Collective mix
Mixing Part 1
w/ Vance Powell
Mixing Part 1
31 min • 2023
English, Portuguese, Spanish, Deutsch, French, Italian
In this episode of the Lifeboats Series, Nashville’s treasured engineer, Vance Powell, opens the multitrack for the Lifeboats session and does a start-to-finish mix from hearing the song for the first time through to the final mix sharing his thought process and signature sound each step of the way.
Watch as Vance’s assistant engineer, Mike Fahey:
- Sets up the mixing session with Vance’s preferred settings on Pro Tools and the SSL console
- Pairs the session down to 32 channels on the SSL console
- Cleans up the vocal from sibilance and plosives before Vance starts his mix
- Prepares Vance’s wall of outboard gear for him to insert quickly across elements in the session
- Calibrates Vance’s parallel outboard chains for proper gain staging
- Shares his session prep checklist as a downloadable file
See how Vance Powell:
- Sets up the mixing session with Vance’s preferred settings on Pro Tools and the SSL console
- Deals with phase issues between the drum mics and bass DI and amp mics to bring the most out of each source
- Inserts his Distressors and API 550B eqs on the kick and snare
- Dials in the mix track by track with his tried and true plugin and hardware chains
- Reamps the snare drum to a speaker laying on a new snare in the live room
- Talks about the benefits of having an assistant
- Applies his Manley Massive Passive across the piano
- Reamps the Guitar DI tracks with the UAD Fender 55 Deluxe Plugin and blends with the guitar amp mics while adjusting phase
- Demonstrates his Empirical Labs Fatso, UTA Fairchild, and two Neve 33609 parallel processing chains
- Adds drum samples to the toms
- Applies his signature parallel processing techniques to the lead vocals
- Automates the mix and discusses the workflow on the SSL
Hardware
- * API 2500
- * API 550A
- * Bendini BASE
- * Chandler Limited TG1 Limiter
- * Clark-Teknik DN780 Digital Reverberator
- * Empirical Labs Fatso
- * Epirical Labs Distressor
- * Eventide H910
- * GML 8900
- * Manley Massive Passive
- * Manley Variable Mu
- * Neve 33609
- * Retro Sta-Level
- * Strymon Flint
- * UTA UnFairchild
Software
- * Boz Gatey Watey
- * Fab Filter Pro-MB
- * PSP Spring Box
- * Reel Tape Saturation
- * Sound Toys Echo Boy
- * Sound Toys Tremolator
- * Steven Slate Trigger 2
- * UAD 1176 RevA
- * UAD 1176LN
- * UAD Ampeg SVTVR
- * UAD Distressor
- * UAD Fatso Jr
- * UAD Fender Tweed Deluxe
- * UAD LA-2
- * UAD Little Labs IBP
- * UAD MXR Flanger
- * UAD Moog Multimode Filter
- * Valhalla Freq Echo
- * Waves L2
- * iZotope RX
WILL KNOX is a singer-songwriter from London. At 18 he moved to the US where he studied at Berklee College of Music, and spent several years in New York City.
5
8 reviews
K
KnuteSundell • Saturday, February 3, 2024
B
Brian Santos • Sunday, November 26, 2023
This has been such a cool series to see everyone's different approach to the same song. Vance is a great teacher and I've incorporated a lot of his workflow into my own process. The really in depth set up videos with Mike were great as well. A great assistant is not a luxury most of us have but you can see just how invaluable they are.
1
emmbcult • Sunday, September 17, 2023
Pearlpassionstudio • Thursday, August 24, 2023
Excellent series tutorial. Very well explained, your assistant is great too, very knowledgeable. Love what you did with these drums, taking the time to get that 80's sound, as you mentioned, bring that kit up front. Has to be one of the best explained video's on Puremix. Thanks Vance for doing this...Never retire, you're the best. :)
1
m
marco bailo • Wednesday, August 23, 2023
subtitulos por favor, gracias
m
mrgkeys • Tuesday, August 22, 2023
Vance pulls ahead of CLA as my favorite mix of this so far.
4
sonicdiscovery • Monday, August 21, 2023
Awesome video....Now I need a 3U velcro rack and get those sweet pedals.
M
Melodic Dreamer • Saturday, August 19, 2023
Always dig Vance and some of his ideas. Although I prefer the drums a little less processed, I really enjoyed some of the ideas he had for the synths and the vocals. Nice watch and insights into his approach.