Mixing a full-band session recorded live is often as rewarding as it challenging. Working with large sessions featuring live drums, electric guitar tracks, keyboards and vocals can be hard to get sounding cohesive. Electric guitar tracks are a common area in which many full-band mixes start to fall apart as they can compete quite easily with lead vocal tracks and other instruments in the mix. How then can we shoehorn our electric guitar tracks in a mix so that they do not end up conflicting with other elements in a production?
In this four-part free video tutorial series, brought to you with the kind support of our friends at Waves, you will learn step-by-step how to get your guitars playing nicely in a mix along with some cool techniques using a variety of Waves plug-ins. Want to learn how to get pro sounding electric guitars in a mix when working in Studio One? Look no further…
Episode #1 - How To EQ Competing Electric Guitar Frequencies
Establishing and maintaining a strong and present sounding lead vocal is vital in any mix, but electric guitars do have a habit of getting in the way of vocals. Of course, you can balance the levels of these tracks but that will only get you so far. EQ is your best friend here. In this video you will learn how to make space for your lead vocal tracks by focusing on the tone of electric guitars. We show you how to do this using dynamic EQ in Waves F6 plug-in.
Episode #2 - Adding Colour And Vibe To Electric Guitars
In this video we take the electric guitar mix further. We’ve already reined in some problematic frequencies using Waves dynamic EQ F6, it’s time to get creative by adding some colour and interest. Analog style channel strip plug-ins are great tools to reach for this. In this episode we show you what a touch of saturation, EQ and dynamics can do for your electric guitars before we move onto to applying ambiences and effects.
Episode #3 - Adding Dimension And Width Using Delay
At this point, we have addressed the guitar’s problematic frequencies and applied a tasteful amount of analog-style ear candy. Next, we take things up a gear by applying some delay effects to compliment the style of playing. The delay we use in this demonstration is Waves H-Delay which is loved by many. It’s simple to use, sounds great and has plenty of charm. Watch this episode to hear how it adds dimension and width to this electric guitar.
Episode #4 - Giving The Guitars Space To Breathe
In this final episode, we show you how to finish off your electric guitar mix using reverb. We use Waves Manny Reverb because it proves a huge variety of creative reverbs all accessible within a simple to use UI. This instrumentation in this song has a lot of space for the guitars to occupy, we show you how to make good use of that available space with reverb.
We’ve shown you a step-by-step process you can try for yourself the next time you feel your electric guitars maybe competing too much with your lead vocal tracks. Visit Waves for more information on the plug-in’s featured in this series.