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JST Original & Joel Wanasek Bus Glue Plug-In Bundles
By Joe Mullen
Joey Sturgis Tones is quickly becoming an audio production room standard . I ’ ve been watching JST and using its plug-ins consistently since its inception and was really stoked to see that Joey was doing a mix bus series . I figured it would sound amazing and boast a ton of utility based on my past experience with his products , not to mention his list of recording credits , which includes Asking Alexandria , Miss May I , and Emmure , among others .
A little while later , I saw a video of producer / mixer Joel Wanasek at NAMM presenting his new line of JST bus compressors . Again , I was immediately stoked about it . If you have ever encountered Joel through Nail the Mix or the Unstoppable Recording Machine initiatives , you will understand why . Joel is full of fire and a very inspirational dude . His credits speak for themselves , as he has worked with bands like Machine Head , Vinyl Theater , and Dope .
Here , we ’ ll test out these two Bus Glue collections from JST – the original Bus Glue Series and brand new Joel Wanasek Bus Glue Series – on some projects I have underway .
JST Bus Glue Series
BG Drums BG Drums has four very different sounding compression algorithms – Tight , Open , Fat , and Boom – that do an admirable job of producing results consistent with what their names suggest . In fact , for novice engineers , they can actually help you understand what “ open ” means as compared to the other options in regards to bus compression settings . I know for myself and my level of compression knowledge , I couldn ’ t just whip up these different compression approaches and know exactly what the settings would be , let alone all four and then being able to A / B them on top of that . What a powerful and creative tool .
BG Guitars This one is all about utility . I love the three options of Tame , Clamp , and Smash . Again , the terms really do describe what these tools can bring to some heavy guitars in certain parts of the mix . These modes can be automatable , which leaves no end to the mixing possibilities . Use the Tame settings to smooth out the chorus rhythm guitars then switch to Clamp to get a truly crushing breakdown lock-up section . The Tone toggle switch gives the guitars a lot more presence in the mix without any annoying frequencies , while the Warmth
24 PROFESSIONAL SOUND toggle switch gives the mids a nice solid boost but in a very subtle way .
BG Mix BG Mix puts everything you need on your two-bus all in one plug-in . You can select from four carefully designed compression algorithms , add warmth , and clip . The warmth button does some crazy magic to the mids and highs that I found to be spot on . It ’ s the kind of thing you need to hear . I find that a lot of the time , mid and high end can bother my ears , but not with this . It makes the mids and highs smooth and well defined , almost adding more space within the high end . I also appreciate its user-friendly approach to gain staging . I loaded it up with my other busses way over 0dB , and yes , of course the result was overloaded , but I noticed something unique ; the headroom has a “ hard limit ” to where you can ’ t really clip it unless you are sending in way too much signal .
Joel Wanasek Bus Glue Series
JW Drums I tested out JW Drums on some fast death metal drumming I had tracked for an upcoming Unburnt EP . I imported the mix-ready drum stems , did a quick balance and pan , routed everything to a bus , and loaded up the freshly installed JW Drums v1.0.0 . I noticed that with nothing except the Pumpin ’ setting selected , I heard a slight lift and tightness in the low end , some sweetness in the upper mids , and improved separation . I wasn ’ t sure if my ears were tricking me or not so I A / B ’ d it a bunch of times to see what the difference would be just by having it in the chain . It was actually a really good lesson in using your ears because it is very subtle but also very powerful from a mix perspective once you start to hear it . Definitely a go-to for me from now on .
JW Bass To test drive JW Bass , I loaded it up on a single bass track and its effect was immediately apparent . There is a subtle amount of processing it does natively that smoothes out the DI and successfully balances out the mids . There are also a couple more in-depth features , such as the top and bottom “ mode ” selection that allows splitting the bass within one track on one plug-in . Joel is all about speed and JW Bass
JST BG BASS
JST BG VOCALS
delivers on that philosophy . The Grit section is just fantastic . There are three options of saturation that all sound really good and mix so easily . My first-hand experience with JW Bass proved I can go from raw DI to album-ready bass with one plug-in .
JW Mix What can I say about this other than # NOSMALLTIME ! Again , this has a nice little lift right when you load it up . Adding some Crush brings up the loudness nicely in a very smooth and musical way . I really enjoyed the unique Iron , Steel , and Nickel transformer settings . The tonalities here are subtle but very powerful . A / B these with fresh ears and you will know what I mean .
Summary These series share common qualities but are still unique in their own ways . Both are far more than just a signal processor ; you get the added benefit of Joey and Joel ’ s years of mixing experience baked in with a slight EQ bump here or a bit of saturation there . They each speak in their own way and reflect the individual styles of each designer . These are going to be all over my work this year . Happy mixing !
Joe Mullen owns and operates JoeDown Studios in Hanover , ON . He plays drums in the metal outfits Odium and Unburnt and contributes regularly to Professional Sound and Canadian Musician magazines .