My mixes always sounded dull and flat, so I got an SPL Tube Vitalizer to warm them up. The problem is that through my Spirit Absolute 2 monitors it makes the mixes sound great, and when I compare the mix to other music CDs it sounds just as bright and boomy as them, even with just a small amount of process applied, but when I play the mixes on my hi‑fi or a Walkman everything sounds thin, and the bass is distorting my headphones. Other music CDs sound fine, even other artists' unmastered demos. How can I get a good, solid, bright sound without overdoing it, and how much bass should I add into the mixes? I do compress everything, but too much makes it sound undynamic.
Kevin Hibbs
Editor Paul White replies: As with any enhancer, the Vitalizer needs to be used sparingly, especially if you use the Deep or Soft bass modes, as these often bring out frequencies lower than your monitors can reproduce. As always, compare your mixes to commercial CDs played back over the same monitoring system. If you don't have a CD player in your studio room, one of those little Goodmans portables from Argos, or something similar, will do fine and shouldn't cost more than £30 or so — just make sure that any bass boost is turned off, as many portables seem to include it.
The settings for the Vitalizer depend on the input level, but I find that I don't usually need to move the bass control further than 'five minutes' either side of centre. If your bass is distorting, it sounds as though adding too much might be your problem. I tend to set the Mid/Hi frequency control at between 6kHz and 8kHz and then bring up the Harmonics control until I can just hear a little high‑frequency lift. Do this with the Process control set above halfway, so that any changes are quite obvious, then back it off until an A/B comparison with the original sounds just a little more punchy, bright and transparent. Pay particular attention to the amount of bass added in comparison with the amount of top added, and adjust the balance, if necessary, using the Low control. If you overdo it, it will sound quite nasty. Finally, remember that these processors are really designed to be used in insert points, not with aux sends.