I’m currently mixing and album and I was working on one of the songs this morning. There was a guitar soft synth sound that had a stereo chorus over it. It was the Logic Pro X stock chorus which doesn’t sound bad at all. I really love Arturias Jun-6 Chorus so I thought I’d shoot out the two.
Expecting to be wow’d by the Jun-6 I was a little underwhelmed when I compared them against each other. I flipped back and forth, played with the mix a bit, tried chorus 1, 2 and all in settings. Nup, I don’t like it, it sounds dull.
Then I stopped and listened to the chorus in the context of the mix. I flipped between the Logic chorus and the Arturia chorus and realised that the Jun-6, whilst not being as “shiny” actually sat really beautifully in the mix.
Sonic Trickery
Bright sounds are wiley. When a sound is bright it feels more immediate and exciting. Think of a noise riser that sweeps up to the high frequencies. It builds excitement. A cymbal hit on the first beat of a new segment of the song punctuates and hypes the energy.
Bright sounds are like the shine on something. We’re attracted to it because it creates excitement. It’s also a great way to get your ears tricked into thinking you like a sound more than another.
The Takeaway:
- Mixing in context is super important. When I was A/Bing the choruses I was doing it in solo. That’s fine but you need to check it in the context of the mix.
- Volume is another trickster so you need to allow for this when A/Bing sounds. Being aware that your ears get tricked is a crucial factor in being a better mixer.
- Reference, reference, reference. Find good ones and use them.
0 Comments