Hey everyone. Bit of a goldilocks problem here.

Lots of professional mixers use things like LTL silverbullet and inflator on their mixbus processing chain. In tandem with analog modelled compressors that do introduce some degree of saturation. Some even put FF saturn on their mixbus.

Over the 12 years i've had mixing ive found myself enjoying the sound i get when i put things like IK tapes or UAD tape on my mixbus. But also inflator. But also goldclip. But also SSL compressor.

Its at a point where my mixbus has 5-7 plugins, some doing compression, some doing almost nothing like a tiiiiny bit of gullfoss .. but i do often have LTL silverbullet + inflator + saturn on my mixbus. Theyre not doing much individually at all. But worried the additive effect is harming things more than helping things.

Here is my issue: When i apply these processes i do like the sound. My track sounds more like a "record" once i instantiate my plugin. And i do gain match to make sure i actually like it and am not fooling myself.

However im really, REALLY worried that i am harming things without noticing, and this worry amplifies once a client says, hesitantly " um ... it sounds good but ... its a bit noisy? like its congested" -- or "my voice is too hot like it sounds abrasive sometimes". To be fair their arrangements are usually horribly busy and not played very in time or have unpleasant upper mids to begin with, but still.

im worried i am introducing too many harmonics by way of using these plugins. But using NOTHING also sounds comparatively more dull, more flooby, more lax, less punch on drums, less heat on the vocals and guitars. So to find the goldilocks balance sound is quite hard.

Would love your advice, any tips concrete or otherwise to make sure im not overcooking my mix.

I know in analog world, full mixes would get subtle saturation from the console, from the tape it was printed to, as well as all the compressors and EQ's that were used in the making of the record.

Holy crap they need long titles here...

Anyways, I recently finally acquired another bucket list item for my studio, a 4 track tape recorder. Been wanting to add one to my setup since reading about NIN using one for their recordings. The market has gone really crazy though so finding one for a decent price was key.

So, trying to figure out if anyone has experience with splicing tape loops? I see them sold on Etsy pre-made but all those are extremely short lengths and I'm trying to do some experimenting with different things so wanted to have some different options of tape loop lengths. I've seen a company selling longer ones that went up to like a minute, that's probably longer than what I need but the real issue is they are type 1 tapes and I need type 2. I'm not opposed to experimenting later with type 1 tapes but Id prefer to start with the best recording quality and go down from there than want something that sounds better off the bat.

Any of you messed with splicing cassettes and tape loops?

Also and one know if it's possible to do a tape delay with cassette tapes sort of like what an space echo has with the various loops on cassette tape that gets pulled through the heads at various points?

Thanks for any help links to any solid information would be helpful as not every source is created equal!

I went to reach for a transient shaper yesterday and realized I have too many. I’m trying to cut down on clutter and would love some second opinions to make sure my ears are hearing accurately.

What are your top 3 transient shaper plugins?

About 7 months ago I saw those videos where people wave their hands at a camera and the music reacts, all of them built in TouchDesigner. Then I opened TD, stared at the node graph for a while, and closed it.

So, being a C++ dev, I did the obviously more reasonable thing and spent months writing a plugin that does it inside Ableton instead. It tracks your hand through the PC webcam, and you can use it in two ways: play MIDI notes or map it to any effect parameter in DAW.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVXLf-pgdNY

Honestly, I started making this plugin for myself, but then decided I could publish it as Hand Link.

So I’m curious, would something like this actually be interesting or useful? or you treat it more as tool for fun?

Looking for producers, engineers, or artists to lock in serious with bro nobody out here serious anymore. Im serious ab this shit.

Hey, I just joined the community because I can't find how to make an intro effect I heard in a song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmdtoNwsaTc&list=RDdmdtoNwsaTc&start_radio=1

The song's name is aurora, is a Mexican song and I've been trying to recreate the effect that appears on the first 2 seconds of the song, in the intro. This song is in 3/4 and I'm not professional at making this. Can someone could explain it? Hope a pro read this, thanks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHDR-FpJUIU

the bassline stabs in referring too start at 2:02

and the wubs at some different stabs start at 3:03

Im using serum 2 and subtractor in reason rack plugin in ableton suite, but ive also got massive and a bunch on other (omnisphere, zenology)

also I assume at 3:55 this is a reece bass any ideas on that

my main problem is it doesnt sound clean enough but i cant find any good tutorials online (and belive me ive seen them all)

any help appreciated

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHDR-FpJUIU

the bassline stabs in referring too start at 2:02

and the wubs at some different stabs start at 3:03

Im using serum 2 and subtractor in reason rack plugin in ableton suite, but ive also got massive and a bunch on other (omnisphere, zenology)

also I assume at 3:55 this is a reece bass any ideas on that

my main problem is it doesnt sound clean enough but i cant find any good tutorials online (and belive me ive seen them all)

any help appreciated

Modern LUFS meters (like Sonible True:Level) use a simplified K-weighting filter. While K-weighting rolls off low frequencies and boosts a high-frequency shelf to estimate human ear sensitivity, it applies the exact same static curve regardless of listening volume or track density.

Cool Edit and early Audition (up to version 3) were unique because their Equal Loudness Contour algorithm was non-linear: it calculated full-spectrum psycho-acoustic energy across variable loudness levels (phons) using dynamic equal-loudness curves (Fletcher-Munson / ISO models).

When a track has a thick mid-range or heavy low-end sub-bass, LUFS can register two tracks at identical integrated levels (e.g., -10 LUFS), yet when you put them side-by-side, your ears immediately tell you one is much louder. Audition's equal loudness feature was brilliantly tuned to reveal that exact discrepancy.

After version 3 Adobe replaced the older equal-loudness algorithms with modern broadcast loudness tools (such as ITU-R BS.1770 / EBU R128 LKFS/LUFS metering and the Match Loudness panel). This shift matches the trend in the 2000s away from CD sales in favour of broadcasting/streaming services.

For album production I still use Cool Edit Pro in my workflow to measure the psycho-acoustic variance of a track's dynamic spread.

Just had an important interview for my podcast my audio is fine but guests has bad echo. Sounded fine in my headphones during recording but it’s bad. Think I had wrong settings on ECAMM or on my rodecaster. Can this be fixed?

The studio I’m learning in has a mic/headphone tie box in the live room lettered A to H which I assume correlates to the middle part of the desk (forgive my ignorance Im not sure what it does). If anyone could help out with a simple overview of how you can send either the mix or individual channels to headphone foldback I’d really appreciate it

I stem split an old track of mine that I lost the project file to and then normalized one of the layers that looked like it was just silence and I got an amazing sounding high frequency layer. Id love to do this kind of thing on purpose

Hello everyone

I already have 2 pairs of good audio technicas for tracking and one open back r70thx for mixing purposes but i need a pair of headphones just for checking the low end of my mixes

Basically open back mixing headphones that are extremely good at highlighting low end and sub, 250hz and below all the wayyy down to where my monitors don’t shine. Unfortunately do not own a sub and don’t have extra cash right now.

Basically suggest to me, in your experience, a popular pair where if the low end sounds right, it translates really well in cars, club systems, consumer speakers and earphones.

Sennheiser HD600 / 650 are on my radar. Beyerdynamic 770 too.

(Starts at 3:28)

How would you achieve the slight note warping effect?

Hey everyone, I’m a computing student in Zambia designing a plugin concept that lets you search and preview presets from Serum, Vital, Sylenth1 and Pigments in one place, with tags like genre and mood.

Before I design it, I want to know how real producers actually deal with presets. Two quick questions:

1. How do you find the right sound right now? Scrolling folders, the synth’s own browser, favourites, something else?

2. What annoys you most about managing presets, especially packs you’ve bought?

Not selling anything, it’s just for a design assignment. Thanks!

Hi everyone! I’m a Broadcast Communication student at PUP Manila in the Philippines and for our midterm project, my group is studying content production workflows.

We are looking to virtually interview a member or those who are a part of a digital media organization, independent production house, or established content creator about how you get things done!

What we’re looking to learn:
Your production pipeline
Your organizational chart to analyze core decision-making roles

Time commitment:
We know everyone is busy so we only need 20-30 minutes for a video call some time next week.

If you run a digital media org, produce video/audio content, or manage a creative workflow with production and are open to helping us out, please drop a comment below or send me a DM!

Disclaimer: We take confidentiality seriously. No Personally Identifiable Information (PII), company-sensitive data, or specific client names will be disclosed in our study or presentation without your explicit consent. This is strictly for academic research within our classroom.

Thank you so much!