Your audience only hears your final mix, never the individual tracks of a session.
How often does a compressor or EQ setting sound perfect while in solo and then you unsolo the track and it sounds worse than before you even started? Ben Lindell shows your how helpful it is to be making your mixing choices, especially compression, in context.
Professional engineers know how important it is to be able to hear and make decisions in the context of the whole production, rather than just in isolation. This tutorial while direct your ear to the subtle sonic differences and open your mind to working without the solo button.
00:00:10 Today I want to talk to you about
mixing in context.
00:00:13 Most specifically about using compression
and tweaking compression settings
with the whole mix going on.
00:00:19 I just start off mixing by just
listening to the individual sounds,
cleaning them up
and starting to give them some shape
that I think will work in the mix.
00:00:26 But at a certain point,
you're gonna reach a stage
where you need
to listen to things in context.
00:00:30 You need to hear what the drums
and the bass and the piano
and the guitar all sound like together.
00:00:34 That's what we're going
to be working today.
00:00:37 Here's a mix that I've been working on.
00:00:39 For today's example, I want you
to listen specifically to the piano
and how it fits with everything else
that's going on in the track.
00:01:02 As you can hear, there's already
a lot going on in this mix.
00:01:05 Unfortunately, I think the piano is
kind of getting left behind a little bit.
00:01:09 I'm gonna throw a compressor on my piano
and try to bring it forward again
and help it speak.
00:01:14 The nice thing about working in context
is it's gonna push me
to make a bolder, more creative choice
with my compression settings
that I may not necessarily make
if I was listening to it in solo.
00:01:24 I'm gonna be using the Syrah plug-in,
which is great
for these kinds of adjustments,
because it's essentially
a 1-knob compressor.
00:01:30 I don't have to worry about Threshold,
or Ratio, or Make-Up Gain.
00:01:33 It takes care of all that for me.
I just turn the knob,
and I get a more compressed sound.
I'm gonna play the chorus again.
00:01:39 As we're listening,
I'm gonna be increasing
the amount of compression on the piano.
00:01:43 Listen to how the piano
just moves forward a little bit
and becomes more of a foundation
element of the track.
00:02:03 Great! Now let's check out
what the piano sounded like
before I added compression.
00:02:24 As you can hear, in about 30 seconds,
I was able to dial in
pretty much the exact amount
of compression I needed on my piano
to bring its presence forward and
just make it more a part of the track,
and sit nicely with the drums,
and the vocals, and the bass.
00:02:38 I'm pretty sure that
if I soloed the piano right now,
it'd be a little bit scary
how much compression is on it.
00:02:44 But it's fine, because in context
with the song, it sounds great.
00:02:48 That's exactly what I was looking for:
a nice, present piano
that sits nicely
with the drums and the vocals.
00:02:54 As you can see, this compressor
does have more than one knob.
00:02:57 Let's play with those and see if we can
add a little bit more color and openness
to this piano, and make it shine
even more in the track.
00:03:04 I'm gonna copy that A preset
over the B
by pressing Copy A.
00:03:09 Now I can tweak all these settings
all I want,
I can do whatever I feel like.
00:03:13 Now I can always get back
to the compressor settings
that I liked to begin with.
00:03:18 The first thing I'm gonna play with
is the M/S Mode.
00:03:21 I think that by adding
a little bit of width to my piano,
I could maybe open it up
and have it surround the vocal
and the drums a little bit more,
and I should give it even more presence.
00:03:31 Let's see what this sounds like.
00:03:47 Let me slide back over to my A preset
and see what the piano sounds like
with just compression, no M/S Mode.
00:04:09 I feel like the low end of the piano
may be influencing the compressor
just a little bit too much.
00:04:14 I'm gonna tweak the Relax Bass knob
to open up the compressor a tiny bit.
Let's check that out.
00:04:34 Again! Let me compare
just the plain compressor settings
to my now tweaked with M/S
and Relaxed Bass compressor settings.
00:04:43 First, just the compressor.
00:05:01 And now with some extra width
and relaxed emphasis on the bass.
00:05:20 Now for reference,
let's see what the piano sounded like
before I added compression to it.
00:05:41 Now let's listen through the Syrah
with just the compression settings.
00:06:00 And now let's listen
with the added M/S width
and the relaxed bass.
00:06:21 And now just for fun,
let's listen to it again
with no compression.
00:06:41 I really like where the sound
of my piano has arrived at.
00:06:43 It's got a little bit more width,
a little bit more color,
and it's got a nice sustain that
gives it a good foundation,
and it still sits very well
with the rest of the track.
00:06:51 Once again, a lot of these settings
I may not have ever got into
if I was listening to the piano in solo.
00:06:56 It's the context that allowed me
to make a bolder, more creative decision
and also let me be more efficient.
00:07:02 Instead of soloing, tweaking,
unsoloing, tweaking, and back and forth,
I just did it all together
and got my piano sound
exactly how I wanted it even quicker.
00:07:12 Till next time! I'm Ben Lindell.
Once logged in, you will be able to read all the transcripts jump around in the video.
Ben is a NYC based producer/engineer who has worked with artists from MGMT to Soulja Boy, Bebel Giberto to Lloyd Banks, Ryan Leslie, Olivia, Tony Yayo, Red Cafe, Edie Brickell, Carole Pope and hundreds of other artists from around the world. He grew up in Iowa and then attended the University of Miami.
In addition to being a fantastic musician he is also a tremendous geek when it comes to anything technical, be it software, plug-ins, microphones or outboard gear. It's this marriage of musical creativity and technical know-how that makes him an in demand producer/engineer.
Hadn't heard of M/S compression before this. Interesting.
ludwigmack
2020 Apr 23
I really liked this video! I think I will never have enough videos about compression and how to use it properly and better in all its applications.
I only have one suggestion: I would prefer A/B comparisons many times while listening to one part, so the difference is clear for not-experts like me :)
Thank you Ben for the video!
bassmothership
2020 Jan 14
A/B comparison is awfully difficult to hear if you're always speaking between.
Couldn't you simply say the examples first, them play them without stopping?
This makes me start to dislike pure mix.
Bill123
2019 Feb 19
You did this alteration in the chorus...how would it change going back to a verse?
I likely would not have used so much comprehension to begin with.
Great job!
JAW_007Mix
2018 Apr 05
Great intro for using compression on individual tracks while hearing it as a whole unit. I agree... I'd like the A-B comparisons done with out stopping.
jim.r
2017 Aug 26
I'm sorry, but A/B comparisons are totally useless when you stop the audio and start talking in between the processed and unprocessed sounds. I know this is for beginners, but doesn't that make it even MORE important. You've made enough records to know the very short memory of our ears.
Otherwise, a nice intro for beginners.
-Jim
rus5
2017 May 30
This guy ALWAYS does a great job - thanks Ben!!
dizzy416
2017 Mar 27
The compressed signal is actually louder than the uncompressed. you can see it on the actual plugin meters. Would love it if it were level matched :/
liketribes
2017 Mar 18
Thanks for the video Ben. Very Useful!
Remy David
2016 Dec 31
Ben, that was a great tutorial demonstration! So good it was. That just while listening to it on my 40 inch LCD TV. Coming out it's Precision, one inch by 3 inch Taiwanese speakers. On the back of the TV set. Facing the drapes. Your expert command. Of that compressor plug-in. Was a totally obvious improved difference. Listening to this. From these, high-end, five dollars worth,, of lightweight toy speakers. And it makes a significant difference! It's a fabulous demonstration!
That demonstration was so wonderfully relevant. And executed so well. That it made a huge difference! Bravo!
frankangell82
2016 Mar 23
Thanks for the video. Please keep them coming. Oh Yeah!!!
pablo12co
2016 Mar 23
Amazing!
boogie6l6
2016 Feb 14
On my laptop I'm not sure I can hear much difference at all, other than perhaps a bit more width with the m/s setting engaged, but I assume that's how most of us will listen. For us amateurs to 'get it' we need to be confident that each move we make is of positive benefit, rather than uncertain. Therefore, I'd appreciate anything that puts it beyond doubt. I concur that soloing the piano would have helped.
Nenette
2015 May 30
Great! Very useful. Thanks :)
5corde
2015 Apr 30
As "Some Guy" said, it would have been interesting to hear the piano soloed, too.
Nice video, thank you.
laru1977
2015 Apr 01
Hi Ben,
great input, thanks. Inspired me to just play on the threshold and make up first in the full mix before tweaking on attack/release settings (maybe with an "average" ratio of 4.
Might be nice to take a less exotic "compressor" next time for your tutorial.
I don't know if you guys are sponsored by plug-in companies, but could be a good idea to use once some good freeware plug-ins, so everybody could download the same plug in to play with in the examples. Also most videos are quite focusing on the big/more expensive companies. I knot, finally the ears are important.
jeromewauk
2015 Mar 30
Great job Ben. Very informative and practical tutorial. Also an awesome track as well. Would love to see a tutorial on how you mixed this track. Thanks.
Some Guy
2015 Mar 29
Would've been fun to hear the piano solo'd after the adjustments, just for kicks.
Alberto Rizzo Schettino
2015 Mar 28
@ilter Thanks for the suggestion! We never alter the saturation of the screen cast in post production, because as we all know, it tells you about the kind of breakfast Ben had that day. We'll go at the source and work around more breakfast options in the lobby!
ilter
2015 Mar 28
The colors of the Pro Tools mixers are too loud.
Could you drop the saturation down a notch, please?
properdos
2015 Mar 27
sounded the same on my macbookpro ..
dbetinis
2015 Mar 27
Very nice informative video. Simple things that work well. Enjoyed.
drumvarna
2015 Mar 25
Very nice video BEN, RESPECT!!!
It's very interesting and educational, how different sounds the Ben's MIXes and the Fab's MIXes in the same studio!!!
Cheers
M.Y.
2015 Mar 24
So great!
MIXING is the result of cumulative works.
It's not easy...xo
Bushyfoot
2015 Mar 24
Great vid guys! Always useful and relevant information!
