Recording - June 2021 - 55
Distortion and Saturation
AmpliTube is pretty much my favorite plugin
for guitar and bass distortion, but for distortion on vocals (such as on Todd Rundgren's
'Planet Queen'), that was Soundtoys Decapitator and/or McDSP FutzBox (see picture). For
more subtle saturation, I now use the Plugin
Alliance Black Box Analog Design HG-2MS.
Reverbs and Spaces
I have several favorite flavors of spatialization and reverberation. For Hipster, when
I wasn't using my analog MasterRoom II or
Lexicon 480 digital reverb, I always used a
combination of Soundtoys Little Plate, McDSP Revolver, and Avid Space, often in the
same session. Little Plate has pretty much become my go-to 'plate' reverb of choice, espeU2 bass plugins (ProSub, ChannelG)
cially on vocals. Whenever a 'hall' would work
best, I usually reached for Revolver, and I used Space primarily
greatest digital converters and DAW software; it's been mixed on
for drum rooms or just to add a bit of snare reverb to augment the
a digitally controlled analog console with automation and recall.
room mics. In some instances, when I wanted an EMT 140 plateEverything about Hipster is hybrid. Plugins are just one more tentatype sound, I also used the Avid Space emulation of that classic
cle of the creative process-this hybrid approach, in my opinion,
piece of gear. One such example was Kesha's vocal on the opendefines a healthy and balanced future for music creation.
er 'Children of the Revolution', where I used the Avid EMT plate
plus a touch of Soundtoys EchoBoy (for a 1/8 note delay) and
Marc Urselli is a Grammy-winning engineer working out of New
then the McDSP Revolver for the background vocals (see picture).
York City and London. Read about his current projects and past sucAnytime a song requires something crazy, creative or more
cesses at www.marcurselli.com
out-there, Soundtoys definitely takes the cake. I used Crystallizer
sparingly on a few vocals on the record (like Sean Lennon's
'Mambo Sun'). My absolute all-time favorite is the incredible
variety of flavors and combinations found in Soundtoys Effect
Rack. The psychedelic swirly string section in the middle of
Nick Cave's 'Cosmic Dancer' was achieved with three instances of Effect Rack, one instance of Little Plate and some extra
movement generated by panning the strings across the field
with four instances of Soundtoys PanMan (see picture)-it's
safe to say, that middle section is a total Soundtoys fest!
How long to mix a song?
Another one of my favorite and little-known plugins is ProjectTime by HOFA; slap it on any track, and it'll tell you how
many hours, minutes and seconds you've spent working on it.
Gone are the days of guessing. I use this to calculate precise
and honest billable hours for my clients. Even when I'm paid
a project fee rather than an hourly fee, sometimes I still keep it
on to provide a sense of how long I've labored on something.
Wrap-up
Plugins have changed the way we work. We have more tools
at our disposal, and many of them grant us mixing superpowers
with unprecedented creative options. But it's important to always
do whatever we do with knowledge and experience rooted in the
analog past of music creation, because that will afford us a greater
understanding of the future. This whole Hal Willner production
is a hybrid kind of album; it's got tracks from the past played
by artists from the present; it was recorded on vintage analog
consoles, with old ribbon and tube mics and transformer-based
preamps, only to then be acquired and digitized by the latest and
RECORDING June 2021
55
http://www.marcurselli.com/
http://www.pearlmanmicrophones.com
Recording - June 2021
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - June 2021
Fade In
Fast Forward
Plugin Outlet: Accusonus ERA 5 Pro Bundle
Arturia KeyStep 37
Soundware Showcase: Spitfire Audio Originals Mrs Mills Piano
Richard Barbieri: Living under a spell: interpreting dreams through texture
Erica Synths: SYNTRX Analog Synthesizer
Moog Sound Studio: Mother-32 & DFAM Analog Synthesis Experience
Patch & Tweak with Moog from Bjooks
Plugin Outlet: NUGEN Stereoizer Elements
Inside the Studio with Mark Hornsby: A little summin, summin!
Eventide: H9000 Next Generation Harmonizer (Part 2)
Reviewed & Revisited: Steinberg Cubase Pro 11
Radial Engineering: EXTC Stereo
Inside the Box with Joe Albano: Working In Multiple DAWs
Reviewed and Revisited: PreSonus Studio One 5.2
Plugin Outlet: Focusrite FAST Plugins
Session Log: The Angelheaded Hipster, Part 6: Plugins
Plugin Outlet: BOOM Library EnRage
Reviewed and Revisited: Modarrt Pianoteq 7
Readers' Tracks
Reviewed and Revisited: Ableton Live 11
Plugin Outlet: Waves Vocal Bender
Fade Out: Spaceship Syndrome
Recording - June 2021 - Intro
Recording - June 2021 - Cover1
Recording - June 2021 - Cover2
Recording - June 2021 - 1
Recording - June 2021 - 2
Recording - June 2021 - 3
Recording - June 2021 - Fade In
Recording - June 2021 - 5
Recording - June 2021 - 6
Recording - June 2021 - 7
Recording - June 2021 - Fast Forward
Recording - June 2021 - 9
Recording - June 2021 - Plugin Outlet: Accusonus ERA 5 Pro Bundle
Recording - June 2021 - 11
Recording - June 2021 - 12
Recording - June 2021 - 13
Recording - June 2021 - Arturia KeyStep 37
Recording - June 2021 - 15
Recording - June 2021 - Soundware Showcase: Spitfire Audio Originals Mrs Mills Piano
Recording - June 2021 - 17
Recording - June 2021 - Richard Barbieri: Living under a spell: interpreting dreams through texture
Recording - June 2021 - 19
Recording - June 2021 - 20
Recording - June 2021 - 21
Recording - June 2021 - 22
Recording - June 2021 - 23
Recording - June 2021 - 24
Recording - June 2021 - 25
Recording - June 2021 - Erica Synths: SYNTRX Analog Synthesizer
Recording - June 2021 - 27
Recording - June 2021 - Moog Sound Studio: Mother-32 & DFAM Analog Synthesis Experience
Recording - June 2021 - 29
Recording - June 2021 - Patch & Tweak with Moog from Bjooks
Recording - June 2021 - 31
Recording - June 2021 - Plugin Outlet: NUGEN Stereoizer Elements
Recording - June 2021 - 33
Recording - June 2021 - Inside the Studio with Mark Hornsby: A little summin, summin!
Recording - June 2021 - 35
Recording - June 2021 - Eventide: H9000 Next Generation Harmonizer (Part 2)
Recording - June 2021 - 37
Recording - June 2021 - Reviewed & Revisited: Steinberg Cubase Pro 11
Recording - June 2021 - 39
Recording - June 2021 - 40
Recording - June 2021 - 41
Recording - June 2021 - Radial Engineering: EXTC Stereo
Recording - June 2021 - 43
Recording - June 2021 - Inside the Box with Joe Albano: Working In Multiple DAWs
Recording - June 2021 - 45
Recording - June 2021 - 46
Recording - June 2021 - 47
Recording - June 2021 - Reviewed and Revisited: PreSonus Studio One 5.2
Recording - June 2021 - 49
Recording - June 2021 - Plugin Outlet: Focusrite FAST Plugins
Recording - June 2021 - 51
Recording - June 2021 - Session Log: The Angelheaded Hipster, Part 6: Plugins
Recording - June 2021 - 53
Recording - June 2021 - 54
Recording - June 2021 - 55
Recording - June 2021 - Plugin Outlet: BOOM Library EnRage
Recording - June 2021 - 57
Recording - June 2021 - Reviewed and Revisited: Modarrt Pianoteq 7
Recording - June 2021 - 59
Recording - June 2021 - Readers' Tracks
Recording - June 2021 - 61
Recording - June 2021 - 62
Recording - June 2021 - 63
Recording - June 2021 - 64
Recording - June 2021 - 65
Recording - June 2021 - Reviewed and Revisited: Ableton Live 11
Recording - June 2021 - 67
Recording - June 2021 - Plugin Outlet: Waves Vocal Bender
Recording - June 2021 - 69
Recording - June 2021 - 70
Recording - June 2021 - 71
Recording - June 2021 - Fade Out: Spaceship Syndrome
Recording - June 2021 - Cover3
Recording - June 2021 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202503
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202502
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202501
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202412
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202411
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202410
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202409
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202408
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202407
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202406
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202405
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202404
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202403
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202402
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202401
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202312
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording-november-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202310
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202309
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202308
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202307
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202306
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202305
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202304
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202303
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202302
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202301
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202212
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202211
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202210
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202209
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202208
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202207
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202206
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202205
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202204
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202203
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202202
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202201
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202112
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202111
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202110
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202109
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202108
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202107
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202106
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202105
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202104
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202103
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202102
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202101
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202012
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202011
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202010
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202009
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202008
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202007
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202006
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_20205
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202004
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202003
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202002
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_202001
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201912
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201911
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201910
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201909
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201908
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201907
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201906
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201905
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201904
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201903
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201902
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201901
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201812
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201811
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201810
https://www.nxtbook.com/musicmaker/musicmaker/recording_201809
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201808
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201807
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201806
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201805
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201804
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201803
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201802
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201801
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201712
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201711
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201710
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201709
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201707
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201706
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201705
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201704
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201703
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201702
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201701
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201611
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201610
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201609
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201608
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201607
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201606
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201605
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201604
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201603
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201602
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201601
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201512
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201511
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201510
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201509
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201508
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201507
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201505
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201504
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201503
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201502
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201501
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201412
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201411
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201410
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201409
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201408
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201407
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201406
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201405
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201404
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201403
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201402
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201401
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201312
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201311
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201310
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201309
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201308
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201307
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201306
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201305
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201303
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201302
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201301
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201212
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201209
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201208
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201207
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201206
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201205
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201204
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201203
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201202
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201201
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201111
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201110
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201109
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201108
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201107
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201106
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201105
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201104
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201103
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201101
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201008
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201007
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201006
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201005
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201004
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201003
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201002
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_201001
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_200912
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_200911
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/recording_200910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/musicmaker/nxtd
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com