Author: Daniel Quick

So far in this series we have talked about so many different groups of inputs and how I process them through my waves rack on any given event. While this is a series based on guidelines, I sincerely hope that this has sparked at least an idea of how you could improve your mix with perhaps a new tool or a new way of thinking in regards to how you use your waves or plugin equipment. If you go to this link you can read all the previous posts in this series. This week, I’m going to address what I do with the rest of my drum kit. I started the series with the bass guitar and the kick and snare but I didn’t talk about toms or cymbals. Well, it’s finally time. Because my tom chains are identical I’m going to go through my actual chain for one tom and show you the principles that I’m using that you can apply to the rest of the toms. I don’t do much with the brass but wanted to show you one things that I am doing that you might find helpful.

When Smack Attack was launched, we were in the market for something new for our toms in regards to not only physical equipment (i.e. triggers) but plugins as well. Let me tell you, this plugin fit the bill. With the option to adjust both the attack and the transients, we can really shape what the whole note sounds like. We currently don’t do a ton with the transient side of the plugin because of the gates we use on our consoles in conjunction with triggers on the drum to trigger those gates. However, before we started utilizing triggered gates, the transient side of the plugin was a pretty neat way to handle mixing toms without gates.  With the graph over time you can really make sure you are getting the action that you want. So if you don’t want to gate opr maybe can’t afford or use triggers consider using smack attack. Both of them will considerably tighten up your mix. Just cleaning up the snare out of the first tom noticeably cleaned out drum reverbs in play and allowed me to really regain control of the drum-set. We aren’t talking total isolation, but enough that you really hear things tighten up. I am using an altered version of the “Great Toms” preset.

Secondly, I pulled up a C6. I have tried a bunch of the different presets but have altered so many so much I’ve basically developed my own now. A lot of the presets in the C6 are designed around studio usage but I’ve found that in the live environments they don’t often translate as they have way too much additive EQ for my tastes. So I went back to what I do with the C6 on everything else: build a curve based around the EQ I’m using on the channel and start from there. This is pretty much where I’ve landed. Because my EQs on toms are relatively simple (just a few cuts where needed, you always have to scoop out low mids and mids quite a bit with toms) my C6 curves aren’t complicated either. I grabbed one of the sweepable bands and moved it right to my big scoop from the board than started listening. I then setup some minor compression on the other bands and bypassed the top band because I just don’t need any compression up that high. The easiest way to do this is to get a recording or a really patient drummer that can just keep hitting the drum while you really take the time to dial it in. The hardest thing about toms is that you only hear them for a split second so you need to have your stuff together so take your time in setup. Also, I’ve found when I use the C6 or even the F6 in this way I can go back and adjust the EQ a little as I usually don’t need so much. 

The last bit of compression I use on the toms is the HComp. I don’t generally like using the punch on my toms because it does some weird things with the tone of the attack in my case but I always play with this to make sure I don’t need it. As with my past suggestions, I’d set that threshold so that on the hardest hits you are taking around 6db out in compression. This is just a guideline but I’ve found it to be a good place to start. I use a standard ratio for drums (~8:1-10:1) and an attack that lets the drum pop but not make you blink and reasonably fast release so if multiple hits are happening we don’t end up adding compression on top of compression. I always want the compressor to fully release before the start of the next hit. My mix knob varies, for me it has a lot to do with who is playing. Strong players I can run it a bit higher, say 80% and above, but for more timid players or those who are new to the room I’ll turn this down to make sure that I still get plenty of life out of the set even from lighter players. I’ve also started adding some make-up gain back in to the tune of just a couple db to really make sure the toms jump to the top when they are hit and then disappear when they don’t.

Last but not least for me is the NLS plugin. I decided awhile ago that I wanted to use the same model on all the drums to help them feel like they are one unit and so I have stuck with the Neve model. I love this model in general as it adds a bunch of clarity and spark that the other two just don’t have. I find myself playing around with this from time to time but always end up back on Nevo. Additionally, the NLS plugin is all that’s on the hi hat and ride inputs. I’ve tried compression or gating and never liked the results. These two inputs sit up and ungated and provide a lot of the space that my gated drum-set needs to sound natural. Also, because of the very wide dynamic range of these two cymbals, I generally don’t recommend much if any processing on them.

After we picked up the F6 that has 6 bands of dynamic EQ with high and low filters I immediately tried this on our cymbal inputs. In our 96k system controlling the high end is very important to us and so I dropped in a the F6 to dynamically pull this back. That way when the drummer really lays into the cymbals, like they do, while I don’t need to compress this I’m at least controlling the part of it that makes us all cringe, the high end shrill that starts around 8-10k and goes up to infinity. This has actually allowed me to be able to use the cymbals more because the part of the tone that when amplified hurts, is not being dealt with dynamically. I definitely don’t want to make any cuts during a ballad when we are looking for those intricate sounds from the brass of the set but rather only when we are in that huge bridge, the drummer is laying into the kit and then slams both crashes. This creates a subtle difference which, in my opinion, makes those moments better and more powerful because you are still focused on the song and not thinking about how loud the cymbals feel.

That’s it for this week. Next week I’m going to touch on my group bus chains next week and provide a few last minute resources for your benefit. I hope to see you back and as always, I hope that you are getting something out of all this information. If you have any questions or even an idea for me to try out please comment below or email me at daniel@studiostagelive.com. If you want to be sure not to miss a post, just follow this link and you will get an email as soon as new content is released. Happy mixing!

This week is going to be a bit different. In talking about what I do with tracks I think it’s better to just discuss what I could do. So many people just run these through their board and assume they are fully processed with no need for EQ or compression. But for me, I treat them the opposite way because more often than not there is an important musical line that really needs to be heard. On my console these 14 inputs are completely automated. EQ is programmed for each song and in waves I tailor plugin selections for what I need each track to accomplish for me. We don’t often use every track for every song and play a lot of songs without tracks but I quickly learned that having a flexible and extensive input list from tracks becomes a necessity to ensure maximum usage and the ability to treat different kinds of tracks differently. Because this varies so much each week I’m going to list my tracks inputs and then make a list of the plugins I might use to really help them shine. Each list is a plugin I have used with that track or am currently experimenting with. I don’t necessarily use each plugin each week but often I’ll load up a bunch of them, play around a bit, and see what fits. The key is keep trying new stuff and see what you can creatively do to enhance the tracks and help them blend in with the band.

These first four tracks are already mastered from the original artists but occasionally I need to spice them up a bit or reign them in to fit our context.  Besides putting NLS at the end of each chain I’ll often pull up a compressor and on the organ or aux keys something to bring out the unique tones in play. These four channels are all stereo which forces me to make sure I appropriately process each one to keep a nice wide profile.

Trx 1-2 (Pad): Brauer Motion (use with care here), API 2500, CLA-2a/3a

Trx 3-4 (Organ): Brauer Motion, Aural Exciter, API 2500, HComp

Trx 5-6 (Synth): Scheps Parallel Particles, Vitamin, Aural Exciter, API 2500

Trx 7-8 (Aux Keys): all of the above!

These next three channels are the typical tracks you’d normally hear being used for band supplementation. These are often recorded and pre-processed by our worship pastor so often all that needs to be done is just some small compression to bring them up to the playing field with the band. As with the above, you will find the NLS at the end of each chain.

Trx 9 (Perc): usually just the NLS plugin, sometimes LoAir or Renaissance Bass

Trx 10 (Electric Guitar): F6, Vitamin, HComp (often treated like a live player)

Trx 11 (Acoustic Guitars): MaxxVolume, Vitamin, Scheps Parallel Particles, HComp

Lastly we have some bonus channels and the BGV channel. How much I process the BGV channel depends on whether or not it’s a processed artist track or a recording we made to have backing tracks. The other two tracks are often the most fluid in our setup as they are used for anything that doesn’t fall into the above categories. The choice of NLS model used varies a lot here as well and sometimes automates with each song to really make sure the right one is used for each track. It is easy however to overprocess these as well because they can be so different. To fight that I always try to use the A/B rule here and make sure that every change I’m making does something positive for my mix.

Trx 12 (Misc 1): anything and everything needed

Trx 13 (Misc 2): anything and everything needed

Trx 14 (BGV): C6, Scheps Parallel Particles, CLA-2a/3a

Well that is the breakdown of what one might typically see in our waves setup. As I’ve said before the key is flexibility. One of the biggest reasons I run them through waves is to use the NLS plugin. These are some of the inputs that don’t pass through our consoles preamps so I really like to dial up the NLS plugin to help bring some natural color and warmth to each plugin. But even bigger than that, processing them like I process the band really helps them start to sound more like the band. This brings a sense of congruence that makes things gel together when it comes to the final mix. Tracks need to supplement your bands sound not stand apart or overtake it. Be sure that no matter how many tracks inputs you have or how you use them, their presence lines up with the philosophy your band leader is aspiring towards. Than support that philosophy with how you process and mix them in.  

Tune in next week when I’ll go over the rest of the drumset inputs, mostly the toms, and start wrapping up the series. Than the following week we will close it up by discussing how I process my groups busses through waves which is where some of the magic of waves occurs in my setup. As always feel free to comment below or email me at daniel@studiostagelive.com and subscribe at this link to get an email when new content is posted. Have a good one!

Welcome back to our first Waves Multirack Series! This is week 6 of the series where I’m going to talk through what I am currently using on my piano and keys inputs. We run a full mainstage rig where I work like so many churches and studios. Because I have that hooked up to dante I have several outputs at work with which I can process differently. We run 5 stereo outputs to our consoles that are as follows: piano, pad, organ, synth, and electric piano. While this seems like a lot to manage but it ensures that we can fully manipulate each input as we like and not have to get to crazy in the automation wing when it comes to different songs and sounds. To help shorten this post a bit I’m going to go through and show what I do for the piano input and then discuss how I handle the rest of the inputs because they are usually just variations on the piano channel. Lastly, I want to say that these inputs, like my acoustic input, are pretty fluid. My tastes and needs change quite a bit with the piano and we occasionally try different samples in mainstage so these, like the rest of my posts, are very much just suggestions. However, having said that, this layout of plugins is working very well for me. They strike a good balance between keeping it simple and processing the gold out of each input. Let’s check it out!

The first thing I do with the piano is drop in a C6. In order for the characteristics of the sound to translate well to being amplified I have always felt that dynamic EQ is necessary a bit for pianos. I use the board EQ to make the piano sound good when it’s just the piano and then use the C6 to help it out a bit when it’s being played with a full band. I use an altered form of the Piano B preset. This layout brings out the bottom of the piano and helps it have a bit more attack when necessary. The green and purple bands are just functioning as basic compression. It would be easy to just slam the piano into this compressor but a good thing to remember is that when the player is playing things like pads and such behind speech, this plugin should be doing nothing and the be doing something when the band is playing with it (good rule of thumb for most compressors).

Next is a new plugin I recently picked up to give a bit of variety to my sonic enhancement lineup. I used to use a vitamin here but wanted something a bit easier to dial in quickly and found that with Scheps Parallel Particles. The link I attached to the title takes you to the video that Andrew Scheps put together talking about the plugin he helped create. Worth your time if you’re interested in how this works. While the graphical interface is visually pleasing, I’m guessing that you don’t use plugins just because they look cool. I’m still dialing this in for my own use but I started with the Piano preset and after making a few changes I think I really like where it’s at. A couple tips, there is a level light, make sure it’s not getting too hot. If you are hanging out in the yellow or red, turn down the input (I also unlink the input and output knobs so I can make independent changes). You have four options that do just what you might think. The sub knob introduces harmonics at the frequency you select, the thick knob is low mid, air knob is lo high mid stuff, and lastly the bite knob is high frequency harmonics that affect presence and crispiness. I did find that this can be a huge gain stage as you’d expect from a sonic enhancer so dropping the output down will likely be necessary. If you use vitamin, you can get similar results, I was just looking for something a little different and found it with parallel particles. This is not just additive EQ, be sure to check out the video on the waves page for more of an explanation.

Next is the ever popular API 2500. I recently picked this up and haven’t turned back. While I miss the parallel compression that the HComp offered this plugin has a unique feature that specifically helps stereo inputs. That is the the link section. I can treat each side of the channel differently! Beyond that section this compressor is a lot like many other compressors with all the typical settings you’d expect. I have most often found myself running the variable release as fast as possible with piano as the compressor seems a little sluggish but have occasionally slowed it down a bit. For me I watch the meters and make sure the compressor is releasing like I want and adjust accordingly. Knowing that there is already compression in the sampling and in mainstage I don’t do a ton of compression and what I do is sort of slow reacting. Once again, in the tone section we have some options that determine knee, thrust, and type which are better explained through just listening to the compressor itself. Some videos online do a decent job of explaining it but you really need to demo the plugin and try it yourself. As far as the link goes, I turn this down to like 70%. I haven’t played much with completely independent settings because I want the piano to sound cohesive but do want the compressors to work slightly differently. If I’m seeing variation from left to right on the input meters in waves I want to see similar variation on the output which before I’ve used this plugin I wasn’t seeing as much as I’d prefer. If you don’t have this plugin to try, I’d strongly suggest demoing it and perhaps picking it up the next time it’s on sale.

Lastly, as you’ve seen, is NLS. It is in dual mono mode so that the stereo channels are both going through their own model. Because clarity and attack are important for me in my settings I have really liked the Nevo model but if I’m looking for a more gritty sound (at the expense of clarity) than I’ll call upon the Mike or Spike settings.

That’s it for my general piano sounds. The rest of my piano/keys inputs are variations on this theme. I usually only use the C6 on the piano but will load it up on the electric piano if I’m having some issues. I do however use the API 2500 on each input as my primary compressor and use either the vitamin or scheps parallel particles if I’m in need of some extra life. The biggest difference for these channels is that I use MaxxVolume on the pad channel to make sure I’ve always got enough pad (the artist controls this volume a lot and I’ve found that the first part of MaxxVolume works really well to add volume on the fly when needed). Than on the synth channel instead of scheps I’ll pull up the Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter instead. I like this more because usually on the synth stuff all I need is just a bit more crunch to make it really punch through the mix when I need it too. Of course this can be done with either of the other two harmonics plugins I’ve discussed but the aural exciter gets me there faster and seems purpose built to do what I’m using it for. This is my motto for plugin choice in general. What’s the tool that seems purpose built for what you need? Use that plugin first and change it out later if you need.

Well that’s it for the piano section. Hopefully you’ve been able to glean a few universal principles that you can apply to your situation. If not, please feel free to ask questions below in the comment section or email me at daniel@studiostagelive.com. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. I would also ask that if you like what you are reading and want to be sure to know when something new is posted to subscribe to the blog at this link. Next week I’ll be covering what I do with tracks and talk about the unique tools I use to really bring my track inputs to a whole new level. See you then!