Treat virtual instruments and sample libraries as recorded audio By: DAWsopenat7 No comments

In most modern professional and home studios today, some amount of virtual instruments and sound libraries are present. They are very creative, detailed and convenient tools to musicians and engineers alike because they open up a world of sounds that are sometimes inaccessible or unaffordable. 

Whether it's drums, synths, pianos, choirs, strings or brass, remember to work with them like you would your own recorded audio. For me I use console emulation, EQ, compression and effects the same as I would on my own recorded audio. I also use techniques like side-chaining and parallel compression to achieve desired results.

The reason I'm talking about this is because when working with virtual instruments and sample libraries, it's very easy to assume that the preset sounds will automatically sound good and work in the mix and if not, you can keep tweaking the sounds without any limits. In truth, sometimes this might be the case, but most of the time they still need time and care spent on them to get them working in the mix. 

As well as this, there are certain virtual instruments and sample libraries that come with built in EQ's, compressors and effects which is a welcome addition because they can be useful and more convenient however, it's worth staying away from these especially whilst you are learning so that you can become more familiar and confident with processing these type of sounds like they were real instruments. I believe it's important because virtual instruments and sound libraries give you the option to tweak endlessly and even though this is a great benefit to you it can also prevent you from committing to the sound and achieving the best results with what you have.

A quick way of implementing this into your work is by bouncing your virtual instruments and sample libraries down to an audio track. This is basically taking all the midi information that is triggering the sounds and committing them to an audio track. The biggest benefit of this is that it will free up a lot of your CPU and RAM  and it will also force you (in a very positive way) to process the audio the same way that would any other recorded track.

Try this with your virtual instruments and sample libraries on your next mix and keep in mind that what you're doing will only benefit you and prepare you to work with other real instruments in future.

If you require editing, mixing or mastering, head over to www.jwaudioproductions.co.uk and get in touch via the contact page.