The Producers Thread: Production Tips, Tricks, Techniques & Questions

Just hit my first mix with the new SSL bus comp that I just got. Holy s**t canned drums REALLY love this thing! For my first hardware comp this thing is a lot to take on but not even knowing what the hell Im doing with it, just running it thru and applying light compression makes things so much more 3D and musical. So happy I got this piece.
Do you keep it on your main bus or route it to specific tracks/busses? I'm planning on keeping my 500-series G Comp always active, but maybe 2dB of reduction max. Then tweak a bit if necessary on mixdown.
 
Do you keep it on your main bus or route it to specific tracks/busses? I'm planning on keeping my 500-series G Comp always active, but maybe 2dB of reduction max. Then tweak a bit if necessary on mixdown.

I think my first jump into hardware is going to be some 500-series stuff and whenever I start looking at what's out there, I tend to think in terms of 'always-on' stuff. Occasionally I start looking at mic pre's and getting all itchy fingered to buy something and then I find something else that seems to take precedence because I reason with myself that I have software versions of almost everything already.
 
Fully agree and for multiple reasons. The biggest reason; removing some options for the future allows you to just get the damn thing done instead of dicking with it forever. If I’m tracking something with delay on it, that delay is going to get printed in the track.

This and going for full takes from start to finish are two things left over from the tape days that I refuse to let go of. While I’ll punch in all over the place as I’m writing, when I go for the final takes I go for full takes. While not everyone can hear the small variances/changes throughout the song, I know they’re there and they go a long way in not making everything sound like a copy and paste.
I used to think this way and at the time it was the right way to think. You can definitely fall down the never ending guitar sound rabbit hole. For me, this was how I learned to get good sounds. Now I take a DI and reamp. Whether or not it’s thru a modeler or a physical amp depends on the project and my mood. I have gotten to the point I pretty much know what I’m going for and how to get there so even for editing purposes, it serves me to work this way.
 
I used to think this way and at the time it was the right way to think. You can definitely fall down the never ending guitar sound rabbit hole. For me, this was how I learned to get good sounds. Now I take a DI and reamp. Whether or not it’s thru a modeler or a physical amp depends on the project and my mood. I have gotten to the point I pretty much know what I’m going for and how to get there so even for editing purposes, it serves me to work this way.
Yes, but what happens when your record takes years and years to finish because you're too busy at your day job and suddenly all your guitar tones are hopelessly out of date? What, you mean I gotta re-record everything? ;)
 
Yes, but what happens when your record takes years and years to finish because you're too busy at your day job and suddenly all your guitar tones are hopelessly out of date? What, you mean I gotta re-record everything? ;)
funny you mention that. Just had a release drop with guitar tracks i recorded when my son was an infant. He just started his Jr year of high school.
 
funny you mention that. Just had a release drop with guitar tracks i recorded when my son was an infant. He just started his Jr year of high school.
Did you reamp everything? Since you take a DI and reamp, it seems there would be no need to re-record everything. Just reamp it or live with the original tones.
 
Did you reamp everything? Since you take a DI and reamp, it seems there would be no need to re-record everything. Just reamp it or live with the original tones.
Nope. WAY back then, I moved mics around until things sounded good. These guitars were miced with a 57 and a Beyer 201 on an Orange Rockerverb 50 locked away in a small spare bathroom. I had a Vintech 273 mic pre that sounded like god. These days I have 12 Apollo Pres and the Neve plugin sounds just as good to me. I tend to do that in the mix now after reamping.
 
I just remembered how you could afford all those amps. Flipping PS5's.
If I had to rely on PS5 money I’d be at the food pantry, not buying 4K dollar amps. Besides, they’ve made it nearly impossible to get them unless you join some kind of marketing club which I’m not doing just to get a PS5 so in short, it was fun while it lasted.
 
Thanks Ill check it out on the weekend (y)

I am an eternal recording noob because I cant find the time to really soak it all up. I will tell you Mixcraft has done wonders for me. It's inexpensive, has tons of built in quality plugs and can do audio and video in one shot. People have called it GarageBand for PC but I think it's much more powerful than that but super easy to use. The 3 people I know that took the plunge after I suggested it all thanked me vociferously.
 
i am a total bonehead when it comes to recording, but i can just say this: get a great sound and start with great mike placement. a single mike, up close, is all you need to get great tones.

don't get messed and tripped up with all the options out there.

a good engineer can use a simply well-recorded tone. i should post recordings of what i recorded as raw files and then the finished product.
 
Been deep diving into Production and Mixing in different eras and genres of music the past week.
Listening is its own form of practice and learning, right?? :idk

Anyways, some conclusions I have drawn---maybe a bit prematurely---is that there is not really any
one method of production/mixing that is used universally. Some of the older stuff sounds great because
there are fewer tracks and more space for each individual instrument to breathe. Some of the newer
stuff sounds congested and bloated----because of ALL the tracks used and how little space there is.

It really makes me think about how to approach production, and how many different little decisions
there are along the way that impact the result.

The 80s loved the snare and guitar. So loud and in your face.

2000s-2020s and the bass gets buried a lot in mixes. Added subharmonic bass makes up
for it. I guess.

70s had a nice balance where it seems to my ears a lot went into making each part count.
Didn't have 128 tracks, and also were not limited to 8. May have been the golden era of
production. Or I am dating myself.

Just a really interesting experience to listen to music from one era back to back from music
from another era and only think about the Production and how a track is mixed. Really
enlightening. For me. :beer
 
Been deep diving into Production and Mixing in different eras and genres of music the past week.
Listening is its own form of practice and learning, right?? :idk

Anyways, some conclusions I have drawn---maybe a bit prematurely---is that there is not really any
one method of production/mixing that is used universally. Some of the older stuff sounds great because
there are fewer tracks and more space for each individual instrument to breathe. Some of the newer
stuff sounds congested and bloated----because of ALL the tracks used and how little space there is.

It really makes me think about how to approach production, and how many different little decisions
there are along the way that impact the result.

The 80s loved the snare and guitar. So loud and in your face.

2000s-2020s and the bass gets buried a lot in mixes. Added subharmonic bass makes up
for it. I guess.

70s had a nice balance where it seems to my ears a lot went into making each part count.
Didn't have 128 tracks, and also were not limited to 8. May have been the golden era of
production. Or I am dating myself.

Just a really interesting experience to listen to music from one era back to back from music
from another era and only think about the Production and how a track is mixed. Really
enlightening. For me. :beer
The general over compressed into a limit era? Is that now still or is it better nowdays?

I agree with you, its interesting… was just the other day comparing “post-rock” from different times, and to my ears… early -95 to 2005, it sounded much more clear and refined, but also more naked. Mono recordings, hard panned… stereo is in the interaction between musicians… huge reverbs and delays but always mono and panned. Now… most of it lean towards huge production stuff.
 
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I love the contrast of hearing different eras of music, @the swede . Reminds me that the absolutes
and "this is how you should do things" is just a bunch of BS. It is all a choice. The amount of room
to leave, or not leave. The spaces to fill or not fill. How far forward certain instruments are mixed and
others are buried.

There is no fundamentally correct way to approach any of it. :idk
 
I love the contrast of hearing different eras of music, @the swede . Reminds me that the absolutes
and "this is how you should do things" is just a bunch of BS. It is all a choice. The amount of room
to leave, or not leave. The spaces to fill or not fill. How far forward certain instruments are mixed and
others are buried.

There is no fundamentally correct way to approach any of it. :idk
I would add that the "right way" to mix is based on the intended audience. Are you mixing for yourself? Great, then you are the final judge of whether it is right! Are you mixing for an audience? Great, then it is right when they like it! Are you mixing for a record company demo? Great, then it is right when you get that record contract! Like many here, I am mixing to what I think sounds good and if others are on board, that is icing on the cake!
 
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