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What is the order of processing that you guys usually do?
Personally, I recently started using a saturator first occasionally to make the sound a little louder, then EQ, compression, distortion, then stereo effects if i feel it is needed, then a tiny bit of reverb to taste.
Ive been messing with a bit of sausage fattener at the end but im not sure if that takes away from the dynamics.. I kind of use it as a limiter i guess. Does anyone know?
Thanks for your thoughts and tips

Anyone?

I don't think anyone is going to give you a definitive answer.
Processing is entirely up to taste in many regards.
Whatever sounds good to you.

EQ on pretty much every channel.

Um.

That's about it...

I generally find that if my EQing is on point I can raise the individual channel volume faders to taste and have it all sit right. I've experimented with putting reverb on some of my busses, and there is one song on my soundcloud that has some light reverb on the master to give it a spacey feel, but the track is called Mysterious Cave and it's about being in a cave so it makes sense.

Electric_Head wrote:I don't think anyone is going to give you a definitive answer.
Processing is entirely up to taste in many regards.
Whatever sounds good to you.

Yeah i know the amounts are pretty much to taste. But what i mean is there an order that you do so?
Like are you supposed to EQ before you compress? And do you distort before or after you EQ, etc.?

wub wrote:EQ on pretty much every channel.

Um.

That's about it...

I generally find that if my EQing is on point I can raise the individual channel volume faders to taste and have it all sit right. I've experimented with putting reverb on some of my busses, and there is one song on my soundcloud that has some light reverb on the master to give it a spacey feel, but the track is called Mysterious Cave and it's about being in a cave so it makes sense.

That track sounds so crisp and ambient. Im going to definitely try to mess with a little reverb onthe master. It had that awesome underwater feel, amazing production Wub. I guess i just have to keep working onmy gain structure too to be ableto get to that point. Hopefully it'll click soon!

Order of effects depends on the goal

blinkesko wrote:Order of effects depends on the goal

This op. Might sound cliche but you really gotta use your ears eg. does the sound sound a bit dull? MIght want it to cut through a bit more in the mix?. Maybe you want to try saturation perhaps etc. Just experiment, as was mentioned.
Also, remember that not every sound needs processing per se.

It differs on every sound.

Having said that I will normally use most if not all of the following on a lot of things:
EQ
Exciter/Saturator/Disto
Compressor
More EQ (if needed)
Reverb (normally on a send)

The only thing I'm going to put on every channel is a VCC channel strip (turned all the way down) and EQ...but that doesn't even mean I'll use it, I just like the visual aid. I tend to stay away from distortion. If I heavily distort one thing, I typically don't distort anything else. Else-wise, I may very lightly distort distort a few things. I'm a stingy bastard when it comes to processing/FX. These days I tend to choose/design sounds that sit well together from the beginning. Now that I have it, finally, I'll probably end up with a virtual tape machine on my drum buss, lead(s), and bass. Maybe a vtm just for the kick, if I'm feeling saucy.

Sweet thank you guys a ton for your input! Definitely gave me a little better of an understanding for sure

tone (whatever kind of distortion/ overcompression/etc) first
then dynamics
then EQ

filter out things before compression if need be.

That can change as well though Sharmaji, surely?
I often eq, distort, compress and eq again.

The best advice I've EVER got was if you watch a pro process something a certain way don't start processing your sounds the same way just because you saw them do it. You have to grow as a producer and learn how to trust your own ears. This advice was from Vespers, a very talented glitch hop producer/certified ableton instructor. I recommend watching his tutorial videos on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/user/DJVespers

Electric_Head wrote:That can change as well though Sharmaji, surely?
I often eq, distort, compress and eq again.

of course, everything's up for grabs.

but in general, especially when mixing (less so when "creating" a sound) if I see 5 plugs on a channel i get the sense that i've gone wrong somewhere. though, then again, if it's something like a pad from an analog synth, maybe the right signal chain is:

--filter out all the 200hz that i don't need which is gonna make the compressor go nuts even when in hi-pass-detector mode
--compress for a nice thick tone
--EQ to shape the mids to the rest of the song and add (or remove) some sparkle
--limit, because the last thing this sound needs is dynamics
--sidechain, because i want that movement

so... never a 100% definite way to do things. But to my ear, usually, compression sounds better before EQ. if the sound needs something before mixing it into a track, i'd rather use more vibe-y stuff-- distortion, exciting, etc-- before worrying about the processor order in the mix.

Aye, pretty much the only 'rule' I'd follow is the order of EQ/compression.

- Any obvious corrective EQ/filter, cutting all the bass (depends how much the compressor is going to counter-act this) or whatever needs doing
- Compression
- Any more detailed/accurate EQ that needs to be done. No point getting it right and then destroying it with a compressor.
- Any major EQ/filter done for effect rather than transparency

But yeah, that's only if EQ/comp is actually necessary.

Someone was talking the other day on here about how, in general, if using a limiter it should be at the end of the chain. Explanation being that any processing beyond that will be clipping. I can't remember who it was or if that makes complete sense to me though. Anyone?

^ if the output of the limiter (i presume you're talking a brickwall limiter) is set to 0db, then yep-- it'd be clipping.

in which case-- change the output.

EQ (Cubase 5 default used to high pass)
EQ (Regular purpose)
Compressor
Transient Shaper (Kicks & Snares)
Saturator/Sausage Fattner (Bass/Sub)

Also, when doing subtractive EQing, although you may have taken out the frequencies you don't like, your sound may be thin. It is important to add a compressor right after the EQ to fatten it up and bring out the sounds you do like

BassQemistry wrote:Also, when doing subtractive EQing, although you may have taken out the frequencies you don't like, your sound may be thin. It is important to add a compressor right after the EQ to fatten it up and bring out the sounds you do like

Bring out the sounds you like? Why did you just remove them with an EQ then?