From the mouth of Mau...
"I had a conversation with a friend yesterday, and I want to share something with you all that I told him.
(the attachment (the pic posted below*), is a mix I am most proud of, that uses nothing but stock plugins, no Waves, no SSL, no API, just Sonitus FX in sonar 4)
I watched an engineer use nothing but the Digirack3 plugins, panning, and automation, to get a mix 90% there. He then slapped on a SSL G Master Bus Compressor on the master fader and finished it. And his mix, would kick the sh*t out of most peoples mixes.
TIPS, READ CAREFULLY
1) Often, the 'analog sound' can be had just by adding bus compressor on the master fader, and using stock plugins - PSP Vintage Warmer @ 149.00 is something that every engineer swears by - but you have to know how to use it, and when, you don't just slap it on and expect it to be better, same goes with any compressor.
2) If you think that stock plugins are crap, then you need to re-evaluate your skills as an engineer, most of them can get the sound you are working on 70 - 100% there.
3) Most people try to mix-master, where they compare their mix to a mastered CD, and think that expensive plugins will get them there, spending countless hours making things louder, when you want them leaner and cleaner pre-mastering, which is what these transparent stock plugs do very well. They are also light on CPU as they are tightly integrated with the DAW, meaning you can use more instances without bringing your computer to its knees.
4) Using compression on virtual instruments sometimes is not needed, especially when they are pre eq'ed and compressed, ride the fader and mix at lower levels instead". One of my best mixes IMO (Keys To My Door - you should have a copy, if you don't, just ask) uses compression only on the kickdrums and bass bus, and the rest is just eq'ed and panned. Sound selection was key, I used "light" sounds that I could layer, instead of "big" sounds that I would have to make thin later.
5) "Keys To My Door" uses only Sonitus FX plugins (eq, compression, reverb,delay, gate) that came with Sonar 4. Period, if you don't have a mix that sounds this good then why spend money and time on 3rd party plugins, they won't help at all.
6) If you want 3rd Party Plugins, thoroughly evaluate them. Every producer has their favorites, but 100% of the time, it is because they can dial in what they want (the end result) quicker with a particular plugin, not because it sounds "better" - which is the same reason, I have purchased RenComp,RenVox,Sonnox Eq, - I get the sound I want with minimal mouse movements, or key entry, they "sound" the same as other plugins to me - just more functional with less. "Low Cut" is a prime example of this in Logic, any engineer using Logic swears by this plugin, as they can dial in a 30hz or 80hz cut, or any cut for that matter using one slider, very efficient - shown in picture 1
7) If your song needs a heavy mix, maybe you used the wrong sounds, maybe they are too big, maybe the song is in the wrong Key, maybe the kick has a long bass tail and should be shorter to allow other sounds to occupy that space, maybe you need reverb to push element back, or for most producers - maybe your snare is just too loud, or maybe you didn't pan anything and everything is occupying the phantom center, or maybe your environment isn't set up correctly. Expensive plugins will not cure the above, only your ear can.
I am trying to instill a level of confidence with the friends that I know. It is ok to use stock plugins. Nobody is going to say, "man, that mix sure needs an SSL plugin on it", but you will often hear : "its too muddy", or "its too bright" - the key is knowing how to translate this into correct decisions in the mixing process.
If you need me to do a sit down, to prove this to you - I will be more than happy, as nobody did this for me :-) "
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