Signal Chains

The full kick drum signal chain: acoustic kick, subkick, and electronic overdub with EQ, Neve 1073, Spiff, soothe2, AP Tape Eater, and TDR Limiter on the combined group path.

Snare remains a track-level source-shaping path. Ring control, finish, and presentation happen before any bus-level density decisions.

Bass still handles its weight, harmonic translation, and hit-to-hit control before it reaches the group and premaster layers.

Lead vocal remains a source-level serial path. Final vocal glue and presentation happen later on the Vocal Premaster, not at Final Mix.

Guitars are tone-shaped at the track level — amp simulation, corrective EQ, and the first harmonic decisions happen here before the group or premaster.

Hi-hat mic plus electronic overdub feed the HH Group. Track-level shaping keeps high-frequency detail clean without cymbal wash blooming into the drum bus.

Overheads carry cymbal detail and stereo drum bleed. Track-level work removes low-frequency mud and tames harshness before the sound reaches the drum bus.

Shakers, tambourines, and additional percussion elements get corrective EQ and control at the track level so the group receives a focused, stage-ready feed.

Synth keys and pads handle corrective EQ and tone shaping at the track level. The pad layer gets its final presentation on the group bus, not at Final Mix.

Piano track path handles register balance, resonance control, and tonal presentation before it hits the group bus glue stage.

Approved updated drum bus: UADx Distressor, TDR Nova, AP Tape Eater. The old Studer, Zebra Clipper, width, and vibe stack has been removed from the main drum bus path.

The aggressive layer now lives in dedicated parallel routing: Cobra Fuzz into UADx Distressor, separate from the main drum bus chain.

Acoustic kick, subkick, and electronic overdub converge on Bus 110. Phase alignment, VCA compression, and band-limiting lock the three layers into one cohesive punch before the drum bus.

Three snare mics (top, Dick, Wurst) meet on Bus 111. Heavy attenuation and MF-109S analog saturation glue the shell into one unified snare character.

Acoustic hi-hat mic and OhSnap electronic overdub combine on Bus 9. Strict band-pass plus Bloom keeps the hats tight, consistent, and free of kick bleed.

Glyn Johns side and top overheads route through track-level tape saturation to darken cymbals and anchor the stereo drum image, then feed straight into the drum bus.

Congas, tambourine, claps, and other percussion elements sum together. Aggressive band-pass removes mic bumps and harsh transients so the group sits behind the kit.

Lead vocal summing bus. Surgical cleanup with RX 11 Repair Assistant, pitch correction, and top/bottom trimming before routing into the Vocal Premaster chain.

Raw DI guitars converge on Bus 121. Warm telephone EQ, SansAmp drive, and sidechain VCA compression lock the guitars into tone and groove before the premaster stage.

Synth keys and pad tracks merge into KEY PADs. TDR Nova dynamic EQ suppresses low-mid mud during dense chords while stereo width stays alive.

Raw pianos sum into PIANO bus. Aggressive bracketing plus Fox Echo Chorus bakes vintage modulation and short ambient space into the core piano tone.

Bass synth instrument tracks merge into BASS synth bus global. SansAmp drive adds upper-mid harmonics for small-speaker presence; sidechain ducking keeps the bass out of the kick's way.

The current architecture separates Instrument Premaster and Vocal Premaster. They are cleaner than group buses and feed Final Mix independently.

Approved keep / provisional: Studer into compressor for final vocal glue and stability before the stereo stages.

DRUMS PREMASTER bus (229). Surgical correction for harsh upper-mids and air, MF-105S MuRF animated filtering, and parallel routes to tape, room, and nuke-comp before feeding ALL DRUMS.

VOCAL PREMASTER bus (239). First stage of master vocal tape via Studer A800, gentle opto compression across sections, and subtle ClusterFlux widening before the Final Vox Premaster.

GUITAR PREMASTER bus (6). Neutron 4 masking-mode EQ dynamically carves space for vocal and snare; Pultec adds analog sheen before guitars meet the piano on Bus 205.

KEYs / PAD PREMASTER bus (236). Falcon Air EQ adds analog sheen; aggressive bracketing makes room for bass and guitars; Abbey Road Chambers pushes the keys back in 3D space.

PIANO PREMASTER bus (237). Classic Pultec EQP-1A tube curves polish the dulled piano track into an expensive analog sheen, with a send into the shared MASTER ROOM INST 1.

BASS SYNTH PREMASTER bus (238). AP Telefunken preamp color plus MF-109S Saturator (Drum Filth) layer analog grit before the synth bass meets the bass guitar on Bass Complete.

BASS Complete (Bus 210). Bass Synth Premaster and Bass Guitar Premaster merge here. Devil-Loc/Decapitator fuzz and Capitol Mastering parallel glue lock the combined bass into one tearing texture.

DRUMS + BASS (Bus 206). Bull Sub Machine subharmonic enhancement physically locks kick and bass; Ozone 11 Vintage EQ scoops mud and reinforces the low end before the instrumental premaster.

INST PREMASTER (Bus 233). The God Particle adds modern multiband saturation, Pultec opens the high shelf, and SSLComp applies instrumental glue before the vocals join at Final Mix.

MASTER DRUMS final master bus (Bus 213). Pultec EQP-1A for analog sheen, Ampex ATR-102 for stereo glue, TDR Limiter 6 GE as a true-peak safety net before drums hit DRUMS + BASS.

DRUMS + BASS master rhythm bus (Bus 206). Sums All Drums and Bass Complete, then locks the kick and bass together with Bull Sub Machine and Ozone 11 vintage EQ before feeding the Instrument Premaster.

VOCALS FINAL VOX PREMASTER (Bus 235). Sums lead, vocoder, and parallel FX, then Falcon Air EQ, Ampex ATR-102, and Ozone 11 Vintage Tape lock the vocal bed forward into the Final Mix.

Final Mix is now intentionally minimal: optional Logic Channel EQ and Waves SSL G-Master Bus Compressor. No limiter, no soothe2, no tape, no God Particle.

STEREO OUT parallel crush (Bus 250). Side path off the Final Mix that adds loudness, sustain, and magnetic distortion via 1176 FET (all-buttons-in) and AP Tape Eater, then merges back into Print Before Limiter.

This replaces the old generic premaster page. Print Before Limiter is the meeting point for Final Mix and Final Mix Parallel, with subtle translation control only.

Limiter Bus is separate from Print Before Limiter. It uses TDR Limiter 6 GE for spike trimming, loudness, and true peak safety. Stereo Out is not the main processing stage.