DBX Compressors, What do they sound like and how do they work?
Dbx, synonymous with compression in every studio for the last 40 years. But what does it sound like and how do they do it? The company was primarily the brainchild of David Blackmer and in 1971 he developed a circuit for addressing the then pressing issue of noise reduction as this was the era of tape. He did this by compressing the audio at the recording stage and then played back with an expander, this made softer sounds louder at playback at further away from the levels
What are the main steps to Online Mixing and Mastering?
1. The first thing I do is to organise, label and colour code each track. For example each drum track would be collected and placed next each other in Pro Tools, I will then colour them and set a common output bus. 2. Gain structure is my next concern setting the overall levels to make sure my Master bus is not clipping. 3. A basic balance is my objective now, this involves adjusting relative levels but also starting to add insert effects like EQ and compression, I will al
Stacked Limiting when Mastering
Stacked limiting is limiting an audio signal and then feeding that signal into another, and possibly a further limiter if you desire. Back in the day (around 1937), it would be highly unlikely that you would think of doing this being as the limiter had just been invented and was the size of a cupboard. It would continue to be the norm for many years to come mainly due to cost and availability but with the advent of more affordable units and of course Plug Ins, this practice
Analog Vs Digital in the modern recording studio
Back in 1998, I was recording with my band at a local recording studio when we were offered to record to 16 track tape or for quite a bit more cash, a fully digital system. We were really eager to go down the digital route but unfortunately we couldn’t afford it and had to settle for old fashioned mixing desk and tape. Fast forward 24 years and the reverse is the case with with analog gear at sky high prices and costs to to use them in fancy studios that are out of the reach
