Joey Sturgis Tones JST Dynamics Bundle
By Joe Mullen
Joey Sturgis is a world-renowned producer and engineer boasting a list of credits that includes The Devil Wears Prada , Asking Alexandria , We Came as Romans , and others . He ’ s also on the leading edge of audio education with initiatives like the Unstoppable Recording Machine and Nail the Mix , and having launched his own line of audio plug-ins in recent years , he ’ s also a successful entrepreneur .
I ’ ve owned his Menace amp sim and JST Clip for a while now and both have exceeded my expectations . They have helped me solve problems in my mixes and resulted in better-sounding music . Needless to say , I was stoked to explore more of JST ’ s product line , so let ’ s dive right into the robust JST Dynamics plug-in bundle .
Finality Advanced Both the Finality Lite and Advanced limiters are inspiring even at first glance ; they just make you want to start tweaking and exploring . I mean , it does all of the usual limiting functions very well and is easy to navigate . I found the Color control to be very cool . I used it on a guitar DI before the amp sim , dialling in a bit of pre-limiting then engaging the colour control and it brought out a meaner , greasier tone from the sim . It ’ s always great when a plug-in puts a new trick in my tool box .
I was also curious about how it would handle drum room mics . It definitely controls the dynamics and boosts volume , but again , I tried the Color function and it did something to the cymbals that I have never heard before .
I typically struggle with drum rooms because the cymbals – especially hi-hat – are all over the place , so I ’ ll try a few fixes without much consistent success as my drum rooms are low-budget large diaphragm condensers . Here , Color adds in harmonic distortion that tames and controls the upper mids without making them sound harsh or too dark .
JST Clip I love the grimey , metallic feel of this plug-in . It has a fresh user interface with an awesome theme for a clipper . Its look hints at some of the nice harmonic distortion it can offer with its clipping magic . It adds aggressive harmonic saturation that is useful in a variety of applications like a drum buss , bass guitar , or in mastering . I ’ ve owned JST Clip for awhile and it really helped me learn about gain staging .
Basically , the plug-in can chop off the audio at a predefined threshold and allows you to use the big knob in the middle to drive the audio signal “ into the clipper ” as much or as little as you want , so if you drive it hard , you will get more saturation and a nice aggressive edge . The best thing about it is how it makes gain staging so easy . Just load it up as the last plug-in in your chain , start turning up the knob in the middle , and you hear the track get more in your face and mix-ready . Simple to use and very powerful .
Gain Reduction I was excited to test Gain Reduction out on some vocal tracks for a new Odium song based on what I ’ ve heard about it . It is designed to be a heavy vocal compressor for screams and cleans , and it really is great . As soon as I loaded it up on some screaming vocals , I was blown away . It has all the right controls for what you typically want to do with heavy vocals and just sits them in the right place in the mix with ease .
The compression threshold is fixed internally , so using the input gain knob allows you to maintain proper gain staging but also set how hard you push the compressor with one control . Operation is foolproof as there is a fixed 0dB ceiling so you can ’ t clip it . Plus , there ’ s a lo-fi effect built-in .
One of the things that makes Gain Reduction unique is the output gain as it will add some harmonic distortion after you push it past a certain point . The aesthetics of the plug-in are on point but still sparse enough to offer total control over your dynamics . A lot of effort went into this design and the plug-in will be on many of my mixes going forward .
Transify The concept of transient design is often overlooked by your amateur audio enthusiast . I have been aware of the concept but until now haven ’ t had much experience with it , let alone multi-band transient design . To get a feel for how to use the plug-in and its controls , check out the video tutorial . It ’ s great .
Being a multi-band transient designer , Transify has limitless possibilities . Being a metal drummer , I have always automated an EQ to clean up the low frequency build up on fast kick drum parts with moderate results and a sluggish workflow , having to do all that automation . Transify splits up the band into four sections , so I was able to just use the low-end sustain knob to exactly define the length of the low end . The improvement was immediate . The kick went from cloudy and a bit undefined ( which I ’ d become used to and thought nothing of ) to a tight , low-end punch every time the kick played . It controlled the tightness of the low end so much I could actually push up the level of the kick without ruining the balance .
Summary It ’ s clear that JST is making plug-ins that solve real-world problems in mixes well and with ease , as exemplified by the Dynamics Bundle . Even the install process is painless and doesn ’ t require iLok . JST is advancing modern audio production workflows and I ’ m sure will only continue to push the limits and help those passionate about audio to make better music .
Joe Mullen owns and operates JoeDown Studios in Hanover , ON . He plays drums in the metal outfit Odium and contributes regularly to Professional Sound and Canadian Musician magazines .
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