what is your favorite compressor?

[tone-def]

i've always kept my levels down low. i noticed i got some distortion when i record into the computer and the level meter is peaking just below 0db.

[miro pajic]

the votes on that IDM forum poll are hilarious IMO!
it's made by: ok, i have this one, so it's best..hahaha!

[miro pajic]

^^^
wow thats a convoluted and intense thread, better give myself a few days to read that.

to be honest though mate, nothing is going to make me sell my studio full of gear thats taken me nearly 20 years to put together and exchange it for a screen or two.
i go in there, flick a switch, it all lights up and hums gently, and i'm in heaven, everything just where and how i want it, doing exactly what i want it to do.
alot of that stuff in that thread is high-geek mastering lingo and just doesnt apply to me with my set up.
i like working the way i do, and its always worth remembering theres no right or wrong way to compose / arrange / master our music, you've just got to do you your own thing, and dont worry about what everyone else is doing.
now its the weekend !!!

see i wish i came at it from your perspective. but for someone like me just getting into my mid 20's and having really only been introduced to producing music digitally, there are things i never learned from a traditional audio standpoint which working in analog kind of forces you into naturally. stuff like proper gain staging and realizing that even though we have all this crazy headroom in our cute little 32bit DAWS that it's actually working against us in alot of ways. for me personally i never even knew the difference between 0dbfs and 0DbVU so like i think many people complaining about digital, i have been not operating my tools properly from the get go... i dont know about others but as far as the actual tracks ive been making, im pretty happy with the actual music content and sound design but not of the overall sound i was getting, like i knew the track could be perfect but it just sounded to flat and not open. and trust me im not lazy, im at this sh!t night and day like an obsession, working in a treated room and having spent years experimenting with every plug or gear i could get my hands on and really learning how to go deep on a mix. i always felt though like i was lacking some sort of controlled reference as to what ive been doing and that thread gave me the answer. but for someone else who has been working in an analog studio their whole life that stuff is just basic knowledge. But i think this is exactly why people using DAW's in this modern age grab a ZED mixer for instance and all of a sudden their sound improves when its really not a matter of the mixer itself or being analog, its about the fact that it forced the person to operate and gain stage at real world levels... for me its a feeling of freedom cause i certainly dont have the cash flow or credit left on my already maxxed out card to have the kind of analog setup that i would ideally want... i also know and have talked to many established artists who i think sound like the bomb and most of them are 100% ITB. In fact there is a thread on gearslutz where marshall jefferson says he does all his productions and mixdowns on nothing but a laptop with a pair of nice headphones and a $400 soundcard!!

anyways, i read that thread for a few days and since keeping all my digital gain staging in respect for optimal real-world values like in an analog system, my sound has improved more from that than any gear, plugin or mixer ive ever added to my setup. its all about electricity and finding that sweet spot and keeping the levels way down low it has given me the confidence going back and fixing old tracks to actually believe in my music and to finally start doing something with it

absolutely correct!

[steevio]

^^^
wow thats a convoluted and intense thread, better give myself a few days to read that.

to be honest though mate, nothing is going to make me sell my studio full of gear thats taken me nearly 20 years to put together and exchange it for a screen or two.
i go in there, flick a switch, it all lights up and hums gently, and i'm in heaven, everything just where and how i want it, doing exactly what i want it to do.
alot of that stuff in that thread is high-geek mastering lingo and just doesnt apply to me with my set up.
i like working the way i do, and its always worth remembering theres no right or wrong way to compose / arrange / master our music, you've just got to do you your own thing, and dont worry about what everyone else is doing.
now its the weekend !!!

see i wish i came at it from your perspective. but for someone like me just getting into my mid 20's and having really only been introduced to producing music digitally, there are things i never learned from a traditional audio standpoint which working in analog kind of forces you into naturally. stuff like proper gain staging and realizing that even though we have all this crazy headroom in our cute little 32bit DAWS that it's actually working against us in alot of ways. for me personally i never even knew the difference between 0dbfs and 0DbVU so like i think many people complaining about digital, i have been not operating my tools properly from the get go... i dont know about others but as far as the actual tracks ive been making, im pretty happy with the actual music content and sound design but not of the overall sound i was getting, like i knew the track could be perfect but it just sounded to flat and not open. and trust me im not lazy, im at this sh!t night and day like an obsession, working in a treated room and having spent years experimenting with every plug or gear i could get my hands on and really learning how to go deep on a mix. i always felt though like i was lacking some sort of controlled reference as to what ive been doing and that thread gave me the answer. but for someone else who has been working in an analog studio their whole life that stuff is just basic knowledge. But i think this is exactly why people using DAW's in this modern age grab a ZED mixer for instance and all of a sudden their sound improves when its really not a matter of the mixer itself or being analog, its about the fact that it forced the person to operate and gain stage at real world levels... for me its a feeling of freedom cause i certainly dont have the cash flow or credit left on my already maxxed out card to have the kind of analog setup that i would ideally want... i also know and have talked to many established artists who i think sound like the bomb and most of them are 100% ITB. In fact there is a thread on gearslutz where marshall jefferson says he does all his productions and mixdowns on nothing but a laptop with a pair of nice headphones and a $400 soundcard!!

anyways, i read that thread for a few days and since keeping all my digital gain staging in respect for optimal real-world values like in an analog system, my sound has improved more from that than any gear, plugin or mixer ive ever added to my setup. its all about electricity and finding that sweet spot and keeping the levels way down low it has given me the confidence going back and fixing old tracks to actually believe in my music and to finally start doing something with it

belive me bro, if i was starting out now i'd probably be doing it all ITB, it doesnt make sense to wait around for years gradually building a hardware studio.
lifes too short.
but its significant that everyone i know who started out ITB has gradually enhanced their set-up by gradually accumulating bits of hardware, and they love it !
one thing you cant do ITB is to achieve true analogue saturation. much of the fatness i can achieve in my studio is down to pushing the gains on my desk. i'm not sure i could make techno without that effect, because i've always done it that way.
i simply dont believe that you can truly model that.

[miro pajic]

^^^
wow thats a convoluted and intense thread, better give myself a few days to read that.

to be honest though mate, nothing is going to make me sell my studio full of gear thats taken me nearly 20 years to put together and exchange it for a screen or two.
i go in there, flick a switch, it all lights up and hums gently, and i'm in heaven, everything just where and how i want it, doing exactly what i want it to do.
alot of that stuff in that thread is high-geek mastering lingo and just doesnt apply to me with my set up.
i like working the way i do, and its always worth remembering theres no right or wrong way to compose / arrange / master our music, you've just got to do you your own thing, and dont worry about what everyone else is doing.
now its the weekend !!!

see i wish i came at it from your perspective. but for someone like me just getting into my mid 20's and having really only been introduced to producing music digitally, there are things i never learned from a traditional audio standpoint which working in analog kind of forces you into naturally. stuff like proper gain staging and realizing that even though we have all this crazy headroom in our cute little 32bit DAWS that it's actually working against us in alot of ways. for me personally i never even knew the difference between 0dbfs and 0DbVU so like i think many people complaining about digital, i have been not operating my tools properly from the get go... i dont know about others but as far as the actual tracks ive been making, im pretty happy with the actual music content and sound design but not of the overall sound i was getting, like i knew the track could be perfect but it just sounded to flat and not open. and trust me im not lazy, im at this sh!t night and day like an obsession, working in a treated room and having spent years experimenting with every plug or gear i could get my hands on and really learning how to go deep on a mix. i always felt though like i was lacking some sort of controlled reference as to what ive been doing and that thread gave me the answer. but for someone else who has been working in an analog studio their whole life that stuff is just basic knowledge. But i think this is exactly why people using DAW's in this modern age grab a ZED mixer for instance and all of a sudden their sound improves when its really not a matter of the mixer itself or being analog, its about the fact that it forced the person to operate and gain stage at real world levels... for me its a feeling of freedom cause i certainly dont have the cash flow or credit left on my already maxxed out card to have the kind of analog setup that i would ideally want... i also know and have talked to many established artists who i think sound like the bomb and most of them are 100% ITB. In fact there is a thread on gearslutz where marshall jefferson says he does all his productions and mixdowns on nothing but a laptop with a pair of nice headphones and a $400 soundcard!!

anyways, i read that thread for a few days and since keeping all my digital gain staging in respect for optimal real-world values like in an analog system, my sound has improved more from that than any gear, plugin or mixer ive ever added to my setup. its all about electricity and finding that sweet spot and keeping the levels way down low it has given me the confidence going back and fixing old tracks to actually believe in my music and to finally start doing something with it

belive me bro, if i was starting out now i'd probably be doing it all ITB, it doesnt make sense to wait around for years gradually building a hardware studio.
lifes too short.
but its significant that everyone i know who started out ITB has gradually enhanced their set-up by gradually accumulating bits of hardware, and they love it !
one thing you cant do ITB is to achieve true analogue saturation. much of the fatness i can achieve in my studio is down to pushing the gains on my desk. i'm not sure i could make techno without that effect, because i've always done it that way.
i simply dont believe that you can truly model that.

also absolutely correct! all you can do is find the best solution in emulating the analog saturation (there's some great plugins doing so) and recreate the behaviour of an analog desk. (i read the "real pros" have a soft sat. plugin on EVERY channel and bus) i'm lucky to know what real analog sounds like, but took/takes years to now finally get closer to what i once did by using good saturation units in my mixes.

it is in fact 100% harder to get a superb and "open" sounding mix ITB, while way easier with hardware. but plugins are making really BIG steps in the last months. looking forward to what happenes the next 2 years!

[hydrogen]

so... how do you make sure your pushing the limits of your mix if you aren't running close to 0db?

[steevio]

so... how do you make sure your pushing the limits of your mix if you aren't running close to 0db?

do you mean with an analogue desk or ITB ?

with analogue you can happily go above 0 db at any point in the chain. i'm quite often pushing into clipping on the individual channels which need fattening, but i usually keep the entire mix at 0db on the master, if i want to saturate the whole mix, i would do that in the EQ by overdriving the tubes. but theres nothing to stop you driving the lines, the busses and the master if you want to, but it can easily start to get mushy.

alot depends on your desk and the quality of the op amps.

i had a mackie which was great for extremely overdriving kicks and percussion, the soundcraft ghost i have now is more subtle, every desk is so different.

[hydrogen]

so... how do you make sure your pushing the limits of your mix if you aren't running close to 0db?

do you mean with an analogue desk or ITB ?

with analogue you can happily go above 0 db at any point in the chain. i'm quite often pushing into clipping on the individual channels which need fattening, but i usually keep the entire mix at 0db on the master, if i want to saturate the whole mix, i would do that in the EQ by overdriving the tubes. but theres nothing to stop you driving the lines, the busses and the master if you want to, but it can easily start to get mushy.

alot depends on your desk and the quality of the op amps.

i had a mackie which was great for extremely overdriving kicks and percussion, the soundcraft ghost i have now is more subtle, every desk is so different.

awesome... nice tips... but then what about the guys that do ITB?