CLA Ideas

General

• Always EQ Before Compression

• No Problem to Push 15 dB if the Material Needs it

• has a SSL 4000 E, Uses the Bus Comp with 4:1, 30ms Attack, Auto Release

• Uses Urei 1176 Always with 30dB Input and 18dB Output, 4:1, Medium Attack and Release

• Again, Important is How the Element is in the Mix and Not in Solo, Nobody Listens to the Guitar in Solo, thus if a Guitar in Solo Sounds Way Too Sharp Does Not Matter

– Approach is if the Levels are Set Good 80% of the Mix is Done 

– Never Cuts Frequencies, Almost Always Looks What a Instrument Needs to Cut Through the Mix and Boosts there), Only Cuts Lows (Rumble)

– for the Highs he Boosts with a High Shelf and then Cuts the Highs at a Certain Spot (i.e. Where it Sounds Nice)

– Uses LCR, he Recommends if the Song Should Sound Wide then Use the Entire Panorama (i.e. Hard Left / Right), e.g. if Something Should Appear from the Right Speaker then Pan it Fully Right

– to Compensate the “Unused“ Spots between LCR (i.e. L100/0/R100) and Add Depth, he Uses a Combination of Delays and Reverbs

• Makes Combos for his Reverb and Delay Usage, i.e. Reverb Combination A B C D and Delay Combination A B C D

• AUX Send Parameters etc. are then Controlled vis the SSL Desk

• Put a EQ with the Abbey Road Preset After or Before the Reverb and a Compressor at the End of the Chain (Compressor Either for Closeness or SC Duck the Reverb)

– When Using Reverb on Toms (or Other) he Subtly Pans the Reverb to Match the Source Position

Reverb Combination A B C D

– In Essence, A = Plate Reverb, B = Room Reverb, C = Chamber Reverb / Short Hall , D = Hall / Non Linear Reverb

– for the Room and Hall Combi he Often has No Pre Delay

A Plate (Always on Vocals, Alge preferred Reverb Unit for All Kinds)

480L = Using the 480L Plate Algorithm, Pre Delay Mostly at 150ms

B Short Room Combi (Drums, and Everything that Needs a Bit Room but No Hall)

Sony DRE 2000 = Drums (Preset DeReverb), 1 Sec Decay, Hi Cut at 10kHz, Low Cut at 30Hz, Bass RT x0.5, Treble RT x0.5, Delay Time 20ms, ER On at 10 or 15 or 20ms

Bricasti = Marble Foyer Algo (or Studio A), 1 to 1.5 Sec, 

C Short Hall Combi (Room and Plate Drum)

EMT 246 – Short Room

Yamaha REV1 = Percussion Plate Algo, 1.6ms to 1.8ms Decay, ER 7, Room Size 2, ER Number 16, ER Delay 7ms

D Hall Reverb “Combi” Non Linear Combi (Drum Fills, Gated, Space Reverb, Gated 80ies or Even on Entire Song)

Eventide H3000 Ultraharmonizer = Dense Room Preset

AMS 16 = Non Linear 2 Preset, Adds a Little High (+4) End to the Default

– Notice that this Combi Is Better to be Split than as Combi, i.e. Make a Distinctive H3000 Bus and a AMS 16 to Send Freely into Both or Individual

Delay Combination A B C D

• In Essence, A = Slap Delay, B = Tape Delay, C = Throw Delay, D = Crowd Delay

Combi A = Tape Delay (Vocal Slap Back)

Marshall Tape Eliminator = Slap Back at 15ips

Combi B 1/4 (Vocal and Main Delay Effect Delay, Throw )

Line 6 Echo Pro = Analog Setting with Modulation, 1/4 Delay

Combi C = 2 x PCM 42 Both at 1/8 

– but Unit 1 Slightly Above 1/8 and Unit 2 Slightly Below 1/8 (Around 10-15ms Total Range for Both), Units are Panned Hard Left/Right Respectively

PCM 42 = 1/8 Plus Around 5 to 7ms, Panned Hard Left

PCM 42 = 1/8 Minus Around 4 to 5 ms, Panned Hard Right

– e.g. at 120BPM 1/8 is 250ms so You Tune Unit 1 to 257ms and Unit 1 to 246ms

Combi D = URSA Space-Station Crowd Delay 

URSA Space = Crowd Delay, is Multi Tap Delay, Dark Slap Delay Effect, Uses Them for Club Sound

– Space-Station with Many Delay Lines with Very Short Delay Times

CLA Other Units and Applications

• Bass = 1176

• Drums = SSL Channel Comp, Distressor Parallel on Kick and Snare, Neve 2264 On Drum Bus Parallel, also a Bank of Manley Pultec on Drums

• Vocals = Blue 1176, Sometimes Retro 176 (STA), TS3 Comp/Limit 

• Guitars LA 3A

• RED3 and a Pair of Pultec on Mix Bus, Pultec Give the SSL the Low End of a Neve

Routing on the SSL

• All the Reverbs and Delays Come Back to 14 Channels on the Desk, the Reverbs Use 7 True Stereo Channels, while the Delays are Routed to Mono Channels but can be Panned Hard Left or Right when Needed

• Song Material is Send to Reverb but also the Delays are Send to Reverb via a Dedicated AUX, i.e. Song Material is Sent to Reverb and / or Delay but the Delay Goes in Any Case (Beside Main Out) Post Fade to the Reverb, Alge Wants No Distinctive Heard Delay Lines and thus Sends the Delays to the Reverb to “Wash Them”

• This Way the Reverb and Delay are Treated Almost as Separate Instruments and can be Fine Controlled via AUX Send Amount from Every Unit / to Every Unit for Every Instrument

• e.g. Slap Delay to Short Room (C), Crowd Delay to Hall Reverb (D), the 1/4 Delay to the Plate (A), the 1/8 Combo to the Short Room (C), Crowd Delay to the Drum Room (B)

Send 1 = Vocal Reverb, 480, Separate Stereo Return

Send 2 = Drum Reverb, Sony / Bricasti, Separate Stereo Return

Send 3 = Drum / Instrument Reverb, EMT / REV1, Separate Stereo Return

Send 4 = 1/4, Vocal / Main Delay / Throw, Line 6, 

Send 5 = Non Linear Hall, AMS

Send 6 = Multi Tap Crowd Delay / Ursa / 

Bus 1 = Slap, 

Bus 2 = H3000

Bus 5+6 = 2 x 42 1/8 Stereo, so that They can be Automated / Muted / Leveled