EQ Magazine - July 2008 - (Page 40)

MIX BUS MAKING STRING SAMPLES MORE MUSICAL and Waves Renaissance. I usually begin with their out-of-the-box standard hall. I don’t make a ton of changes to the preset, but I make sure the balance between the samples, the real strings, and the reverb feels rich and real. I start by listening to the strings without any reverb to get a sense of where that balance might be. Then, when I start blending in the reverb, there’s a point where it begins to feel about right. It’s an instinctive thing, but it also comes from experience. Depending upon the size of the string section, I usually start with a pre-delay between 24ms and 40ms. A good rule of thumb for early reflections is 24ms—which essentially translates to 24 feet from a wall. The reverb time— depending upon the section—is between two and three seconds. What do you do if, no matter how much you process a sample, it just doesn’t sound like it fits in the mix? Wu: If a sample isn’t working, or if it needs something more, I’ll add a couple of passes of real violin and/or cello to give the whole section a texture that makes it sound more realistic. Chiarelli: Her articulation and phrasing combined with the synth or sampled strings is night and day. The combination gives you a huge sound. What’s the biggest mistake one can make when mixing in a string section? Chiarelli: I don’t like it when I hear something that sounds as if it was recorded in 20 different locations—a vocal with a super-bright reverb, an orchestra with a super-dark reverb, a guitar with a super-boingy reverb on one side and some bizarre reverb on the other side. Don’t just start turning knobs—that’s why records don’t sound like records. If you want the vocal in front of the mix, the way to make it more present is to have a little bit less reverb on it, and to have a different early reflection time. Naturally, the orchestra would be behind the singer, so the delay time should be slightly different, and not as loud. The listener is standing in front of the audience, and the diva is out front singing. Therefore, the shortest delay is between the vocalist and the listener, and the largest delay is between the percussion—or whoever is in the back of the orchestra—and the listener. At the end of the day, this thing has to sound cohesive and musical. Wu: That’s why you keep your settings simple. If you get too fancy, you’re going to screw up the rest of the mix. Chiarelli: That’s right—it’s a game of inches, and you have to make sure the song wins in the end. The string arrangement exists to enhance the melody, so put the most musical surroundings you can around that melody, and make it pleasing to the listener. 40 EQ JULY 2008 www.eqmag.com http://www.visualwebcaster.com/musicplayernetwork/storefront http://www.visualwebcaster.com/musicplayernetwork/storefront http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - July 2008

EQ Magazine - July 2008 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Louis XIV, Four TET and Steve Reid, Can Your Record Go Gold in the Digital Age Tool Box Death Cab For Cutie Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Propellerhead Reason 4 Sony Acid Pro 6 EDAX Audio Labs VTP-100 M-Audio Profire 2626 Tape Simulator Shootout Tape Simulators Sounds Room With a VU: Infrasonic Sound Recording Company, Los Angeles, CA.

EQ Magazine - July 2008

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