Three minute reads for artists and producers
who want to make better records

By Thomas Dulin

Happy Wednesday, Reader, I hope you're having a great week so far.

I've been traveling for some shows with Ben Rector but I'm in the studio for a bit finishing up some mixes.

Here's this week's Take Three email.

TAKE ONE: QUICK LINKS

• Waves have announced a drum replacement tool. I'll continue using Slate Trigger and Massey DRT (shocking how few people are aware of DRT).
• Production Expert's roundup of upcoming Apple M5 computers (rumors). Worth a read if you're considering a new machine soon.
• ​Audiomovers have announced LISTENTO 3 which can stream up to 128 channels of audio over the internet with "guest pass" and talkback features as well.

TAKE TWO: RECORDING DRUMS MASTERCLASS IN NASHVILLE

My friend Tim Buell and I are trying something fun -- a live masterclass on recording drums. We're doing it at my studio in Nashville, and limiting it to only 8 people. Come join us!

​Click here to check it out and sign up.​

TAKE THREE: MIXING IS AN ACTIVE SPORT

As I've been jumping back and forth between mixing live shows and records, I've become more aware of something I do.

And it's something that every good mixer does, in my opinion:

Mixing actively.

What I mean by that is is that I'm never just standing at the console during the show with my hands behind my back, listening to the music. My faders in Pro Tools are never just static the whole way through a song.

If our goal in making records is to evoke an emotional response of some kind (that is my goal, at least), it is 100% necessary to make sure every moment of a song has emotional momentum and intentional purpose. That's going to require some amount of automation throughout the course of a mix.

The easiest and most obvious tool that we have to accomplish that is volume balance!

When the vocal gets whisper quiet, we need to turn it up so it can be heard. When the lead guitar gets screaming loud and harsh, let's turn it down so that it still fits in the context of the band. (Or turn it up even louder and make the listener feel uncomfortable if that's the goal!)

Some other fun ways to actively shape the emotion of a song:

• Pan / imaging: if you want your chorus to feel wide, use pan automation to make your verse feel narrow. Or plugin automation to control the "sides" of a mid/side signal.
• Room mics / reverb amount: if you want the chorus to feel like it's in a larger room, or smaller and more intimate, ride the level on the room mics. Or the reverb send. Or the reverb time! Or the brightness of the room mics. Or the feedback of the delay tail!
• Momentum between vocal phrases: if you feel like there's an unwanted "lull" of focus between the phrases of a vocal, group together some of your instruments and push their level up anytime the vocal rests.

There's no one right way to do this, but the idea I'm hoping to convey is to just try something. The only wrong thing you can do is to assume that if the mix sounds good in the second verse, then you are finished.

I'll leave you with this fun example.

Before I tell you what to listen for, try to identify what's being automated in the eight second span between 0:30 and 0:38 in Brandi Carlile's "You and Me On The Rock." What instrument, and how much change is happening?

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You and Me On The Rock (feat... Brandi Carlile, Lucius PREVIEW   ​

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Did you catch it?

If I had to guess, I would estimate that the snare drum in that fill is about 10dB louder than it is in the chorus that immediately follows.

In order to maintain the emotional momentum and build into a full chorus of vocals, we needed the snare up 10dB in that moment!

My challenge to you this week is not to be afraid of making big, bold moves in your mixes. The emotional power of your music depends on it.

Until next week, happy music making, Reader.

Thomas Dulin Producer / Engineer / Mixer