What Are The Absolute Essentials?

[wagtunes]

Okay, I'm trying to finally reach the point of getting mixes that are as close to "radio ready" as possible from an ITB studio.

So what are the absolute essentials as far as mixing and mastering go?

I'm not looking for specific brands but for the actual FX that I need to cover all requirements for a typical pop/rock mix.

So far I have...

EQ
Compressor
Limiter

What other things come in extremely handy? For example, the other day I was watching videos on how to get a wider mix, something I find very common among pop and rock songs today. In the process, I found them mentioning particular plugins that weren't among the ones I listed above that they used for achieving a wider mix. I probably should have made a note of what these plugins were but I didn't and trying to find those videos again would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. And this is just one example.

So hit me with everything. What do I need to cover all the bases when it comes to mixing and mastering? Again, specific brand recommendations are not required but will not be ignored.

I can't possibly list everything I have but my main plugins right now are...

Fabfilter EQ, Compressor, Limiter
Izotope Neutron (EQ, Compressor, Exciter, Limiter)

Plus I have a couple of tape saturation plugins from Waves and some other company along with other compressors and desk plugins. And of course all the Valhalla FX which I find absolutely amazing.

All recommendations will be considered because my ultimate goal is to be able to handle any situation that comes up without having to jump through hoops to make it happen. In other words, the simpler the better.

Thanks.

[JJ_Jettflow]

Is your studio tuned in any way? Are your speakers calibrated? Just wondering.

[wagtunes]

Is your studio tuned in any way? Are your speakers calibrated? Just wondering.

My studio is as good as a home studio is going to get without spending $10,000 on a pair of speakers. In other words, on a modest budget relative to the pros (probably total cost of about $10,000 for everything) this is as good as it's going to get for me.

[JJ_Jettflow]

Is your studio tuned in any way? Are your speakers calibrated? Just wondering.

My studio is as good as a home studio is going to get without spending $10,000 on a pair of speakers. In other words, on a modest budget relative to the pros (probably total cost of about $10,000 for everything) this is as good as it's going to get for me.

I was thinking more along IK's Arc 2 software.

[wagtunes]

Is your studio tuned in any way? Are your speakers calibrated? Just wondering.

My studio is as good as a home studio is going to get without spending $10,000 on a pair of speakers. In other words, on a modest budget relative to the pros (probably total cost of about $10,000 for everything) this is as good as it's going to get for me.

I was thinking more along IK's Arc 2 software.

Well, I do everything ITB so I don't need a microphone.

[JJ_Jettflow]

Is your studio tuned in any way? Are your speakers calibrated? Just wondering.

My studio is as good as a home studio is going to get without spending $10,000 on a pair of speakers. In other words, on a modest budget relative to the pros (probably total cost of about $10,000 for everything) this is as good as it's going to get for me.

I was thinking more along IK's Arc 2 software.

Well, I do everything ITB so I don't need a microphone.

No no. It calibrates your speakers to compensate for deficiencies in your studio.

[wagtunes]

Is your studio tuned in any way? Are your speakers calibrated? Just wondering.

My studio is as good as a home studio is going to get without spending $10,000 on a pair of speakers. In other words, on a modest budget relative to the pros (probably total cost of about $10,000 for everything) this is as good as it's going to get for me.

I was thinking more along IK's Arc 2 software.

Well, I do everything ITB so I don't need a microphone.

No no. It calibrates your speakers to compensate for deficiencies in your studio.

I see that now. But I have to wonder. How accurate can it possibly be with speakers that are, relatively speaking, not even close to professional quality? My speakers are in the $1,000 range. They're excellent. But they're not $10,000 studio speakers. How close is this software going to bring my $1,000 speakers to the $10,000 level? In other words, is it worth the $200 for what might be marginal results?

[JJ_Jettflow]

Is your studio tuned in any way? Are your speakers calibrated? Just wondering.

My studio is as good as a home studio is going to get without spending $10,000 on a pair of speakers. In other words, on a modest budget relative to the pros (probably total cost of about $10,000 for everything) this is as good as it's going to get for me.

I was thinking more along IK's Arc 2 software.

Well, I do everything ITB so I don't need a microphone.

No no. It calibrates your speakers to compensate for deficiencies in your studio.

I see that now. But I have to wonder. How accurate can it possibly be with speakers that are, relatively speaking, not even close to professional quality? My speakers are in the $1,000 range. They're excellent. But they're not $10,000 studio speakers. How close is this software going to bring my $1,000 speakers to the $10,000 level? In other words, is it worth the $200 for what might be marginal results?

I have 2 sets of speakers in my studio..neither of super high quality. I have a set of Yamaha HS50's and a set of M-Audio BX8a's and you know what? It works like a charm. It compensates for standing waves, it adjusts phasing and volume differences between speakers.

[Etienne1973]

For mixing with speakers first room acoustic treatment is the most essential.

What is possible in a home studio environment and what to be aware of to get good results. All things covered including mixing. Check out the following link: https://www.recordingrevolution.com

[wagtunes]

Is your studio tuned in any way? Are your speakers calibrated? Just wondering.

My studio is as good as a home studio is going to get without spending $10,000 on a pair of speakers. In other words, on a modest budget relative to the pros (probably total cost of about $10,000 for everything) this is as good as it's going to get for me.

I was thinking more along IK's Arc 2 software.

Well, I do everything ITB so I don't need a microphone.

No no. It calibrates your speakers to compensate for deficiencies in your studio.

I see that now. But I have to wonder. How accurate can it possibly be with speakers that are, relatively speaking, not even close to professional quality? My speakers are in the $1,000 range. They're excellent. But they're not $10,000 studio speakers. How close is this software going to bring my $1,000 speakers to the $10,000 level? In other words, is it worth the $200 for what might be marginal results?

I have 2 sets of speakers in my studio..neither of super high quality. I have a set of Yamaha HS50's and a set of M-Audio BX8a's and you know what? It works like a charm. It compensates for standing waves, it adjusts phasing and volume differences between speakers.

Okay, good to know. I will put this on the list of possible purchases. Right now, however, I'm more concerned with actual plugins used for mixing. The reason is, regardless of how accurate my speakers are, they still depend on my almost 60 year old ears to interpret the sound. With a high end that's shot, that makes any change in frequency above 5k almost pointless.

But this is definitely something good to know about. Never knew something like this even existed. I figured you either had super expensive speakers or you were screwed.

[wagtunes]

For mixing with speakers first room acoustic treatment is the most essential.

What is possible in a home studio environment and what to be aware of to get good results. All things covered including mixing. Check out the following link: https://www.recordingrevolution.com

Yes, I am aware of room treatment and all this stuff. I've done everything I can do on this front without going broke. Right now, I'm just looking for essential plugins for mixing.

[sfxsound3]

With a high end that's shot, that makes any change in frequency above 5k almost pointless.

Mixing? Radio ready?

[ghettosynth]

Treating your room can help a lot, but, beyond that, just looking at tools, I tend to break things up into functional and workflow enhancements.

Here's a guide to the different compressor styles, for example.

http://www.audio-issues.com/music-mixin ... our-mixes/

That said, and as much as I often turn to different tools, I find that focusing on one general purpose workflow oriented tool saves me time and probably achieves results that are good enough with respect to my skills. For me, that's Neutron on the mix channels.

I think that there's a tendency to think that tools are going to make the difference when the skills aren't there and although they sometimes can help a lot, I generally don't agree with that.

While I don't like Ozone as much as I like Neutron, there are some things that it does better and I think that the marginal difference of going to specialist plugins over Neutron+Ozone is probably quite small when the large gap is in your mixing skill set.

I guess what I'm saying is that really learning those two tools will go a lot further than buying more gear in furthering mix quality.

[wagtunes]

With a high end that's shot, that makes any change in frequency above 5k almost pointless.

Mixing? Radio ready?

Look, if you're not going to help me please just go away.

[wagtunes]

Treating your room can help a lot, but, beyond that, just looking at tools, I tend to break things up into functional and workflow enhancements.

Here's a guide to the different compressor styles, for example.

http://www.audio-issues.com/music-mixin ... our-mixes/

That said, and as much as I often turn to different tools, I find that focusing on one general purpose workflow oriented tool saves me time and probably achieves results that are good enough with respect to my skills. For me, that's Neutron on the mix channels.

I think that there's a tendency to think that tools are going to make the difference when the skills aren't there and although they sometimes can help a lot, I generally don't agree with that.

While I don't like Ozone as much as I like Neutron, there are some things that it does better and I think that the marginal difference of going to specialist plugins over Neutron+Ozone is probably quite small when the large gap is in your mixing skill set.

I guess what I'm saying is that really learning those two tools will go a lot further than buying more gear in furthering mix quality.

So then what you're saying is there is nothing that I shouldn't be able to do just using those tools.

Well, then if that's the case, then for some of these very specific tasks, I'm going to need to go to specific tutorials on how to, as an example, "Get XYZ Out Of A Compressor" or EQ, or whatever the required tool is that I already have.

That's going to mean having a total in depth knowledge of everything that these tools are capable of doing beyond their basic operation.

I get that skill is going to have a lot to do with my results, but at the same time, I'm not going to try to loosen a screw with a hammer. So if there is something out there that is going to make doing XYZ easier, I'd like to know what it is.

In other words, I can't believe that professional mixers do everything that absolutely has to and can be done with just an EQ and Compressor.