Chris Tello
CCM Studios

Tuning your 808

- Michael Warkentin

CCM Recording Studios

Broken Tongues Music

HEAT operates as a global plug-in in where you control the amount of 2nd or 3rd order harmonic distortion across all tracks. (Note, You also have a tone control for brightness) Depending on how hard the track-material is hitting it’s track fader determines how hard that track is being saturated with tape color. Knowing that tape is 3rd order harmonic distortion, I frequently start my sessions by activating HEAT and clicking the HEAT knob a click or two to the left side. This is the closest digital equivalent of recording to tape and I find that it rounds off the hard edges in the 2-4K range while adding a bit of that tape-compressed, slightly gritty and almost dull, yet life-like sound. Like it’s not flat and one-dimensional. Although, it does have a bit of a “dull” sound that is easy to brighten a bit while keeping the benefits of tape-saturation alive in your mix. I like to compensate some of that dull, haziness with some modern super-top eq. I’m talking in the 7-25K range usually. I love the Clariphonic Parallel EQ or the Massenburg Digital EQ for boosting my top end and adding that pro-sheen gloss and needed presence or sibilance to cut through the mix cleanly.

A couple things to be careful of… Adding too much HEAT to a hip-hop beat or any track that’s bass-driven rarely helps in my experience. Too often it muddies and kinda farts up the bass sound. This is why I typically bypass the HEAT plug-in on my bass and kick tracks, while using HEAT on most others. If I want distortion on my bass or kick, which I certainly have an affinity for, I seek out regular distortion plug-ins or pedals that don’t operate globally. This enables a more personalized touch.

- Michael Warkentin

www.CCMstudios.com

www.BrokenTongues.com

Absynth 5 Patch Editor Section

Absynths true power is in it’s atmospheric qualities derived from the various effects they offer. A couple of the newest additions from the latest release include a cloud filter & a supercomb effect that can be applied directly to each oscillator independently, allowing seemingly infinite sonic possibilities. To make matters even more complex (and fun) there is a modulation parameter that can be added to one of the three oscillators just before they are routed together. In this Mod section you can once again choose high, low, and bandpass filters, as well as the aforementioned combs & cloud filters.
Within the patch creation section of Absynth the three oscillators are routed together and sent (optionally of course) through two more filters/waveshapers.
The last step – and the most exciting – is the effect section. The chosen effect can be turned on and off from the patch section, but to get a bit more detail you can switch to the dedicated effect page.

Absynth 5 Effects Section

The effects page is where the magic of Absynth comes alive. Without going too deep into the various choices, I’ll focus on one, my personal favorite: the Aetherizer. Essentially the Aetherizer is a grain delay, but on synthesis-steroids. It can take a simple saw-wave synth and turn it into a swarm of angry bees, sparkling starlight or an ominous stormcloud simply by toying with the various parameters available.

Absynth, along with the other Native Instruments softsynths like Massive & FM8, is an incredibly powerful synthesizer, and one I personally use regularly in my productions both here at CCM Studios and in my home project studio. It’s versatility is unmatched by most synthesizers I’ve used and, while it may be a bit complex visually, once workflow is sorted out, creation of ambient textures as well as glimmering pads & leads is a breeze. When looking for bass sounds or fast arpeggiated synths I lean towards Massive & FM8, respectively, and I spend a lot of time with Logic Pro stock softsynths like the ES2 & Sculpture, but when it comes to designing ambient sounds & textures, Absynth cannot be beat.

The first type of mic is called a “dynamic” microphone. This mic requires no power and is as easy to use. Once it’s plugged in all you need is a pre-amp and proper routing to hear sweet sweet music. However as easy as that sounds there is a science to be understood within how it actually works.

Whenever you move a magnet next to a coil of wire an electrical current is generated in which you get the electromagnet principle. A dynamic microphone uses wire coiling and magnets to create an audio signal.

A diaphragm is connected to a coil of wire. As the diaphragm vibrates in response to propagating sound waves, the coil moves back and forth across the magnet. This creates an electrical current in the coil which goes through the mic and copper cabling and into your recording software or medium.

Another type of mic is a “condenser” microphone which means “capacitor” and works by electrostatic principal. This type of microphone cannot be used unless there is an external source of +48 volts or in other words “phantom power” supplying power to the capsule. Once phantom power is applied, you are ready to make hits. Although there is a science involved to this process as well.

A condenser mic has two plates with voltage between them. One plate is comprised of very light material (most of the time being Mylar) and acts as the diaphragm. When sound waves are introduced to the diaphragm it vibrates, thus changing the distance between the two plates. When these plates are closer together, the capacitance increases and a possitive current occurs. When the plates are further apart, the capacitance decreases and a negative current occurs.

You have to remember that the title of “Producer” dates back to the years before Digital Audio Workstations, Softsynths, and Autotune. Even back before multitrack recording to tell the truth, and as music and technology advanced synchronously, lines became blurred.

Certainly, taken literally, a music producer is anyone who produces music and this is where the debate begins.

Generally, being referred to as a Producer, or getting a production credit on an album is more highly regarded than being the lowly Beatmaker. As a beatmaker you might not get any credit on a track at all, but hey, you composed all the music…right? You want the track to be called “We Be Ballin’ (Prod. by BadAssProducerNumberOne)”.

Here is the ugly truth for all of us Beatmakers: if you weren’t part of the song from start to finish, didn’t coach the vocalist on how to deliver their lyrics, and lead the project along in a “Big Picture” way, then you aren’t technically a producer based on the old definition, you’re a composer.

This is why I say the lines are blurred, as technology advances it changes the roles played by everyone involved. In the case of a lot of pop, hip hop, and especially electronic music, the composer (beatmaker) quite literally designs the entire piece of music. He produces it. Regardless of the fact that it may be sold or leased to a lyricist who then takes it to a studio to record their vocals, the original composition was produced by the beatmaker.

I agree with all the beatmakers who say they produced the music because in fact, they did. I also believe the “Producer” title as it was traditionally used is dying, but there is still a valid difference between composing & producing, and on many music projects a clear need for a Producer; that extra set of ears from outside the emotional connection to the music.

On the one hand, as a beat maker, you can call yourself whatever you want, beatmaker, producer, composer, electronic musician, etc. but if you expect a Producer credit on an album, you’re expecting something more than what your involvement deserves.
On the other, there is no doubt in my mind that a beatmaker deserves credit where it is due. The instrumental is such an important part of each track that it surprises me how often giving them credit is often overlooked. Check out almost any record from back when all these aforementioned roles were separate and you’ll see credit given to each person involved in the project, from the bassist to the vocalist, to the producers, arrangers & composers.
Just because all of these roles are melding together into (for example) a beatmaker, an audio engineer, and an artist, doesn’t mean the Producer credit is given to the person producing the instrumental. There just wasn’t a Producer at all.

In the end, a Beatmaker is a composer, and a Producer is something more.
A Producer runs the entire operation, and often has final say on debatable subjects. He is involved in the project in a holistic way and that overarching control is what affords him the Producer credit when the project is done.

So when a client came in asking us to take a series of songs she had chosen and turn them into “Dance Cuts” for her high school dance team, I jumped on the opportunity. In my mind I envisioned a series of smooth, DJ-ish transitions: songs that fit together nicely without jarring changes in tempo or key. I began working on the project, and soon figured out it was going to take much longer than the client had time. I was attempting to shift tempo & key without it being noticeable or too jarring, which can be hugely time consuming when mixing Garth Brooks’ “Calling Baton Rouge” in with Paramore’s “Misery Business,” for example.

I communicated my concern to her and, she told me I was working too hard! My musical inclination had pulled me in the direction of perfection, while the dance team specifically wanted sudden tempo changes! I realized: this was not my typical remix session, my end result would be less “perfect” musically but, in that, would fit the client’s specifications exactly. Suddenly, instead of being stressed about being able to finish the project on time I was free to play: with the transitions between songs, with the beginnings and endings, and with the simple, beautiful irony of starting in “Hakuna Matata” from The Lion King, and dropping into “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns’n'Roses. Its amazing how easily you can slide between songs by simply lining up kicks and putting in some strategic fades. Obviously a jump from Misery Business to Calling Baton Rouge would be difficult, but thats where the fun is: because it is possible, just a challenge.

I worked my way through the list of about 30 mixes she wanted, some challenging, some so simple I hardly did more than chop up the song, line up the files, and put in some fades. Now I find myself mostly finished with the project wishing I had more. I’ve spent the last few weeks listening to old 80′s and 90′s hits that I haven’t heard in years, which I love. I don’t care how cheesy Kenny Loggins can be, that music is catchy as hell. The important thing, and the real lesson here is COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR CLIENTS. By constantly being in touch with a client as far away as Eagle, CO I was able to clarify her needs, and that made the project all that much more fun.

Client relations can make or break you in this business, and I strongly believe CCM Studios excels in this respect.

For those artists who want to try out the recording process at a professional studio with experienced & knowledgable engineers but simply can’t afford the price tag of most studios, CCM has put together a fully-functional Logic-based rig for just that purpose.

The key in getting a great vocal sound is all in the recording… as in, the room, the mic, the positioning and mic technique, the preamp, the AD/DA, etc, etc.  With the LA-610 signature tube pre-amp and a Nueman u87, I get a great signal going in with a kiss of that ELOP compression on way into my DAW (I hit the compression a couple db more on the dubs so they glue a bit more to the leads; but don’t overdo it). I prefer to do all the leads first (all 2 or 3 or 4 verses), then go back and do the dubs after those are good. This is important in keeping the artists tone and energy consistent, as well as being able to dial in preamp settings per each stack and keep those settings consistent per vocal track.

After putting down lead vocals that are strong enough to stand on their own, it’s time to stack. But wait, you need to put the best take of each verse on a macro/final playlist before moving on. This way we are using the best lead-take from each verse and are not stacking on top of an inferior take.

Also, I almost always write down my lead vocal pre-amp settings in case we need to go back and redo something that’s messed up. Kind of a, “better safe than sorry” sort of thing. Artists are picky and might want to redo one phrase or a whole verse, you never know. However, it’s my opinion that they pay you to be prepared for anything that they may need, so anticipate it to happen and be the better engineer for doing so. Having extra takes is also important in finding an easy replacement word or phrase without having to re-record it at a later date.

Back to business… as for compression going into the DAW, for leads I don’t compress more than 5db; usually in the 2-3db range. Just a kiss should do it. Some top engineers advise no compression on the way in but I love to stage my compression and I like hitting it softly on the way in because the LA-610 has a great sounding optical compressor. For dubs I do whatever gives the vocals that glue. Screw the “fix it in the mix” attitude, tweak the knobs while the artist takes a pass and have it ready for the next take. Analog compression glue from an LA-610 is FAR superior to digital compression, so if it sounds good, don’t be afraid to print it. Be careful though, I’ve been in the same room for almost 5 years now and I know what I want to hear.

Then, as the client is busy re-stacking the leads, I like to re-amp the lead vocals through my distressor and clariphonic parallel eq and dial that in. If mixing-time allows I will wait to do this but some clients expect an incredibly fast turn-around… like, an instant turn-around haha. As for re-amping, our interface is the avid flagship IO so there’s no audible harm to the sound going out and coming back in. I wouldn’t do this with my ProTools LE MBox 2 Pro setup at home, to say the least.

Hitting the distressor before the clariphonic eq, my typical distressor settings are 2,3,4 or 6:1 with an attack in the range of 8.5-5.5 and a release in the range of 3-.5. All of these values are relative, but like I said, these are where I typically find myself liking the glue.  I love hearing the dif envelope shapes in the dif compression ratios so experiment with that to get your compression bite in check. The detector roll-off is always active and many times I find the high-emphasis detector in smoothing out vocals. The Distressor audio roll-off sounds smooth and I often like adding some 2nd or 3rd order harmonic dostortion for a bit more character or grit. Every once in  a while the distortion sounds sloppy and foggy so be sure to experiment. The distressor is one of the most versatile compressors on the market, so be sure to use it in that way.

If I need any subtractive EQ for room modes or particularly troublesome eq spots, I always use subtractive EQ before hitting the distressor and clariphonic eq. The clariphonic’s a dream for adding that transparent and seamless top end sheen to your vocals. I often use the “open” and “tight” settings while deciding between the “presence”, “sheen”, and “shimmer” settings for a little sibilance and modern sizzle on the top end.

I find that by recording the best signal possible and then mixing into analog, using transparent compression while adding some coloring harmonic distortion, followed by some mastering-class top end shimmer really makes mixing a fun and expressive experience. I use less digital processing and my mixes sound natural, clean and effortless. I highly, highly recommend the distressor and clariphonic parallel eq. A winning combo in my opinion!

Last consideration on subtractive EQing… it is important to find your room modes and kill those with a sharp-med Q before compressing. I use anything from a Q of 25-2.4 to cut the 180-200, 250, 300-600, 800-1.5, 2.5, 4K – these are the frequencies in where I usually find problem spots at CCM. I rarely cut more than 3-4db or boost more than 2db in a vocal eq. Less is more and if you find yourself needing more EQ, adjust the mic positioning before getting crazy with the EQ. Trust your ears and be sure to use a high-end recording that you admire to compare to. If you can get in that ball-park, then you’re in good shape.

Just add a little touch of plate or bright hall verb and a kiss of slap delay, few 1/8, dotted 1/8 and 1/4 echoes with stylistic fx here and there and presto! You’ve got a pro recording in the bag…

Happy recordings!

Mike W

www.CCMstudios.com

www.BrokenTongues.com

- Mike W

Broken Tongues Music

CCM Recording Studios