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virtual instruments

Foolproof method to giving digital instruments an analog feel | mixing

February 19, 2017

To keep this blog short I skip describing anything I already described in the 'fool proof method to mixing and mastering in the box' and 'fool proof method to gain staging', so for more info, read these blogs.

Listen to some non-remastered recordings from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Even though there's more noise and distortion, there's a certain quality to them that a lot of later recordings lack.

A lot of music producers try to add a little – or a lot – of that flavour to their productions. Productions with sufficient budget can be done with a mixture of old and/or new analog hardware, analog consoles and dedicated computer systems, productions with less budget will have to be done analog hardware emulation in the box. Some emulations have become so good that even the experts cannot recognise productions that have been done in the box only. There are also producers who use stock plugins in DAWs to emulate what analog hardware does to sound.

I played a track for two pianos of one of my students into my computer, one on The Grandeur from 2014, the Steinway D that's part of Native Instruments Komplete, and the other on the New York Grand, its predecessor, originally introduced in Akoustik Piano in 2006. I decided to experiment a little. Using only Waves plugins, I set up Logic to work like a 1960s analog console with analog outboard gear from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Here's how.

The first step is gain staging. Next, listen to the mix in mono and mix all instruments in.

For stereo recordings, go back to the gain plugin to check what channel – Left or Right – is the most important. Raise that side a little. Logic's Gain Plugin can bring up one level while lowering another. Bring up the most important side while listening in mono, check in stereo. A stereo tool like S1 or Logic Direction Mixer can be used to manipulate the direction of the channels if the left/right balance is good in mono and unbalanced in stereo. If the volume changes in the recording are very big you can also automate the gain to make the recording more level – old mixes were made loud with fader riding mostly, not with compressors or limiters. The loudness will change after these tweaks so check the VU again.

with and without left/right balancing:

http://tangentedgeinstruments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/01-no-lr-balancing.mp3

Full mix versus rough mix:

http://tangentedgeinstruments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/02-rough-mix.mp3

After the rough mix sounds good, start the Top Down technique. Emulations of analog mastering gear are very characterful, so it's a good idea to mix into them just to be safe. I started with Abbey Road Vinyl at almost minimal settings. You can also go for tape emulation here. Whatever plugin you use, test and turn all knobs and settings while checking in both mono and stereo.

With and without Vinyl:

http://tangentedgeinstruments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/03-no-Vinyl.mp3

Next – console emulation for analog summing. I went for the EMI TG12345 in NLS. The Buss plugin in the second slot on the Two Buss, NLS Channels on the last slot on the channels. If you use NLS, take some time to find the channel number you like most on your instrument, they're all different.

With and without summing:

http://tangentedgeinstruments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/06-no-summing.mp3

Next – Two Buss EQ & Compression. To stay with the EMI TG12345, I placed Abbey Road TG12345 between NLS Buss and Vinyl. All it does is a little bass reduction, a small amount of slow parallel compression and a small boost at 10kHz, in that order. I like the sound of this plugin so much that I processed the overtone samples in the Sea Trumpets with them.

With and without TG12345 on the Two Buss:

http://tangentedgeinstruments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/04-no-TG12345-on-2-Buss.mp3

You might like excitement too, I added a small amount with Aphex Vintage Exciter after TG12345, another plugin I used for the Sea Trumpets.

With and without exciter:

http://tangentedgeinstruments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/05-no-exciter.mp3

More console emulation, like mic preamps, can be inserted after the gain or stereo plugins on the channels. I threw in more TG12345 in mid/side. I gave the Grandeur less bass in the side, more treble, faster parallel compression and different presence boosts in the mid and side. I gave the New York Grand less bass in the side, less treble, less 1.2kHz in the mid, a boost at 4.2kHz in the side and a little narrowing of the stereo image.

With and without TG12345 on the channels:

http://tangentedgeinstruments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/07-no-TG12345-on-channels.mp3

HP filtering and low shelf EQ-ing can be done with a plugin like VEQ4, an emulation of a Neve 1018 EQ. I gave the Grandeur a little more high boost.

With and without VEQ4:

http://tangentedgeinstruments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/08-no-VEQ4.mp3

Almost there. Tape-style saturation is one of the most important elements of 'analog' sound. I went for the J37, an emulation of a '65 Studer, after the VEQ4. NLS Channel follows the J37, so it's like the pianos are recorded through the desk and an outboard EQ to Tape and mixed on the same desk to vinyl, through an exciter.

With and without tape:

http://tangentedgeinstruments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/09-no-tape.mp3

Reverb. Route channels to one or more reverb busses. Plate reverb was the way to go for high quality productions in the 60s and 70s. The Abbey Road Plates sounds so good I processed reversed Sea Trumpets samples with it and reversed them back, aligned them to the original samples and added them to the instrument. Put an EQ before the reverb. I used a HP filter at 400Hz and a LP filter at 6kHz. You can also put another NLS channel on the reverb.

With and without reverb:

http://tangentedgeinstruments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/10-no-reverb.mp3

The mix should be done now, on to mastering. To get the optimal level for the Two Buss plugins, put a VU meter in the first slot and adjust the channel faders or replace the meter with a gain plugin after you know what adjustment to make. Tweak all plugins from first to last, add a limiter and a LUFS meter to raise the mix to the desired loudness. Keep an eye on the reduction meter in the limiter. If reduction is more then 3dB at some points it might be worth it to automate the gain or the fader of the channel that causes that peak and lower it around that point.

I used L316's EQ for a half a dB boost at 313Hz, by the way.

With and without L316’s EQ:

http://tangentedgeinstruments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/11-no-L316-EQ.mp3

That's it!

P.S. – I’m not being paid by Waves, I promise. I got more Waves plugins on my wish list though, so if you want to buy a Waves plugin or bundle, you can use this link to give us both a 10% discount.

Download this guide in pdf format:

    Foolproof method to gain staging | mixing

    October 11, 2016

    The first question I got about my mixing and mastering blog is about gain staging, so here goes…

    Don't use your peak meter for gain staging.

    In the digital realm the focus has been on peaks too much, that's because 0dBFS (FS = Full Scale, 0dBFS = maximum loudness of digital sound) and higher distorts while 16bit processing requires the highest level of audio possible to keep the audio far above the noise floor and digital distortion.

    Plugins, especially plugins that emulate hardware, are not designed for audio that's really loud. Even if your peaks are below -3dBFS before processing, your audio will usually come out worse after processing. So just record in 24bit, it has a wider dynamic range, the noise floor and digital distortion will stay low while processing. Digital processing has improved, your noise will be lower then in the analog days, even when peaks are below -12dBFS.

    Measuring peaks is only necessary to avoid clipping. Peaks say nothing about loudness, they are gone quickly, just causing tiny ripples. Some instruments can have peaks around -8dBFS and still sound softer then instruments with peaks around -18dBFS. It's what's around the peaks that matters, so what you need is a meter that measures more average loudness.

    VU meters (VU for Volume Unit) were designed for that in 1942. It takes 300ms for them to rise to the loudness level of your signal and 300ms to fall. VU meters are often added to recording equipment so you get the right loudness from the start. Different VU meters give slightly different results but that’s okay I guess. VU meters are usually calibrated at -18dBFS, meaning a test tone of -18dBFS will show as 0dBVU on a VU meter. That leaves 18dB of headroom for peaks! Peaks rarely go to 0dBFS if dBVU = 0, but VU meters need clipping indicators just in case.

    Here’s how you can gain stage: put a gain plugin in the first slot of your channel. If your DAW doesn’t have a gain plugin, Blue Cat Audio provides one for free.

    Put a VU meter in the second slot. I use Klanghelm VUMT or HoRNet VU Meter. The main advantage of the HoRNet VU Meter is that you can play a whole track and it will set the gain right for you. On my system it’s less reliable though, I often get different results. Klanghelm VUMT gives the same result every time but it doesn’t have a memory for the duration of a whole track. If you click on the led light, VUMT will show maximum dBVU values for about 2 seconds after they happen on the left of the led light.

    Loop the loudest part of your track. If the maximum dBVU level goes above zero, reduce the gain with the same amount. If you want a hotter signal, for more saturation and distortion in plugins that emulate analog hardware, you can allow maximum values of +3dB. It’s easy to overdo that though. You can tweak the gain in VUMT or let the HoRNet meter do it by itself. Try again. If the VU meter doesn’t go above the desired level and doesn’t clip, you’re probably done. Set the gain plugin at the same amount as the VU plugin and set the gain in the VU plugin back to zero. Run the whole track just in case you picked the wrong part and adjust the gain setting if needed. You can remove the VU meter, it’s set-and-forget.

    What you can also do, is automate the gain plugin to adjust the loudness per segment. Sometimes you want some segments to be louder or softer then others and sometimes it’s the other way around: segments are too loud or too soft and you want them as loud as the others. You can loop each segment, set the gain of each segment to your liking and check if the VU level doesn’t go above your desired level.

    You can use gain staging for Virtual Instruments like you would set the input gain of your hardware before you start recording. Virtual Instruments are often programmed too loud, which results in audio that’s too hot when you’re arranging. Turning the fader down 12dB will still make plugins clip and ruin your bounces, so it’s best to gain stage the instrument before you add it to the arrangement.

    I created a short midi file that you can download at the end of this blog. It triggers 88 notes twice at maximum velocity. It starts with all 8 A’s, B-flats, etcetera, then single notes chromatically. If the instrument is not full range and has key switches, disable or delete the notes in the midi file that are out of range first. You can play this file with a VU meter added to the channel and tweak the output level of the virtual instrument until it doesn’t go above 0dBVU. Then you can save the instrument or the channel in the folder structure that I described in my blog “the best way to organize your presets”. When you’re done with the arrangement you can gain stage again before bouncing the instrument to audio to get optimal loudness.

    That’s all for now. If you’ve got questions, post them here!

    Download this guide and the midi file in rtf format:

      The best way to organise your presets | sound libraries

      August 4, 2016

      No idea what sounds you have? Can’t find what you’re looking for?

      It’s not because you have too many sounds, you just didn’t organise them well enough.
      It’s so important to have them organised. You can get surprised and inspired by all the sounds you forgot you had while you’re already looking in the right place.

      What’s a good way? Create empty folders with the names of main categories of instruments and put it in the location where your software looks for presets. There are many ways to do this, I loosely based my categorisation on music scores and instrument classes:

      You can make these folders visible under the Factory Library tab in Kontakt 5 by dragging them into the “Instruments” folder in the Kontakt 5 Library folder.

      Don’t throw all your presets in there just yet, read on…
      Wind instruments should be wood, maybe, because brass and saxes are also wind instruments. But then again so are organs. But what are flutes doing in a wood category? They’re metal. There’s reed in the wood instrument class – clarinets, oboes, bassoons. But not saxophones, they’re reed AND brass and get a class on their own.

      Brass, saxophones and voices are easy. I put music boxes, thumb piano’s, synths, sound effects and sound design in the keyboard category.

      Pitched and unpitched percussion are easy. Gongs are tuned, tamtams are not!

      Plucked is for string instruments that are not bowed. So a plucked acoustic bass fits in there. Strings is easy.

      Inside the main categories I’ve got sub categories. Wind instruments has: 1 flutes, 2 oboes, 3 clarinets, 4 bassoons, bagpipes, harmonica’s, melodica’s, recorders, world wind instruments. The numbers are important in case you’re working on pieces for orchestra.

      Brass has: 1 French horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, 4 tuba, then flugelhorn, cornets, etc.

      Saxophones has: 1 mini sax, 2 soprano, 3 alto, 4 tenor, 5 baritone, 6 bass.

      My voices folder is a mess. I don’t use them often.

      My keyboard folder has: accordions, celesta’s, church organs, clavichords, digital pianos, electric organs, electric pianos, fx, grand pianos, harmoniums, harpsichords, loops, marxophones, mellotrons, music boxes, sound design, synthesizers, thumb pianos, upright pianos.

      Pitched percussion has: Bamblong, boomwhackers, carillons, bells, coffee pots, crotales, gamelan, glass, glockenspiel, gongs, hang drums, lithophone, marimba, steel drums, tibetan bowls, timpani, tongue drum, toy glockenspiel, tubular bells, vibraphone, xylophone, etc.

      Unpitched percussion has: bamboo poles, bassdrums & kicks, bongos, buffalo drums, cajon, calabash, casanets, Cathedral of Junk, clappers, claps, claves, claydrum, congas, cymbals, darbukas, djembes, drumkits, dunbeks, ewe, hammers, handles, hihats, kroboto, marching band, logdrums, snares, tabla, windchimes, etc.

      Plucked has balalaika, banjo, bass guitar, bouzouki, cavaquinho, canjo, guitars, harps, kora, koto, lutes, mandolines, sitars, etc.

      Strings: 1 violins, 10 viola’s, 11 celli, 12 double bass, combinations, world strings like hurdy gurdies.

      Wait for it…

      Inside some of these folders you need more folders. And in some of these folders more folders are needed. Violins, for example. You’ve got solo violins and you’ve got string sections. String sections often have presets for the first section or the second section of the orchestra. There are analog drumkits, digital drumkits, acoustic drumkits, there are great analog synth basses, digital synth pads, you can also sort synth sounds per synthesizer like I do. Love my Jupiter samples!

      Almost ready…

      Don’t do things two times that you only need to do once. Kontakt or whatever instrument you can manually organise presets for, is not the only program you can use the folder structure for. Make the folder structure extensive enough, store a backup and put the structure in the place your DAW looks at. For Logic it is: User/Library (make visible in Go drop down menu of the Finder by holding ALT)/Application Support/Logic/Channel Strip Settings/Instrument/

      You can copy the channel strip settings from the normal Library to that place if you want, or just add templates every time you use an instrument in Logic.

      Last two things: copy everything so you can tweak everything without losing the original files and settings. And set a timer, don’t spend more then half an hour per day on this, you’ve got other stuff to do.

      Go! Have fun!

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