The more I watch these videos, the more I realize something Ive always known; the players, instruments, and tracking is what really sets the pro recordings apart. Their stuff always sounds 10 times better than average before they touch a single button.
The distortion vs aggression concept might seem like common sense when you hear him say it, but it's honestly such a beautiful little epiphany as a beginner in mixing.
I think guitar players have an advantage when it comes to this kind of stuff. Every guitarist knows the “not too much distortion or you use definition” trick there.
I would love a tutorial from Andrew on how the hell he mixed the snare from Dani California by Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I've been chasing that snare my whole life.
Have you ever considered getting the same snare, drumsticks, and studio ambience that they actually used to record that? Thats why you havent reached that sound yet. Its not about processing, most important thing is WHAT you record and HOW you do it :D
i actually just figured out that attack thing myself with my own guitar playing. i noticed some recordings had that attack, but i couldnt replicate it, well, i was trying to strum harder to get it, but in doing so, i was getting further and further away from what i wanted. now, i play in such a way that i allow the amp and distortion to do its thing, and instead try to play softer and with more control so that the initial attack doesnt get drowned out. that was my theory anyway, and i guess i was actually right! edit: i think where exactly i choose to strum matters as well
I notice that the input signal when he gets to the Kramer HLS (5:29) is clipping. I always thought that you were supposed to avoid clipping and overloading plugins in the digital domain no? Or am I wrong on this?
You're usually ok on a plugin when the VU is in the red. A lot of plugins nowadays even model the analog distortion when pushed and may be an effect you're looking for. Like Boba said, 0db on the VU may actually be -12dbfs.
I love Andrew but can't bear that record. natural super dense in your face rock... instruments sitting so weird. strange feeling although I love Andrew usually.
Great vid, the best part to me is 3:14 as much as I have wanted to add distortion to my bass I just never like it in the mix. As he says the sound of the pick on the strings (how I play - just like Dirnt) really adds aggression and even rhythmic element imo and I see now as he points out the distortion masks that pick attack and rhythm. Like Scheps I use the UAD fatso and also have the UAD Ampeg SVT plugin and both are unbelievably good. I record direct and always add the SVT plugin but I think now I'll try running a DI track in parallel with a duplicated track that has the SVT enabled. I also recently picked up a Bassman plugin too for use when I don't have my UAD plugged in ... only to realize as he mentions it's a much dirtier more distorted amp sound. Not a big fan of it but there might be an occasion to use it or maybe just a little in parallel as well?
To me you really want the best of both. As you say if you want the high mids of the bass then you can just blend them in from a DI to taste - until you can hear them above the distortion.
Does anyone know if he used crossover hi/lo pass filters on the DI/Amps*, or did he literally just blend them all together. *i.e. low-passing the DI to 200hz and then high-passing the amps to 200hz so that you can have control of everything before 200hz on the DI, and everything above that on the amps separately?
yes ok, Mr Scheps, but listineing to "Heavy Soul" by Youmeatsix.....I dotn relaly care about the song, but I just love this porduction and hav it as one of many in mixreference. How do you get this bass on the referain, is that some synh bass, in adittion there, goin on ? I can replicate the vers. which I recorded actually, just , slomt the same .Someone ?
Every time I see Andrew working with the Helios or any product that has an oldschool needle VU meter it is full-on in the red, you can’t even see the needle moving. It’s stuck to the 0 mark. (or the maximum value if the meter goes higher). To me it doesn’t look like “academic” gain staging but everyone knows he masters his tools so there must be a reason to hit the input so hard isn’t there? 😅
If I got this bass performance to mix, I would probably waste hours trying to fix all the rhythmic inconsistencies. Leaving them in can actually be a part of the character and excitement of the part. (split, move, copy, paste, tweak, split, move, paste, tweak, tweak... only to end up removing the human-ness from the music!)
When someone says something is great it really skips over a pretty long investment and process that’s been given towards the project. Most projects don’t take the time on the front end to get it right.
Крутое видео наглядно демонстрирующее как громкость влияет на наше восприятие. Эквалайзер от вейвс звучит просто громче чем bypassed сигнал и создается ощущение что он улучшает . И все это преподносится как какая-то особая магия конкретного плагина. Кароче вообще не понял про что этот видос. Где тут сведение баса? С чем он его сводит?
One would assume he’s done his homework before shooting the video.. Everything he says screams it’s about how it sounds, not how it looks on the screen..
I'm always disappointed when I find out every instrument is colored beyond what a live sound can get, kinda like dual guitars and backing vocals on a 3 piece band with no live back ups.
@Ryan, that's cool for what it is. And yeah Green Day is bubble-gum punk for sure, I'm not a fan of the band but I am a fan of Mike Dirnt. He's a good bass player and obviously the sound the band has always gone for and write for is bright and poppy. Here the bass is almost like a second, deeper guitar, or like a baritone guitar. A real fat, dark, dirty bass would sound ridiculous in green day.
Only one of the most crappy Pop so called punk bands ever how they get the radio play and concert tours is a joke . The singer if you can call him that is about as boring as a can of peas.
Totally subjective to me when you have a real good musician who can play and read music you don't need to fix it or add something .....And in rock and pop music there no maybe a few very good musician ...
Totally subjective - to me the EQ pushes it all even more into a scooped out SVT style sound. Awhile ago I wasn't sure I wanted an Ampeg SVT sound myself for my bass tracks but I've grown to really love that sound - partly because it just cuts through a mix better.
You’re full of it Shlep 😂 You hype plugins from companies your paid to advertise! Meanwhile plugins or not. You’re ALWAYS still going thru a very expensive console and very expensive hardware. Try ditching the console and all the hardware for the rest of your career, own your word and mix only in the box with all your favorite plugins. You won’t because your mixes will sound average or above average depending on how good the tracks were recorded that you’re presented with to mix with. 😉 And all these kids are so fooled by you thinking with your plugin choices there mixes will truly come out sounding like yours. 😂😂😂😂✌🏻
Cal Kelly for life? I doubt it. Yeah to promote his plugins and other companies plugins. I’ll believe when he TH-cam’s himself selling his console and every piece of hardware and NEVER hooks a session in a professional recording studio.
Derek Irons he's done numerous talks on why he's completely ITB now, and his console is in someone else's studio cos he uses it so little. I've also seen him use plugins he has no affiliation with in tutorials when they're right for something. Seems like a genuine guy to me. Also, what would be the point of him doing a tutorial on a console none of the audience could afford to use? You can take his ideas and apply them to any plugins you have/want. The idea of a .7k or 1k lift for presence on bass works no matter the plugin, but the hls sounds great for it, and Bob Power thinks so, too. But maybe they're both wrong and you know better.
David Cantan yes I’m NOT sheep n a groupie like you are. Then his mixes will always suck sounding brittle n thin. NO THANKS. And anyone who thinks Green Turd is worth mixing let alone liking is as trite as Green 💩.
Scheps is a boss! Thanks for the quality content here. I'm subscribing.
thank you for the kind words
The more I watch these videos, the more I realize something Ive always known; the players, instruments, and tracking is what really sets the pro recordings apart. Their stuff always sounds 10 times better than average before they touch a single button.
You are so right. People are obsessed with mixing tips. NOBODY talks about production!
The distortion vs aggression concept might seem like common sense when you hear him say it, but it's honestly such a beautiful little epiphany as a beginner in mixing.
as a beginner, I kind of can relate
I love how the meter is pinned in the red, but its not even something that he's concerned with because IT SOUNDS FUCKING GREAT.
This is the best bass tone I've heard. Grit for days!!
Andrew Scheps is really great. His didactiv way of teaching us mixing is awesome.
I think guitar players have an advantage when it comes to this kind of stuff. Every guitarist knows the “not too much distortion or you use definition” trick there.
that hls hits the red as soon as it's engaged and i think that helps the tone a lot.
What a clear communicator🔑
This is the best explanation of getting good sounding bass on a recording that I’ve heard! Saving this video.
but what if you need electronic bass? let's say 808
You should do a Mark Hoppus bass sound, his bass tone is insane.
Secret is a kemper and a shit ton of compression.
there is actually a cool puremix vid featuring a walk through of Blink-182's obvious!
I would love a tutorial from Andrew on how the hell he mixed the snare from Dani California by Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I've been chasing that snare my whole life.
I've never thought about that being a fan first. But it sounds almost like it's discreetly gated how it's big but doesn't ring out for long.
Have you ever considered getting the same snare, drumsticks, and studio ambience that they actually used to record that? Thats why you havent reached that sound yet. Its not about processing, most important thing is WHAT you record and HOW you do it :D
Dani California tho? I personally think the drums in BSSM sound much, much better. And it was recorded at the same studio as Stadium Arcadium.
When the DI sounds better than my finished tracks, welp
Hahaha I thought the same thing
I’m with you!
change your strings and get a new set of pickups! That’ll change your sound completely.
i actually just figured out that attack thing myself with my own guitar playing. i noticed some recordings had that attack, but i couldnt replicate it, well, i was trying to strum harder to get it, but in doing so, i was getting further and further away from what i wanted. now, i play in such a way that i allow the amp and distortion to do its thing, and instead try to play softer and with more control so that the initial attack doesnt get drowned out. that was my theory anyway, and i guess i was actually right!
edit: i think where exactly i choose to strum matters as well
Andrew onena zara! You are the best!
What does the "Saul" in the guitar tracks mean?
4:59 The golden nugget right here
The bass we hear in the final mix is the bass mixbuss or a blend between the bass mixbuss and the individual bass tracks?
Doc Cohen: You have 6:03 minutes to live
me:
I notice that the input signal when he gets to the Kramer HLS (5:29) is clipping. I always thought that you were supposed to avoid clipping and overloading plugins in the digital domain no? Or am I wrong on this?
norepetitivebeats it may clip but it doesent mean its distorting. as long as theres no distortion have the volume as loud as possible
You're usually ok on a plugin when the VU is in the red. A lot of plugins nowadays even model the analog distortion when pushed and may be an effect you're looking for. Like Boba said, 0db on the VU may actually be -12dbfs.
As long it' doesn't squashed..you're good to go...
as long as the master track isn't clipping the signals can appear to clip but not be.
Fuck the rules
Revolution Radio is the first Green Day record since Warning to not have Chris Lord-Alge as mixer.
Good
I love Andrew but can't bear that record. natural super dense in your face rock... instruments sitting so weird. strange feeling although I love Andrew usually.
@@Journeymanlive Great engineer but does well with more organic styles and artists
@@JakeAntelis does "not" ?
@@Journeymanlive i was agreeing with what you wrote, i feel that green day is not a good fit for his laid back style.
The production is soo good that he didnt do substrative eq.But for us home studio guys,substractive eq is must
Nice thanks for your feedback !!! !
Great vid, the best part to me is 3:14 as much as I have wanted to add distortion to my bass I just never like it in the mix. As he says the sound of the pick on the strings (how I play - just like Dirnt) really adds aggression and even rhythmic element imo and I see now as he points out the distortion masks that pick attack and rhythm. Like Scheps I use the UAD fatso and also have the UAD Ampeg SVT plugin and both are unbelievably good. I record direct and always add the SVT plugin but I think now I'll try running a DI track in parallel with a duplicated track that has the SVT enabled. I also recently picked up a Bassman plugin too for use when I don't have my UAD plugged in ... only to realize as he mentions it's a much dirtier more distorted amp sound. Not a big fan of it but there might be an occasion to use it or maybe just a little in parallel as well?
To me you really want the best of both. As you say if you want the high mids of the bass then you can just blend them in from a DI to taste - until you can hear them above the distortion.
Does anyone know if he used crossover hi/lo pass filters on the DI/Amps*, or did he literally just blend them all together.
*i.e. low-passing the DI to 200hz and then high-passing the amps to 200hz so that you can have control of everything before 200hz on the DI, and everything above that on the amps separately?
yes ok, Mr Scheps, but listineing to "Heavy Soul" by Youmeatsix.....I dotn relaly care about the song, but I just love this porduction and hav it as one of many in mixreference. How do you get this bass on the referain, is that some synh bass, in adittion there, goin on ? I can replicate the vers. which I recorded actually, just , slomt the same .Someone ?
I haven't even watched this yet and I already know it's fucking gold. Thank you!!
Hope you will get to watch it at some point!! cheers
legend
Every time I see Andrew working with the Helios or any product that has an oldschool needle VU meter it is full-on in the red, you can’t even see the needle moving. It’s stuck to the 0 mark. (or the maximum value if the meter goes higher). To me it doesn’t look like “academic” gain staging but everyone knows he masters his tools so there must be a reason to hit the input so hard isn’t there? 😅
Woah this is better than mix with masters
Plugins aren't in unity gain, which makes before/after comparison useless. Everything sounds better when volume rises.
Et voilà ! 🎸
I noticed that the VU pointer of the EQ kramer HLS was clipping, hitting the red, is that normal?
It doesn't really matter on a channel. What matters is the master bus.
If I got this bass performance to mix, I would probably waste hours trying to fix all the rhythmic inconsistencies. Leaving them in can actually be a part of the character and excitement of the part. (split, move, copy, paste, tweak, split, move, paste, tweak, tweak... only to end up removing the human-ness from the music!)
There's a difference between human inconsistencies and actual mistakes. Even then, small mistakes add life to the recording, so just leave them in.
That's not a mixing engineers job. The clue is in the title "MIX"....
Cool!
When someone says something is great it really skips over a pretty long investment and process that’s been given towards the project. Most projects don’t take the time on the front end to get it right.
Anyone know why it sounds like parts of the track are jumping around? Sounds like some of the notes have gaps or are being cut-off?
It's your room that's not acoustically treated. In my studio it's clear as day.
Крутое видео наглядно демонстрирующее как громкость влияет на наше восприятие. Эквалайзер от вейвс звучит просто громче чем bypassed сигнал и создается ощущение что он улучшает . И все это преподносится как какая-то особая магия конкретного плагина. Кароче вообще не понял про что этот видос. Где тут сведение баса? С чем он его сводит?
notification squad 💪
min haj right on!
Dude has a $300k neve behind him and he prefers using $40 plug ins. Damn technology
We need these stems
Green Day. Green beard.
I don't understand the idea of Eqing without listening to the track.
One would assume he’s done his homework before shooting the video.. Everything he says screams it’s about how it sounds, not how it looks on the screen..
This guy is a pro mix engineer with years of experience, so he'll just know how it will sound.
I'm always disappointed when I find out every instrument is colored beyond what a live sound can get, kinda like dual guitars and backing vocals on a 3 piece band with no live back ups.
well yeah, if you were to only track drums, one guitar, a bass, vocals and maybe backing vocals, with no processing it would not sound very good
Sounds like he's playing with a metal pick.
It sounds really thin for a bass tone. You don't really hear the fundamental tones of the bass itself.
You're absolutely right Ectoplasmic36! I've played bass for decades and this sounds thin, wimpy, lifeless. Just crap.
You're correct longtimebassist because as we all know there is only one right way of doing things in music.
@Ryan, that's cool for what it is. And yeah Green Day is bubble-gum punk for sure, I'm not a fan of the band but I am a fan of Mike Dirnt. He's a good bass player and obviously the sound the band has always gone for and write for is bright and poppy. Here the bass is almost like a second, deeper guitar, or like a baritone guitar. A real fat, dark, dirty bass would sound ridiculous in green day.
Only one of the most crappy Pop so called punk bands ever how they get the radio play and concert tours is a joke . The singer if you can call him that is about as boring as a can of peas.
Schep thinks this bass groove is an exciting performance my has the bar been so lowered now for ants to crawl under the bar🤮
I think it sounds like shit like a bad amp
all mid. where is da bass?
Totally subjective to me when you have a real good musician who can play and read music you don't need to fix it or add something .....And in rock and pop music there no maybe a few very good musician ...
so wrong lol
what a stupid ignorant comment
Killed the bass sound by HLS. Lost the clearness
I think it sounds fuller, and in context it might support the guitars better.
Totally subjective - to me the EQ pushes it all even more into a scooped out SVT style sound. Awhile ago I wasn't sure I wanted an Ampeg SVT sound myself for my bass tracks but I've grown to really love that sound - partly because it just cuts through a mix better.
You’re full of it Shlep 😂
You hype plugins from companies your paid to advertise! Meanwhile plugins or not. You’re ALWAYS still going thru a very expensive console and very expensive hardware. Try ditching the console and all the hardware for the rest of your career, own your word and mix only in the box with all your favorite plugins. You won’t because your mixes will sound average or above average depending on how good the tracks were recorded that you’re presented with to mix with. 😉 And all these kids are so fooled by you thinking with your plugin choices there mixes will truly come out sounding like yours. 😂😂😂😂✌🏻
You do realise Andy is going in the box now?
Cal Kelly for life? I doubt it. Yeah to promote his plugins and other companies plugins. I’ll believe when he TH-cam’s himself selling his console and every piece of hardware and NEVER hooks a session in a professional recording studio.
Derek Irons he's done numerous talks on why he's completely ITB now, and his console is in someone else's studio cos he uses it so little. I've also seen him use plugins he has no affiliation with in tutorials when they're right for something. Seems like a genuine guy to me. Also, what would be the point of him doing a tutorial on a console none of the audience could afford to use? You can take his ideas and apply them to any plugins you have/want. The idea of a .7k or 1k lift for presence on bass works no matter the plugin, but the hls sounds great for it, and Bob Power thinks so, too. But maybe they're both wrong and you know better.
David Cantan yes I’m NOT sheep n a groupie like you are.
Then his mixes will always suck sounding brittle n thin. NO THANKS.
And anyone who thinks Green Turd is worth mixing let alone liking is as trite as Green 💩.
Hey bro, you're work is great, I'd really appreciate it if you could mix my album for me.
...things Derek will never ever hear anyone say to him.
Nothing to learn here.