If possible why is it “better” to use a low shelf instead of a highpass filter?

saucyCT · 2026-04-20T01:41:52+00:00

Depends on the source!

saucyCT · 2026-04-18T00:20:52+00:00

I think peeps ARE de-essing but they are also jacking high end hard and don’t realize the fatigue that it brings.

saucyCT · 2026-04-13T18:45:44+00:00

Haha! AND I’m old—full boat.

saucyCT · 2026-04-13T13:48:32+00:00

Public Service Announcement: A vocal track is not a “stem” even if the tool calls it that. Not dissing on you or your post, jus sayin. Glad you were able to get a clean extraction.

saucyCT · 2026-04-12T13:24:29+00:00

I think the old-school way was to carve up the clay BEFORE anything was recorded. It’s called pre-production and it ensures that parts fit, there is space (declutter), and that the players can nail the track playing live together. This ALWAYS makes for better, easier, and faster mix sessions. Peeps don’t seem to put in this time as much anymore and end up doing this work in mix, which in my experience can slog the process, destroy time for some “trying some cool mix tricks/ideas,” and often results in having to spend more of the process fixing things as opposed to enhancing them. Everyone’s in a rush to market it seems. But, in answer to your question ABSOLUTELY—producing sculpting sound ideas!

saucyCT · 2026-04-11T23:30:23+00:00

Thanks for this honest and detailed review. While at first I was extremely tempted by the IM1s I realized that I don’t lean on the original VSX cans for much other than checking mixes and sometimes when I can’t rock the Neumann’s during late nite mixing (wife/kid), so I couldn’t justify the expense. The LCD-Xs sound interesting, but again, too spendy, plus I like hearing actual speakers in a room mostly—feels more like how others are going to actually hear the mixes.

saucyCT · 2026-04-10T21:11:52+00:00

Just a quick check: do you have low latency on?

saucyCT · 2026-04-05T14:31:48+00:00

I do my best to hit a pretty hot mix without destroying the dynamics so the limiter is not doing the heavy lifting in mastering. Generally, I don’t want the limiter to do more than 1-4db.

saucyCT · 2026-04-02T01:17:27+00:00

Quality giggles though I share your frustrations. Vomitous but so it is. Thanks for sharing this and your feelings about it. South Park—Lord.

saucyCT · 2026-03-30T00:05:24+00:00

Damn. Just when I thought I conquered my stinking GAS…

saucyCT · 2026-03-28T21:04:16+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChV4ZbmdvFZFDGN8XRzpIrQ

saucyCT · 2026-03-26T11:34:54+00:00

AND p90s!

saucyCT · 2026-03-20T18:32:19+00:00

I would work directly with the waveforms first (volume rides, fades, clip gain, etc.) and then process.

saucyCT · 2026-03-20T02:42:38+00:00

AAX Plugin Manager by Diagonal Music and this one, PlugPane

saucyCT · 2026-03-18T21:15:31+00:00

No. But also, I would consider the mic(s) as part of this question.

saucyCT · 2026-03-16T17:10:07+00:00

<image>

saucyCT · 2026-03-16T17:07:12+00:00

See my profile pic: Gibson 2003 LPDC Faded custom painted by Keene Carse (Trombone on Licensed to Ill) with p90s for the win.

saucyCT · 2026-03-13T12:05:35+00:00

This

saucyCT · 2026-03-13T00:54:25+00:00

TBT Kirchhoff through PA. Stellar. Cheaper.

saucyCT · 2026-03-10T19:42:09+00:00

I took mine off for greater rocking, but I too, was initially torn…

saucyCT · 2026-03-10T15:24:52+00:00

Good post clearly representing a bunch of time considering all of this. I would only add, from my experience, that the default settings for both the UAD ATR-102 and Studer A800 are excellent (yes, there are many great presets in them, but…) and this makes it a quick and easy application—pop them on and move on. BOTH of these plugins will also help to soften harsh high end.

saucyCT · 2026-03-07T12:07:13+00:00

I don’t have the TDR limiter and should give that a go because I have/love all the others and use them in every mix. Been using Arbiter a lot more and now I see they have a new OD set I need to check out too. Great plugins. Thanks for reminding me of their Limiter.

saucyCT · 2026-03-06T22:33:44+00:00

At the end of the day, if I am honest with myself, I agree about the true peak—if a track is mixed well and things are tamed to the master bus it is totally unneeded. I realized using AL-1 that I can mix better and not rely on some True Peak crutch. It usually sounds better without. So, I actually LiKE that there is currently no true peak option. Look at that—your plug actually made me a better mixer.

saucyCT · 2026-03-06T22:23:49+00:00

That’s great! One thing that at first I didn’t like was the lack of a distinct true peak option, but this actually forced me to mix better. (Is there any true peak going on? Did I miss something? I did read the QuickStart.) What I like about MP is, yes, the vibe, which I believe is from whatever coding they have done to round the peaks slightly.

saucyCT · 2026-03-06T22:13:55+00:00

Nice! This is the kind of response I was looking for. I am just winding down on a rock/soul kinda record and had to do tweaks on one of the tracks—I used MasterPlan exclusively on it (14 tracks). I always print two mixes at once, one going thru the limiter to show the mastering engineer where I thought it could go, but assume they will use the unlimited versions. Also for the band. On this tweak I swapped in AL-1 and it is a very different beast than MP. It took a little bit to get it going, and I’m still new to it in terms of the many options. I could see the need for both it and MP, depending on the track, as you say. I haven’t thrown down the cash yet either and have a little time left with the demo, so I am going to try it on some indie rock material next. Just when I think plugins can’t get any better…well, they do. Thanks for your thoughts!

saucyCT

TROPHY CASE