Mixing Masterclass with Catherine Marks [St. Vincent, Interpol, Foals, The Killers, Local Natives]

layering drum loops with a high-pass to make them crunchier

using the Soundtoys Microshift instead of the Waves Doubler

sends drums through guitar delay and reverb pedals

duplicates drums for just a specific section, processes it differently and layers it in to add excitement

mix bus– run it through outboard gear: first, the fat bastard summing mixer, then obsidian compressor, massive passive, then backrack EQ (leaves most of the settings the same always on everything, mixes into that)

instead of using a de-esser, manually draws out the S’s

uses extreme volume automation so you can hear the whispered ‘t’ sound at the end of “…sure feels like someone left.” – very cool detail!

quarter note delay with a longer feedback on vocals (Space Echo setting for darker repeats)

compressor sidechained with either that “click” or the “kik” so the reverb sort of pumps in time with the track

using Little Alterboy to double vox, pitched down an octave

Key Takeaways