Mixing With Saturation - Why You Need It
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- Saturation is an amazing technique that can bring life, vibe and energy to your mixes and production. In this video I explain what it is and how to get started using it by sharing some free plugins / vsts. Saturation is a huge topic but hopefully this video sets you in the right direction :)
While some of the examples here used heavily driven tape and tube saturation, often a subtle amount is all you need and you'll soon start getting a good ear for how much is enough. Don't forget to explore the other forms of saturation too!
Free saturation plugins I use -
Saturation Knob - goo.gl/zcStnR
Headcrusher Free - www.vst4free.co...
Ferric TDS - goo.gl/s75Cqz
Paid plugins-
Slate Digital Virtual Tube Collection
(I love the slate plugins but I'm not sponsored by the company, I'm a full paying customer sharing my experiences)
Gain Staging video I mentioned - • Gain Staging - The 3 R...
▶GEAR
These links are the cheapest prices I can find. If you order using them, I will get a small commission to help fund new equipment for the channel :) Thank you
Microphone USA - amzn.to/2mMCzf7 UK - amzn.to/2Dep0z6
Audio Interface USA -amzn.to/2NhQJkQ UK - amzn.to/2KEp92s
Best Headphones USA -amzn.to/2Dhkgpr UK - amzn.to/2mtDAbB
▶Instagram: @michael.inthemix
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I love your hair.. its thick, fuller, has warmth, and SATURATED...
jahva1O1 yeah, his paste is giving him a lot of saturation. Wonder if theres a free demo.
@@ffjaron lol
Y'all ain't got no sense lol 😂😂
True. To me Thicc definitely means the bottom end it's fuller and more round 👍🏿
Lmao
This dude is a beast of a teacher.Feels like I should pay this dude for these videos.
Patreon ;)
A beastcher.. Beacher... Beaster... Nvm it doesn't really work. He's a beast of a teacher.
You do!
@@d-rockanomaly9243 Teast?
@@prodbysaze2892 lol that'll have to do.
I'm loving your tutorials man. You're great at making complex ideas simple and easy to understand. Btw, if you ever come to Nashville I'd be happy to show you. You've always got a free place to crash here :)
Thank you! I really appreciate that David
such a great channel, even as an experienced producer this is just top notch stuff, very very well done
Ben Potts Thank you very much Ben!
@@inthemix Couldnt agree more.
Mastering overview video will be posted on Saturday :)
And Finally....☺☺☺
can u make a vedio about mixing and mastaring plugging comes with fl studio?
I know, I'm a little late, but you know
It came out on "Satur-Day" (you know, because of "saturation" 😅
justin bieber cheap...no man
It fills in the gaps between the frequencies, this is how I hear it. Very good explanation 👍
Louis Jans But does it press the space-bar to start? ;)
Only a wizard knows the answer 😜
If you duplicate the sound that you are applying saturation to- this one without the effect- you can invert the phase of this "bare" copy, and adjust its volume until it almost cancels the saturated copy. Almost, because the harmonic differences the saturation plugin introduced are left behind. Only the "effect" remains. This can be a useful way to compare or analyze different saturation or distortion plugins in an objective way. It may remove some of the mystery of some of these plugins.
👍
you can also make an IR of their effect.. so u can make an IR of your fav settings or whatever.. as long as the effect is linear as in not changing for the duration of the IR sample.. like half a second or something.. right?? u seem to have expertise.. and im just repeating something i heard :D
You are describing what is commonly called a Null Test - take an unprocessed audio signal (or file) and a processed version of the same signal, match the levels (rms or average), invert the polarity of one, then play or render them starting from the same sample position. To fully grasp this, take two identical audio files, invert the polarity of one, then play them together. They will cancel each other and you will hear nothing - silence. Be sure NO processing of any kind is applied to one or both - not even a miniscule gain change.
Regarding your Null Test experiment between an unprocessed and processed signal:
Yes, it is a good way to understand what these plugins are doing - what they are adding; but only if the applied saturation is static (doesn't change with the dynamics / level of the original signal), or if the plugin has complex non-linear interactions. With dynamic non-linear saturation plugins, it's better to adjust by ear - just don't overdo it (there is a reason engineers didn't add Aural Exciter to every track back in the 70s & 80s. Something has to be in the background, otherwise it's a wall of mush - piercing mush that will get fatiguing real fast.).
Consider a few nonlinear analog systems:
Tubes have a very smooth curve toward higher nonlinear saturation; transistors and op-amps tend to be more linear until they approach their clipping point with a smaller dB transition range to hard clipping; transformers vary with the given design topology and materials - their saturation type, amount and curve in relation to input fluctuations (level) vary greatly.. (they also exhibit EM field effect saturation); tape is a very complex non-linear system, between the input & output electronics, the magnetic heads, bias, tape formulation, particle domain concentration & polarization, etc..
Older plugins (and some recent ones) typically applied 'static' saturation to a signal, regardless of average level or fluctuations in amplitude (a cheap way of simulating tube, tape, transformer and other analog non-linearities). These can easily be nulled to expose the added saturation.
But many new plugins have dynamic implementations of saturation - e.g. the amount of saturation will fluctuate in relation to signal amplitude. Even with non-saturating dynamic processors, it can be hard to make sense of the 'delta' from a null ('delta': what is leftover - the difference between the unprocessed and processed files).
Some plugins distinguish between transients and average levels as well (check out Physion from Eventide and the Unfiltered Audio plugins for examples). Sophisticated tape saturation plugins (especially deeply modeled multi tube devices like a good guitar amp emu or the Thermionics Culture Vulture) and other 'end-to-end' emulations combine numerous techniques to interactively generate varying degrees and types of saturation: the UAD SSL Console has numerous clipping points; their Distressor emulation is also highly reactive; the Manley Vari Mu tube mastering compressor & the Voxbox both have extremely complex non-linear interactive circuit topology, including the Input & Output tubes & transformers, the program dependent compression behavior, the tube amplifier and, with the VoxBox, the EQ inductors. multiple nonlinear dynamic systems interacting with each other, making an analysis by 'Null Test' almost meaningless.
Kekka dake da
I make broccoli with this technique
Finally a youtuber that doesn't waste my time and I can actually see results
Man your voice is so relaxing. Can you start an audiobook series or something
Kreate Yeah I want to make that happen. Let's do it.
looking forward to it
Do it!
he just wanna hear you moan...lmfao!
@Nobby Heads So warm it's heated up
Don't overdo it. It becomes grating really fast.
Your hair looks _heckin good_
Cuz he saturates it
Ransom :D
Ransom puts a comb filter through it
Hè pud a soundgoodizer on it... xD
SportsRGreat His hair looks good as fuck. It looks clean, not gay
Can you do a video about a single/multi band compressor? That would be very helpful 🙏❤️
Absolutely
In The Mix yeeees finally
Man, im from Poland and im watching your movies from quite a lot but i love your type of explaining everything :) I learn a lot from this movies :)
I love saturation knob. It works really well on my lead bus. Thanks for this video! You make amazing content! Keep it up! ♥️
Lisa H Thank you, I've used it on countless distorted leads, it's definitely got something magic going on behind the simple one dial because it sounds great!
Org indonesia yang nntn ini LIKE 😊
Biar diksi teks bahasa indonesianya
I just learned that this guys name is Michael and not In the Mix.
Me too.
Decapitator on the lead bus and you're good to go! 😂✌️
As a 60 yr old who came from the wonderful world of analogue production I think this guy is a great teacher. Great descriptions and explanations, lovely voice and hair and a good knowledge of his subject. I've just subscribed.
Underrated channel. These lessons are like payed lessons! Learning alot here! Thanks bro.
It's 42'c where I am in Australia and I was drinking an ice coffee while watching this. I feel personally attacked.
This my first time commenting on your video and I must say I have learnt a lot from you over this few months. God bless you and continue giving us your best. Bless up
Street Lord Thank you! I'll keep trying my best :)
That warmth could be a mono. Today's recordings are very wide, maybe even too wide. That's why most of the tracks sound cold and "too digital''? You have a lot of good emulations of analog gear, for example, abbey road stuff from waves, TG12345, J37, KRAMER Tape and many many more. Of course, if you can grab any analog do it but to be sure you can have really good ''warm'' sounding mix using plugins into your DAW
Having binged your videos over the last couple of days and going this far back really accentuates how much your presentation has improved. This is by no means bad, but compared to the quality of lighting, sound and overall visual presentation in the most recent videos the small changes make a huge difference.
6:37-6:42 you just explained exactly the problem I've had. I thought my problem in having a dry sound was the eq but it might be the saturation.
Same!
Me too. I was just rolling with the dry sound. Too much notching maybe? It does sound "clean" in a sense but def lacking that over all warm tone.
Same here
Would sausage fattener be a good saturator? Imma try to get something good, and if u haven't already, please make a video on making things stereo without ruining it, very confusing for a lot of people. Thanks
Ryan Fella I don't know about SF but I am planning the stereo width video. I've got a few tricks that help with phase and things like that :)
Although the use of Sausage Fattener is frowned upon, it surely is a handy .vst for saturating purposes. Imo, ideal for drums and such.
Dave Pensado uses SF a ton. He has tons of ITL videos with it in use. I would give his videos a look
Ryan Fella Sausage fattener has other effects in its signal chain, not sure which but it does more than saturate
Thank you so much, your video is really helpful! I've been curioused to know about what Saturation do to the mix for a long time.
Man, thank you so much for doing this. Your videos are almost incredible in regards to their clarity and value! You are a gift among the youtube rubble. Lots and lots of respect 👏🏼
that's just amazing ! Ty
It is often used in post-rock and EDM also in contemporary music
Gain staging; Riley -> neutron -> balance
Is´nt increasing the saturation the same as increasing the voices of unison?
The most eloquent and easy to understand explanation of saturation I've ever heard! BTW, I love everything about this channel! Top-notch stuff!
What a lovely thing to say. I really appreciate your comments :)
Warm vs. cold:
"Waiter! My coffee is cold!"
"No shit, Sherlock. If you want something warm, you'll have to order a beer."
As you said, "warm" is not _always_ the more attractive variant.
Thanks for the explanation. Then, a dummy question: do you use it on individual tracks, or does it worth adding it only on the master bus, when on a simple guitar+voice setup ?
Great question! I would almost always apply saturation on a track by track basis. You will likely want to use a different type or amount of saturation on the guitar and vocals. As always, try things out and hear what sounds best to you :)
Thank you so much yo. The vocabulary in music just frustrates me sometimes.
Very impressive tutorial. I like how you talked about "warmth" 3:10 and how companies market their plugins. :D Thank you so much!
Is it okay to use saturation plugin on master bus?
You talk to much instead of saying the main fact
You just changed my life
That was an extremely clear and effective explanation. I'm finally beginning to understand saturation. I look forward to learning more from you. Thank you!
Seems similar to what the soundgoodizer does? (i'm a complete noob)
Thank you for explaining so good. And also for sharing your experiences to emphasize with a little amount on relevant channels.
I could listen to you talk all day ☺️☺️☺️
You legitimately should teach this. If I had teachers as good as you in nursing school I wouldn’t feel the need to quit and change my major lmaooo
why is that orange amplifier where one of the black studio monitors used to be?
Ian Lungwitz Oh it's the just perspective, it's in front of the monitor, I was practicing guitar before the video and forgot to move it away onto the floor!
Saturation was a real game changer for me
You explained so easily! Thank you so much! I was always feeling something was missing. my tracks sounds kinda empty, you made me realize why. 👍
You make me understand in 2 mins what others would take half an hour to describe
I highly recommend iZotope Ozone's Tube saturation. Specially if you're into retro video game music. SPECIALLY if you're into Snes/N64 music. I've heard some "Restored to HD" versions of songs, and they don't sound as good as with just the Ozone plugin on. The songs come up alive, specially the kicks and basses that get very warm, and the high pitched sounds that sound "windy" (I guess sounds in the middle range get sacrificed, but it's worth it.)
ne_skaju replied: "it's more a solid state / bucket brigade / transistor sound, tubes weren't used in computer games music. also lower bit depth and sample rate"
This isn't about making video game music sound like it used to, it's about making it sound as good as it can, and tube saturation does that. It's like the same music but with better samples (your reply doesn't appear anymore for some reason.)
Subbed! after a 5 year break away from production, I came across one of your videos and now watched many!, Very informative and I've learnt a load more than I already knew from your vidz! Keep up the damn good work 👍🏻
Dear comments folks: anybody has an idea whether saturation is suggested in a Asian (traditional) type song? Like, on the plucks or something?
if it sounds good, do it! if it doesn't sound good, then don't....there's no rules to this kinda stuff, so trust your ears!
If they ever make a serious move about the Beatles 25 years from now this dude should play George Martin
Very helpful and interesting video
Is this what the soundgoodizer does?
Most likely, yes.
Rap Sure not necessarily. Soundgoodizer is simply a boost in all frequencies. If I’m saying it correctly, Saturation is a lot more complex to add “warmth” or “weight”. There’s definitely a bit more it does, but it doesn’t mean it’s like the Soundgoodizer.
Soundgoodizer is multi-band compression (3 band; low, mid, high) with some simple preset settings ABCD and an intensity knob (input gain).
@@yonah4899 A "boost in all frequencies" is simply turning up the volume
thanks man great video. But just one thing. WHAT A FCKING PAIN IN THE ASS TO DOWNLOAD SATURATION KNOB DAMN.
My old trick was to dump a stereo mix down to my 4 track tape machine, drive it hard, then bring it back in. Then i discovered Mixbus v2, and now Mixbus 32c. No need for that when the entire DAW is modelling an analog desk from the 1970s.😎
Zarrrr pado diria el ingeniero
Great now imma be using saturation in absolutely everything 😂😂😂
BRUH™
Learnt a lot from you ...and you'll be blessed for being helpful for the ppl who cant afford music classes...thank u bro
**takes cold pizza and tea and leaves the room**
xD Yeaaah. I was like... but I'm a mom.. I live off of cold coffee. xD
whenever im looking to research a new topic, i always look for your videos, even if they're rly old. you explain things in a great way, thank you!
This channel is so informational always learn something new here thanks for being so detailed and easy to follow I love your videos
Your hair is fuckin slick in this one my dude. Oh and so is the information. I feel intimidated like at the edge of a black hole of information when it comes to mixing/production/plugins. It's kinda how I felt a couple of years ago when I was diving into music theory. But now I know a lot of theory...so maybe i just have to go and ill start learning things. This channel will certainly help, I think
Not passing the blame here .. should have known better. The free apps have corrupted my computer. Disappointing esp cause your content is mint and musical knowledge notch.
WAIT WHAT-
For some reason everyone I knew up to this point just used "saturation" as a synonym for clipping. My whole life has been a lie.
Now on a serious tone tho, any free saturation plugins that you would recommend? I'd like to try my hand out at some.
Thank very much for another great video!
TIP: This vídeo deserves a ton of de-esser on every "tioon" you've said, and many other "sh", moments... ;-)))
This is an excellent video so thanks so much. Just a headsup re Softube link. In what seems like a petty and arbitrary move they've made it impossible to register from the UK even if you don't want to initially purchase but just want sample the free software. What a class act.
2:40 - So, my guitar amp is just cranking the saturation to create distortion? I always wanted to learn sound modelling & the like. I appreciate your videos. Cheers.
I have a question: if you were invited o mix a beautiful clear voice like -say - Karen Carpenters's would you put saturation on her voice track?
Very interesting, I've known about saturation, and have used it for my bass. But adding it to my drum mix? I'm gonna have to try that out!
Is anybody finding it difficult to download this soft tube saturation knob plug in? I follow all the steps correctly, I create an ILOK account, etc. and it never gives me a license code. It says I have a license on my soft tube "my account" page but it says it's inactive, and nowhere have I been given any sort of code to active it. wtf?
These tutorials are incredibly clear.
3:36 i actually want a cold coffee (FREDO ESPRESSO IS A DRUG) Great video thank you!
If the frequencies of two pure tones are very close to eachother, the human neural auditive system does not percieve them as two distinct sounds due to the "critical band" problem. This produces a lack of clarity in the mix. Added harmonics help to create more recognizable "patterns" around these two similar sounds, and the percieved clarity increases.
Thanks for the explanation. Way easier to understand than most of "teachers" over internet.
I try to spread the views but you end up answering everything bout it all (FL, mastering, mixing)
I regret downloading and installing the Saturation Knob as this was the most pointless thing I ever done in my live leading to a lot of headache with license, installation and download process and inability to use the vst without installer and license that took 350mb of my hard drive for nothing and not able to use without connection as well... I would not even buy anything from this company no matter how good their product is....
one love and salute to all your learners , we should pay this guy for learning us thse things
Can i video call someone who is experienced and just ask them a few questions about mixing/mastering please? xD
This video was REALLY informative! Always kinda thought of saturation as a meh kind of thing to add in the mix. But this really makes sense
Nailed it. Seriously great explanation. Top quality content mate!
The most powerful "Plug in" is TEEC. T stands for TALENT. E stands for Education. Another E stands for Experience. And C stands for Creativity. Much better solution than a "Plug in" is to buy Tube type (ECC-83) pre amplifier. They have HI Gain for all types of microphones, LO Gain for Line/Instrument. Phase switch, Phantom 48V for Condenser and Ribbon type mics, and some other useful features. By using this hardware you can get REAL SATURATION and you can control it in the real time and real world. And this pre-amplifiers are by far cheaper than mimics plug-in.
Can i add saturation to vocals to maake them sound better? If yes could you make a tutorial pleaseee
We gonna pretend like we don’t want to know if this guy doesn’t do face modelling in between UA-cam and making music?
Mixing is very simple now. Loves from Turkey. ;)
so saturation makes my sound thicc
One of the very best mixing tutorial channels on UA-cam 🔥
"make things heavily distorted"
2:40 *regular show intro plays*
When should i saturate on the master ? After mixing and eqing and before limiting and compressing ?
Thanks for the info.
You are so motivational and that really keeps ms going
love that you have an orange between studio monitors XdXDXD
I often throw Isotope Trash's Tape saturation on the master bus.It gives it a nice grit and tightness, especially for heavier stuff.
I said, you’re saturated. She said, what you mean? I said, you are thicker and have more weight.
2:00 because this very pure and conceptual style of teaching i sm still your sub, despite of the music i don´t like ;)
by the time this guy is 30 he could be rocking Rick Beato numbers on YT.
I love this guy. covers many topics, gets straight to the point, knows what he's talking about and explains it in a way that even a kid could understand, and he doesn't ANNOY ME WITH PLUGS OR BUNDLES AND SHIT LIKE ALL THESE OTHER GUYS! GET THE SPLICE PACK GET CYMATICS NO DUDE I DON'T WANT TO SOUND LIKE ANOTHER CLONE STFU! oh and that smooth buttery voice is 10/10
Chocat Hey y’all, Im giving away Ozone 8 master suite to anybody that messages me on instagram for literally free. Its cracked but its the full version. Instagram handle ruben_0215
I thought this was about mixing with a saturator on the master to help hear things ahah
It takes a Congress Act to download the Saturation Knob
Actually Slate VTM has bass boost by default. You can dial it down in the panel.
Again a great tutorial! I learned a lot from this. Thx ;)