Tom Lord-Alge

"The first thing I do when I start a mix is transfer all the material to a high-definition, 24-bit Sony 3348 digital 48-track. I've been using the 3348 for seven or eight years now and it's a great production tool. Transferring all the material to it means I won't risk damaging or wearing out the original multitrack. I also never run anything live, from a sequencer. I don't want to have to worry about synchronisation or issues of sound level. So everything goes on the 3348, and the great thing about it is that it is easy to do a lot of internal bouncing with it. To start with I bounce everything to the tracks where I like them under my faders. Say the drums are on tracks 1 to 10. I like to have my drums on tracks 6 to 14. My favourite layout is to have the kick on channel 9, the snare on 10, the tom toms on 11 and 12, and the overheads on 13 and 14. The drum room mics will be on 7 and 8, the hi-hat on 6. The bass guitar will always be on 15 and 16. Channels 17-24 contain the main instruments, guitars, keyboards, or whatever they are. The lead vocal will be on 25 and any additional vocals go after that. Any music that's left over will go on 33 and upwards. If there's any percussion, like tambourines or things like that, it will go to channels 5 and down."

"One of my favourites is the Neve 2254; I have six of those. I find that they work really well on strings and background vocals. I also have six of the old Neve 2264s. They're great for drums and vocals. I have some old Calrec limiters that I use on vocals and guitars, when I want an unusual sound. And the Inward Connections VacRac tube limiter is just a great all-round compressor. I have eight channels of VacRac. You can't control the attack and release time on it, but the settings are very musical; 200mS release time and 80 or 100mS attack time. If I need more control I'll use the Empirical Labs Distressor."

"Chris loves the Urei 1176, but I find that it is used too much by everybody. I also have old Altec limiters, which sound good on bass. Then there's the Focusrite Red 3. I always put finished stereo mixes through the Focusrite. It pulls the mix together a bit. I set it for 1-2dB compression, really light; I call that 'kissing the Focusrite.'"

"Generally, with the drums, I start out with the SSL E-Channel, which has always been my go-to plugin. Then, I will usually add other compressors to the toms, like the CLA-76 or maybe the Waves dbx-160, depending on how the source sounds."

"To make a vocal command attention I'll put it through an Teletronix LA3A and maybe pummel it with 20dB of compression, so the meter is pinned down. If the beginnings of the words then have too much attack, I'll put the vocals through an SSL compressor with a really fast attack, to take off or smooth out the extra attack that the LA3A adds."

"One of my favourites is the Neve 2254; I have six of those. I find that they work really well on strings and background vocals. I also have six of the old Neve 2264s. They're great for drums and vocals. I have some old Calrec limiters that I use on vocals and guitars, when I want an unusual sound. And the Inward Connections VacRac tube limiter is just a great all-round compressor. I have eight channels of VacRac. You can't control the attack and release time on it, but the settings are very musical; 200mS release time and 80 or 100mS attack time. If I need more control I'll use the Empirical Labs Distressor."

"When it comes to drums, normally I start with a 2264X on the snare. With drums the attack time settings are of course very important, and the Neves don't have variable attack; but I just like the way they sound. If for some reason the Neve doesn't work out, I'm not afraid to try out my arsenal of compressors. I'll try a Distressor, Dbx 160X or patch in my Summit. If I want to mess with the transient of the drum sound, the Distressor is good; I can either smack the sound hard to sharpen the transient, or set it differently to smooth out the transient a bit."

Mix engineer Tom Lord-Alge uses MOTU Digital Performer, as noted in the gear list featured in Sound On Sound.

Video in which Tom Lord-Alge discusses IK Multimedia T-RackS 5.

"I always try to make all the different parts audible. Sometime this is done with EQ to give the part its own space in the mix. For guitars, I love the Eddie Kramer Guitar Channel plugin. It has just the right EQ and compression, and if I want some reverb or delay, it’s there too. Sometimes I will add the CLA-76 to give it a bit more ‘spit.’"

"Even though the SSL E-Channel is my go-to for most everything, I do grab the SSL G-Channel if I want to get a bit more aggressive. I miss having a physical plate, but the Abbey Road Reverb Plates plug makes up for it. I also love the Abbey Road Reel ADT and of course the J37 Tape – old-school saturation and delays!"

"[My brother] Chris has plugins?! Of course I use Chris’s plugins! CLA Vocals is one of my go-to’s, and CLA Bass is one that I use if I’m unhappy with the bass sound given to me."

"Guitars I EQ before they go into the compressor. I prefer the way that sounds to compressing before EQ. The Distressors work really well on guitars, though you have to fiddle around with them a bit. The Dbx 160 is also very good for guitars. If I hear an acoustic guitar that's a little 'spikey', I put a compressor on it with a very fast attack time, to lose some of that pick spike. I find that the Neve 2264X is really great for bass guitars. I run them at a 1.5:1 ratio and pummel it with 12dB compression, EQ-ing into it. If that's not to my liking, I'll put an 1176 on it."

"Live strings are usually recorded on eight tracks, plus two channels of room. What I do is mix those down to two busses, patch them across to the 2254 and pummel them. It makes the strings sound very rock and roll. Of course there are all sorts of other tricks that can help create distinctive sounds. I have the TC Electronic Fireworx multi-effects, and I often use a preset called 'Little Speaker'. It makes whatever you put through it sound terrible, and that can create a cool effect on drums, vocals or guitars. It's really like a low- and high-pass filter cranked up all the way, just letting the mid-range through. I may do that on the SSL as well; use the high- and low-pass filter, crank the mid-range up all the way and compress it to Jesus, make it sound like the radio, or whatever."

In an article on Soundonsound, it is mentioned that mix engineer Tom Lord-Alge includes the AKG D12-VR microphone in his gear list.

Tom Lord-Alge includes the Atari 1040 ST in his gear list, as detailed in Sound On Sound.

Digidesign Pro Tools is included in gear list.

In an article on Sound On Sound, Tom Lord-Alge is noted for including Opcode Studio Vision in his gear list.

Steinberg Cubase is included in the gear list.

Tom Lord-Alge includes the Casio CZ-101 synthesizer in his gear list, as noted in Soundonsound's feature article.

In an article on Soundonsound, mix engineer Tom Lord-Alge is noted for including the Korg M1R in his gear list.

In an interview with Sound on Sound, Tom Lord-Alge includes the Korg Wavestation A/D in his gear list, highlighting its role in his mixing setup.

Tom Lord-Alge includes the Oberheim Xpander in his gear list, as detailed in the Soundonsound article "Tom Lord-Alge: From Manson To Hanson."

Included in gear list

Included in gear list

Tom Lord-Alge is listed as using the Roland D-70 synthesizer, as noted in the gear list featured in Sound on Sound.

In a Sound On Sound article, Tom Lord-Alge is listed as using the Roland D-550 synthesizer in his gear collection.

Tom Lord-Alge includes the Yamaha DX7 in his gear list, as mentioned in the Sound on Sound article.

In an interview with Sound on Sound, Tom Lord-Alge includes the Yamaha KX88 Synthesizer in his gear list.

Included in gear list