PreSonus Blog

Dive into Ampire and Studio One with Forest Whitehead

Forest Whitehead hails originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, and has been based out of Nashville, TN since the fall of October of 2009.

Starting out as just a guitar player, he quickly began learning production and songwriting which led to signing his first publishing deal in 2011.

Since then, Forest has produced five #1 songs and has written four #1 songs most recognized for country superstar Kelsea Ballerini. He has a 2021 Grammy nomination for his work with Mickey Guyton for a song called “Black Like Me.”

After achieving success with his career in mainstream country radio, Whitehead has started an online presence called Music City Playbook that educates songwriters, artists, and producers on everything from songwriting, production, and publishing deals in the Nashville music industry.

With weekly production tutorials posted on his YouTube Channel, Forest’s goal is to become the go-to place online for quick success for songwriters wanting to produce their own music from home.

Make MIDI Guitar 2 Work with Windows

 

Jam Origin’s MIDI Guitar 2 (MG2) is a software-only, guitar-to-MIDI converter. It doesn’t require any special jacks, pickups, or multipin connectors—just give it your guitar’s audio output. MG2 works stand-alone, but can also insert as a plug-in into your guitar’s audio track, and generate a MIDI output. This shows up as an available MIDI input to an instrument track.

Unfortunately, when used as a plug-in, I encountered numerous issues—primarily degraded pitch bend performance and problems with VST3 instruments (apparently this is a common issue). I just couldn’t get it to work in a satisfying way.

However, there’s a workaround—and it works well. Pitch bends translate more smoothly, and it doesn’t matter whether the virtual instrument you’re driving is VST2 or VST3. Of course, like any MIDI guitar, you’ll need to clean up the data a bit but mostly, this involves just deleting notes shorter than a certain length. Pitch bending often needs editing, but on the other hand, MG2 handles vibrato very well.

The Solution: Virtual MIDI Ports

The solution is not to use MG2 as a plug-in. Instead, run it in stand-alone mode, assign its output to a virtual MIDI port, and set Studio One’s virtual instrument to that same virtual MIDI port. This approach bypasses any potential issues caused by taking MIDI data from an audio plug-in out, passing it through a DAW, and feeding it into an instrument.

Unlike the Mac, Windows doesn’t support virtual MIDI ports natively. However, the loopMIDI accessory program from Tobias Erichsen solves that. Download the program, and install it. The loopMIDI icon shows up in the taskbar. Right-click on it, and choose Configure loopMIDI (also check Autostart loopMIDI while you’re at it). Configuring just means hitting the + sign to create a port (fig. 1).

 

Figure 1: Configuring loopMIDI port.

After installing loopMIDI, we need to tell Studio One there’s a new MIDI control device. Open Studio One (because you checked Autostart, loopMIDI will already be running), and choose Studio One > Options > External Devices. Click the Add button, and set up loopMIDI as a MIDI keyboard (fig. 2).

 

Figure 2: loopMIDI is being set up as a new MIDI controller.

Next, set up MG2 in stand-alone mode (fig. 3). Note that there’s no problem with running MG2 and Studio One at the same time using a PreSonus ASIO interface (probably others as well).

 

Figure 3: The sections outlined in yellow connect with your audio interface and Studio One.

In the Audio Interface section, specify the interface driver, and the input where MG2 will expect to find your guitar’s audio. Jam Origin recommends using 44.1 kHz with 128 samples of latency, and I didn’t argue. Set MG2’s MIDI Interface output to the loopMIDI port. This is where MG2 will send the MIDI data derived from your guitar.

For the final step, insert your virtual instrument into Studio One, and set its input to loopMIDI (fig. 4). Note that you don’t need to insert a guitar track, unless you want to record your guitar part as well as drive a virtual instrument. I insert a guitar track anyway, if for no other reason than to be able to use Studio One’s tuner—pitch-based guitar-to-MIDI converters seem to like accurate tuning.

Figure 4: The Mai Tai input is set to loopMIDI. Note data (in monophonic mode), along with pitch bend, has been recorded.

 

Optimizing MIDI Guitar 2

To recap, your guitar goes into an audio interface input, MG2 in stand-alone mode listens to the audio input and converts it to MIDI, and then the MIDI data goes to your virtual instrument. However, we’re not quite done, because MG2 has various customization options.

The stand-alone version can play instruments, but we don’t need to do that because we’re triggering instruments in Studio One. So for the Instrument, choose No Instrument.

There’s a choice of polyphonic or monophonic tracking, depending on whether you want to play chords or single-note lines, and set bend to the same range in semitones as your instrument.

Experiment with Legato, which can even give infinite sustain. Gain and Curve help tailor your playing for the best triggering. In my experience, MG2 seems happiest when you don’t hit the strings too hard. In any event, those are the basics. Sorting out MG2’s settings in detail isn’t necessary, because you can go to the Jam Origin website and delve into the documentation there.

I must say that when I first tried using Jam Origin, I was frustrated, and felt I had just wasted $99. But after using the standalone/virtual port workaround, now I’m a happy camper. Sure, MIDI guitar isn’t perfect. But MG2 can lay down some tasty MIDI lines, and as to sawtooth-based power chords… well, let’s just say they sure are fun.

The Flanger Lab

 

 

 

The Flanger Lab FX Chain provides a wide variety of effects, from traditional flanging to psycho-acoustic panning, and can even incorporate some mid-side mojo—it all depends on how you set the controls. Originally, I had planned to include a control panel for Studio One Pro users, but there are simply too many options to fit into eight controls. It’s more fun just to open up all the effects, play with the knobs, and be pleasantly surprised.

The FX Chain itself is fairly straightforward (fig. 1): A split into two Flangers, one preceded by a Mixtool to invert the phase, and a Dual Pan at the end.

 

Figure 1: Flanger Lab FX Chain block diagram

 

Now let’s look at the effects (fig. 2).

Figure 2: Effects used in the Flanger Lab FX Chain.

 

 

The audio example, with stereo program material, uses the settings shown in figures 1 and 2. However, this is just one possible sound. Flanger Lab is equally effective with mono distorted guitar, stereo string pads, and more.

 

 

Here are some tips on how different control settings affect the sound.

  • Flanger Lab works with mono or stereo audio.
  • Because the Mixtool is inverting the phase of one split, as the flangers approach the same audio in both channels, the mid cancels (which gives through-zero flanging), and you’re essentially just hearing the sides.
  • Choosing Normal split mode instead of Channel Split accentuates the mid cancellation. This can produce a dreamy, ethereal effect with instruments that you want to have come in and out of the mix in interesting ways.
  • Offsetting the Mixtool gain by even just a little bit will reduce the cancellation when the audio coincides.
  • Offsetting the Flanger Delay controls changes the sound—for example, there’s quite a difference between having a delay of 1 ms for one Flanger and 5 ms for the other, compared to the default of 2 ms for each one.
  • I prefer offsetting the Speed controls so that one is slow, and the other faster. This helps randomize the sweeping effect.
  • LFO Amount and Mix do what you’d expect.
  • Setting Feedback to the same negative percentage has less intensity than setting them both to the same positive percentage, but try setting one for negative feedback, and the other for positive feedback.
  • Altering Input Balance on the Dual Pan, with both Pan controls centered, changes the proportion of the two flangers in the audio output. When set fully to the left or right, the sound is like traditional flanging, based on the flanger settings in the left or right channel respectively.
  • Centering both Dual Pan controls gives a traditional, mono flanging sound, with through-zero cancellation. Spreading the controls out further products psycho-acoustic panning effects that will make your head spin on headphones, but translate to speakers as well. Also when spread fully to the left and right, mid cancellation doesn’t happen. With playback over a mono system, the panning goes away, and you just get flanging.
  • The controls interact—for example, changing the delay time will change the effect of the panning mentioned in the previous tip.

The bottom line is you can play with the controls for hours. Well, at least I could! If you come up with a cool sound, save it as a custom FX Chain. Given the variables, you might not be able to find that sound again.

Finally, there seems to be persistent confusion about how to handle downloaded FX Chains, like where to store them, and how to put them in custom folders. For answers to these and other questions about FX Chains, please check out the Friday Tip Fun Facts about FX Chains.

Download the Flanger Lab.multipreset FX Chain preset here

Man, Your Mom is more punk than you.

Hometown homemakin’ homewreckers Your Mom formed in 2016 via the local Baton Rouge Adult Music Club. And while they are quite likely to show up with a fistful of guitars and a batch of homemade cookies in return for being booked at your venue, you’d best show some appreciation—because they’re equally as likely to steal your husband if you don’t.

Your Mom performs an arrestingly brash casserole of high-strung punk ‘n’ roll stomp that sits squarely at the intersection of The Kinks, The Sonics, and the scrapbooking aisle of Hobby Lobby. Make no mistake: Your Mom are appreciative, supportive sweethearts to the core—during the day. But when the sun goes down and the stage lights go up, Your Mom are rock’n’roll werewolves in pearl necklaces, howling requiems of tupperware warranties and matriarchal authorities. And you better listen up, buster.

We booked Your Mom to record a River City Session here at PreSonus HQ on a Sunday morning, because it turned out that not one of them had a commitment to show up at a church. They arrived with guitars and donuts, this timeand nailed two songs, live, in four takes. And then they started excitedly talking about margaritas, loaded out, gave us all hugs and thank-you’s, and rode off into the early afternoon—leaving us with only their killer tracks, four signed artist release forms, and tinnitus. Rock delivered, mission accomplished.

Check out their performance of “Dessert” below. And then call your mom.

Your Mom is:

  • Dorothy LeBlanc: vocals and bass
  • Sandy Brock: vocals and guitar
  • Kay Lindsey: lead guitar
  • Debbie Roussel: drums and vocals
  • Dave Hinson: rock coach

 

 

The Ampire Sweetener

 

I work a lot with amp sims, and I love ’em. Well, except for one thing: Almost all of the ones that involve distortion exhibit what I call “the annoying frequency.” It’s hard to describe, but when it’s removed, you can definitely tell what’s missing—kind of a whistling sound, but without a sense of pitch. I have no idea why this particular type of artifact happens. It doesn’t go away if I increase the sample rate, choose a different pickup, switch guitars, or change my socks. And it’s worse with some amp sims than others; when reviewing a [particular amp sim by a PreSonus competitor] and I made the product manager aware of the annoying frequency, a subsequent expansion pack included a parametric equalizer so users could notch it out.

Granted, the 3rd gen Ampire is light years ahead of the 1st gen, as well as a lot of other amp sims out there. But we can still make it better, because the goal of the Friday Tip is to make things better, right?!? Besides, I’m an unreasonably picky guitar player.

Adding the EQ

Download the preset Ampire Sweetener.preset , and load it into the Pro EQ2 (Just open the .zip and double click the .preset file to install).  It will now have the curve shown in Fig. 1. Insert the Pro EQ2 after your Ampire amp and cab of choice, and the sound will magically lose its artifact.

Figure 1: Insert these notch filters after Ampire and its cab.

You have every right to skeptical—after all, you are reading this on the internet—so let’s listen to an audio example. The first half is with the EQ following the MCM800 amp and 4×12 MFB cab. The second half is with the EQ bypassed, but everything else the same. Both examples in the audio file are normalized to the same level. I’m pretty sure you’ll hear the artifact in the second half. Another way to hear the difference is play some power chords, and bypass the EQ stages to hear what they contribute to the sound.

 

The EQ’s curve isn’t only about the dual notches. There’s no need for super-high or -low frequencies, so those are reduced as well. Also, because the notches are in the high frequencies, adding a slight treble shelf compensates for the reduced amount of highs.

Figure 2: Reduce the high-shelf level and the two notches to sound more like the original amp sim/cab tone.

Now, this doesn’t mean you’ll like the end result better. You might prefer the sound with the artifact, and that’s fine. However, the artifact persists through the various amps and cabs. Inserting the Ampire Sweetener EQ removes that common element, which emphasizes the unique character, and tonal quality, of the individual amps and cabs. However, you can also “split the difference” by dialing back the parameters outlined in white (Fig. 2).

Finally, if you use other amp sims, many (if not most) will also benefit from one or two steep notches at the output. They probably won’t be the same frequencies, but they’ll likely be pretty close. The bad news is quite a few of them have far more prominent artifacts than Ampire, but the good news is the higher level makes it easier to hear them, so you can dial in their frequencies more quickly to notch them out.

The Top 10 Reasons to Try Studio One

When Studio One was released almost a dozen years ago, it instantly became one of the fastest-growing DAWs around. With each dot release and major update, Studio One has grown into a comprehensive powerhouse, offering features and innovative workflows not available anywhere else. We could make dozens of 10 Ten Lists of our favorite Studio One features, but here are the top 10 reasons we love Studio One today.

 

10. Multi-instruments. 

Studio One lets you build a sound as unique as you by letting you stack multiple instruments on a single Instrument Track. Multi-instruments can be built as layers, key splits, or both, and you can record, edit, and play them like a single Instrument. A fully customizable Macro Panel gives you control over any parameter on any stacked Instrument or over multiple parameters on multiple Instruments at the same time.

Each Multi Instrument has its own Mixer channel, while each individual output of the combined Instruments receive full-featured sub-channels. You can process these outputs with plug-ins and sends, and then save everything into a single Multi Preset. There’s no limit to the creative possibilities for creative production and sound design.

9. Smart Tool.

Edit fast with audio and MIDI! We’ve combined the  Arrow and Range Tools to boost your audio editing efficiency through the roof. Select, move, split, or duplicate Events; trim start- and end-points of Events; adjust fades; and change the overall Event level in one seamless action—all with the same tool! Simply mouse over the upper or lower half of an Event to edit with the Arrow or Range Tools, respectively. Studio One’s smart tools change dynamically to stay in the moment with you!

MIDI Note events can be selected, moved, and resized. Plus, you can change note velocity, mute or unmute events, split events and parts, even glue adjacent notes—all with the same useful tool.

8. One-click Busses and Groups.

Only Studio One lets you add busses and groups on the fly right from the console. Need to add an FX Bus? Just drag and drop the plug-in you want to load to the send of any channel to instantly create the bus and the return and begin adjusting the send level immediately! Creating a drum bus is as easy as selecting all your drum channels, right-clicking, and selecting “Add Bus Channel.” Channels can be grouped and ungrouped on the fly the same way, simply select, right-click and group. Easy peasy.

7. Drag and Drop… Everything.

Studio One pioneered the drag and drop workflow that quickly made it a fan favorite from version 1.0. More than the ability to drag-and-drop an object to a new location on the timeline, Studio One lets you use drag-and-drop to do just about anything: 

  • Drag in audio loops from the Browser to automatically create an Audio Track and start using them in your production. 
  • Add plug-in effects—even specific presets—simply by dragging and dropping them on the desired track or channel. 
  • Ready to add a virtual instrument? You got it. Just drag it from the Browser to the Arranger Window to create a new Instrument Track and open the plug-in.
  • Need to do a quick stem export? Just drag the audio file from your song to any location on your computer…or directly upload to your PreSonus workspaces!
  • Copy complete insert FX chains from one Mixer channel to another by drag-and-drop. 
  • Complete send chain levels and routing can be copied from one channel to another simply with drag and drop. 
  • Convert audio to MIDI using Melodyne via drag-and-drop.
  • Convert an Instrument Part to audio simply by dragging it to an Audio Track. 
  • Extract chords by dragging any audio or MIDI object directly to the Chord Track. 
  • Drag Arranger sections to create completely new arrangements on the fly or move them to and from a Scratch Pad to experiment with them before you commit them to your song.

No other DAW lets you work so quickly and efficiently. 

6. Comprehensive Plug-in Suite.

Studio One comes loaded with a Native Effects plug-in suite that provides just about any tool you need for mixing, mastering, performing, and producing. These aren’t average stock DAW plug-ins, these plug-ins are so good we sell them separately for use in other DAWs. You get State-Space modeled guitar amps and stompboxes with Ampire and Pedalboard; the complete Analog Effects Collection featuring State-Spaced modeled input stages on select plug-ins; Fat Channel XT with two State-Space modeled Compressor and EQ models; a suite of analysis tools to help you fix your mix; plus inspiring effects like Autofilter, Groove Delay, Room Reverb and more!

But we didn’t stop with channel effects. Studio One Professional features the unique Console Shaper plug-in. Console Shaper uses our proprietary Mix Engine FX processing technology that affects your music across all channels on a bus, rather than just processing the bus output, as with a traditional plug-in. This allows for vintage-inspired artifacts like console crosstalk, surface noise, and drive. Mix Engine FX apply processing at a much deeper level, across any number of channels—and even in between.

5. Robust Composing Tools.

Studio One is a modern composer’s dream come true, and it all starts with Studio One’s Sound Variations—the next level in articulation support—so you get the most out of the complex virtual instruments and orchestral libraries. An extended mapping editor provides tools for managing complex articulation maps, and you can drag and drop Sound Variations into any order, or place them into custom folders for lightning-fast navigation. Sound Variations can be triggered by key switches, hardware controllers, keyboard shortcuts, custom macros, or highly customizable custom layouts for Studio One Remote. It’s never been easier to use orchestral libraries to their fullest potential.

But we didn’t stop there. Modern composers need tools that let them incorporate electronic elements with traditional scoring. The Score View brings the best features of PreSonus’ award-winning notation software, Notion, into Studio One. In addition to traditional notation, you get tablature and drum notation. View multiple staves at once to work on voicing, or view just one track at a time. Scores can be printed directly from Studio One. Staff Presets make it quick and easy to create lead sheets by automatically setting up the track name, cleff, staff type, and appropriate transposition for each instrument. And of course, scores created in Studio One can be sent to Notion and vice versa.

4. Arranger Track and Scratch Pads.

Studio One’s Arranger Track is a simple, intuitive way to reorder, duplicate, and remove Song sections like verses and choruses. Try out different arrangements, swap sections, lengthen or shorten solos, and structure a Song exactly the way you want with a simple drag-and-drop.

Try out new arrangements on the fly using the Arranger Track Inspector. Double-click any Arranger section to jump to it without missing a beat. Drag Arranger Track parts to a Scratch Pad to experiment with new mixes, parts, and more. If you like what you’ve created, you can drag the part back in to replace the old one or put it in a new section of your song. 

3. Integrated Mastering and More.

Studio One Professional is the only DAW that links songs and stems with finished, mastered Projects. Transfer mixes or mixed stems to the Project page for mastering—but if you hear anything you need to change, simply jump back into the Song and make your tweaks; the revised version updates with a single click, so you can continue mastering without losing any previous work. 

Use Studio One Native Effects and your favorite third-party plug-ins to provide the final EQ, dynamics, and imaging control you need to create a professional sound. You’ll also find analysis tools, like spectrum analysis, M/S-processing, K-System and EBU loudness metering, phase meter, expandable level meter, and oscilloscope to provide visual confirmation to what you hear, as well as help with conformance to existing broadcast and duplication standards. 

And when your masterpiece is ready, you’ll find DDP export, CD burning, and direct upload to Soundcloud and PreSonus Sphere options to share your mastered recordings with your clients and collaborators—or release your albums to the world.

2. Integrated Performing.

Studio One 5 takes you from the studio to the stage or stream with the Show Page. Create a Setlist using songs you’re already created in Studio One, incorporating a mix of live instruments, pre-recorded tracks, and virtual instruments. Each song in the Setlist can have its own unique instrumentation, and thanks to Studio One’s incredible amp modeling and virtual synth instruments, you may never need to bring a heavy amp to a show ever again. 

Songs in your Setlist can be rearranged on the fly using drag-and-drop. Use the Arranger Track to alter your performance in real-time: loop sections on the fly, jump to a different part, and automatically change patches—all without missing a beat. 

When it’s showtime, turn on the clean Performance view with Setlist navigation and use the customizable, real-time controls over the parameters you want to adjust on stage: levels, parameters, patches… even launch and loop entire Song sections. Every performer on stage can use Studio One Remote v1.6 to control their performance from their favorite mobile device. Your studio sound is larger than life—now your stage persona can be, too.

1. All in.

Studio One is designed to grow with you. To that end, PreSonus offers a complete suite of Studio One add-ons that add new features, sounds, and functions when you need them. Add three new State-Space modeled Mix Engine FX consoles with CTC-1 Pro Console Shaper. Expand Fat Channel XT with up to eight vintage compressor models and seven classic EQs. Add otherworldly synths, pads, and more to Presence XT with Deep Flight One. Or create complete orchestrations with PreSonus Symphony Orchestra and PreSonus Studio Grand. Need even more sound control? Unlock the Presence XT’s powerful Edit Page with the Presence XT Editor and turn Presence XT into the perfect host for any custom sampler sound library. 

Every Studio One Add-on is available separately, so you can buy what you want when you need it. Or, join PreSonus Sphere and get it all: Studio One Professional, Notion, every PreSonus Add-on for Studio One, exclusive Studio One features, access to curated Studio One presets and effects chains from PreSonus artists; and so much more. All in PreSonus Sphere. 

 

Using Exchange with PreSonus Sphere and Studio One

Want to capture the sound of other industry professionals? How about collaborate with a Grammy nominated artist?

With Exchange, you’re able to use presets and sounds from select PreSonus Artists in your own projects. Under the “Browse” section, you’ll also find thousands of downloadable assets from other Sphere Members, and the ability to upload your own unique sounds.

In this last episode, Jacob takes a look at the PreSonus Sphere Exchange tab and demonstrates how to import an Artist’s sound into your Studio One song session.

Join PreSonus Sphere today! Only $14.95 per month for Studio One Professional, Notion, and so much more.


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LCR Mixing and Panning Explained

Lately, it seems there’s an increasing buzz about “LCR” mixing. LCR stands for Left, Center, and Right, and it’s a panning technique where all panpots are set to either left, center, or right—nothing in between. Look it up on the internet, and you’ll find polarized opinions that vary from it’s the Holy Grail of mixing, to it’s ridiculous and vaguely idiotic. Well, I’m not polarized, so I’ll give you the bottom line: it can work well in some situations, but not so well in others.

Proponents of this style of mixing claim several advantages:

  • The resulting mixes sound very wide without having to use image processing, because there’s so much energy in the sides.
  • It simplifies mixing decisions, because you don’t have to agonize over stereo placement.
  • Mixes translate well for those not sitting in stereo’s “sweet spot,” because the most important material is panned to the center.
  • It forces you to pay attention to EQ and the arrangement, to make sure there’s good differentiation among instruments panned hard left and hard right.
  • If an LCR mix leaves “holes” in the stereo field, then you can use reverb or other stereo ambience to fill that space. As one example, stereo overhead mics on drums can pan hard left and hard right, yet still fill in a lot of the space in the middle. Or, place reverb in the channel opposite of where a signal is panned.

There are plenty of engineers who prefer LCR mixes for the reasons given above. However, LCR is not a panacea, nor is it necessarily desirable. It also may not fit an artist’s goal. For those who think of music in more symphonic terms—as multiple elements creating a greater whole, to be listened to under optimal conditions—the idea of doing something like panning the woodwinds and brass far left and the violins full right, with orchestral percussion and double bass in the middle, makes no sense. Conversely, if you’re doing a pop mix where you want every element to be distinct, an LCR approach can work well, if done properly.

Then again, some engineers consider a mix to be essentially a variation on mono, because the most important elements are panned to center. They don’t want distractions on the left and right; those elements exist to provide a “frame” around the center.

Another consideration is according to all the stats I’ve seen, these days more people listen on headphones than component system speakers. LCR mixing can sound great at first on headphones due to the novelty, but eventually becomes unnatural and fatiguing. Then again, as depressing a thought as this may be, a disturbingly large part of the population listens to music on computer speakers. Any panning nuances are lost under those conditions, whereas LCR mixing can sound direct and unambiguous.

 

Help Is on the Way!

So what’s a mix engineer to do? Well, a good way to get familiar with LCR is to load up some of your favorite songs into Studio One, and listen to the mid and sides separately. Hearing instruments in the sides tends to imply an LCR mix; Madonna’s “Ray of Light” comes to mind. For a “pure” LCR mix, listen to the original version of Cat Stevens’ “Matthew and Son” on YouTube. It was recorded in 1966 (trivia fans: John Paul Jones, later of Led Zeppelin, played bass). Back then, the limited number of tracks, and mixing console limitations, almost forced engineers into doing LCR. In case you wondered why some songs of that era had the drums in one channel and the bass in the opposite channel…now you know why.

Anyway, it’s easy to do mid-side analysis in Studio One (Fig. 1).

Figure 1: Setup for analyzing mid and side components of music.

The Mixtool, with MS Transform selected, encodes a stereo signal into mid (left channel) and sides (right channel). However, it’s difficult to do any meaningful analysis with the mid in one ear and the sides in the other. So, the Dual Pan’s Input Balance control chooses either the mid <L> or sides <R>. The panpots place the chosen audio in the center of the stereo field.

Once you start finding out whether your favorite songs are LCR or mixed more conventionally, it will help you decide what might work best for you. If you decide to experiment with LCR mixing, bear in mind that it kind of lives by its own rules, and it takes some experience to wrap your head around how to get the most out of it.

 

And the Verdict Is…

Well, you can believe whatever you like from what you see on the internet, and more importantly, choose what sounds best to you…but this is my blog post, so here’s what I think ?. Any and all comments are welcome!

As mentioned in a previous blog post, I always start mixes in mono. I feel this is the best way to find out if sounds mask either other, whether some tracks are redundant because they don’t contribute that much to the arrangement, and which tracks need EQ so they can carve out their own part of the frequency spectrum. That way, whether instruments are on top of each other or spread out, they’ll work well together.

But from there on, I split my approach. I still favor the center and use the sides as a frame, but also selectively choose particular elements (usually rhythm guitar, keyboards, and percussion) to pan off to the left or right so there’s a strong presence in the sides. For me, this gives the best of both worlds: a wide mix with good separation of various elements, but done in service of creating a full mix, without holes in the stereo field. Those who listen on headphones won’t be subjected to an over-exaggerated stereo effect, while those who listen over speakers will have a less critical “sweet spot” than if there was nuanced panning.

I came up with this approach simply because it fits the kind of music I make, and the way I expect most people will listen to it. Only later did I find out I had combined LCR mixing with a more traditional approach, and that underscores the bottom line: all music is different, and there are few—if any—“one-size-fits-all” rules.

Well, with the possible exception of “oil the kick drum pedal before you press record.”

StudioLive and Studio One at the Oscars… In Iceland!

As a part of the Academy Awards this year, the song “Húsavík” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (which was nominated for the Best Music (Original Song) award) was featured as part of the pre-show event.

This breathtaking performance, set in Húsavík, Iceland (the same setting and filming location as the movie) featured Swedish pop star Molly Sandén, the original singer of the track, backed by a girls choir from the town of Húsavík. On top of that, the stage and performance were set on the actual docks of beautiful, mountain-swathed Húsavík, with full crew, rigging, lighting. The sound for the performance, including routing, playback, recording, and monitoring came courtesy of a StudioLive 24 Series III mixer and Studio One 5.  After four days of setup, the performance was finally recorded live the day before airing at the awards ceremony. Oh, and all of this took place outside… in 4°C weather—not counting for windchill.

– Big thanks to Trausti M. Ingólfsson who works for Tónabúðin, our distributor in Iceland, for giving us the report on this wonderful event.

Check out the StudioLive Series III mixer and Studio One 5 in action along with a couple of screenshots of the performance:

Watch the full performance here:

Exploring PreSonus Sphere Membership Products with Jacob Lamb

When you join PreSonus Sphere your membership comes with Studio One Professional, Notion plus the native software instruments, effects and plug-ins that PreSonus offers.

Studio One Professional is a powerful and intuitive DAW that works for you – made only more powerful by the full catalog of plugins – while Notion is an easy way to create full scores, sheet music for individual instruments, or guitar tabs and chord charts. Sphere members can also enjoy ongoing software upgrades when new versions are released.

In this Sphere episode, Jacob takes us through a demo of the “Products” tab, and all that is included.

Join PreSonus Sphere today! Only $14.95 per month for Studio One Professional, Notion, and so much more.


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