There’s a common rule about using EQ in mixing: cut instead of boost. Like many rules, there are about a million exceptions. This one isn’t even really a rule. For me, it’s more of a workflow: first improve the sound of the mix by removing frequencies that sound bad or aren’t necessary, then boost to […]
LOOKING AHEAD
While we’on on compression, have you ever wondered what the Lookahead menu is all about? This value specifies how large of a buffer Compressor uses. A larger value means that the device has longer to analyze the incoming signal, which means that the attack can be more accurate. The nature of analog compressors is to […]
BEWARE THE MAKEUP!
Unless you’re already a master of compression, beware of the Makeup switch. What it does is automatically apply “makeup gain” to the signal. As the Threshold and Ratio are adjusted, the compressor determines how much gain reduction it is applying and then raises the output signal up by that amount. This may seem totally counter-intuitive, […]
GET THE GAIN RIGHT (ALL THE TIME!)
Whenever you’re processing a signal in a way that changes it’s gain (whether you’re doing it with EQ, compression, distortion, etc.) the only way to really hear what the processor is doing is to match the volumes of the processed and unprocessed signals. The reason for this is a principle well known to any experienced […]
EQ: CHECK THE GAIN
A simple but useful feature of Live’s EQ 8 is the Gain control: It’s just a simple volume control, but it comes in handy for A/B-ing your EQ setups. If you’re making an EQ adjustment that raises or lowers the volume of a signal noticeably, you can cut or boost the gain a return the […]
KEY MAP TO A/B
When mixing, it’s really nice how easy Live makes it to A/B different effect settings or configurations – even when spread across multiple tracks. For example, earlier today I wanted to compare two different EQ settings on a layerd bass part. I wanted to hear what it sounded like to boost the lows in […]
SEE THE REAL FREEZE
Sometimes when editing a frozen track, it can be tricky to get the editing just right because you can’t really see what you’re editing. What you need to see is the actual waveform generated when the track is frozen, rather than the original audio or MIDI. The trick here is to display an automation lane, […]
EDIT GROUPS
Did you know that you can edit the clips inside Group tracks from the Group track itself? This is a feature that’s easy to miss because earlier versions of Live 8 (prior to 8.1, I think) didn’t work this way. Group tracks display colored bars to represent the Clips within: Selecting any portion of […]
TRANSPOSE VS. BASE
If you take a look at the Scale device, you’ll notice that right below the Base knob, there’s a Transpose control. And yet, I said you should use Base when changing the key of a preset scale… The difference is that Base simply transposes the scale, while Transpose will transpose each incoming note. Er, or […]
ONE SCALE, MANY MODES
Someone just asked me a question about creating custom Scale presets. Scale is used to force all incoming notes to conform to a particular scale. While the Scale’s interface is perfectly logical, it’s pretty tricky to wrap one’s head around. I’m not really going to get into explaining it except to say that it’s […]
