General
- Remember, in Analog the Incoming Signal Touches a Whole Bunch of Electrical Components Each Enriching the Signal by Default, i.e. Something Slightly Else is Coming Out than What is Fed in
- In Digital there are No Electrical Components that the Signal Touches at Any Stage, thus What Comes in Goes Out and there are No Added Harmonics by Default
- so you have to Add Harmonics etc. in the DAW Manually, i.e. Layer those Things Analog Does Inside the DAW (Chain those Events)
- And the Most Critical Thing, for Doing it in the Box Without Much Aliasing is Correct Plugin Gain Staging in the DAW (Beside Using Available Oversampling Options per Plugin)
- i.e. the More you Go into a Plugin the More it will Alias, so Calibrate Signal Before Entering the Plugin to Around -18dBFS on a VU Meter and then Compensate the Plugin Output (that is What the Input and Output are there for), Look After Around -6dB Max Peak for Fast Heavy Transient Material on PPM Meter (Peak Meter)
Digital to Analog Feel Pipeline in the DAW
1) First Do a Premix, Do Noise Reduction and Use Clean Digital Subtractive EQ on Individual Tracks or Stems
– i.e. Simple Balance Out the Individual Tracks or Stems n Volume and then Cleanup to Separate Signals More and Add Clarity
- e.g. Look for Muddiness, Harshness and Resonances on Either Individual Tracks or Stems so when they are Pushed Later During the Mixdown the Muddiness, Harshness and Resonances are Not Further Enhanced
– the Goal is to Enhance Dull Sounds During the Mix so there are Enough Highs which Helps the Overall End Result to Not Sound Dull as Boosting an Entire Mixes High End is Always Bringing Out Problems
– Remember that Good Subtractive EQ can Reveal High End in the Most Natural Way (while Boosts Phase Shift the Signal and Adds High End in a Bad Way)
- Noise Reduction is Mostly Meant on Samples, Vocal, Bass or Guitars, i.e. Use RX / Zynaptiq
- Be Sure to Level Match the Tracks or Stems After the Cleanup and Make Sure that the Tracks / Stems then Go About to -18dBFS into Color Plugins (in Enhancing Part)
- i.e. use a VU Meter (Klanghelm, TB), Play the Loudest Part if a Stem or Individual Track and Make Sure the Needle is Dancing Around the -18dB on the VU Meter and Look After Around -6dB Max Peak on a PPM Meter for Fast Heavy Transient Material
– But Notice that a VU Meter is Rather Slow and can Not Catch Fast Transients (e.g. Snare), thus for Fast Heavy Transient Material it is Better to use a PPM Meter (Peak Meter) and Calibrate to Around -6dB Max Peak
2) Once you Got Clarity, you can Start Enhancing via a Preamp
- i.e. Add Analog Vibe, Color and Harmonics via Plugins (that Thing that in the Analog World Automatically Happens)
- e.g. Add Pre Amps (e.g. Acustica London Blond Pre Mixer) or Simple Analog 2 Band EQs (e.g. Acoustica Telge and Enna)
- Again, Make Sure You Go About to -18dBFS into the Preamp and EQs and Look After Around -6dB Max Peak
3) Add a Analog (but Super Clean) Mix Buss Processor (Mix Buss)
- i.e. Give the Whole Mix an Overall Analog Feeling (e.g. Acustica Snow)
– but Avoid Compression / EQ / Reverb / Delays / Saturation on the Mix Buss
4) Now Add Analog (but Super Clean) Group Buss Processors
- i.e. Add Individual Group Mix Busses to Create Additional Harmonics per Instrument Group
- e.g. Vari Mu Emulation (e.g. Magic Death Eye) Because it Adds a Lot of Depth, but Keep the GR to Max -1dB or 2dB, Rather Fast Release and Slow Attack
5) Go into a Separate Tape Emulation (Softube Tape) with Each Track Individually to Add Feel and Weight
– Using Crossfeed Plugins to Make the Mix Sound More Open (e.g. Sonimus Britson or Softube Tapes Crosstalk Option)
- Be Sure to Hit the Tape at -6dB Max Peak from Whatever Source you re Going into the Tape and the Tape Needle is Barely Moving to the Right
– Use Crosstalk on All Instances at 50% and Noise On
6) Excite the Highs and Mids for More Excitement
- i.e. Work Against Dull Mixes that Not Reach the Listener
7) That Should it be for the Mix, Now Go of the Final Master
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