The Stereo Bus Blog - Daily Music Production Tips

This post focuses on how to group tracks to save CPU or DSP processing.

When I first started mixing using a computer, I would throw up inserts on everything.  Everything was processed independently.  As you might imagine, my mixes were insanely CPU intensive and hard to manage.  Soon I realized that many of the tracks were being processed in exactly the same way and that I didn’t need to have separate DSP processes on each track.

The solution?  Groups (or auxes in Pro Tools land)!
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This post focuses on the topic of using direct injection/input to bring clarity to traditionally recorded tracks.

When you were first starting out in the world of audio, you probably tried something along the lines of plugging a guitar or bass directly into your audio interface or mixer.   I know I did this and learned very quickly that the tone that results is less than stellar or interesting.  It’s extremely dry, lacks harmonic content, and sounds brittle.  But, in the right situations, these very same qualities can be a godsend when blended with a regularly amped sound.  Hence we end up with the technique of blending DI sounds with their amped counterparts, which is most commonly used with electric bass.
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This post focuses on the classic challenge of how to record a band in a single room and not have it sound completely awful.

Lots of us have small production studios and tons of bands have single room practice spaces.  Inevitably the question arises: “How can I record the band live in a single room and not have it all turn to mush!?”  There are some strategies for accomplishing decent results from this situation and, although it won’t sound like a record that was recorded in a multi-room facility or overdubbed, for some music that’s for the best.  It’s an incredible challenge that can be really rewarding.
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This post focuses on the trick of increasing the attack of sounds using gates.

Most people reach for EQ or compression when they want to add punch to their sounds.  But I’ve found another way to accomplish a very specific kind of attack transient using gates.  I sometimes use this trick to add attack kick drums.

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