John Summit: "Don't Believe It"
I was happy to work on two songs for the new John Summit album (mixed "Don't Believe It" and did mix+master on "Mess With Me").
We have a long history, going back a decade now pretty much, and this style if anything is my jam as an engineer.
Some of you may have noticed it sounds a lot like Thin Line, and there's a reason for that (that was my mix + master).
Talking here about this style of production, and what's always important to me in mixes in this style in general, some considerations here and there:
how bass has to hit and how to gauge it, the role of kick, what elements to highlight, some panning thoughts, keeping vocal on top, the importance of level automation…and so on.
Tech house stuff has been heavily requested, so hope you like it.
Anything you wanna ask? Shoot!
LINED UP NEXT:
Let's get busy with DNB and breakbeats soon.
Breakbeat of the month, making some beats, and whatnot.
Going thru some old and jungle classics and forgotten gems (got a long history with those).
I also want to talk about creativity and the process around it: want to share thoughts with you.
Comments (18)
When you automate width on the master, are you putting sidewidener on the master? What plug-in are you automating?
No SW on the master, but on the tracks that need widening. On Master, I'm only automating Utility which cannot generate width, but can raise the level of the existing side signal / master width.
27:00 You can automate panning in ableton inside the clips in envelope section, instead automating, which can be a bit messy
Will we ever got mixing from scratch session?
Yes! I have two tech house ones lined up for that!
Great video! Could you expand a bit on the Pultec settings you used on the piano? Also curious how the piano itself was built—one patch or multiple layers? The Thin Line style piano is one of my favorite sounds and I’d love to understand the approach a bit better.
I often use the 100 setting on Pultec when I use it on instruments. For drums, I use 60, then boost. Piano: you'd have to ask John, he's the producer, I'm just an engineer :)
Love the vids mate One question on your width auto in builds - I’ve experimented with widening in builds and then reverting back so there’s mono punch/slap in the face on the drop. Have also experimented with narrowing the stereo field very slightly combined with very subtle level auto (-0.8db max) so the drop feels wider. Would you adjust this in context with the track you’re working on or do you tend to always widen towards drops?
Good question. This depends on the song and the drop. If it's kind of maximum energy/vibe in the breakdown and drop (EDM, a lot of melodic tech house, some modern DNB), I keep the width and only gradually take it down over the next 8-16 bars. But if it's a minimal song in the drop, going back to no added width or almost mono on the drop can work for sure.
Hey Fanu, thanks for walking us through this. Question. I always get the impression that tracks have much more room reverbs than I usually use, and that this is the "secret sauce" to making tracks sound good and professional. But I never figured out if this is true and if so, how:) Could you comment on the very nice "space" and distances for the different elements in this particular song as an example?
Yeah room reverb can work on piano, or short plate, to make it less dry, but with big pianos, you want to stay relatively dry TBH. It can be too dry of course and then it'll feel too close, so a touch of reverb can help for lessening the definition. Don't go for long tails. There isn't a lot of reverb in this song, and it's a pretty sparse mix if you think about it: that alone helps with the space. I've always said, the fewer elements you have, the bigger and more defined and louder they can be.
Do you usually set Spiff early then mix through it? I'm assuming it's the side cut?
If there’s spikey side transient stuff, I put it on the master when I hear it, and possibly hone the tracks too.
Very informative as always! ! 1)Besides the lows around the 30db landmark on span, do you have any rough target/range for the highs too? 2)Do you ever boost highs with more of a mastering grade / color eq or youre staying with pro q for its precision? 3)That spiffing on the master, is it to cut transients as per your practise? Thanks!
1. Nope! It’s way trickier to measure. 2. A lot of times ProQ on tracks and master. A lot of the “color” is saturation which I do on tracks when needed. 3. Yea, to eliminate transients on sides.
Great video Did you have anything on the drum bus?
Nope!
hey Fanu ! I love that you shared some thoughts and techniques used in the mixing process of this track that I fkn love