11/4/2015

Inside Track: Ken Andrews and Paramore

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Inthisarticle:
TheKidDoesn'tStay
InTheFilm
TotalRecall
TheMixFactor
ThreeByThree
SynthsVersusGuitars
SwanSongs
RegionalVariations

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InsideTrack:KenAndrewsandParamore
SecretsOfTheMixEngineers
People+Opinion:Artists/Engineers/Producers/Programmers

KenAndrewswonablindshootoutagainst
someofthebiggestnamesinthemixing
world.Hisprize:theplumjobofmixing
Paramore'sacclaimedcomebackalbum.

BuyPDF
PublishedinSOSJuly2013
Printerfriendlyversion

PaulTingen
henabandlosetwooftheirfourfoundingmembers,includingtheir
principalmusicwriter,inanacrimonioussplit,fewwouldputmoney
onthebandgoingontobiggerandbetterthings.Yetthisisexactly
whatTennesseeemobandParamorehavedone.Whenguitarist
andsongwriterJoshFarroanddrummerZacFarroleft
attheendof2010,thethreeremainingmembers
stayedtogether,refocused,and,twoandahalfyears
later,cameupwiththeeponymouslytitledandwidely
praisedParamore.ReleasedinApril,thealbumreceivedrave
reviewsandtoppedchartsaroundtheworld,includingtheUK
andtheUS,makingittheband'sfirstnativenumberone.

Perhapsthehookladen,punkypopdirectionofParamore's
firstthreealbumshadreacheditsnaturalendandareinvention
wasoverdue,eveniftheFarrobrothershadn'tleft.Eitherway,
theremainingthreememberssetaboutrecastingtheband's
soundwithgusto,dressinguptheirstillhookypopsongswith
KenAndrewsathisRedSwanStudio.
quirkysoundsandleftfieldarrangements.Tohelpthem,they
enlistedJustinMeldalJohnsen,whohasbeenBeck'smusical
directorfornearly10yearsandhasforgedareputationasaninnovativeproducer,workingwithexFailurefrontmanKen
Andrews,altrockbandssuchasDivisionDayandNeonTrees,andFrenchelectronicbandM83.ItwasthroughMeldal
Johnsen'sconnectionwithKenAndrewsthatthelatterendedupmixingParamore,butonlyafterfirstclearingaserious
hurdle:amixshootoutthatsawhimpittedagainstahandfulofAlistmixers.Againsttheodds,Andrewsmixedand
conquered,andthisishisstoryandthatofhismixofthenewParamorealbum.

TheKidDoesn'tStayInTheFilm
BorninSeattle,KenAndrews'careerbeganwhilehewasatfilm
schoolinLosAngeles,wherehetookadetourfromwhichhe
neverreturned."Istartedaband,Failure,andwedidn'treally
thinkit'dgoanywhere,becausewewereprettyleftofcentre.By
1991,Iwasactuallydirectingmusicvideosandmakingadecent
livingfromthis,butinthatyearFailuregotsignedtoSlash
RecordsandIputthevideostuffonholdforawhiletodothe
indierockthing.Twentytwoyearslater,hereIam!
AsFailure'sleadsinger,guitaristandbassist,Andrewsmade
threealbums:Comfort(1992),Magnified(1994)andFantastic
Planet(1996).FollowingthishereleasedanEPandtwoalbums
withasoloprojectcalledON(19992002),andassembled
ashortlivedbandcalledYearOfTheRabbit,whichreleasedan
AnotherviewofRedSwanStudios.
EPandaselftitledalbum(2003).Andrews'firstsoloalbum
underhisownname,SecretsOfTheLostSatellite,wascreated
withhelpfromMeldalJohnsenandreleasedin2007.Thetwomenarealsocurrentlyinvolvedinthe"digitalbandDigital
NoiseAcademy,whofundedtheirrecentlyreleaseddebutalbumviakickstarter.com.Sofar,thisreadslikethetypicalcareer
pathofamoderatelysuccessfulmusician,exceptthat22yearslater,Andrews'mainworkingarenaisnotthestage,buthis
RedSwanprivatestudioinLosAngeles.Hisreputationasamixerhasgrowntosuchanimpressivedegreethatbeatingthe
topguysattheirowngamesimplyseemslikethenextlogicalstepupwards.Howdidhegetsogoodatit?
"ThegenesisoftheFailuresoundwasfourtrackcassetterecordingsthatIhaddoneoffourorfiveofourearlysongs,
explainsAndrews."Forme,recordingandbeingabandmemberwerehandinhandfromthebeginning.Werecordedourfirst
albumwithSteveAlbini,andfollowingthatwerecordedsomeverydetailedfourtrackcassettedemosforthesecondalbum.
Therecordcompanywantedtoreleasethemastheywere,butwechosetoredothem,becausewewantedtohavereal
drums,andsoon.Weworkedwithaproducer,butendedupfallingoutwithhim,andrecordedagoodhalfoftherecord
ourselves.Iwasn'tentirelyconfidentinmymixingabilitiesatthatstage,sowegotDavidBiancointomixit,andIlearnedalot
fromwatchinghim.Bythetimewedidourthirdrecord,wewerereadytocompletelytakethereinsandIengineeredand
mixedit.Weconvincedtherecordcompanytoallowustospendtherecordingbudget,$75,000,onrecordingequipment,so
wegotaMackie32:8andthreeearlyADATs,andsoon.AfterFantasticPlanetcameout,Iwasimmediatelyapproachedby
severalbandstorecordandproducetheirstuff.Eventoday,IstillgetworkbasedonwhatIdidonthatalbum!
Inthe16yearssincethereleaseofFantasticPlanet,Andrewshasworkedasamixer,engineerand/orproducerwiththe
likesofNineInchNails,Beck,PeteYorn,APerfectCircle,TenaciousD,BlackRebelMotorcycleClub,Candleboxandmany
others.HealsorecentlymixedtheendtitletrackforthesciencefictionfilmOblivion,whichwaswrittenbyM83,andis
currentlyworkingwithM83onanotherfilmscore.

TotalRecall
Andrewsisanoutspokenfanofdigitalaudio,whichledtohimbeinginterviewedafewyearsagoonanAmericanTVprogram
calledWiredScience,inwhichhisviewswerecontrastedwiththoseofanaloguebelieverSteveAlbini."TheADATwasthe
beginningofthehomestudiorevolution,explainsAndrews,"andIusedcomputersforthefirsttimewhenrecordingON.
IworkedonLogicforawhile,butswitchedtoProToolsin2003.IhavedoneanumberofprojectswhereI'vegonetotape

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul13/articles/it-0713.htm

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Inside Track: Ken Andrews and Paramore

first,ormixeddowntotape,butsinceIstartedusingDAWs,I've
workedononlyahandfulofalbumswithouttheinvolvementof
acomputer.InowworkcloselywithAvid,betatestingstufffor
them,makingvideosfortheirteaserads,andwritingmusicthat
theycanusefordemopurposes.Thesonicqualityofdigitalis
reallygoodnow,andthere'snogoingbackforme.
"Myentireworkflowhereatmystudioisbasedonafastpaced
mixingstylewhereI'mbouncingbetweenquiteafewdifferent
mixesonanygivenday.Youjustcan'tdothatintheanalogue
world.Also,artistscaremuchlessaboutattendingmixsessions
KenAndrews'principalreverbanddelaypluginswere,
today.Instead,theyhavebecomeusedtotheprocessof
respectively,AudioEase'sAltiverbandSoundToys'EchoBoy.
receivingdraftmixesasanMP3,andtheylistentothese
wherevertheyare,onwhateversystemtheyareusedto,and
theythensendmetheirnotes.I'dsaythatoftherockIalbumsthatIhavemixedinthelastthreeyears,inabout50percentof
casestheartistsarelisteningandmakingtheircommentswhiletheyareontour,sometimesseveraldaysafterIsendthem
theMP3.Thismakestheabilitytoinstantlyrecallmixeswith100percentrepeatabilityessential.

TheMixFactor
Theroleandstatusofspecialistmixengineerswithinthemusicindustryisalsochanging.Althoughtheirstockhasrisen
dramatically,tothepointwheretheyareoftenexpectedtomakecreativecontributions,recordingbudgetshavecontinuedto
fall,andmixinghasnotbeenexempt.Manymixengineershavehadtodroptheirfees,andinacompetitivemarket,ithas
becomeincreasinglyfashionabletoorganiseshootoutsbetweenseveralpotentialmixers.Theseshootoutsareoftenunpaid,
andit'sasignofthetimesthatevenAlistmixersfeelunderenoughpressuretoparticipateinthem.SoitwaslastAutumnthat
Andrewsfoundhimselftakingpartinwhathecalledinhisblog"aninvolvedandsomewhatnerverackingauditionprocess.
"Justin[MeldalJohnsen]gavemethechancetodothemixofffortheParamorealbum,Andrewsexplains."Thebandhad
decidedthattheywantedtodothisblind,witheveryonemixingthesamesong.Themixfileswerelabelled'A'to'E',andthe
bandandJustinlistenedtothemforanhourorso,andunanimouslypickedthe'C'mix,whichwasmine.Ihavetosaythat's
howIgotthelastseveralmixingjobsIhavedone.It'sbecomingareallycommonthing,andmixersarewillingtodoit,
becauseprojectswithhealthymixingbudgetsarebecomingincreasinglyrare.Mixersworkingmoreandmoreintheirown
studiosisdefinitelyhurtingcommercialstudiosthathavemixrooms,thoughstudiosingeneralappeartobedoingbetter
insofarasrecordingisconcerned.WhenIrangaroundLArecentlytobookastudiotodosometracking,Iwaspleasantly
surprisedbythefactthatmanystudioswerebacktotheiroldrates.Ithinkthatwhenitcomestorecording,peoplestillvalue
goodrecordingspaces,deepmiclockers,andgoodsoundingrecordingconsoles.

ThreeByThree
Paramorehadrecordedawhopping17songsforthealbum,and
Andrews'alldigitalsetupwasideallysuitedtohandlingsuch
amassiveproject.Ittookhimsevenweekstomixallsongs,
beginningOctober15thandfinishingearlyDecember,buthe
stressesthathewasn'tworkingonthealbumexclusivelyduring
thisperiod."Ikindofdomydayinthreechunks:threehoursin
themorning,threeintheafternoon,andthreeintheeveningafter
thekidshavegonetobed.Ioftengettheentiremixdoneduring
thedayandI'llthendosomerecallsintheevening,and
occasionallyI'llfinishamixinthemorning,dotherecallsinthe
afternoonandstartanewmixintheevening.Itreallydependson
thesongsandonhowmanytracksthereareinasession.InthecaseofParamore,ittookmeabouttwoweekstodothefirst
draftsforallsongs,andIthenstartedworkonanotherrecord,whiledoingrecallsontheParamorealbum.
"ThesessionsfortheParamorealbumusuallyhadabout5060tracks,sometimesmore,becausetherewereacoupleof
songsthathadasmallorchestraonthem.Butthemixesdidn'ttakethatlong,becausetheyhadbeenprettysmartabouthow
theyhadrecordedeverything.Theengineer,CarlosdelaGarza,isreallytalented,everythingwassuperwellrecordedand
thesessionswereorganisedthewayIlikeit,whichisprettycommon,withthedrumsatthetop,thevocalsatthebottom,and
theinstrumentsinbetween.WhenIreceiveasession,thefirstthingIdoisa'SaveAs'withmyinitialsattheend,andIthen
listentotherough,whichusuallyhasbeenprintedbackintothesession.Igetasenseofthevibeanddirectionofthesong
andIfamiliarisemyselfwiththetracksthatareinthesessionandthendosomehousekeeping,likegoingthroughallthe
regionsanddeletinganyblankspaces.Theseblankspacesdon'tusuallyhavenoiseonthem,it'spurelyformetohavevisual
cuesintheEditwindowtoseewherepartsbeginandend.
"Also,becauseIhaveagoodrelationshipwithJustinandCarlos,Ihadbeenawareofwhattheyhadbeenworkingwith,
softwarewise,andtheygavemealistofthepluginstheyhadusedfortheroughs.TherewereonlyahandfulthatIdidn't
alreadyhave,andthesewererelativelyinexpensive,soIboughtthemallandinstalledthemonmysystem.Thisallowedme
toopentheirsessionsandnothavedisabledplugins.Anotherpartofhousekeeping,forme,istoripoutallthehardwareI/O
that'sinthesessionandmakesurethere'snoautomationanywhere.IthenimportmyowninternalI/Oandbussingsetup,
whichcontainsatemplateofauxiliaryplugineffectsandinstrumentsubgroupslikedrums,bass,guitars,keyboards,vocal,
andsoon.Eachinstrumentfamilyhasitsownstereoauxtrackatthebottomofthesession,andImakesureeverythingis
routedthewayIwantit.Mytemplatewillgenerallyhavethreeorfourreverbs,twoorthreedelaysandsomedrumbus
compression.That'smystartingpointforarockmix,butthesettingsalwaysgetchanged,dependingonthesong.It'saquick
waytogetgoing,andforthemostpartIcangothrougharocksongjustusingthese,eventhoughImaycreateafewnew
oneshereandthere.
"Mynextstepwillbetogetareallyquickoverallbalance,withoutlookingattheprocessingonindividualtracks.Ithenpick
somethingI'dliketoworkoninmoredetail.Thismaybethedrums,orthebass,sometimestheguitars.It'susuallynotthe
vocals,becausewiththiskindofmusic,theconceptofgettingthevocalstosoundgoodandthenfittingthemusicaroundthat
doesn'tworkforme.It'snotjustaboutthevocalsound,it'sabouttheentirepackage.SoIfirstgetagoodinstrumentalmix,
andthenIaddthevocalsinandmakesuretheycancompetewithinthatinstrumentalmix.Atthatpoint,Imayaddresssome
overlappingfrequenciesandEQsome1kor2koutoftheguitarsorkeyboards,orpanthingsoutabitmore,tomakeroomfor
thevocals.Butingeneralmystrategyforarockmixistofirstgetareallygood,punchy,rockinstrumentalmixgoingbefore
addingthevocals.

SynthsVersusGuitars
"TheroughmixesfortheParamorealbumwereareallygoodrepresentationofwhattheywanted,especiallyintermsof
overalltoneandbalance.Ifyoucomparedtheroughswithmyfinalmixes,you'dnoticethattherewasasensibilityinthe
roughsthatIkept.Iwasn'taskedtoreinventthingsoranythinglikethat,ormixwithaneyeonthecharts.Thedrumswere
reallywellrecorded,but,likemostmixers,Ihavemybagoftrickstomakethemsoundbiggerandpunchierandwhatnot.
Mixingwassimplyamatterofpleasingmyselfandtheband,andoncewehaddonethat,wetrustedthatotherpeoplewould
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11/4/2015

Inside Track: Ken Andrews and Paramore

"Whatseparatesthisnewrecordfromtheirpreviousrecordsis,toasubstantialdegree,thesynthesizers.Theyhadmany
interestingguitarandbackingvocalparts,buttheyalsohadallthesesynthesizerpartsthathadbeenaddedbyJustin,and
alsoTaylor,theguitarist,plussomepercussivedrummachinetypethings.IbelievethebandpartlyhiredJustinbecausethey
wantedhiskeyboardsensibilityonthealbum.They'dexperimentedwithsynthesizersintheirdemosbeforetheygotintouch
withhim,sotheywerealreadygoingdownthatpath.Whenitgottothemix,mychallengewashowtorepresentthat.The
synthswereimportant,andwerethekeytothenewsoundoftheband,butwedidn'twanttolosethefeelingthatyou're
listeningtoaguitarbasedband.Therewereusuallyoneortwomelodicguitarsgoingon,plusarhythmguitar,andthe
keyboardtracks.Tomyears,theresometimesweretoomanykeyboardparts,soIappliedanumberofcreativemutesjustto
carvethingsoutabitandopenupthesections.
"Atothermoments,I'dreallyletthekeyboardsshine,ifIfeltthatthesongcalledforitandthattheguitarhadalready
establisheditselfstronglyenoughearlierinthesong.Inasituationlikethat,I'doccasionallyallowtheguitartodriftalittleinto
asupportingpositionandallowthekeyboardstotakeover.Arelatedaspectisthattherecordisnotsuperbassheavy.When
youhaveanultrabassheavymix,it'shardertoachievethesamedetailintheguitarsandkeys,soitwasaveryconscious
decisiontomakesurethemidrangewaswelldefined.Overthetopbasscanworkforsomehiphop,becausethegrooveis
themostimportantthing,butinarocksongitcanreallyskewthewholethewholepicture.TheParamorestuffhasalotof
counterpointandmelodicinformationinthemidrangethathadtospeakinthesongs,otherwiseitjustsoundedwashy.
Decidingwhethertheguitarsorthekeyboardsdominatedatanygiventimeinthemidrangewasprobablythemostfun,
interesting,andchallengingaspectofmixingthisrecord.
Drums:WavesSSLGChannel&L2,AudioEaseAltiverb,AvidDigirackEQIII.
"Iaddedonekicksampletothissession,whichisthesecond
trackfromthetop.Sothere'stheir'KickIn'mic,mysample,their
'KickOut'mic,snaretopandbottom,andtherestofthedrum
tracks,includingtwosetsofoverheads,consistingofonewider
setofNeumanKM84sandanotherwithanarrowersound
comingfromastereoRoyerSF12ribbonmic.Isplitthehats
trackoffintotwotracksfordifferentsectionsofthesong,toget
morecontrolovertheautomation.Idothatalot.The'S'onthe
insertsofallthedrumtracksandtheridetrackistheWavesSSL
GChannel,whichismyfavouritepluginfordrums.Inaddition,
IsentalittlebitofthetopsnaremictotheAltiverbAMSRMX16
auxtrack,butotherthanthat,Iusedtheambiencethattheyhad
recorded.Therewerestereocloseroommics,stereofarroom
micsandamonoroommic,andtheyallsoundedawesome,so
Iwasabletogetagreatdrumsoundjustusingthem,plusthe
SSLGChannelandthesnareAltiverbAMS.

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AudioEaseAltiverb,TrilliumLaneAutoPan.
"Belowthepercussionisabassguitartrack,whichisacompthatImade.Thebassonthisrecordwasmostlydeliveredin
threetofivetracks,allofoneperformancebutwithdifferentsoundsources,likeDI,pedals,amp1,amp2,maybeadifferent
micononeoftheamps,andsoon.Usually,whenI'mhalfwaythroughtheinstrumentalmixandwillingtocommittothebass
soundIsubitdowntoonetrack.Havingoneperformancespreadovermanytracksmakesitdifficulttoworkwith,forexample
ifyouwanttohaveaglobalEQonitorsomethinglikethat.IhadtheWavesC4multibandcompressoronthebasstrack.
Thatpluginisabigpartofmyworkflow.It'sincredible,Iloveit.Youcantameatrackthathasafewunrulymomentswiththis
pluginandyou'renothearingitwork,becauseit'smultiband.Soit'sgreatforsubtlecontrol.InthistrackI'musingittocontrol
abuildupinthelowmids.Afterthatthere'satinybitofoverallcontrolfromtheWavesCLA2A[compressor],withprobablyjust
1dBofgainreduction.
"Iaddedrelativelyfeweffectsontheguitarsandthekeyboards.SomeoftheguitarshavetheWavesC4andCLA3A,and
IsentthreeguitartrackstotheAltiverbplatereverbandtwototheAltiverbbathroomspace.Peopleoftenrecordguitarsvery
closemikedwithoutanyambience,andIfindthattogetthemtospeakbetterinmixestheyneedalittlebitofambience,just
soitfeelsliketheyareinarealspace.I'dsaythatabouthalfofthepluginsonthekeyboardsareJustinandCarlos's.
Ilistenedtowhattheyweredoing,andinprobably75percentofcasesIleftthemin.SometimesIremovedapluginand
replaceditwithsomethingthatIfeltimprovedit.The'C'istheSoundToysCrystallizer,andtheywerereallyintothatone,
becauseofitsmodulationeffects.TheglockenspielhadanEQandaCLAeffect,andIputontheWavesC4andthenthe
DigiracksevenbandEQ,whichwasjustdoingahighpassfilter.There'salsoaDigirackEchodoingaquarternoteecho,and
IalsosenttheglockenspieltomyEchoBoyquarternotedelay,andthetwotogethermakeitastereoquarternoteecho.Ialso
addedalittlebitoftheAltiverbplatereverb.The'T'onvarioussynthtracksisaTrilliumLaneautopan.It'sasimpleplugin
thatIlovetouse.
Vocals:WavesQ2,C4,CLA3A&Deesser,CranesongPhoenix,AudioEaseAltiverb,SoundToysEchoBoy.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul13/articles/it-0713.htm

PioneerOfDigital
Synthesis

J.Cole&Juro
'Mez'Davis

"Therearealso10tracksofacousticpercussionoverdubsin
thesong,withtambourine,cowbells,cabasa,triangle,wood
blockandsoon,andthreesnareoverdubsinthebridge.It's
almostlikethere'sapercussionpartystartinginthebridge.The
snareoverdubsaresenttothePlatereverb.IalsohaveaWaves
L2andthesevenbandDigirackEQonsomeofthepercussion
tracks.
"TheSSLGchannelpluginisonestopshopping:yougetan
EQ,acompressor,gateandexpansion,anditallowsmeto
quicklyshapethedrumtracks.ManyofthedrumGChannel
pluginsdidnothing,theywerejusttheretounifythedrum
sound.Usingthesamepluginonallthedrumtracksallowsme
totreatthedrumsasoneinstrument,andthishelpswithlatency.
Igenerallymixwiththedelaycompensationon,butthereare
timeswhenIturnitoffbecauseIwanttoaddapartmyself.This
issomethingthatIdoalotonprojectsthatIammixing.Itjust
seemsnaturaltome,andoftenIwon'teventelltheartist,and
theywillnoticeit,ortheywon't.Oftenitisnotanentirelynew
part,butmoresomethingthatsupportswhat'salreadythere,like
doublingaguitarpart,oraddingashakerverysubliminally.On
thisrecordIdidnotdotoomuchofthat,apartfromsingingsome
differentharmoniesonacoupleofsongsandImaybeadded
somekeyboardshereandthere.ButforthisreasonIpreferto
organisemymixinsuchawaythatwhenIturnthedelay
compensationoff,itdoesnotfallapart.Iwanttobeable,atany
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11/4/2015

Inside Track: Ken Andrews and Paramore

"Theleadvocalwasononetrack,withoutplugins.Itendto
breakupatracklikethatintodifferenttracksforsectionsofthe
song,likeverse,prechorusandchorus.TypicallyIwillfirstget
achorusvocalsound,togetmygainstructuresright,because
that'susuallysungtheloudest.Iwillthencopyandpastethese
pluginstoalltheotherleadvocaltracks,andtailortheirsettings
foreachtrackyouseethatalltheseleadvocaltrackshave
thesamechain,whiletheothervocaltrackshavealmostexactly
thesamepluginchain.ThefirstpluginistheWavesQ2,which
actsasahighpassfilter,setat62Hzonallthevocaltracks.
NextistheC4,justforsomegeneralcontrolonallfourbands.
Thenthere'stheWavesCLA3Aforsomeactualcompression,to
getthatfamiliarrockvocalsoundthatpeopleareusedto.It
obviouslyhelpsthevocaltositinthetracknicely.Iusedthe
CLA3Aonabouthalfthesongsonthisalbum,becauseIreally
thoughtitsuitedHayley'svoice.Itaddsanicelowermidrange
quality,anddoesn'thavemanycontrols:it'smostlyamatterof
howhardyou'rehittingit.Afterthat,there'stheCranesong
Phoenix.Ilovethatplugin.Ithasfivedifferentversions,and
unlessIreallyspecificallywanttodarkenorbrightensomething,
IusuallypulluptheIridescent,becauseitisthemostneutralin
termsofEQ.Itjustaddsmoresaturation.TheGoldsettingwithin
thatisthemostEQneutralsetting.TheSapphiresetting
brightensthingsalittlebitandtheOpalsettingdarkensalittlebit.
Typically,I'musingaround30to40percentofthat,butin
somethinglikeadenseoutrofullofguitarsandkeyboards,
Imightbumpthatupabitinordertokeepthevocalontop.The
Iridescentallowsyoutokeepyourvocalsontopwithoutactually
changingthelevel,becauseitbringsoutmoredetail,sothereare
timesI'mautomatingthatpluginasopposedtoactually
automatingthevolumeofthetrack.Thelastinsertpluginisthe
WavesDeesser.Thatwasprettymuchmyvocalsoundforthis
album.ThesendsaregoingtotheAltiverbplatereverb,andthe
EchoBoyslapandlongdelays,andtheamountsaretailoredto
eachsectionofthesong.
Mixdown:WavesNLS,SSLGMaster,HEQ&Dorrough380D,
PSPVintageWarmer2.
"Thesessionwas24bit,48kHz.Iprefertokeepthemixfilesin
thesession.Theyfirstgothroughastereobusandarethen
printedtoanotherstereoaudiotrack.Iliketohavethevarious
versionsofthemixesintheplaylist:mixesonetwo,andthree,
vocalup,vocaldown,andaninstrumentalversion.Onthestereo
bus,IhavetheNLS[plugin]onaSpikeStentSSLsetting,the
WavesSSLGmasterbuscompressor,andtheWavesHEQ.It
ismyfavouriteEQ,butit'sabitofaprocessorhog,soItendnot
touseitonindividualtrackstoomuch.Itisreallygoodonthemix
busbecauseithasalivefrequencyanalyseronitthatallowsyou
toseewhatyourmixisdoingandwherethepeaksare.After
that,there'soneofmyfavouritethingsonthemixbus,thePSP
VintageWarmer2,whichismostlyasaturator,thoughitalso
functionsasalevelmaximiser.Itsoundsawesome.Iusedvery
littleofit,lessthan1dBgainreduction,butitreallyshapesthe
soundinagreatwayforrock.OnceIamatthepointofadding
thevocals,Iturnitonandmixwithiton.IalsousetheDorrough
380D,whichisjustastereometer,andontherightsideofmy
displayI'llalwayshavetheNLS,theSSLGMasterandthe
Dorrough,becausetheyshowyouallthethingsyougenerally
wouldseeifyouweremixingonadesk.Youreallywanttobe
constantlyawareofhowhardyouarehittingthebus
compressorswhenyouaremixing.

InsideTrack:
Recording
Aerosmith
SecretsOfTheMix
Engineers:ProducerJack
Douglas
Theirlatest
albumsaw
Aerosmithreturn
totheirroots,
withJack
Douglasintheproducers
chair.Butitwasntallretro...

BeyondTheGrave

KenAndrews'vocalchainforParamoresingerHayley
Williams:WavesQ10highpassfilterandC4multiband
compressor,WavesCLA3Acompressor,CranesongPhoenix
'analoguewarmth'pluginandWavesDeesser.

Janus:GravediggerThen
AndNow
Signedto
Harvest,Janus
madeonealbum
andhatedthe
wayitsounded.
Fourdecadeslater,they
finallygotthechancetomix
itproperly...

KhanDo
ShahidNaughtyBoy
Khan:ProducingEmeli
Sand
ShahidKhanhas
gonefrompizza
deliverymanto
indemand
producerwith
alittlehelpfromNoel
Edmonds.

InsideTrack:
MixingtheLed
ZeppelinReunion
AlanMoulder|SecretsOf
TheMixEngineers
ThefilmofLed
Zeppelins
reunionconcert
wasfiveyearsin
themaking
yetAlanMoulderhadonly
threeweekstomixthe
entiresoundtrack!

PeterCobbin&
KirstyWhalley
InsideTrack|SecretsOf
TheMixEngineers:
Underpinningthe
biggest
spectacleof
2012London
OlympicGames
wasprobablythelargest
multitrackrecordingever
made.Justhowdoyoumix
athousandtrackproject?

RoyalAppointment
MikeStevens:Musical
DirectorForTheQueens
JubileeConcert
MikeStevens
hasworkedwith
someofthe
worldsbiggest
popactsat
countlesshighprofilelive
events,includingthe
QueensrecentDiamond
Jubileeconcert.

"ThealbumwasmasteredbyTedJensen,andIreallyliked
whathedid,becausetonallyitwasnotfarawayfromthemixes
Isenthim.Hedidn'taddalotofbassorhighend.Onceagain,
it'snotahiphoprecord,norisitanultraslick,glossypoprecord.
It'smorelikeacoolrockrecord,withthemidrangebeingthe
mostimportantthing. .

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11/4/2015

Inside Track: Ken Andrews and Paramore

Whilemixing,Ken
Andrewskeeps
hismasterbus
plugins
permanentlyopen
totherightofthe
MixorEdit
window,inorder
tokeepaneyeon
theamountof
compression
takingplace.

SwanSongs
KenAndrews'RedSwanStudiosistheultimate21stCenturystudio.It's
aprivatefacilityentirelybasedaroundhisProToolssystemandGenelec
monitors,withnocontrolsurfacesandonlyafewchoicepiecesof
analoguegear.Andrewsexplains:"Webuiltaroomwithintheexisting
garage,sonobodyoutsidecanhearmeworking,whichisnice.Ihave
fiveGenelec1031Amonitors,whichhavebeenmyfavouritemonitorsfor
15yearsnow,plusalargesubwoofer.I'msousedtotheGenelecsit's
toolateformetochange.Theonlyacousticproblemwiththespacehere
isthatthesweetspotisverysmall.Yougothreefeetbackwardsandthe
bassiscrazy.It'soneofthereasonswhytheadvantagesofjustusing
keyboardandmouseandjustbeingabletostayinthesweetspot
outweighshavingabunchoffaderstocontrol.Ialsofindthatwhenyou
areusingacontrolsurface,youtendtolookatthesurfacewhenyou
grabaknobandthenlookupatthescreentocheckwhetheritisdoing
whatyouwantittodo.Thescreeniscontrollingyourmix,sotomeit's
fastertojustgotherewithatrackball.It'salsomuchmoreefficienttome
togetanoveralllevelforatrack,andthentodrawinvolumeautomation
whensomethingjumpsoutoristoosoft.Whenyourideafader,you're
alwaysreactingtosomethingthathasjusthappened,unlessyoulearn
everythingandpreemptyourmoves,whichseemslikealotof
unnecessarywork.

KenAndrewspreferstouseneitheradesknor
afaderbasedcontrolsurface,relyinginsteadon
atrackballandlargeflatscreenmonitors.

"Mostofmyanaloguestuffhereismicpresandguitarpedals.Ihave
fourChandlerLTD1s,whichare1073clones,andfourAPIandthreeUA
micpres.Inaddition,Ihaveacoupleof[EmpiricalLabs]Distressors,acoupleofAPIEQs,andthat'sit.That'smyfront
endforwhenIamdoingoverdubs,andIhaveitallpatchedinpermanently.Irecordvocalsinmycontrolroom,butalso
haveaguitarampclosetthat'sadecentsize,withtallceilings,socabinetssoundprettygoodinthere.IhaveanAKG
C414TLIIforvocalsandacousticguitar,acoupleofRoyerR121sandsomeShureSM57and58sforguitars,andthat'sit.
Mystyleisthatonceit'sinthebox,itstaysthere,allthewaytomastering.Idooccasionallyrunthingsouttopedals,but
Ialwaysprinttheresultonanewtrack.Itrytoavoidhavinganyanaloguegearliveinamix.Ingeneral,Ikeepmysetup
assimpleandleanaspossible.Ifindthathavingitthiswaykeepsthefocusontheemotionofthesong,asopposedtothe
gear.

RegionalVariations
TheProToolssessionforKenAndrews'mixofParamore's'StillIntoYou'
consistsof81musictracks.Fromtoptobottom,thesecomprise15drum
tracks,14percussiontracks,13guitartracks,sevenintrokeyboardtracks
and17morekeyboardtracks(theregionnamesindicatethatthehardware
keyboardsusedincludedanArturiaMiniBrute,RolandJX3P,RolandJuno
106,KorgMS20,ARP,Doepfermodular,EowavePersephoneand
AtomoSynthMochika),plus15vocaltracks,includingthemainleadvocal
spreadoutoverthreetracks.Belowtheaudiotracksaresixauxeffect
trackslabelledShimmer,Room,SnareReverb,Plate,LongDelayandSlap
Delay,andnineauxgrouptracks(threedrumauxes,percussion,rhythm
guitars,leadguitars,keyboards,leadvocalsandbackingvocals),astereo
busandamixdownmastertrack.Unusually,perhaps,theregionsinthe
Editwindowhavenotbeencolourcodedbyinstrumentgroup.
KenAndrews:"Idon'tlikecolourcodingtheregions,asinmakingallthe
drumregionsthesamecolour,becauseitmakesithardtodifferentiate
betweentrackswhenyouzoominandalso,ifyouhaveanartistinthe
roomwhoislookingoveryourshoulderandallthetrackshavedifferent
colours,heorshewillbeabletosay:'It'sthatgreentrack.'Colourcoded
regionsareabigconfusingthingforme,soifIgetasessionlikethat,
Ichangeitrightaway.Myalternativeisgroupbussing,andinthissession,
Ibussedtracksforthevariousinstrumentfamilies,likedrums,percussion,
bass,guitars,keyboardsandvocals,intotheirownstereoauxes.Thisreallyhelpsasavisualaidforwhenthetrack
namesthemselvesdon'ttellyouwhatyou'relookingat,particularlyifinasmallMixwindow.InthiswayIcanquicklysee
undertheI/OsectionwhatkindoftrackI'mdealingwith.Ipreferusingcolouredtrackstoindicateactualgroupingrather
thanidentifyingtracks.Goingthroughthisprocessispartoforganisingthesessionandfamiliarisingmyselfwithit.Another

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Inside Track: Ken Andrews and Paramore

reasonforhavingthemastergrouptracksistobeabletoquicklymuteallguitars,ordoaglobalrideonthekeyboards.It's
alsoreallyhelpfulwhenfinishingamix,becauseartistsandlabelsnowrequireyoutodeliverstemsofallthemixes.
"Asfortheauxeffecttracks,ShimmerisaValhallareverb.IwasturnedontotheValhallasuitethroughJustinand
Carlos.Theyuseditalotonthisrecord,soit'soneoftheonesthatIbought,andit'sreallycool.Iuseitalotnow.Room,
SnareReverbandPlateareall[AudioEase]Altiverbeffects,respectivelyabathroom,anAMSRMX16andanEMT140
plate.IloveAltiverbbecausetheydon'tonlyhavestudiosandchurches,butalsosomereallyinterestingsmallspaces,like
bathroomsandkitchens.TheLongDelayandSlapDelaytracksare[SoundToys]EchoBoyeffects,onebeingaquarter
notedelayandtheotheraslapdelay.ThethreedrumgroupbusesareDrumClean,DrumSmack,onwhichIhavethe
[Waves]CLA76inbluemode,andDrumAll,onwhichIhavetheSoundToysDevilLocDeluxe,followedbytheWavesC4
multiband,andthentheCranesongPhoenixIridescent.TheDrumCleanandDrumSmackgroupsthengothroughthe
DrumAllbus.
PublishedinSOSJuly2013

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Thecontentsofthisarticlearesubjecttoworldwidecopyrightprotectionandreproductioninwholeorpart,whethermechanicalorelectronic,isexpresslyforbiddenwithoutthepriorwrittenconsentofthe
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