Plugins1 - Practice Printing Effects

Overview

For this assignment, we want you to learn and practice how to print dynamic processing on to a new track. The important thing is to work with RAW audio files where dynamics have not already been significantly applied. Lucky for us, Roey Izhaki has plenty of audio files to work with from this weeks textbook chapter.

Instructions

1. Go to the support website for the textbook: mixingaudio.com
   • Navigate to the audio samples: mixingaudio.com/audio
2. Download the folder: Chapters 7, 10, 11, 13-26 WAV (1.2 GB)
   • Please avoid downloading the MP3 version, unless your Internet connect is very slow
   • The WAV files are much better to use for critical listening and signal processing
   • MP3 files will tend to sound harsh, brittle and thin when processed with plugins
3. Save and organize these files on your dedicated media drive
   • Not on your system drive
   • Make sure you can easily and quickly find them tomorrow or next week
   • Organize in a folder name and location that makes sense to you
4. Note: The folders of the audio files are named and numbered slightly differently than the textbook
   • For example Folder 16 Compressors contains the audio files for Chapter 17 - Compressors
   • No worries, simply navigate into the folder to find the audio files
5. Listen to some of the examples
   • Study the corresponding textbook descriptions
6. Choose a non processed, uncompressed file
   • Import it into your DAW
7. Pick a sound like a kick drum, snare drum, or lead vocal
8. Create an audio track with your chosen sound to compress
9. Route the output of that track to three new separate audio tracks
10. Place a simple compressor on each of the new audio tracks and adjust the settings to:
    • First compressor track: Fast attack, slow release
    • Second compressor track: Slow attack, slow release
    • Third compressor track: Fast attack, fast release
    • Use the same compressor plug-in for all tracks
11. Make sure each compressor's threshold is set so that it is only doing 3-5dB of gain reduction
    • Set other parameters of the plug-in equally
12. Record the audio on to your compressor tracks
13. Analyze how each setting has affected the audio
    • First listen, then see if it makes sense visually
14. Take a screenshot of your edit window that shows:
    1. The original audio track with the raw audio file
    2. The three new audio tracks with the compressed audio recorded
15. Write a summary that includes:
    1. A description of your work
    2. The differences sonically and visually between the recorded compressor tracks
16. Route signal from your original track to a new audio track
    • This may require you to do additional research for your specific DAW
17. Record your processed audio on to the new audio track
18. Take one screenshot of your edit window that shows:
    1. The original audio track with the dynamics plugin window open to see your settings
    2. The new audio track with the processed audio recorded

Submit in Canvas

1. Embed your screenshot image to the Canvas Discussion
2. Write a summary of what you did