EFX Template

doug_hti · 2nd June 2004, 12:14 AM

Hi Mike,

Welcome and thanks for your time.

do you have any sort of effects template or examples (for the majority of songs) as a starting point when you start a mix, for say a modern day pop/rock track, or even the Shania Twain "Up" pop version?

And what boxes and/or plugins really do it for you as far as reverb, delay, modulations, pitch shifting, etc?

shipshape · 2nd June 2004, 12:43 AM

Hi Doug , If I'm working at the studio on a console I have a starting point kind of. It isnt necessarily a "cookie-cutter" template , it's just a way to get going. The problem being that I like to mess around a lot with what I get to mix. I will always start off by getting the rough mix of whatever I'm gonna be working on , as far ahead as possible , first to get into the songs and to see how the band have been listening to it all this time. I will make up my mind on the first listen what I want the sound to be like tho.
If its a rock song or a pop song I will usually have the board layed out by my assistant so that instruments stay in a familliar place on the board.
Some of the sessions that come in nowadays are so damn big 'cos of protools and the lack of decision making that it get's very hard and very tiring to get a mix a day done. Especially if you want to put everything into it on a daily basis.
Inevitably with the drums ...there need to be some help so I've usually got 3 subs set up for the drums with different compressors across the 3 busses to use for different types of compression depending on what part of the song it is.
Same with the vocals , gtrs etc. I like to work on at least a 96 channel console so theres enough room for a lot of multing. It's not always needed . but Just to leave static eq and panning positions for instruments isnt my choice in terms of making space.
The sound and intensity of the drums , to me , should not be the same between different parts of the song and probably wasn't played that way either but when you compress the living daylights out of the ambience or the snare etc, it draws a line thru the song that needs attention to me.
So I will invariably have the kind of comp that makes the chorus be big and punchy but will not use it in the verse , So many records sound like the comp was set to stun and then just left that way for the whole song.
Which is fine..but not my taste. For subs , on comp as I said will be distressors or something and another will be to add attack dbx 160's or somesuch thing. Plus the snare will have been multed also for different sounds if need be.
Vocals will be the same so I can vary the sound of the vocals in a more appropriate way than just one setting.
So far as effects go.Ill have lots of stuff patched up and ready to go but doesn't mean I will use it..just saves so much time to be able to walk in and get going.

shipshape · 2nd June 2004, 12:54 AM

If I'm mixing ITB , Doug , my starting point is different. I use a procontrol (yes I know!!) and my protools guy sets it up as a kind of template also.
As odd as it sounds I like to work at home kinda like I do in the studio , as in I have the luxury of having a protools operator to do the mousework...editing , some of the more laborious automation ie ...riding all the "breaths "down etc on the vocals. My current way of getting going is to have an SSL , an API and a Sony eq across every channel and 3 diferent comps .so that I can just take my pick . Pretty straight forward tho having an operator with me , even tho I know protools makes the whole process much more painless as I like to keep the focus on the music and a lot of ITB manipulation can be laborious. So it's kinda cheating really to have my guy there all the time but it's a much more musical way to work for me.!

doug_hti · 2nd June 2004, 01:33 AM

Thanks for the wealth of info. All of your answers are so detailed...and much appreciated!!!!!

If you don't mind me asking about reverb and delays. What boxes would you use/rent/request/prefer at a normal studio and what do you use at your own studio?

do you have any "almost" static presets on certain boxes you use (except decay/predelay/lpf, etc)

What plugins do you use for efx if any?

thanks again...I'l need to buy you a coopers.

**Jules** · 2nd June 2004, 12:17 PM

When mixing ITB is your assistant working on the same material on a seperate rig or do you take it in turns to work on the one system?

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2nd June 2004, 12:14 AM	#1
doug_hti Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Calabasas, California Posts: 1,138	EFX Template Hi Mike, Welcome and thanks for your time. do you have any sort of effects template or examples (for the majority of songs) as a starting point when you start a mix, for say a modern day pop/rock track, or even the Shania Twain "Up" pop version? And what boxes and/or plugins really do it for you as far as reverb, delay, modulations, pitch shifting, etc? __________________ doug

2nd June 2004, 01:33 AM	#4
doug_hti Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Calabasas, California Posts: 1,138	Thanks for the wealth of info. All of your answers are so detailed...and much appreciated!!!!! If you don't mind me asking about reverb and delays. What boxes would you use/rent/request/prefer at a normal studio and what do you use at your own studio? do you have any "almost" static presets on certain boxes you use (except decay/predelay/lpf, etc) What plugins do you use for efx if any? thanks again...I'l need to buy you a coopers. __________________ doug

2nd June 2004, 12:17 PM	#5
Jules Gearslutz.com admin Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 11,814	When mixing ITB is your assistant working on the same material on a seperate rig or do you take it in turns to work on the one system? __________________ Jules "...there are some amazing deals to be had in this right now. it brings battleship mixing closer to the jilted generation" - reptil

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2nd June 2004, 12:43 AM	#2
shipshape Captain Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 323	Hi Doug , If I'm working at the studio on a console I have a starting point kind of. It isnt necessarily a "cookie-cutter" template , it's just a way to get going. The problem being that I like to mess around a lot with what I get to mix. I will always start off by getting the rough mix of whatever I'm gonna be working on , as far ahead as possible , first to get into the songs and to see how the band have been listening to it all this time. I will make up my mind on the first listen what I want the sound to be like tho. If its a rock song or a pop song I will usually have the board layed out by my assistant so that instruments stay in a familliar place on the board. Some of the sessions that come in nowadays are so damn big 'cos of protools and the lack of decision making that it get's very hard and very tiring to get a mix a day done. Especially if you want to put everything into it on a daily basis. Inevitably with the drums ...there need to be some help so I've usually got 3 subs set up for the drums with different compressors across the 3 busses to use for different types of compression depending on what part of the song it is. Same with the vocals , gtrs etc. I like to work on at least a 96 channel console so theres enough room for a lot of multing. It's not always needed . but Just to leave static eq and panning positions for instruments isnt my choice in terms of making space. The sound and intensity of the drums , to me , should not be the same between different parts of the song and probably wasn't played that way either but when you compress the living daylights out of the ambience or the snare etc, it draws a line thru the song that needs attention to me. So I will invariably have the kind of comp that makes the chorus be big and punchy but will not use it in the verse , So many records sound like the comp was set to stun and then just left that way for the whole song. Which is fine..but not my taste. For subs , on comp as I said will be distressors or something and another will be to add attack dbx 160's or somesuch thing. Plus the snare will have been multed also for different sounds if need be. Vocals will be the same so I can vary the sound of the vocals in a more appropriate way than just one setting. So far as effects go.Ill have lots of stuff patched up and ready to go but doesn't mean I will use it..just saves so much time to be able to walk in and get going.

2nd June 2004, 12:54 AM	#3
shipshape Captain Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 323	If I'm mixing ITB , Doug , my starting point is different. I use a procontrol (yes I know!!) and my protools guy sets it up as a kind of template also. As odd as it sounds I like to work at home kinda like I do in the studio , as in I have the luxury of having a protools operator to do the mousework...editing , some of the more laborious automation ie ...riding all the "breaths "down etc on the vocals. My current way of getting going is to have an SSL , an API and a Sony eq across every channel and 3 diferent comps .so that I can just take my pick . Pretty straight forward tho having an operator with me , even tho I know protools makes the whole process much more painless as I like to keep the focus on the music and a lot of ITB manipulation can be laborious. So it's kinda cheating really to have my guy there all the time but it's a much more musical way to work for me.!