dynamic and inspiring.

[@mixey01]

R - deesser, Waves api 560 EQ, Waves SSL bus compressor, R compressor and MCDSP compressorbank (Fairchild 670 setting).

[@BrentHendrich]

Anyone else think of "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul when the groove kicks in at 1:50?

[@MrConstantz]

Dave, That's wonderful channel and it helps me a lot in mixing my own tunes. Great job.

[@wonekawa]

If you don't have 1500 bucks to splurge on a compressor, Native Instruments just came out with one that totally smokes and it is one tenth the price of the API or Waves stuff. Just love your videos Mr. Pensado, offering great insight into the recording/ mixing process. I hope you don't mind that little plug for a plug in there. I don't normally do that sort of thing and if it is out of line you can just erase my comment. Keep up the great work and keep the videos coming. Respect!

[@dddccc14]

Much respect and thanks for the vids-- But I suspect it's easier say you don't need great gear when you've got Shadow Hills and Bricasti at your fingertips!

[@diogocmx]

Get the Samplicity Briscati impulse responses. Sounds great!

[@rickyrodam]

You're great Dave! ¡Gracias por todo!

[@alexandrburlak3901]

I will definitely try to process my instruments based on your fx-chain!

[@ThriftdaddykaneTDK]

@Tifan777...Dude be thankful just for theses FREEE videos. how many times do you bump into lifer engineers???? Make your own decision but be thankful for this exchange....get on the journey seven three times peaceeeee

[@xGhostOfMe]

i could watch your videos for days.

[@AlexVoinotGuitar]

just discovered this channel, this is amazing!

[@attentionlabel]

That feel when all you have are free plug-ins and a trial version of FL Studio from 1999

[@2zzbaby494]

Waves has a sale!

[@zachary963]

Pc or mac?

[@Kevlexicon]

dont let it stop u bro. u can do a lot w almost nothing, it's more about developing taste and intention/direction than fetishizing gear. keep goin yohh

[@jacksmith4460]

@@Kevlexicon agree their are some killer free plugins out there, great mixers could make great mixes with free/stock plugins

[@sirBighead12]

Verbsuite by Slate is a good reverb that has Bricasti also

[@waterkeeper03]

1. maybe most of what he works with is live instrument, not vst's. 2. once you get your midi track perfect, route it to audio and record it, and deactivate the midi track to save resources. 3. last i knew (PT le6) you couldn't "bounce to disk" without recording the midi tracks to audio first. 4. if you are going to send your song out for mastering, they aren't going to have all the same sample library, vst hardware and plugins you have, so you send them ruff mixed audio files to work with

[@joshuachan9531]

What do you use for bgv's? Can we get a lesson on Background Vocals? Amazing Episodes... I just love watching the show! Thanks

[@TheGimpwars]

Greetings, happy holidays Thanks for sharing Take care

[@TheGimpwars]

U2

[@Mixingmachine774]

Cla2a ,cla76,kramer tape ,SSL bus compressor,tr5 reverb

[@bboymac84]

Great tips Dave!!

[@anthemmakersmusic]

175 and 176 are really nice smooth

[@avacealkatraz7754]

those vocals sound so solid omgsh!!!

[@janosmolnar1]

That was so fun to watch man

[@NanthaaComposer]

really nice Dave!!!

[@wellsyyyyy]

Depends on how much time you put into it. Also, it just varies person to person. Some learn better than others.

[@rekojeht5889]

Okay so what would you say is most important to do when mixing only virtual instruments? Also when mixing rap songs, isn't that mostly just virtual instruments? And lastly what do you think of virtual instruments vs real ones, any tips? I really appreciate the help, thanks!

[@ToWhateverEnd55]

1. Fabfilter pro q on like everything 2. dbx 160 plugin on drum buss 3. IR1 reverb 4. API 2500 + Scheps 73 plugin on vocals 5. always use the waves ssl compressor and J73 plugin when mastering But, I am by no means an experienced professional. I still have a lot to learn.

[@TheBDD65]

What's that song being used ? "Beautiful Liar" is it Casey Jones or KC Jones ? My wife and I are digging it and want to know how to buy it !:)

[@hashimsharrieff8569]

Outstanding

[@_WearyTraveler_]

1. waves CLA-2a 2. waves H-Delay 3. fabfilter Pro -L 4. Valhala Vintage Verb (just recently beat out lexicon) 5. Waves J37

[@nikonissinen6772]

I have personally tried some hardware reverbs, and every single of them I have liked a lot. They just sound so much more what reverb should sound than any software reverb. That's just a whole diffrent world of reverbs. Just an idea to those that struggle with the problem "I can't find a good reverb (plugin) to this sound!"

[@krauselbartmusic]

Okay I need to save that Video for later. Like in 4 months when I did my homework on the more basic topics. I'm having some trouble understanding those 5 tips yet

[@TheTonyAndreas]

Thanks Dave!

[@samydisa]

Hi! Great tips! And also a great song too, can you share the song title and the singer? thank you!

[@BeniZeBest2011]

And I believe U Dave! And I trust a treated room and good monitors the all thing calibrated too!! See ya.

[@DubzCo]

CLOCK!! lol,..Dave I have only recentley started watching ITL..I am pretty impressed with myself that somehow I do things pretty much like yourself, only somethings baffling me,..on your aux bus's you have the usual like all guitars and drums and all vox,..but you also have 'High End' (saw it on #38)..do u have an ITL episode that explains this please?

[@jomokariuki]

In no.3 were you referring to the vocal stereo bus or drums or something else, thanks.

[@franzrebsp]

This is great...much appreciated!!!

[@Kevlexicon]

when i mix (3yrs deep): does it really need more compression? (oneshots/vocals especially) aux channels for fx eq the low and high ends by cutting what's annoying / in the way and leaving the rest as is consider sidechaining/automating make myself do something new (whether it's use a new plugin, combine fx, or even choosing to keep the signal raw/dry, or removing elements from the arrangement in order to generate interest (it's too easy to busy up the sound without adding anything to the song) listen to it back, was the earlier mix copy i saved better (90% of the time , it is), change it back ...idk if that helps. cheers

[@izvarzone]

yeah

[@rawrome]

hello love your show watch it all the time, just one thing I wanted to ask I have seen dave's ITL and noticed you anyways mix your multitrack sessions and the instrument channels are WAV files, I mix my sessions using them as midi files and my vocals as WAV files. Is there a benefit of mixing it all the same format (ect. WAV) if so why ??

[@andremccoy3954]

Ok Dave I am sold.I have been checking out all the other masters and out of all of them you seem to resonate with me much better.I don't know why but I just understand you more clearly.How do I get into your mix group of producers where you hold contests from time to time to teach us the things that in your opinion satisfy your musical taste.I chose to comment in this community because you have more clicks here than others.My name is Andre D. aka Famous Dwayne and I have been in mastering studios here in Germany for over 30 years.2 majors under my belt.Some good ones and some bad ones.But I've learned from all experiences.Could you please send me a link to that group.I have made my decision to stick with you from now on.Your content is so robust until it mind boggling."Stove Top? I'm Stayin!"

[@kicksncapz]

Big question, who is the smartest singer you ever worked with sonically, who knew thier instrument the best(?voice, what it needed) asking all the engineers

[@KJT3000]

Pensado is the coolest Dude.

[@NathanOrlick]

On almost every mix it's... 1. MJUC on Vocals. 2. SDRR2 Desk Mode on the mix bus. 3. FabFilter Pro-Q 3 all over the place. 4. Kotelnikov GE or SPL IRON on the mix bus. 5. Softube Tape Multi-track summing the sub-mix busses into the mix bus.

[@petefaders]

I love the creaminess of the MJUC on vocals, but do you notice the sibilance gets ugly? ..like you put a really shitty de-essser, hard to explain.

[@rekojeht5889]

But when it comes to virtual instruments, is mixing and mastering as vital?

[@mixey01]

Best comment I've ever read in the "analog versus Digital war" It's true. The best gear cannot substitute lousy skills Let's give it up for Dave!

[@jortsgod7892]

number one. turn master volume all the way up

[@rekojeht5889]

One more thing, what do you think about fl studio for mixing and mastering?

[@frankpaws]

Get Altiverb and the Bricasti Impulses. They are great.

[@aarona.dubzperson8245]

THANKS... LOVE THE SHADOW HILLS!!! WHO SAYS THEY DONT MAKE THE BEST????

[@blankcheckguy69]

1. comet reverb 2. vahalla delay 3. standard clip 4. true iron - karzog 5. the glue - cytomic (6) EQP-1A - apogee

[@felixskottknudsen]

Do you use the standard clip in mix? or only mastering :-) ?

[@blankcheckguy69]

felixskottknudsen i use on kick, sumtimes snare, sumtimes whole drum buss, sumtimes 2bus mix, and ive used it in mastering as well b4, also kclip4 and acustica diamond lift & diamond transient have nice clipping

[@blankcheckguy69]

felixskottknudsen i use on mix bus usually then when i get to mastering, i will use more colorful clippers/saturators (subtley and in parallel) but it most certainly can be used in mastering. i like the soft clip pro saturation setting and i usually dont need to bump it up past 20% for it to hit right

[@golddee2040]

1. Gain stage with TBPro Audio vu meter 2. SSL G 3. Another eq. Depends on the instrument. I have a few. 4. Sends 5. Wait for inspiration.

[@mr.nibbz90]

Hey Dave, love your insight content on here. This may be a random late night mix thought. But what would think about parallel multi-band compression on a vocal, and what would be your approach if ethical to the mix. blessed, nibleyahno

[@rekojeht5889]

How long do you think it would take (approximately) to get good at BOTH mixing and mastering? at the least.

[@MushroomMammoth]

good tips. don't know how you can listen to this shit all day though.

[@74hz15]

Lovely videos, keep them coming :)

[@rekojeht5889]

All right, thanks alot!

[@youmilkpack]

Dave, can't forgive you for having the lava lamp off!? Do not Jinx it!

[@LokuaSound]

I just discover this guy, he is such a generous and cool guy, i wanna be his friend ! :D