How I Mixed “All Away” with Waves Plugins (No Expensive Gear Needed)
When I recorded All Away, I didn’t have a $10,000 mic or some analog tube compressor rack behind me.
I had Pro Tools, an AKG C414, and a whole lot of emotion.
This wasn’t about chasing radio-ready perfection. It was about capturing a feeling—something raw, smoky, and distant. Something that sounded like detachment, but still hit your chest.
The Real Story Behind the Song
All Away started as a feature. Another artist paid me for a verse, sent me the beat, and then... disappeared. No follow-up, no mix, nothing.
A year later, I found the session again and couldn’t shake the feeling that it still needed to come out. So I finished it alone.
The first half of the song was recorded in 2023. The second half didn’t exist until a year later. The emotions were different, but I wanted them to meet in the middle—like two versions of me grieving different things.
🎤 The Vocal Chain (Start to Finish)
My vocal chain was simple but intentional. I built this entire mix around tone and mood—nothing too clean, but just clean enough to feel real.
Here’s the core chain I used (in order):
- Waves NS1 – For subtle noise cleanup
- Waves R-Vox – Fast compression and presence
- Waves CLA-2A or CLA-76 – Smooth level control depending on the section
- Waves DeEsser – Light touch to tame high-end hiss
- PuigTec EQP-1A – Boosted low mids and smoothed the top just a bit
- H-Delay (on aux) – For spaced-out delay tails
- RVerb or Abbey Road Plates – To give it that airy, washed-out feel
- SSL G-Master Bus Compressor (light) – Just to glue it
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I didn’t want the vocals to sound too forward. I wanted them to float—like smoke in the back of your mind.
🎛 My Mixing Mindset
I wasn’t trying to make something “industry standard.”
I was trying to make something honest.
The challenge was matching two completely different emotional states—the 2024 version of me, and the 2025 version of me. But somehow, they blended.
I kept the low end warm, gave the vocals space to breathe, and focused on not over-processing anything. If it felt too perfect, I pulled back.
Sometimes less is more.
Sometimes feeling > polish.
🧪 Subtle Pitch Correction Only — No Auto-Tune Vibes
I did use pitch correction on this song—but nothing heavy. No Auto-Tune, no robotic effect.
I wanted to keep the emotion raw. The goal was to let the pain come through naturally—like someone speaking through melody, not singing for perfection.
That half-sung, half-spoken delivery was the point. It’s what the song needed to feel real.
🎧 You Don’t Need Fancy Gear
If you're reading this and thinking, “But I don’t have a pro studio…”
Neither did I.
You just need the right plugins, a quiet enough room, and the patience to dial in your tone. That’s why I use Waves—it’s affordable, powerful, and I’ve built most of my best mixes using it.
🛠 Plugins & Tools I Recommend:
- 🎛️ Waves Plugins Free Trial – The full suite I used on “All Away”
- 🎙️ Pro Tools Free Trial – What I record and mix in daily
- 🎧 My Budget Home Studio Gear – Mic, interface, headphones, and tools I actually use
- 🎵 Antares Auto-Tune – Industry standard vocal tuning
- 📱 CapCut Pro – Make lyric videos or before/after mix reels
- 🚀 DistroKid – Distribute your finished songs to all platforms
🔊 Stream “All Away” Now
If this song connected with you—or even just made you feel something—I’d love for you to hear it in full.
👉 Click here to stream “All Away” now
Whether you've been through grief, ghosted by someone, or just felt detached and kept pushing anyway… this one’s for you.
🎚️ Want Me to Mix Your Song?
I do this for other artists too. If you want that same clean-but-emotional mix on your own music, you can book me here:
Thanks for reading. Lyric video and Spotify playlist coming soon. I’ll update this post once they’re live.
– Dylan Droll