Hello Greg and thanks once again for all your wisdom. I see you have already gone through some of this which is comforting. I know that many of these readers have done the same. It is a slow but sure process I believe. I am definitely much "better" than I used to be, but of course, I want more. Its just a goal perhaps or part of a journey maybe. I can do lots of other things but I am focused on this one, probably because it is the most challenging.
 
Thanks for what you have said regarding the interfaces. Unless you really had something to say about going to a  better interface, I wasn't going to change anyway. I really like this unit for its simplicity and ease of operation and like I said, it has never failed in 10 years or so. I think that you are probably right about focusing on getting my mixes to sound "right" and not overly worrying about the guitar's loudness/thickness/so on. I don't think that anyone would ever say, "Hey...wait a minute! Is that a crappy, sub-par interface that I am hearing?"  It sounds fine to me and now you have said that it wouldn't necessarily contribute to my situation anyway. I think that's more or less what you were saying, anyway. I consider this to be solved, at least for the foreseeable future. No one else has stepped forward to argue against your position and I think you are the person who probably best knows what type of stuff I do, so I say all is well and thanks for your answer on this particular thing.
 
Yes, I lost my drummer years ago and just decided to go ahead and pursue this whole "in the box" thing to the fullest. He actually did vanish and I do not know what became of him. He was the best drummer I have ever known and I think that maybe the big G got him because he was running some shady mail-order type businesses. But, of course, this is just a side-story for anyone who is reading this.
 
So, after programming for years on Reason, I made the decision to switch over to Session Drummer because Reason was not known for their samples. I still run Reason underneath because they have so many other cool things, but not their primary drums stuff.  It wasn't too difficult to switch over because I have been programming the drums, along with the aforementioned drummer, for years. I am pleased with the overall sound and have no complaints except for the time it takes to do the programming. But, the beauty there is, I can do whatever I want so long as I don't mind the expense-time.
 
I appreciate all your knowledge on EQing. I try to be sort of minimalist on the EQ because I think that one can get hopelessly lost in a quagmire of equalization fairly easily. You are right about something: the internet videos do teach you some things but also make everything, I think, more confusing than it needs to be. I am sure that some of my problems are inherent in the EQing but is this not somewhat up to the ears of the engineer or mixer? Once you roll-off the lowest and highest, is it not a matter of what the client (which I don't have!) or the listener thinks is best? At this point, do we not get into, " Well, Pensado says always do this and Yoad says you HAVE to do this"? I mean, who do you listen to when there are similar but opposing views on mixing?" I am thinking that it comes down to whoever is mixing it and whoever will suffer if the decision is wrong. If you have ever heard a Sex Pistols album, you get the sense that there wasn't any EQing done at all and yet they have sold millions of copies with few people discerning  this possible fact.
 
I will play around with more settings but I think I may need to look (listen) more closely to the body. I also appreciate what you had to say about the digital stuff being kind of weak anyway. It is an area that I think I may be not getting correct, and that would be a big area to not get correct. That will take some effort to try to figure out how the digital stuff needs to be adjusted beyond, possibly, what I think. Good advice, thanks.
 
You know, Greg, I just realized recently that I have a hissing type sound coming out of my projects-even when I have not hit play. I see that I have a gain occurring here and there. I believe that this may have started after I started using CLA plug-ins. The Sonar plug-ins don't do this. Do you know what this is and could it be responsible for some of my volume issues? Is this normal? If you don't know, its cool, just thought that maybe you would have some idea about this.
 
Thanks for everything Greg, I have come even further thanks to you!
 
 
 
bob

Hey man.   Does the CLA stuff you are using have analog modeling, and if so, does it have a "noise" setting?
 
some of them do have a button to specifically flip "noise" on or off.  It is often labeled as 'noise', or sometimes its just a switch/button that says 'analog'.  Kicking that off in the plugin will eliminate the line level noise that they modeled in.  The analog character is still there, but the hiss that stacks from track to track will go away if your plugin lets you turn it off.
 
as far as who to listen to..  For a while there, for me it was all about finding producers/engineers/mixers and ultimately bands who tend to produce a sound that I like.  And the next step was to try to follow whatever advice they put out there to the letter and see if I can at least come reasonably close to replicating the same type of feel/sound as something that they did.  I'd try to make instrument tones sound the same way.  Id try to layer them the same way that they recorded them.  Id then try to learn whatever I could about 'how' they recorded and mixed everything(if info was available).  
 
I guess I figured I just needed to try and learn how to do some things that are "proven to work" before trying to trust my own ears in deciding what works.  Kinda no different than when guys used to want to figure out how to create the Eddie Van Halen guitar tone.  Lots of guys started off trying to figure out how to capture his tone, but ultimately developed their own voice.  In short...  Id start by listening to both guys you mention and trying the suggestions of both guys you mention(and more)
 
as you mess around with different sounds and different approaches and follow different bits of advice from different guys......eventually you come to realize that they are all right lol.  At any given time, what is best for one mix might not be what is best for another.  You might find that sometimes Yoad's suggestion works, where other times Pensados suggestion works....and sometimes neither works and you just have to let your own ears decide what works best in a particular instance.  Then you can be the one saying "heres what to do if you want your XXXX to sound like this in a mix"
 
It really all is just about practice.  Learn as many techniques as you can and try them all.  Some will really work for you, and others wont.  Even approaches that work great for somebody else sometimes wont work for you. In those instances, dont be afraid to discard those techniques that just arent working.  That would be yet another mistake I learned the hard way with time.  Trying to force things that I think I need to be doing because somebody else does it and does it well.  You get it in your head that "if pensado says I need to do it this way...  then I need to do it this way".   So naturally, I'd hang onto the approach for too long just because I felt like I was "failing" if I couldnt make it work as well as another guy.  Its better to not feel like there are any rules, and your best bet is to give yourself the freedom to try whatever you want and give yourself the freedom to keep what you like and get rid of what you dont like no matter if somebody else out there thinks its important
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hi Greg, thanks again, I think you are a pretty sharp dude on this stuff or it seems that way to me, anyway. You seem to know a little bit (or a lot) about all these things, which is awesome.
Thanks for your advice on the CLA. I looked everywhere and found nothing like what you said. I switched everything I could find and it made no difference until I just switched it off. When I did that, then it killed the hiss. I guess I will have to keep trying to figure this out or maybe learn to live with it. It isn't all that noticeable but it surely is hurting the sound to some degree I would think. Maybe I am driving the plugs too hard or using too many of them. I wonder if they are really any better than the Sonar plugs anyway. The main thing I like about them is that they quickly dial-in certain presets; that's really the most useful part of his stuff. I really appreciate your explanation about what's causing the hissing. That will likely help me to narrow down some thoughts on how to stop it, assuming, I can stop it. But, either way, thanks.
 
I also appreciate all your views on mixing and just everything really. That kind of help is invaluable. Its far better than watching a bunch of videos although that has its place too. I have kind of come to the same reasoning as you mentioned: take what you need to from whoever you need to, throw out what you don't need and mix in your own ideologies about it all. I think that's what you are saying. But, still, that's not that easy to do because there are so many ways, apparently. These well-experienced people have a massive knowledge-base to draw from and I don't yet. That's what puts the huge bucks in their pockets, I know. I like the way you think and it is about the same way I do to, so surely I will improve with more time.
 
Thanks a ton, Greg
 
bob

Which CLA plugs specifically are you talking about? The compressors (CLA2A, CLA3A, CLA76) have a noise/hum switch that lets you switch on 50Hz or 60Hz mains hum or turn it off. I don't think the CLA "multi" plugins, like CLA Guitars/Bass/Vocals have such a thing. It's worth noting that most distortion/overdrive algorithms like in CLA Guitars would add some amount of noise. It
If it's mainly bothering you in the quiet parts you could use a gate. Otherwise I don't think it's worth worrying about, any real amp you would record at higher gain would add at least as much noise.

Thanks for your response SXP, I appreciate it. Yes, it is everyone of those that you mentioned. I went back again and checked out what you said and it did make some difference when I switched the 60hz off. Its still there but only about half as loud as it was when switched to 50 or 60 hz. I thank you for your insight about the distortion/overdrive algorithms, I hadn't thought of it like that but it makes perfect sense. It doesn't bother me so much as it does wondering if it will bother someone else. I could care less, really. I am still trying to follow most of the rules about digital production and it helps when someone like you says things like this, so thanks for speaking up on this. I wondered if the big "pros" had some method for eliminating a hum or hiss, if they even had one, and I guess you might be saying that they would use a gate. Good enough for me!
 
Thanks SXP
 
bob

Strange that you still have noise when they're off. Or at least I think that makes them silent for me. You said it goes away completely when you switch the plugin off? Or do you mean muting the track? Is it possible that you have more of them somewhere else in the project?

And yeah noise can sometimes be treated well with a gate. Preferably you'd have as clean a recording as possible and use as noiseless gear as possible but there are limits. Hiss and hum shouldn't generally be a problem in a modern setup with at least decent hardware. The most I get is when I mic an amp and/or use my Fender Rhodes. Both vintage technologies :)

Hello again sxp, yes when I switch it off, the noise stops-not when I mute. I don't think i have more somewhere else, I mean, wouldn't I see these? But, it is as if there are more somewhere else but I sure don't see them. Thanks for your advice and I will keep on trying to figure it out but also, like you said, I think I won't worry too much about the noise.
 
bob

I believe track mute occurs before the fx bin, so if a plugin is generating noise/hum, muting the track or clip would not affect the noise.

bitflipper
I believe track mute occurs before the fx bin, so if a plugin is generating noise/hum, muting the track or clip would not affect the noise.

I believe they are after.



 
I had ground problems at one point (hum) but I traced it down to my guitar (especially in my Fender Strat's)
The single coils love computer monitors unless you have a good shielding set up (copper foil captivity) Les Paul's are better  because of the humbuckers.
If you have more than 1 guitar try a test, see if the noise changes.
 
I still have a Fender Jazz bass that is noisy as all H. I gate it and deal with it.  Its my best Bass.

chuckebaby
Rule Numero Uno: 
Tracks:
Buses:
FX And Bus Compression:

Nice rules of thumb here Chuckeybaby
 
thx
 
meh