Simple Tools
Rekindling my love for the humble volume fader
I love audio gear. And plugins. And quick mix tricks. Like anything one does for decades, mixing music eventually becomes a game of inches and I’m always looking to claw my way to that next inch.
Whatever your craft, I’m guessing this applies to you too. So I hope you’ll keep reading when I tell you that this article is about the O.G. of audio mixing tools: the volume fader.
I’ve recently refreshed my relationship to the fader and I’d like to share a few anecdotes that may jar some creativity loose for you as well.
Better than a mouse. Look, I will not sit here and disparage the mighty mouse but there’s something about moving volume faders with a mouse cursor that feels like an “arms-length” transaction. There’s nothing quite like getting your monkey paws on an actual knob or fader to give you a sense of control. There’s a reason speed boat and fighter jet throttles are big, meaty throws and I’m guessing there’s more to it than just mechanics.
I have a motorized fader for writing automation. I also have a MIDI keyboard with eight comically short little faders on it. The faders on the MIDI keyboard map to corresponding track sends for a selected track (fader 1 = send 1, fader 2 = send 2, etc.) and I find this to be a more pleasant way to dial in both volume and send levels. I can close my eyes and control multiple faders at the same time while feeling more connected to the music.
What no software on earth can do - I recently did a coaching call with Mike Senior – author of my all-time favorite mixing book “Mixing Secrets for the Home Studio”. It was a refreshing session. While talking about finding small moments of magic to accentuate in a mix, Mike said something that really grabbed me: “there’s no software on earth that can say ‘hey! that’s interesting’ and then turn it up”.
Mixing is about balance but it’s also about unbalance. Sometimes a happy accident will sound surprisingly cool and recognizing the opportunity to turn something like that up (way up!) can create a memorable moment in an otherwise forgettable song.
Like playing an instrument - If you grew up in the 90s listening to hard rock then you know mixer Andy Wallace’s work. Think: Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, System of a Down, Slayer, etc. As far as mix gurus go, he tends to be on the reclusive side but the one thing that EVERYONE who’s watched him mix says is that he uses surprisingly little processing and spends a lot of his time going through the song and writing volume fader automation. Much of that punch, and excitement, it turns out, is about carefully pushing and pulling instruments and song sections using the fader!
He uses a technique that involves having two volume envelopes for a track: one for writing automation and the other for storing and “compiling” your automation passes. You take a pass of a song section, writing volume automation (maybe with your eyes closed). Then you copy that envelope to the second lane. Now repeat. Go through the same section again and adding additional fader rides; fine-tuning any adjustments as needed. It’s a bit like playing an instrument (or maybe a meta-instrument) and recording multiple takes for a song section.
I often find myself repeating similar moves as on previous passes; getting even more “unbalance” into sections I want to accentuate. Repeat as many times as necessary to get that satisfying movement.
Don’t think too much – On a recent mix I did, the client feedback was “the drums sounded punchier in the rough mix”. Now, the temptation is to do something sexy or akin to pulling rabbits out of hats. Layer in some samples, reach for a transient designer, or a multi-band clipper. Or buy something new. Instead, I thought “what if I just turn the kick up by 1.5dB?”. And, of course, that worked just fine.
The tools in a craftsman’s toolbox represent hundreds of hours of trial and error, of frustration overcome, and inspiration found. Some cover very narrow uses for edge cases while others are well-worn and used on every single job. To know when the simplest answer is the right one is a sign of maturity in one’s craft and, to that end, we ought not neglect the classic tools - like the humble volume fader.