From the course: Audio Mixing Master Class

Bones Howe 1176 setting - Pro Tools Tutorial

From the course: Audio Mixing Master Class

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Bones Howe 1176 setting

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- [Instructor] The universal audio 1176 is a perennial favorite compressor limiter. But there are some standard settings that work especially well. Here's one used by the famous Los Angeles engineer Bones Howe who engineered so many great hits of the 60s and 70s by Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Mamas and the Papas, Johnny Rivers and many more. So first of all let's take a quick look at the 1176 because it works a little bit differently than other compressor limiters. The big thing about the 1176 is the fastest settings are to the right. Now this is typically the slowest setting on just about every other compressor limiter, both hardware and software. But on the 1176, this is the fastest. Okay knowing that, let's go to the Bones Howe 1176 setting. And what that is is first of all a ratio of 12 to one. The attack on six and the release on seven. And this is a very aggressive setting, but it does works really well. First of all let's try it on bass. And here's what the bass sounds without the limiter. (electric bass music) It sounds pretty good, But let's add the limiter and see what happens. (electric bass music) Now you can hear as soon as I took the 1176 out of the signal path, first of all it dropped in level a little bit, but the other thing that happened was it was just a little less aggressive, it was just a little less in your face. And there were some notes that were a little softer than others. But when we have it in the circuit, it's right in your face and it's up front where it should be. Let's try it on the snare drum and see what it sounds like over there. So here's our snare. (snare drum music) And let's have a listen. Here's our Bones Howe setting. Attack on six, release on seven, ratio of 12 to one. Now let's hear it. (snare drum music) Let's start again with it bypassed and then I'll add it in. (pop music) One of the things that happens is all of the surrounding ambience also comes up. Sometimes that's really good, especially with a drum sound because you want to hear the room. Other times it doesn't work because you're going to hear the leakage from the other drums. But in this case it sounds pretty good because again it gets nice and aggressive. Let's have a listen what happens on the vocal. (vocal music) Pretty solid already, but let's have a listen with the 1176 and again Bones Howe setting, attack is on six, release is on seven, ratio of 12 to one. Let's have a listen. (vocal music) Let's listen in the track. (pop music) Now you can hear what happens when we drop it out. The level goes down a little bit but we also begin to lose a few words and what we're trying to do is make sure that every word, no matter how loud and how soft, is about the same level. So again the Bones Howe 1176 setting has the attach on six, the release on seven and a ratio of 12 to one.

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