It can then be brought into the plugin by visiting the preset button. Want to make your orchestral piece shine? Then create a 9 track playlist of your favourite recordings that are of a similar ilk. If you’re writing, mixing or mastering a variety of different genres, using the preset folder option in Magic AB will be a real time saver. It saves time and money people!” Preset Playlists “Being able to loop up to 4 sections on each individual track helps you find the parts of the reference you want to hone in on most. You can zoom in on certain sections and even create cross fades to give you ears a rest before the references switch between each other. You can create up to 4 loop points in each track which is incredibly handy when you just want that 30 second drum solo, 7 minutes into the Jazz odyssey piece you found on a compilation a few years back. Magic AB also realises you might only want a section of the song being played rather than the whole song. They do say a great mono mix will always sound great in stereo but that’s not always true the other way around. This is a fantastic way to check how your mix is sounding in Mono and many mixers use this method to achieve a better balance amongst other things. A larger crest factor, a more dynamic track you’ll have. This compares the difference between your peaks and your average level. There is also a crest factor meter to show you how dynamic your track is. You have RMS & Peak meter readings to give you the best chance of matching your levels so they’re sitting nicely together. Not going down that route today my friends. You see, us bloody humans automatically think music sounds cooler when the bass is louder, thus clouding our judgment on whether it actually sounds any better at all. You also have a master fader for both the “A” (your mix) & “B” (the reference you’re choosing to listen to) Given that the reference tracks are more often than not going to be louder than your mix,(though not always the case) it is imperative to make sure you get them as close in level as you can.
You can drag and drop from your folders or even iTunes. Magic AB has separate volume controls for each individual track you load in. Magic AB takes it a few steps further and trust me, it makes everything so much easier. In recent years, mixers began to import their reference tracks into their DAW on a stereo track and would solo/mute when needed to hear the difference between their mix and the pro’s. Playing the CD through the studio system, helped them train their ears to the room and gave them an idea of any strange nodes & acoustic resonances (essentially checking it didn’t sound shoddy). It’s as simple as that.īack in the day when boybands ruled the world and Kasabian didn’t exist, producers and engineers would often compile a CD of their favourite tracks to take into any studio they were working in. So why I am reviewing a plugin in that’s been out for so long? Not enough of us are using referencing to learn and improve their mixing. “Magic AB V2 gives you the option of 9 slots to drag and drop your favourite mixes and use as references.” Yeah ma n, this p lugin is old, what gives? Due to the success of Magic AB in 2015, Sample Magic released a second version, with a few new features and an improved interface. With 9 slots available, you can of course load the most heavenly mixes you’ve ever heard to the point that it’s quite sickening how tremendous they sound. You can then compare it to, well, anything you darn well please. Sample Magicīelieve it or not, it was 2012 that Sample Magic released the first version of Magic AB.Ī simple but tremendous little beast that sits best on the last slot on your master bus in your DAW, it allows users to load up audio files and, with a simple click of a button, you can switch between your mix that’s causing you more grief than a dodgy wisdom tooth. So even though I’ve decided to write here about a relatively older plugin, I’ve realised, surprisingly, I’m arguably still in the minority when it comes to referencing. I’m often quite surprised that many people recording, mixing and mastering are not referencing against the big hitters out there. “What’s your work flow?” “what’s on your mix bus?” “who are you, and what are you doing here?” These kind of questions arise again and again. You know the conversations that will undoubtedly come up. I’ve been lucky enough to meet a tonne of composers/musicians these past 12 months at various events and when we do start to mingle, it’s not long before “Composer Bingo” begins.