TITAN
This year has been full of updates in my studio setup. In October, I added a new keyboard—the Arturia KeyLab Essential 49—and later upgraded my microphone to an SM7b, a solid choice for my vocal style.
My latest acquisition is a pair of ADAM Audio T5Vs. While I was consistent with my previous studio monitors, these new speakers add a depth and richness I hadn’t heard before. I’m still getting comfortable with them, but I believe they did justice in the mix and mastering of "TITAN," the track above. I’ve also picked up a few new plugins to expand my toolkit.
I’d encountered Chris Lord-Alge’s plugins a few times before, especially his CLA Bass plugin, which came up in a recent mixing course. After a friend recommended them, I decided to give CLA Bass and CLA Vocals a try, even though I’m not usually a fan of his work.
The results were mixed. I enjoyed how CLA Bass worked on my friend’s mix, but in my own projects, it introduced too much compression, affecting the entire frequency spectrum rather than focusing on dynamics. My split-bass technique wasn’t meshing well with its settings, though I had some great results using it on other tracks.
CLA Vocals was interesting too. I typically go with a 76/2A combo for compression, so the plugin’s built-in compression felt a bit weak. The high end was too intense, but the effects cut through the mix beautifully. While I’ll likely stick to my 76/2A setup, I’m considering picking up CLA Effects in the future.
Lastly, I wanted to share thoughts on a new plugin from Waves: Waves Equator. I recently purchased Soothe2 and was impressed by its versatility and simplicity. So when I saw Waves release their version, I had to try it. Here’s a quick rundown.
Soothe2 retails around $200, while Waves Equator is under $40. I didn’t expect much given the price, but Equator genuinely surprised me, even outperforming Soothe2 in some ways. It’s quick and easy to use, with a “Learn” function similar to Ozone, automatically pinpointing and reducing resonant frequencies. In contrast, Soothe2 doesn’t have a Learn function, and its corrective bands are relatively limited. I’ll still use Soothe2, but Equator might become my go-to.
The only quirk with Equator is its gain feature, which has the option of adding positive gain where most users just want to eliminate problem frequencies. Utilizing the positive gain feature effectively would require some serious psychoacoustic finesse.
Next on my list are plugins from NeuralDSP, and I’m hoping for some Black Friday sales.
Thanks for reading, and as always, thank you for listening!