Open Mix Session with Chris Lord-Alge

[@WestSeaSpirit]

One of the most successful mixing engineers of all time and he breaks all the rules. Seriously the confidence boost that I need! CLA is a legend.

[@leadersoundproductions4666]

CLA is totally nuts, but he really is brilliant..

[@JohnnyAGraves]

the saying is... there's a fine line between genius and insanity.....hehe

[@dcdno_one2393]

He makes life interesting and entertaining. I like him just the way he is.

[@Humbucker1103]

The music world is full of degenerate assholes....

[@tiffanysmith1465]

Thats why he's brilliant.

[@gabbyprod]

Lol. I sat behind him for 2 years as his assistant at Image Recording. Definitely brilliant. Ears of gold. Works at a FURIOUS pace. Don't even THINK of slacking for 2 seconds or you'll get your ass chewed. But he's a super nice guy. Unbelievably generous with time and money, and also talking techniques when the time is appropriate. He hates to record while in the middle of mixing a record, so he got me started engineering overdubs for him, then graciously turned me over to some of his clients when I had enough engineering work to stop assisting. He'd invite me and my wife to his house for dinners. The first time over for dinner I went to grab my plate after dinner and he goes "Hey! Put that down! You're my guest here, not my assistant." So, nuts? Nah. Just genius-level brain speed and ears of gold!

[@EJ-ye7wg]

That guy jumps in at the dumbest time asking questions thang changes the WHOLE FLOW OF WHATS GOING ON!!! THAT waves guy really KILLS THINGS!!!

[@kriscullen3378]

As much as Chris love saying his brand name CLA, I'm surprised he doesn't always say "CLAter" at the end of his videos.

[@jeisonleonardoguevara]

Jajajajajajaja really fancy joke

[@emanuel_soundtrack]

they are improving, wait

[@NickShillitoMusic]

I find CLA's mix sessions so inspiring. His approach to mixing is so simple. Trust the music, trust the source audio, trust your ears. It has been my tendency for so long to try and over-complicate the mixing process. I'm slowly learning to mix solely to serve the music. As soon as I stepped back and started un-doing a lot of my preconceptions about EQ, compression etc. my mixes became 100x better. The amount I'm learning is staggering. I've never loved learning a skill so much in my life. Thanks Mr. CLA!

[@tylersiddiqui1132]

Love CLA’s mindset of not over complicating everything!

[@raustin9]

CLA: "Now, the real secret to getting this to sound great is.." "CHRIS, CHRIS I HAVE AN UNRELATED QUESTION HERE..."

[@rockculturebeats]

We’d all learn a lot more if the guy didn’t keep interrupting CLA. Seems he really wants to share what he knows, but is never allowed to elaborate. CLA you are awesome, met you at AES and you answered all my questions for like 10 minutes. Cheers!

[@shongo01]

there might be an ulterior motive. Why doesn't "WAVES" just e-mail the audience questions to CHRIS. Then Chris can respond with his thoughts intact and give examples to teach the audience invaluable info.

[@Clarity-808]

I felt he did a good job. So many interviewers want to talk about themselves and he generally avoided that.

[@RolandDeschain1]

The great thong about CLA is that he makes you rethink everything you thought you know just with common sense. I was definitely a disciple of the mindset of rolling off 80hz on every track to 'make room for the bass'. But what CLA teaches you is that you just need to listen to everything as it is and decide from there.

[@sammclachlan851]

Chris literally just does what sounds good to his ear. Love it

[@tompparmp9928]

Even CLA himself has that damn red light shining on CLA-76 all the time.

[@danymalsound]

@NILNIXLOVE right on! Even Billy Decker MIXES into the red in PT, but you can't hear any (negative) artifacts and that's all that matters : )

[@XCenturionX]

You can clip the plugin...as long as it doesn't clip the Master Bus

[@WestSeaSpirit]

@NILNIXLOVE yeah screw all the online articles I'm done being afraid and correct. It's time to be an engineer!

[@cc11studio]

I can't get enough of CLA. There is about 5 world class engineers I follow with him being one of them. Love his explanations and down to earth discussion. Who would have though of +15db @ 8k. I'm going to have to play with this one.

[@Sol-In-Seoul]

I can get enough of the plug-in peddling though. Guys like him use real analog gear.

[@guitardave]

This is pure gold - I love his philosophy on mixing. A big eye opener with the “don’t carve eq for other instruments” and “don’t high pass filter the guitars”. It seems to be more a philosophy of “add more” rather than take anything away. Don’t over analyse it all, just do it! Just a brilliant no-nonsense attitude. Thanks for uploading this! :-)

[@Noisehead101]

It’s a good tip. I’ve always felt carving out EQ takes away a lot of energy and vibe, but many people said subtractive EQ is best. So it’s cool to hear from someone like CLA that he doesn’t do it either. The only time I really carve is for any real surgery that needs doing or it’s absolutely necessary. What I like about CLA is he just makes everything seem fun and not a chore worrying about tiny details. That’s actually why I really like his plugins. They sound great and are simple. It’s too easy to get lost piddling about with tiny details and lose track of the overall song and enjoyment

[@guitardave]

@@Noisehead101 Agree 100%!

[@gabbyprod]

I assisted for CLA and TLA and both taught me the same thing about EQing: Boost the band you want by a TON, then sweep around to find the frequency you like, then back it down. Tom said you end up with more boost than you would have if you start at 3db of boost, find the freq you like, then adjust from there.

[@gabbyprod]

@@Noisehead101 Bob Clearmountain is more of a carver than a booster. Great sound, but completely different than the Lord-Alge sound.

[@EDog]

This is the BEST CLA interview I have seen. It covers EVERYTHING and answered so many questions that I had and even some I didn't. So enlightening! THANK YOU! This plugin is a must have!

[@GurnBograt1986]

Love Chris. Great engineer love his approach to mixing. I've learned alot from his interviews and tutorials. Chris is the man!!

[@buhlir]

CLA just flips everything we've all learned on its head and says just do it!! I freaking love it

[@ValeriyKolyada]

How many lessons have I reviewed .. Finally, I was lucky and I came across a great master. Thanks .

[@leefas8245]

I think one of the most significal thing while seeing Chris Lord-Alge mix, is that you don't see him rely on any frequency analyzer!! He does everything with his ears!!

[@codyjumper5019]

CLA's dad levels are off the charts in this vid.

[@djerikfox]

..oh man, I just LOVE YOU..you are my inspiration for everything I do about music!! god bless you CHIS LORD ALGE!!

[@jacobsmith1877]

His approach is funny and refreshing. I love how he doesn't care about subractive EQ and just slams high end onto guitars.

[@danepaulstewart8464]

This is a really great hour, and his words here will still be applicable 30 years from now. 🤘😎🤘

[@ordinarypablo]

we are so fortunate to be able to get into his mind at least for a while, this guy is a genius.

[@timbrown7652]

Vocal sound was a boost high end over 40bd of gain reduction from 3 sets of compression and limiting.

[@darlenesheffield9835]

LOL the same in every video he does

[@jimmygrant3151]

I learned a lot from this. Mostly about using CLA stuff. Glad there were lots of questions so we got a well rounded tutorial, rather than just a one sided lecture.

[@thechannelitrollwith1645]

As soon as the vocals came in I was in love. I'm not even a huge rock guy but this is a jam if I've ever heard one. LOL when he goes to find "Start Me Up" and it's not there. Then he proceeds to go crazy with the names that he didn't even know were there. Love CLA.

[@TEMPTBand]

Hey, thanks! We're glad you liked it.

[@charlesrocks]

33:50 is the greatest single piece of advice anyone should follow.

[@JAMStudiosIE]

Good to hear CLA giving the correct definition of the term ‘Stems’, which is a very confused and wrongly used term these days for when what the person is actually asking for, or delivering, are the Multitracks.

[@mrtravalor]

I can't wait until quarantine is over so I can sit down and have a beer with Chris Lord-Alge. Best personality! Dude is amazing!

[@dantelamusta]

Thank you for the encouragement through this difficult time, CLA! I can't wait to see the fruits of my labor. Much love!

[@ferranleal]

Great live session!! Chris Lord-Alge show!!

[@DanRodriguez1]

I love Chris energy

[@SirMatthewT]

Extremely informative. Feels like a live studio experience with one of the best to ever do it! Thanks Waves!

[@michaelhitchcock6762]

the freakin 8k on the guitars is probably the best use of additive EQ ive ever heard

[@marCh3L0]

Thank a lot Chris for your recommendation and your advice, the song is great , grettings from argentina

[@PARISONFIRE]

dude that boost on the guitars was nuts, mindblowing stuff man and i love it

[@AudioReplica2023]

In that at 17:35 I 100% agree with cla. Its really over thinking stuff cuz if you find yourself having to make room for the vocal or other instrument in the mix ...then you better take a better look to the arrangement instead of the eq. Arrangement its key for a great song. You recognize when an arrangement its too busy for the vocals when you hear the instrumental and theres always something calling your attention leaving no hole for a vocal to fit. Dont confuse ear candy with extra busy guitar riffs and lines....Thats a tip. Also..this is not a "open mix session" rather a Q&A promoish..?

[@BlackenedNL]

The mixing god, even this mix he's working on sounds amazing!!

[@golbeatspro]

44:43 Thats a CLA bug...

[@Aaezil]

I feel like 1/4th of this was cla trolling and pointing to his own picture on a box, 1/4th getting interrupted by host, 1/4th answering the questions, and 1/4th actual mixing lol

[@YokuStudio]

Chris is awesome!, and the way behind those plugins are made is brilliant, i always use them on my mixes, thank you guys!

[@Telee_Pawt]

You would have to say that by the time you reach this mans status, you are not getting rubbish to mix. The very best would be coming to you be cause you are the very best for the next step in the process.

[@meilstone]

Greatest piece of advice: if you don't crank up the volume too much, you can get away with it anywhere... referring to acoustically problematic rooms.

[@philpower_]

CLA is a gift.

[@DramE92]

it’s clear from the video that Chris himself doesn’t use these plugins, since he doesn’t even know where they are, the presenter tells him periodically.

[@miss.antidote]

agreed

[@jeanhill8662]

Actually it's not clear. Chris acknowledges that he is not an expert in Protools operation. He says so in the video. He has an assistant that operates protools basic operations for him. So he will say load x plugin and then he'll start tweaking it. You can see this in his Mix in the box videos which I believe are on Mix with the Masters.

[@MichaelCosta_]

As said, he normally has an assistant driving the Pro Tools side of things in real sessions.

[@deejay7339]

@@jeanhill8662 Some people just can't accept the truth, man. Even JJP said these guys who have millions in hardware behind them and claim they only use software they're full of BS.

[@producermind9030]

I think, when CLA is at the studio. He uses his hardware... cause it’s all set up and he knows it well. When he’s mixing away from the studio. Like on Tour etc... he mixes with the plugins. So yeah, “technically” he uses the software... but come on. He’s a business person as well as a mix engineer. He’s got to eat and put food on the table. It’s naive to think he “only” uses the software.

[@ahawk706]

i don't like the way the host was interrupting him

[@wolfyeverywhere]

yeh he kinda sucks!

[@EJCAudio]

Have you seen CLA teach without being steered? He needs somebody to keep him on track, or he'll spend the entire hour talking about whatever's getting him excited that week!

[@dwightscott2377]

Yeeeh :/

[@bitflux2]

Yeah ruined it, what a bad host

[@luthiervandros]

Lol he’s called a moderator for a reason. Chris has a heap of info to share. Gotta shape and steer.

[@barbierash2137]

Chris and WAVES rock hard!! Much Love brothers!!

[@TheRoseCityRockers]

Chris, I love your tutorials. Informative and funny as hell!

[@TheOpenJam]

Such a great vid! Thanks CLA!

[@gilbyglibber]

I feel Chris answered the questions very well in this particular video compared to some of his other ones, where he seemed somewhat pissed off lol

[@OrangeyTangerine]

Man, I lost it when CLA started using that soundboard ahahah

[@manifestgtr]

My one gripe with CLA as an instructor is that he can sometimes be a bit vague. Chris is known, industry-wide, for his slashing in the 800 range…from his mixes that I’ve referenced, I’ve noticed that he’s also very careful about the energy in the 400 (all the harmonics of 200hz, really) and 2k ranges, as many mixers are. Does that mean cut all those ranges and sound like him? Of course not, that would sound terrible…but pay attention to those. Those ranges all contain information (or lack thereof) that’s vital to every track. A great CLA reference track is Collide by Howie Day. The vocal/drum relationship in that song is perfection, IMO.

[@mrsnoo86]

CLA is my hero 😍

[@davekatsikas1043]

Love your approach CLA! The rules are dictated by the scenario.

[@AMB666]

Sometimes I feel that he is Hans Zimmer's brother. I respect them both.

[@eranddroory9987]

Thanks Waves and Chris.. Great insight.. :-)

[@lucaswojatschke3883]

14:25 sometimes I think "why the f**k am I watching this" the vocals already sound so good right the without anything, you throw 2 things on and it's amazing. i can not get that kind of stuff with vocals recorded in my bedroom with a behringer b-1 (75 EUR in germany). I'd love to see some mixing sessions with audio that hasn't been recorded with gear that's worth 15k

[@TEMPTBand]

Hey Lucas, We actually recorded that in my bedroom. We used a Mojave MA-300 which costs $1,200 USD. Still a lot more expensive than what you're using but one good mic and a preamp makes a huge difference and you don't have to be at $15k.

[@lucaswojatschke3883]

@@TEMPTBand funny that you replied after that while. I actually made a similar experience with the same gear but with better room treatment. Thanks for the reply tho!

[@Clarity-808]

@@TEMPTBand Thanks for those details!

[@willstern1692]

Sell what you can to get an apollo twin...you can record an entire record with that that sounds very good. As far as plugins, the UA or waves 1176 & LA2A, a decent reverb, and the waves SSL channel, and you can get a solid mix at home as long as you have decent monitors.

[@aviozstudio4903]

i mix only with stock plugins and i am satisfied about it .

[@Skkyyyyyyyyyyy]

That’s great. Plain COSTCO vanilla ice cream is delicious, but pure vanilla bean is also delicious, but a different flavor. Plugins are flavors. An API SSL Neve all EQ the same frequencies, but they all sound a tiny bit differently. CLA could get his same CLA sound with pro tools stock plugins if he had to.

[@aviozstudio4903]

@@Skkyyyyyyyyyyy I agree what you are saying , maybe summing mixes through analogue mixer would solve all problem without making stuff more complicated choosing ew for that and other eq for another audio track.. less expensive gear and saves more time.

[@Jcg2nd]

Respect

[@x1plus1x]

I've never been a huge fan of Chris Lord-Alge as a person, but he has mixed some great albums. He's a professional bullshitter. I think he hit the nail on the head when he said that the first thing he does is bring up the faders and it's already a great song. I think that a lot of these famous mixers (CLA included) got lucky once or twice with a great song that did well which got them notoriety and more great songs. The tracking engineer basically mixes it for them. I'm not saying that these famous mixers are bad mixers. I'm saying that they are probably not much better than your average mixer, they just got lucky with the songs they've worked on. Either he doesn't really know what he's doing or he doesn't know how to explain it. I get the feeling that he's one of those guys that doesn't really know what he's doing, he just turns knobs until it sounds good. Which yea, he has a great ear and I respect that. But, a lot of "normal people" out here have deep understanding of what's going on but haven't had the luck of getting to work on a song that made it big. So, ya.. I'm a little salty. And also likely that I'm just full of sheite.

[@jadenaxel]

I think you are right bro...But why do you make sure that he "doesn't know what he's doing"? What do you mean?

[@ctld5266]

this vid is more a commercial than its way of mixing.... there is now plenty of video tutorial of him on Mix with the master or Puremix . he's clearly a great mixer and do far more than mimicing the balance of tracking engineering.... For him mixing starts when most of the guy think it's finished, ie after eq, comp and static balance. all its tutorial show its way of automation & creating dynamic, and that's clearly where the art is.

[@jeanhill8662]

CLA didn't get lucky. He not only has talent but he worked his ass off moving up through the ranks. That's one of the missing pieces for young engineers these days. They get no training and schools are not a substitute. He not only knows it but knows every minute detail of it because in the days of analog you had to know. People make their own luck. In addition, artists and record labels would not be shelling out $10,000 a track if he didn't seriously elevate the music with his mix.

[@JJRockford]

Of that so, why spend all the money it cost to make someone like CLA mix for you?

[@LukeDickins0n]

Love Chris, he keeps everything so fucking simple

[@LoveMeBack]

It’s not a seminar guys. Relax! There were some good questions in there...

[@BeardedKingface]

Hope to manifest having him mix my music one day

[@TonjuwelenDeAgentur]

I really enjoyed this Video. Thanks guys.

[@imaxeman69]

Great sounding band. Love the feel

[@TEMPTBand]

Thanks Mark!

[@Diamond-Des]

I have buying today CLA Mixhub is amazing plugins 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@Jcg2nd]

Those waves look so pretty

[@GustavSchirmer]

CLA was explaining something really important about Plugin input gain and suddenly the guy interrupted him. 😳

[@PB72UK]

2 ways sounds great! 🤘👍

[@TEMPTBand]

Thanks Paul!

[@SamuelMurrish]

Mod repeatedly saying “you’re killing me” to CLA was absolutely awful to sit through. Let him talk instead of begrudging the time he’s taking.

[@RolandDeschain1]

I tried the 15db boost at 8K on the SSL console and it is a revelation. I also have to imagine that a lot of other console would probably s**t the bed if you pushed it that far. But on this thing it sounds amazing in a bright, aggressive metal mix.

[@Anonymous-dh4fl]

As the saying goes "if it sounds Good it sounds good", I think that's what holds most back is being too scared to push things and being to confined to the "mixing rules". But as Chris said it best "you need to be and engineer stop making record that have no engineering in them". And ever since I stopped listening to the "rules" and just doing what sounds good and not being scared to push things my mixes have gotten much better

[@SlumdoggVII]

CLA needs a podcast

[@YOURGEN-q3z]

Thanks again eq compress limit.

[@bxbbyxx]

I like his attitude, would love to work with him one day

[@yongsta210]

PERFECT!! Right up until 1:00:53.

[@Donaldj307]

For your cla nx do think about an update to let people use all the presets that you already have on it

[@thewoodark]

Thanks Chris and waves

[@SlumdoggVII]

Def using the God Snare and the Death Kick 😂

[@Petershilak]

This is some great advise by the master !!

[@rzgrhrt6753]

Chris "Okaay" Lord-Alge

[@julianc.227]

Man, that was amazing. Thanks.

[@cccchristo]

I would have never, never thought I could hear the word "Ciampino" in this video.

[@Clemente310x]

CLA needs a fuck*n radio show

[@AlexeySolovievMusic]

What a super cool Open Session! Love everything CLA does! What an awesome guy, it’s always so great to hear him talking so much wise and useful things! Thank you so much Waves for this one! Really awesome video! CLA is The Best! 😀👍

[@EZXG2077]

Chris should do the whole mix in the box with only his plugins or waves plugins only. That would be the great video ever !!!!!

[@greenguitars72]

I 've seen him do that,he re-mixed a song he did some years before on his console entirely in the box using the Waves SSL channel E (not the MixHub,I guess it wasn't yet released at that point),some of his signature plugins ,the CLA compressors and he managed to get it so close it was unbelievable.Kids.this CAN be done ITB ,no problem! The song was called "Let Her Know"by Ivo.

[@blazing6string]

40:40 would love to have heard him mix metallicas justice album

[@mickeymiguel2726]

CLA is nothing but a genius

[@wowerman]

"If it sounds good it's going to sound good everywhere"...right. It is not really a live session.Its Q and A.

[@mariomaslik]

this video is a great entertainment rather than CLA mixing workflow

[@mentalprogram5256]

Why do the grafix of the waves plugins look so smooth. OHHHH right this is before the update that we paid for that they never fixed.

[@markshortall3384]

*Mixing starts at* 7:17

[@akumusik3582]

Awesome Interview🎼🕊️

[@zamilhossain7793]

He is Best... Always

[@JM_2019]

Seems CLA was the sidekick of the host.

[@Ultimate_Wasabi]

17:34 seems to go against what a lot of people say. That said, it makes sense.

[@swampthang172]

I was thinking the same thing. I've always heard between -18 and -6 but It seems to work for him.

[@bernardoestrela6029]

@@swampthang172 you can have something recorded at those levels, so it fits the noise to signal ratio and pre amp normal "rules", but then push it into a level that gives you the most out of the plug ins during the mix. it's all about gain structure

[@nilswandreymusic]

HEY! I actually do know TEMPT! Shout out to Harrison!

[@TEMPTBand]

Hey Nils, how are you? Hope things are ok over there!

[@BernyDiazM]

@@TEMPTBand Guys. When's the record coming out? Can't wait! Did CLA Mix Hot Summer Dreams?

[@TEMPTBand]

@@BernyDiazM Hi Benny, last we heard it being released end of Jan, the start of Feb. Chris did mix Hot Summer Dreams. He rocks.

[@dul22]

Like he's using a bunch of 100$ plugs instead of 100000s$ analogs... doubt it.But great guy and great show thanks

[@EJCAudio]

I'm not so sure... the number of mixes he works on, when a client calls and says "can I get the vocals up 3dB?" ... he's going to fire all that analogue gear up, get all settings exactly recalled... I doubt it. Plus he'll be sending ProTools sessions all over the place and want to be able to pull them up and go. Even Andrew Scheps is in the box these days, for those reasons! I wouldn't be surprised if he runs everything through the desk, and/or uses outboard to print onto stems - but I imagine he's more ITB than you'd expect

[@ayeyovic1476]

you're right haha hes forsure mr analog, but the plugins are emulating the gear he likes to use so people like us, and people who are more in the box can use

[@JJRockford]

@@EJCAudio I think it’s not that much work recalling a mix here; He never touches his outboard, only which are patched in and the levels for them, and I suppose the console have the total recall system.

[@lilgrippie]

you gus know he doesn't use these plugins so often 🤣 35:00

[@eijino10]

I love you Chris!!!

[@Javiblvck]

Thanks Chris

[@manurightz]

" GO TO LOAD "