Go-to plug-ins for adding gain

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gravitychapters
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Go-to plug-ins for adding gain

Post by gravitychapters » Mon Apr 26, 2021 8:23 am

Not a loudness wars question. Simply wondering, if you gain stage conservatively and wind up with a quiet mix, what plugins do you trust to add some gain? I’m reluctant to slap on a compressor and crank the output gain. Curious how you all approach this.

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Re: Go-to plug-ins for adding gain

Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Mon Apr 26, 2021 8:29 am

Why not just group all tracks and turn them up til the mix is where you want it?

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Re: Go-to plug-ins for adding gain

Post by Magnetic Services » Mon Apr 26, 2021 9:23 am

Good ol' clip gain usually does the trick. I think in Reaper it can only add 24dB, but that's usually enough.

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Re: Go-to plug-ins for adding gain

Post by Nick Sevilla » Mon Apr 26, 2021 10:20 am

I use whatever stock gain plug in the DAW has, most do have a whole set of stock plug ins, including gain.
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Re: Go-to plug-ins for adding gain

Post by Recycled_Brains » Mon Apr 26, 2021 12:16 pm

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Re: Go-to plug-ins for adding gain

Post by gravitychapters » Mon Apr 26, 2021 1:11 pm

OK, so, yeah...point taken on all of these.

I guess what I was getting at goes back to a Shawn Everett thing I was reading. He was going through his extensive master bus setup, and he wasn't really adding gain to the mix with any of those plugins—until he got to one (UAD Oxford Limiter), and he specifically called out how important that one is because that's where he's adding a lot of gain.

Does that change your responses at all? Just curious about this concept. Truth is, limiting is very mysterious to me. I bought the Weiss MM-1 plugin (on sale) thinking it would help me understand, but it just confused me further.

IDK. If any of this resonates with anyone, I'd love to hear your thoughts. If I'm just rambling aimlessly, apologies.

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Re: Go-to plug-ins for adding gain

Post by digitaldrummer » Mon Apr 26, 2021 1:45 pm

I'm usually trying to shoot for mix levels that are not already hitting the red on the master bus (I say this because I sometimes get mixes that are!). And then if I have to boost levels on all channels a little, that's ok, or maybe I boost on the master. I usually have the Slate Digital VBC and FG-X on my master. I may add a little make up with the SSL and MU VBC plugins and then if I still need more, I'll add a little from FG-X. Of course remember everything we boost just raises the noise floor too.
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Re: Go-to plug-ins for adding gain

Post by losthighway » Mon Apr 26, 2021 2:08 pm

I mean, there's always the meter on the master fader, but that's real time and I get not wanting to mess with it and set yourself up for a clip in the middle of a song when you're not paying attention.

This is one reason why I almost always use mastering software, yet I'm never legitimately mastering. If I have a bounce with 10-15 db of headroom (more often it's realistically 5-8) that someone is going to want to play over the blue tooth on their phone in their car, or whatever, it seems silly not to give them something using a little more of the headroom. I find mastering software makes some easy, bonus decibels easy to see without screwing something up and putting it in the red.

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Re: Go-to plug-ins for adding gain

Post by vvv » Mon Apr 26, 2021 2:20 pm

FWIW, and I may be misunderstanding your question, but I also mix into a limiter.

I try to do all of my individual track processing first, and then I mix into a paralleled global compressor just to even things up with (possibly) a paralleled global reverb.

My last step before "mastering" is to take the final mix track up such that the peaks are -1dB, with the apparent, visual average at about -6dB - also comparing by listening. (I can usually use around those rather specific figures as I tend to record the same types of instruments and material, i.e., guitar rock, but see below.)

I will call that use of a limiter the thing that I do after I "gain stage conservatively and wind up with a quiet mix" ("quiet mix" is usually peaking at about -3 to -6, averaging about -9 or -12).

At that point I'm referencing the tracks to each other as I go into the limiter to have consistent levels before I go into my mastering schtick.

The limiter, then is raising the level, and capping the peaks.

If you go here you can hear that the first 4 tracks were done that way, but # 5 was deliberately left the same level - which for an acoustic track would be too loud if it was anywhere but the last track of the E.P.

But all were level-set using the "transparent" limiter in CEP (and only #5 has a global reverb).
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Re: Go-to plug-ins for adding gain

Post by Nick Sevilla » Mon Apr 26, 2021 6:28 pm

gravitychapters wrote:
Mon Apr 26, 2021 1:11 pm
Shawn Everett
Well, I don't know who this is.

What I do know is that you are asking for one type of gain, which would be for individual tracks.

Not for the Mix Buss.

My mixing setup, gain wise, is to hit the Master meters with the kick, if there is one, at max -6 dBFS. No matter what I am using
for the Mix Buss. Once that is dialed in, I get the vocal to sit well with that, and go from there.

IF for some reason I have a track or tracks that are very low in volume, they were recorded very low, I always make a copy of the audio file first, THEN gain it up to where it sounds ok in the rough mix, so for example a synth pad bed will not get much gain, while a lead vocal will.

Always though, I do not exceed that -6 dBFS peak level for the audio file. This allows plug ins some room to work.
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Re: Go-to plug-ins for adding gain

Post by cgarges » Mon Apr 26, 2021 7:37 pm

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Re: Go-to plug-ins for adding gain

Post by MoreSpaceEcho » Tue Apr 27, 2021 9:21 am

gravitychapters wrote:
Mon Apr 26, 2021 1:11 pm
OK, so, yeah...point taken on all of these.

I guess what I was getting at goes back to a Shawn Everett thing I was reading. He was going through his extensive master bus setup, and he wasn't really adding gain to the mix with any of those plugins—until he got to one (UAD Oxford Limiter), and he specifically called out how important that one is because that's where he's adding a lot of gain.

Does that change your responses at all? Just curious about this concept. Truth is, limiting is very mysterious to me. I bought the Weiss MM-1 plugin (on sale) thinking it would help me understand, but it just confused me further.

IDK. If any of this resonates with anyone, I'd love to hear your thoughts. If I'm just rambling aimlessly, apologies.
I'm not familiar with Everett's workflow in particular, but the general idea is you're keeping the level reasonable and giving the plugins headroom to work while staying below 0dbfs. The limiter is the last thing in the chain (except dither and maybe SRC) so you turn the gain up there.

Digital gain is digital gain, it's going to be the same (quality-wise) no matter how you do it (if it isn't, something is broken), what matters is where you do it.

Limiters are just compressors with insanely high ratios and super fast attack and release times, ideally they're just acting on the peaks. I really, really strongly recommend people not mix with a limiter on the master buss, but people are gonna do what they do, so....

Anyway as far as adding or lowering gain in a mixing context, in Reaper I use the super handy volume knob on the clips to set the initial levels, and then DMG Track Control (it's free) after the plugins to set the final level. I use that rather than the faders because it's quicker and easier to make small adjustments.

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