FXpansion BFD Premium Acoustic Drum Module Mixing with BFD - Manual (Page 30)

30
Mixing with BFD www.fxpansion.com
6:6. Noise
Talking of organic vibes, don’t be afraid of noise. At the risk of sounding rather
controversial, its presence in a mix can actually make the mix sound warmer, more
organic and more ‘alive’. A noise-free digital production can really risk sounding
clinical, flat and lifeless. Recordings always contain some noise, and most commercial
productions are also mixed on an analog console through analog processors, a process
which will always contribute some noise to the mix. It is a natural, real-world phenomenon
and we are used to hearing it!
Try running some channels through some hardware processors instead of hyper-clean
plugins, or experiment with bouncing parts to tape. Even simply running the audio out of
a good D/A converter and back in through a good A/D can give your recordings some
colour and bite. There’s somehow something ‘real’ about the sound of electrons whizzing
around a circuit, or being written as magnetic information to tape and read back - you can
potentially add more depth and dimension to the sound when doing things like this.