First Mix Harnessing the Power of CHRIS LORD ALGAE's (not)NS-10s

[Greg McCoy]

HAS THE MAGIC RUBBED OFF ON MY SOLO ALBUM?

(this is actually like a month old, I forgot this site had a recording section, still getting used to the monitors of course, don't know how it translates to other stuff)

[jacksonplayer]

I'm hearing the Algae Power, there.

[Greg McCoy]

I'm hearing the Algae Power, there.

Waves is now putting CLA commercials in front of every youtube video I view for more CLA signature plugins and I am very disappointed to learn he's just a regular looking guy.

I thought someone named "LORD ALGAE" would look like Swamp Thing. I was expecting 50% aquatic moss/50% mixing brilliance. There is actually 0% aquatic moss.

[Chris]

That kick drum has all the authority of Lucas's picking hand. Try this, per the SMG:

The bass drum commonly demands a particular EQ curve, which is desirable for mixes. Many times this is achieved by scooping out the region between 200Hz to 400Hz, widely, and heavily, followed by strategic low and high boosts. This will vary from kick to kick, project to project, but in general it’s a good idea to get a kick’s thump centered between 50Hz to 70Hz. This creates a good balance of low punch, whilst remaining high enough for most average stereo systems to be able to reproduce the bulk of it.

Depending on the tempo of the music, you may want to start with a high-pass filter. If you’re dealing with quicker, energetic music you can generally reject everything below ~36Hz. In many cases the content down there simply results in mud and excess headroom waste. The sub-bass content in
that region is not musical and is more an element that is ‘felt’ on larger systems. So, if you’re mixing a ‘house’ track, then you may want to reconsider high-passing this drastically, as the basis of your track might end up the wimpiest sounding.

You might find under many circumstances that the kick has significant content between 100 and 200Hz. This can be dangerous as it conflicts with where your bass guitar is likely to lie. If necessary, feel free to take some energy away from this area, as it will immediately make your kick feel deeper, and your mix cleaner. As always, too much removed and you will thin the sound out too much, so be wary.

Low shelves tend to work well with kicks, unless you’re after something particularly ‘peaky’ in the low-end (in which case you may want to use a ‘peak’ boost - duh?). Depending on how sub-heavy you desire the kick to be, feel free to center your low boost anywhere from 50Hz to 80Hz as a starting point. The higher you go, the more present the kick will be on smaller systems, but the more likely it will be to conflict with your bass guitar as well. It’s all one big compromise and trade-off game, so make sure you know what type of sound you’re chasing before you chase it.

In regards to high-end boosts, the sweet spot tends to be between 6kHz and 10kHz for most kicks. It really depends on where you would like your high-end slap to lie, but a lot of the time the choice is self-evident as the kick will immediately sound better in the mix when you find it. If after all this you find the attack of the kick is still buried, you can try boosting within the presence region. Between 2kHz and 4kHz will lead to really present ‘clack’ type sounds, which in some ways characterize a current, very prolific, pre- processed aftermarket sample library.

Ultimately, if you find yourself boosting a lot in the high-end region, to the point where the kick is quite harsh and thin when solo, but drowned when in the mix, it may be advisable to look at the rest of your mix instead. Chances are that the guitars, overheads or synths are too bright in the presence areas and are clouding the attack of your bass drum.

[thrashinbatman]

for a bit more advice:

use an EQ to find where the bass is centered in the kick drum. if needed, boost that spot and make sure to clear that lane in other low end focused instruments, especially the bass guitar. do the same for the bass guitar and kick. then compress it as you would, slow attack, medium release.


pro-tip: a well-recorded and mixed room track will do wonders for the power of your kick drum. same for your snare.

[Greg McCoy]

That kick drum has all the authority of Lucas's picking hand. Try this, per the SMG:

The really washed out sounding one is the second kit of tribal drums. I don't like those samples much, especially due to the fact that they can't compete with metal machine for punchiness, but I haven't found better. Still looking. They are OK for the higher tuned tribal tom parts, but the low tuned ones do sound like flubby kicks. I had the intro part with just metal drums and I didn't like it. All the spacier parts have the tribal drums. It is the "KHAN" kit though, so maybe I should ask for my money back.

Metal Machine is super punchy though, so I don't know if millenia old technology of animal hides stretched over frames can compete. There are other parts in the song where it's more apparent there are two kits. Although there is a lot of stuff going on, so that is why I am still hoping LORD ALGAE will reveal a way to make all those elements fit together and be audible.

I'm not quite sure how "forward" sounding I want the tribal drums to be, I boosted them for the below clip though. Usually they are doubling the bass, and often doubling the toms on the MM kit. (21 seconds here) I haven't got to the stage of dividing the drum kits so each is audible with separation yet, since I am not LORD ALGAE.

[also, it would be handy if you could upload mp3 or wav attachments, soundcloud is lame and gimmicky and youtube is only marginally better]

[Greg McCoy]

for a bit more advice:

use an EQ to find where the bass is centered in the kick drum. if needed, boost that spot and make sure to clear that lane in other low end focused instruments, especially the bass guitar. do the same for the bass guitar and kick. then compress it as you would, slow attack, medium release.


pro-tip: a well-recorded and mixed room track will do wonders for the power of your kick drum. same for your snare.

This is useful feedback, since now I know I have to get better tribal drum samples since everyone is mistaking them for a really shitty kick.

KHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN N



I don't want it to be super focused though, I AB with this record for general vibe. Yes, seriously. I love reverb. It works better for Nancy Sinatra and Lee Greenwood due to higher tuned instruments.

[RevDrucifer]

That kick drum has all the authority of Lucas's picking hand. Try this, per the SMG: