EmoryJ

I figured it out - when in doubt - undo! THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE HELP HERE!!!! I now have proper output gain for my mixes without globally pushing anything - allowing me to detail my mastering in one pass and - most importantly - Teaching me that I can actually learn this whizbang stuff - and eventually have my engineering ability match my musical ability. Thanks again! Emory

I got it! EUREEEEKKAA!!! I just used Command Z and VOILA!! all my gain issues are solved!! Now - about that upright eq? hahaha Thanks y'all!! Every one!

Hey Guys - So, I'm using this magic and I realize that I need to be able to "undo" the "select and operate" step where I commit the input value or multiply ratio. Can someone please explain how this works for me? Is is it an "operate" then "select and operate" when I have the value I want? Or can I Command Z my way back into the attempt? I'm so close, and I'm so happy to be four windows into a new and very useful tip. I just need some final wisdom. Anybody out there today? Thanks! EmoryJ

Hi there - oh Great Wizards! haha So - with Jonathan's help - I am in the middle of using this Tom's tip for fixing the volume issue I posted - which he (another Oh Great Wizard!) replied to on The L.U.G site. It's going well, but - in the transform process I'm using - where I'm multiplying the values to get the gain change I want (Jonathan suggested I try this instead of adding a number value when I was trying to get a db change) I need to know how to audition these values before committing to them - is there some "operate" before I "select and operate" protocol for trying out the multiply value I'm using? I hope I'm being clear about what I need - cause I'm done with mixing and have my final delivery on Monday haha Thanks in advance EmoryJ

I'm happy to say that I'm starting to think I actually know how to do a few things outside what I would have said was my comfort zone awhile back Frank. Thanks to people like you, who are willing to shed enough light for me to see how to do things myself. haha I installed my SampleTron library and WHOA what a great program; amazingly deep and yet I was able to climb on and create get some really usable sounds for my score... NOw, if my tech skills continue to catch up to my actual musical abilities this year - I may make enough money to only need two other jobs haha Thanks so much man Emory

Thanks for your reply Frank. But -I don't notice the plug in even looking for sounds when I load it into a virtual instrument track. And I'm pretty sure it's empty of sounds when it opens up - or it's different than any other tool I have with regard to choosing sounds. The sound selections would show up in the large window on the right side of the interface correct? I thought - maybe - that if I put in in my MAD HD SYS they would just show up - and then I could move them and point the app to the new location or something. Thanks, Emory

I just installed Sampletron and need to know where to put the libraries that came with it (combis et al) Can anyone help me? Thanks! Emory

You're right, and I forgot about that too. Just about everything I ever did on that thing ( think ) had both a swing feel on and was quantized. bear in mind that I was using it when it had 8 bit samples (pre Forat) Oh those were the days ..1985...I had a DX-7, An Oberheim Expander, that Linn 9000, 2 Ensoniq Mirages, an Alesis XTC Reverb, a SDD 1000 dig delay (Korg ?) , my Tascam 388...and a TERRIBLE set of Tascam momitors powered by some power amp I can't remember now......Yeah Baby!!

I loved the Linn 9000. I bought it after it had already gone belly up haha. But it was the only thing even remotely like it at the time - the pads felt great - and the onboard mixer really helped a dope like me get stuff done on the Tascam 388 I had at the time. Speaking of being dopey; I think BFD2 is probably the more capable of the two, but the interface isn't as easy to use and I think it's more of a hog than Superior is (have to check that). Roger Linn...what a guy

I've worked with Dave Mattacks, Levon Helm, Kenny Aronoff, and Dennis McDermott on my records. All very different players, and all just exactly what the tracks called for (http://www.emoryjoseph.com or http://www.myspace.com/fennariocity) For my DAW work, I use Toontracks products (EZ Drummer /Superior) and really love them. They have taken the time to get really accurate genre feels and/or player emulation and the variety of kits and mixing/mic'ing variables really lets me dial in pretty close to what I'd ask a drummer to do. Grace note playing and individual accents and/or odd hits can really help humanize a track - mostly though, If I pick the right groove and pick and choose which drums I'll make however wet that works for the imaging depth I want, I'm home free. I started programming drum using a Linn 9000 a million years ago. Eventually I quit because I HATED how midi instruments sounded. Nowadays (shhhh) who needs a drummer?! haha "NOTHING!! I said, who needs a HUMMER!!! A HUMMER...THE CAR!!!" Aww #$%@!, I gotta go.....my drummer was in the other room listening..... "HUMMER man...AWWWW DON'T LEAVE!!! NOBODY CAN DO PRESS ROLLS LIKE YOU!!!! BABY COME BACK!!!"

My two cents is that there is writing and tracking and mixing, - and everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. There are cases when a song is based around a drum part, and then again - where the drums just support the track. I'm of the school of thought that you're only as good as your drummer, so live - I spend as much or more time finding and working with drummers than anything else. For my demo process, I usually decided right-off-the-bat what groove I'm gonna track to (as close as can be for the moment) cut the combo (keys bass and guitar) and then do my vocals. As far as technique and skill goes 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover would not be the songs it is without Steve Gadd's unique part. Likewise, Levon Helm's signature is all over every song The Band ever did. But lots of drummers could have played the tracks on "Glamour Profession". All records require a mix that locks the bass (guitar, hammond pedal or synth sound et al) and kick strategically, and puts the drums, image wise, in a space that reflects their importance in the song. Personally, I don't think everyone should be programming their own drums on songs that go beyond the demo stage - and that the lowest common denominators overall musicality are usually found there. But in the world of absolute DIY - most people do there own drums. So there you go... EmJ

Tom - Thanks again for this tip. I have to re-read it closely tomorrow before I try it. I'm particularly interested in how it relates to and works wit the effects levels I have set for these mixes. And I'm sure, as thorough as you've been - that you've dealt with it in detail. Thanks again. EmoryJ

I've been writing movie cues and, now that I've finished, have turned to mixing. I've written some pretty involved volume curves on tracks in projects where the overall gain is way low. I'll be thinking of standard gain structure from the beginning from now on haha Anyway... I know I can just use a Gain utility/plug-in in concert w a limiter to bring my overall levels up, but isn't there some way for me to grab all the automation points within a project and raise them the same amount - and keep my effects levels the same? I'm asking this because I'd like to save my master faders/efx busses for final, more subtle tweeks - and do everything in one pass, and avoid having to print and bring them back in to do another mastering pass just to bring gain up. I hope I'm being clear, and I'm sure there is some dopiness afoot in my thinking. Thanks EmoryJ