Open Mix Session with Chris Lord-Alge 

the saying is... there's a fine line between genius and insanity.....hehe

He makes life interesting and entertaining. I like him just the way he is.

The music world is full of degenerate assholes....

Thats why he's brilliant.

Lol. I sat behind him for 2 years as his assistant at Image Recording. Definitely brilliant. Ears of gold. Works at a FURIOUS pace. Don't even THINK of slacking for 2 seconds or you'll get your ass chewed. But he's a super nice guy. Unbelievably generous with time and money, and also talking techniques when the time is appropriate. He hates to record while in the middle of mixing a record, so he got me started engineering overdubs for him, then graciously turned me over to some of his clients when I had enough engineering work to stop assisting. He'd invite me and my wife to his house for dinners. The first time over for dinner I went to grab my plate after dinner and he goes "Hey! Put that down! You're my guest here, not my assistant." So, nuts? Nah. Just genius-level brain speed and ears of gold!

there might be an ulterior motive. Why doesn't "WAVES" just e-mail the audience questions to CHRIS. Then Chris can respond with his thoughts intact and give examples to teach the audience invaluable info.

I felt he did a good job. So many interviewers want to talk about themselves and he generally avoided that.

I can get enough of the plug-in peddling though. Guys like him use real analog gear.

Hey, thanks! We're glad you liked it.

I 've seen him do that,he re-mixed a song he did some years before on his console entirely in the box using the Waves SSL channel E (not the MixHub,I guess it wasn't yet released at that point),some of his signature plugins ,the CLA compressors and he managed to get it so close it was unbelievable.Kids.this CAN be done ITB ,no problem! The song was called "Let Her Know"by Ivo.

yeh he kinda sucks!

Have you seen CLA teach without being steered? He needs somebody to keep him on track, or he'll spend the entire hour talking about whatever's getting him excited that week!

Yeeeh :/

Yeah ruined it, what a bad host

Lol he’s called a moderator for a reason. Chris has a heap of info to share. Gotta shape and steer.

There’s no shame. He captured some of the hysteria magic on the mix. Makes me want to go binge watch stranger things.

Jajajajajajaja really fancy joke

they are improving, wait

Yes that was ridiculous. That nonsense must stop.

I agree. What a stupid question!

Hey Lucas, We actually recorded that in my bedroom. We used a Mojave MA-300 which costs $1,200 USD. Still a lot more expensive than what you're using but one good mic and a preamp makes a huge difference and you don't have to be at $15k.

@@TEMPTBand funny that you replied after that while. I actually made a similar experience with the same gear but with better room treatment. Thanks for the reply tho!

@@TEMPTBand Thanks for those details!

Sell what you can to get an apollo twin...you can record an entire record with that that sounds very good. As far as plugins, the UA or waves 1176 & LA2A, a decent reverb, and the waves SSL channel, and you can get a solid mix at home as long as you have decent monitors.

It’s a good tip. I’ve always felt carving out EQ takes away a lot of energy and vibe, but many people said subtractive EQ is best. So it’s cool to hear from someone like CLA that he doesn’t do it either. The only time I really carve is for any real surgery that needs doing or it’s absolutely necessary. What I like about CLA is he just makes everything seem fun and not a chore worrying about tiny details. That’s actually why I really like his plugins. They sound great and are simple. It’s too easy to get lost piddling about with tiny details and lose track of the overall song and enjoyment

@@Two_Seat_Pete_FatA55 Agree 100%!

I assisted for CLA and TLA and both taught me the same thing about EQing: Boost the band you want by a TON, then sweep around to find the frequency you like, then back it down. Tom said you end up with more boost than you would have if you start at 3db of boost, find the freq you like, then adjust from there.

@@Two_Seat_Pete_FatA55 Bob Clearmountain is more of a carver than a booster. Great sound, but completely different than the Lord-Alge sound.

@NILNIXLOVE right on! Even Billy Decker MIXES into the red in PT, but you can't hear any (negative) artifacts and that's all that matters : )

You can clip the plugin...as long as it doesn't clip the Master Bus

@NILNIXLOVE yeah screw all the online articles I'm done being afraid and correct. It's time to be an engineer!

LOL the same in every video he does

I'm not so sure... the number of mixes he works on, when a client calls and says "can I get the vocals up 3dB?" ... he's going to fire all that analogue gear up, get all settings exactly recalled... I doubt it. Plus he'll be sending ProTools sessions all over the place and want to be able to pull them up and go. Even Andrew Scheps is in the box these days, for those reasons! I wouldn't be surprised if he runs everything through the desk, and/or uses outboard to print onto stems - but I imagine he's more ITB than you'd expect

you're right haha hes forsure mr analog, but the plugins are emulating the gear he likes to use so people like us, and people who are more in the box can use

@@EJCAudio I think it’s not that much work recalling a mix here; He never touches his outboard, only which are patched in and the levels for them, and I suppose the console have the total recall system.

hey Chris, Covid happened to us! Ourlabel delayed and delayed the release. Our firts single Roses was just released and this song will be coming toward end of summer.

agreed

Actually it's not clear. Chris acknowledges that he is not an expert in Protools operation. He says so in the video. He has an assistant that operates protools basic operations for him. So he will say load x plugin and then he'll start tweaking it. You can see this in his Mix in the box videos which I believe are on Mix with the Masters.

As said, he normally has an assistant driving the Pro Tools side of things in real sessions.

@@jeanhill8662 Some people just can't accept the truth, man. Even JJP said these guys who have millions in hardware behind them and claim they only use software they're full of BS.

I think, when CLA is at the studio. He uses his hardware... cause it’s all set up and he knows it well. When he’s mixing away from the studio. Like on Tour etc... he mixes with the plugins. So yeah, “technically” he uses the software... but come on. He’s a business person as well as a mix engineer. He’s got to eat and put food on the table. It’s naive to think he “only” uses the software.

oh calm down. why is it such a problem to bring up the fact that a certain industry or area of interest is dominated by white guys? maybe it's you people who are being overly-sensitive.

@@KillerUgly It's always a "NO U!" argument with you people.

@@KillerUgly because they are the root of this industry, do your industry

There are different way of achieving the same thing. If you boost one or a few frequencies of an instrument, you dont need to increase the channel volume as much to be able to hear it.

Hey Nils, how are you? Hope things are ok over there!

@@TEMPTBand Guys. When's the record coming out? Can't wait! Did CLA Mix Hot Summer Dreams?

@@BernyDiazM Hi Benny, last we heard it being released end of Jan, the start of Feb. Chris did mix Hot Summer Dreams. He rocks.

I suppose he doesnt use presets much, since it seems to take him just as long time to find a preset as just tweaking the plugin the way he wants. Also, he usually have an assistent running the ProTools session while he mainly mixing from the console.

That’s great. Plain COSTCO vanilla ice cream is delicious, but pure vanilla bean is also delicious, but a different flavor. Plugins are flavors. An API SSL Neve all EQ the same frequencies, but they all sound a tiny bit differently. CLA could get his same CLA sound with pro tools stock plugins if he had to.

@@Skkyyyyyyyyyyy I agree what you are saying , maybe summing mixes through analogue mixer would solve all problem without making stuff more complicated choosing ew for that and other eq for another audio track.. less expensive gear and saves more time.

Respect

As opposed to someone with all your success?

How would you know?

" Yeah i use my plug ins all the time...." cant even bring up the presets