Have you ever wondered how to get that great analog warmth in your mix, even in a digital environment? In this episode of the show I talk about 3 ways to do exactly that. | https://homemusicstudio1.com/ferrictds/, https://homemusicstudio1.com/links/
Home Recording 101
FREE DOWNLOAD!
Are there times to run some tracks but not others through a tape saturation plug-in? For most of us we are limited to judicious use of plug-ins.
Hey Adam, yes there could be times to do exactly that. It’s really about the goal your after. An old school analog project would have had every track recorded by that technology though. If you were after more of a blended sound, you may do just the vocals with say the drum/bass tracks. It’s all depended on what sound characteristics your trying to achieve. It’s also just fine (maybe even preferred) to use tape saturation on your buses or even just the master bus.
A few points:
1. Another great tape saturation plug is the Massey TapeHead. The free version has very useable restrictions (no mutes / beeps), and the full version is quite inexpensive.
2. Would have been good to have a little more in-depth discussion of the harmonics produced by tape saturation and how different / similar that is to tube harmonics / distortion. Running a mix through a tube pre may be good, but to get the desirable saturation effect, it would help to have a knowledge of what is happening in there. Also, if the tube pre is not transparent, the mix will pick up all of those characteristics, wanted or not. You don’t necessarily want a “musical” pre (as many home studio pre’s are billed) on the master of a mix that’s already well-EQ’ed.
3. If you’re going to recommend people run the master out through outboard gear and back in, it might be good to remind them not to bus the return and get destructive feedback? Master -> Outboard Gear -> DAW Track -> Master -> etc. Dunno if some DAWs will automagically damp that, but good practice nonetheless.
Good podcast.
Interesting thoughts Josh, thanks for posting. Having a good weekend.
Hi David, As you thanked us all for following your podcasts, I wanted to thank you right back for taking the time to share your experience and expertise. It means a lot to us newbies.
In your podcast, you mentioned a link to a SoundOnSound article, but I don’t see it anywhere. Is my poor vision acting up again, or did you forget to post the link?
Your most welcome Dan! Here is the link http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb10/articles/analoguewarmth.htm I ran out of room in the episode description ;). I ended up putting in under the blog roll links on the site https://homemusicstudio1.com/links/, sorry bout that. Either way, I’m glad to help and have a great weekend, we’ve got tons more snow here in Michigan. Time to snow blow the driveway.