Paul Vnuk Jr.

Oddly I have been a Cubase/Nuendo user forever and rarely do I do a ton of MIDI...often I regret never jumping on the ProTools train decades ago. But these days I just know Cubase so well, I can work really fast, and I like its built-in (auto-tune-style) editing and other well-integrated features.

I first posted this in Kuru's "Process #1 Drums or Bass louder post" but it belongs here so: My typical bass chain is to take one channel direct through a good preamp and get a clean, strong capture with the tone controls on the instrument set appropriate to the track, then, I will also track the bass through an amp (or reamp it after the client has left). Then I phase align the two in the computer. Usually, I will then sum both to the same channel and run it through a high-pass filter and a tube compressor (usually opto). Sometimes when I don't have one or am too lazy to mic one up, I will use an amp sim in parallel to the dry DI take (usually a UA or IK Ampeg)...lately though I have been living with a DI if its for more modern music styles VS jazz or classic rock (then its almost all amp and no DI). The biggest thing I have learned for myself about recording bass is not to overwork it in the mix. I rarely EQ it after the initial capture. I try and sculpt the tone on the way in and let it be what it will be. Usually, I am leaning on the EQ on the amp or I use a simple High-pass filter and gentle tilt EQ to massage the tone.

Nice mic setup. The T-Funk M80 is such a great snare mic!

It gets worse before it gets better.

For drum recording, I have done everything from large prog-rock kits with darn near every drum and cymbal miked. I have also done sessions with 3 mics on a whole kit. Whenever possible (meaning when a client will let me), I almost always prefer 4 mics tops on a drum kit––typically kick, snare, and overheads in a Glyn Johns setup. I mix sound live weekly, and there on a 4-piece kit, I use 7 mics. Kick, snare top and bottom, 2-toms, 2 overheads only about 1.5' up. As far as mics, on toms, I have tried dozens of mics from Telefunken, Sennheiser, Audix, Shure and Audio-Technica, only to come back to the realization the Sennheiser MD-421 is THE ultimate tom mic (although on a really vibey indy rock kit, I do like using Audix D-6 mics on both toms. For a more aggressive punk rock kick, I like the Audix D-6. For more vintage classic rock, I like the Audio Technica ATM25. The Telefunken M82 is a great all-rounder, as is the newer AKG D12VR (oddly, I have never been a fan of the AKG D112). I like the Shure Beta 52 on kick live, but not so much in the studio. My all-time favorite kick mic, however, is the DPA 4055. It's also hard to argue with a Neumann FET47 about 6" to 1' outside the kick drum––sometimes things are classics for a reason. For snare, I use an SM57 60% of the time, a Telefunken M80 30% of the time and an old ElectroVoice RE-15 10% of the time. Hi-Hat...unless a client specifically asks for it, I just cannot bring myself to mic a hi-hat...that's what overheads are for. If and when I do mic a hi-hat or a ride for that matter I use an AKG C451B. For overheads, it depends on my mood. I have used AKG C414XLS, Neumann KM84, Lauten Atlantis, Lauten Eden, Telefunken AR-51 (Now TF51), sE VR-1, AEA R44C... Usually, though for set-it-and-forget-it spaced overheads, I use a pair of Roswell Mini K47 or for vintage Glyn Johns tones, I like a pair of Cloud Mics 44 ribbon mics. My usual stereo room mic of choice is an AEA Stereo R88, and for mono drum room, I use an AEA R44C or a Chandler REDD Mic. Then I might add in a compressed Placid Audio Copperphone or Resonator.

For client projects, I will do scratch tracks typically with midi and virtual instruments––Superior Drummer, Ez Bass, Kontakt, Pianoteq. Usually, this is with the hope and or expectation that they will be replaced and re-played by real players and real instruments. In these cases, I am typically creating looped sections like a verse or chorus. When I create my own tribal ambient tracks, I sketch blindly––maybe setting up a sequence on a Moog Subharmonicon or DFAM, or it could be doing live real-time looping with a hardware synth into a Looperlative LP-1 and effects pedals. While I call these sketches, it's almost always with the expectation that they will form a finished composition that I then continue to add layers to. Now actually finishing one of these sketches and declaring it a finished song...that's a whole different story.

Re-wire your studio, they said...it will be fun, they said!

Great spaces everyone! Thanks for sharing

My typical bass chain is to take one channel direct through a good preamp and get a clean, strong capture with the tone controls on the instrument set appropriate to the track, then I will also track the bass through an amp (or reamp it after the client has left). Then I phase align the two in the computer. Usually I will then sum both to the same channel and run it through a high-pass filter and a tube compressor (usually opto). The biggest thing I have learned for myself about recording bass is not to overwork it in the mix. I rarely EQ it after the initial capture, I try and sculpt the tone on the way in and let it be what it will be.

I can only speak from experience, especially if you are doing corporate gigs then getting something industry standard and versatile is wise. In the past I have spent many years chasing and getting lured into "cheaper, quirky, vibey, uncommon" gear. 75% of it I have long sold, and every time I have heard and used an industry standard piece if gear (LA-2A, 1176LN, DBX-160, Distressor) my brain and ears quickly go "ah, so that's the sound I was chasing."

True, that’s why I recommend both within your budget. But space is space 😁 It would be $100’sh over budget, but you could get a pair of what is considered to be the most versatile compressor of all time. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ELI8M--empirical-labs-el8-distressor Don’t worry about not getting the Brit mod. Unless you like to crush the heck out of stuff, I have had one for 15 years and I never use the Brit mod setting. Back to the Daking for a moment, don’t let its simplicity fool you though, it’s an amazing compressor and I love it on spoken word and vocals. It’s almost impossible to get a bad sound with it.

It would blow your rackspace allotment, but not your budget. I would get these two compressors: For your FET/optical needs: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/B172A--black-lion-audio-b172a-fet-optical-compressor And for an amazing set it and forget it, yet really versatile VCA compressor: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/CompII--daking-comp-ii-stereo-vca-compressor Seriously, with these two stereo/dual mono compressors you would cover a lot of ground.

Really cool and simple. Nice job!

One significant difference between AI-generated art and the "we have been stealing and borrowing" from other artists argument fails to acknowledge on some level is that, as a musician or a painter, you need to practice and build up a skill level and eventually, some mastery of the craft in order to create something whether that is inspired by past works or not. I expect the following statement to be unpopular: AI art, at its core, takes zero skill. It's a toss-off for those who are too lazy to try and master something. I say that because ALL great art from the beginning of time took risk, chance, serendipity, skill and usually large amounts of failure, over and over and over. We as a society need to get past the notion that EVERYBODY needs to be GOOD at EVERYTHING. I cannot play guitar. Is that anyone else's fault? No. It's mine for never sticking through with lessons. Can't read music? No one's problem but my own. Can't mix in Atmos? Can't paint a picture? Same thing. I am thinking about taking up pottery. Would I rather make a bowl or a mug with my own hands after multiple failed attempts, or would I rather have AI generate it for me? I guess I'm a hardliner, but I have always been against the democratization of art, music, literature or video. If it is worth doing, it's worth putting in the blood, sweat and tears to grapple with it. Even if you never perfect it, it's the journey of discovery. That's what AI generated anything in an instant gratification, everyone should be able to do it society is robbing us of...in effect, the human experience has always been about striving, learning and growth. Can AI art inspire or push someone past "writers block?" Maybe, but writers block is arguably part of the process, throw your own ideas at the wall in frustration until something sticks. The danger is that AI art can become a drug. "hey the computer generated what I wanted, its good enough, now I don't have to do it...yeah!!!" I am quite sure many will disagree with me, though, thats ok, its just an alternate view.

What is the single most crucial piece of gear in any studio? While this question could quickly spark much debate, monitors are certainly at the top. This, of course, is this month's topic––speakers, headphones, IEMs, monitoring software, room treatments and more; it's all here in the February issue of RECORDING Magazine. Reviews We are jam-packed this month with fifteen product reviews. We have eight monitors on deck this month in all shapes, sizes, styles and price points. From Focal, we have the latest generation Solo 6 ST6. From Meyer Sound, we listen to the Amie. We have the new A7V from Adam, the Image 2 from Fluid Audio, and 5C Active Super Sound Cube from Auratone. On the portable front, we pack up and go with the KRK GoAux4 and the Epic 4 from ReProducer Audio Labs. Finally, we head to Atlanta for a tour and to get acquainted with the latest studio monitors from Danley Sound Labs. In the headphone department, we get our "ears on" the Audeze MM-500 (otherwise known as Manny's headphones) and the eXtra 10 from ESI, which ship with the Realphones software from dSONIQ. We also check out the SuperMoon IEMs from Campfire Audio, and since headphones love a good headphone amp, we bring you Purity from DACS. To help control your low-end, we test out the Turbo Trap from GIK Acoustics. We round out our reviews with the just-released Sonible Metering Bundle and the Toolbox Listen Hub from Sonnox. Interview Named for a classic guitar amplifier, GA-20 is a Boston-born trio steeped in the sounds of vintage Chicago blues, 60s R&B, and gritty classic rock. Uniquely the band feature twin guitars, vocals, drums, and no bass. Editor Paul Vnuk Jr. sits down with guitarist and producer Matthew Stubbs and engineers Matthew Beaudin and Pat DiCenso to find out how they created their latest release, Crackdown. Features Like last month, our second interview comes from Mark Hornsny's Inside The Studio column as Mark goes into the studio and the stage to explore the sounds of Shinedown. Join us as Mark talks with FOH engineer Andy Meyer and the band's bassist Eric Bass who mixed and produced the band's latest album, Planet Zero. Joe Albano is back with the new Studio 101. Class is in session on monitors and monitoring. Learn about monitor selection, placement, speaker size, "best practices," and more. In Session Log, producer Marc Urselli continues his look at the Trasfrontera sessions. This time Marc travels to Mexico, bringing us some unique South American instruments and more. Finally, Aaron Trumm asks us to consider why monitoring matters. That's a lot to monitor. Check out the February issue of RECORDING Magazine.

Last week I got to sit and hear some great purpose-done Atmos mixes in an actual Atmos mixing room in LA. Matt Wallace and Will Kennedy are both at the forefront of this technology and processes, and they are doing themselves with affordable monitoring and really embracing the technology. They are doing a ton of major label remix work, and the Atmos mixes I heard of the B-52s, Faith No More, The Replacements, Dio and some upcoming classic 90s metal were pretty humbling. That said, these guys are "serve the music types" vs. "fly crap around the room, let's get crazy types". That said, surprisingly, my favorite mix they played was a ground-up, tracked with Atmos in mind, an almost Zappa-esque prog-fusion track, and the drums, rather than being in the front of the room like at a convert, were all around you...almost like you were sitting at the kit. I will say it actually worked really well and added a new dimension that I only typically hear as a drummer.

Thanks for all of the replies, everyone. Great stuff! I am kind of multiple minds regarding plugins. Here I am speaking strictly of the effects and processing variety. Just like tracks are tracks and stems are stems (a discussion for another day), in my mind, plugins are plugins, and virtual instruments are virtual instruments–––always render the latter to audio as a safeguard, by the way. As a sound designer of 30 years, I have tons of soft synths that are gone, no longer updateable, and cannot run on current computers––perhaps why I lean more on hardware synths 75% of the time. Thought #1 Plugins should be a tool but not a make-or-break mix element. In other words, should I want a classic FET-style compressor, I should be a good enough engineer to use the UA1176LN one day, the Wave CLA the next, the Softube FET, The Slate, or even the stock offering in my DAW. Sure, you can argue that you like one over the other. Still, it's ultimately no different than the days of going into an analog studio and mixing through a Neve console with a vintage Blue Face 1176 on the lead vocal one day and then pulling up the mix at an API studio a few weeks later with an 1176LN. The sound will definitely be different, but it should never be so different that it becomes prohibitive to the final mix. Thought #2 At the end of every mix session, render those tracks! If you like the sound of a specific plugin or effects chain, you have going render it to a separate track, keep the dry, and you should be covered in any scenario. Most DAWs make rendering in place very easy. Thought #3 Warning-old man, get off my lawn statement ahead! Maybe don't use so many plugins? Most of the greatest mixes of all time (in my opinion) had maybe 3-4 compressors tops on the whole mix––they did not have an 1176 or La 2 a on every channel. Plus, channel EQ was limited. Yes, FabFilter is indeed Fab, but do you really need to EQ the hell out of every channel with adaptive EQ? If so, perhaps there are issues elsewhere. Thought #4 If you find a killer reverb, delay or effects process that you feel is integral to the vibe of a mix or the presentation of the song...always always always render a safety copy. Ok, those are my thoughts for today.

The plug-in hoarding topic got me thinking—do we (do I) do this with gear? Do I, can I, can you have too much gear? How and when is it time to hold ‘em and when is it time to fold ‘em and purge the gear…synths? Processor? Mics? Pedals?

Do we think that one plus of Atmos is that it opens up a new avenue of income for artists who can now schedule/tour specialized listening events of albums new and old in purpose designed Atmos theaters? I know many of us "rage against the machine" at having to actually pay for music and equipment, but on the artists need to make money to create worthwhile art, perhaps this is one new positive outcome of the whole Atmos thing. Plus if the artist is there at said event for story telling or a QA it fosters a personal connection with fans.

The plugin hoarder's anonymous thread got me thinking about a similarly related topic. How beholden should we be to specific (or any) plugins in a mix? Recently there was a bit of a "dust-up" with a popular plugin company when they accidentally gave away a bunch of free plugins and then, a month later, took them back. Many people lamented that they had mixes hinging on the use of said plugins, and now they were screwed. While I understand the frustration and workflow speed bump, it got me thinking, are we too reliant on particular plugins in our mixes? Say you are working on a mix over a long period of time, or perhaps you want/need to remix a song a few years after its creation. Now you no longer subscribe to a plugin subscription, or you forgot to re-up your WUP, or maybe you sold the hardware required to run specific DSP plugins? Perhaps the older plugins are no longer compatible with your current OS? Or, worse case, the company has folded? How screwed is your mix now? What do you do? You could have/should have rendered the processes and at least had a starting point...but let's say you forgot. What now? Before I weigh in with my thoughts, I am curious to hear yours.

Hello my name is Paul and I have a plugin addiction. But like many of you, I ultimately end up reaching for the same 5-7 in most mixes...yet I am the first one to grab new ones when they are released and stuff my plugin folder full.

You said a key thing @Dave Bryce. You use DP because you are used to it. The same reason I give when people ask why I use Cubase. @DeltaJockey is right. 75% of all DAWs do the same thing...just with their own "spin" and nomenclature––the big exception being Ableton Live. I am glad we are largely past the days of "needing" a particular DAW over another to be taken seriously. Yes, ProTools still dominates, but I know many people, professional, famous and/or otherwise, who use Reaper, Logic, Live, Nuendo and so on. I was shocked a few years ago when I saw the results of some market research that FL Studio is one of the most purchased DAWs in the marketplace.

Happy New Year, and welcome to the January issue of RECORDING Magazine. Reviews We launch into 2023 (our 36th year in print) with twelve product reviews. Keeping with this issue's percussive theme, we bring you a look at the new Beat Kit Pro drum mic package from LEWITT, the latest Hitmaker SDX from Toontrack, the new SPD-SX Pro drum pad from Roland and a pair of high-tech electronic drum kits––the Efnote 3X and Efnote 7. Also, from Spitfire Audio, we have a great new percussion library. Beyond the percussive, we put the latest refresh of the sE Electronics T2 large diaphragm condenser to the test. For our guitar and bass friends, we plug into the Future Impact v3 Bass/Guitar Synth from pandaMidi Solutions. We look at the new 2-channel 3122V microphone preamp from API, the new SSL Connex USB microphone, the just-released BigSky reverb plugin from Strymon, and we round out the lot with a look at the latest update of PreSonus Studio One. Interview Our interview this month is with GRAMMY Award-winning audio engineer and producer Hugh Padgham. Hugh's sonic stamp has graced the albums of Sting, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Genesis, XTC, Paul McCartney, Public Image Ltd, The Police, Binker & Moses and the list goes on. Best known for classic 80s and 90s drum production, Hugh recently lent his talents and tones to the Hitmaker SDX from Toontrack. Editor Paul Vnuk Jr talks one-on-one with Hugh about the above and more. Features Mark Hornsby is back for year three of Inside The Studio. Mark brings us our second interview this month as he sits down with legendary drummer Steve Gadd. After a great two-year run, we will take a break this year from our DAW/Computer-focused Inside-The-Box as Joe Albano instead kicks off a new round of entry-level Studio 101 articles. This month––Drum Recording 101. Session Log also returns for the third year. In this installment, Producer-engineer Marc Urselli shares about his recent recording jaunt to Japan, recording Tako drums and other traditional Japanese instruments. And More! Join us in the New Year and kick-off 2023 with RECORDING Magazine.

As a total aside. @KuruPrionz I was a photography major in college in 1992 and remember one of the first local photography houses in my state that had a Photoshop set up (probably 90-91'sh) and I remember that the Mac to run it on, the program itself were thousands, upon thousands or dollars in 1990s money. I have been faithfully using Photoshop ever since it became widespread (maybe version 2.0 or 3.0) and it is the one program I probably know better than Cubase.

My DAW journey began back in a time when you had to have ProTools and a Mac if you wanted to be considered a "real" studio. Of course, it was through a mix of insufficient funds and youthful arrogance that I chose the DIY PC route and a slow evolution from Cakewalk (the original pre-Gibson/Sonar version) to Cool Edit Pro to Sony Vegas (and Acid) and finally to Steinberg Nuendo, which at the time was the only other DAW considered to be at a ProTools level thanks to its acceptance in the post-production world. Fast forward to now, I am a complete and total Mac fan-boy, but I still stick with Cubase as my main DAW (after downsizing from Nuendo since I don't do post-production), mainly as I know Cubase inside and out. Having said that, I did just get a copy of Logic, and one of my New Year's resolutions is to start learning it because of its Mac integration and so I can start messing with its binaural-Apple spatial audio features.