Jack Miele on the Black Lion Audio Bluey

Jack Miele is an 12x Platinum, 6x Telly and 5x Global Music Award Winning audio engineer/producer/composer/multi-instrumentalist. He is also an audio and/or mix engineer on 1 Grammy Award winning and 5 nominated albums, 1 Juno nominated album, as well as Emmy Award winning television promos.  Based in New Orleans, he is the former owner of the world famous Fudge Recording Studio.  After Fudge closed it’s doors in 2012, Jack moved to The Music Shed recording facility as their head of operations /chief producer (2012-2018). He is now the owner of Jack Miele Productions LTD and runs his studio in the Garden District of New Orleans. Jack is also guitarist/vocalist for the sensational ’80s act The Molly Ringwalds.

He’s also a devout Bluey user. We found some time to pick Jack’s brain about all things Bluey.

Hey Jack! So how did you first come to hear about Bluey? Did you learn about the Black Lion version first or did you hear about Chris Lord-Alge’s one-off original?  

I actually hadn’t heard about CLA’s version at first. When I was running The Music Shed in New Orleans, we had the good fortune of having an actual Urei Blue Stripe there, so I got a lot of hands-on experience with a vintage Urei model. When I heard that Black Lion was making their own version, I was definitely curious. When I finally got to try one, I was able to compare it directly to the vintage model, and I was really blown away by the results. I’ve used the Black Lion Bluey at The Music Shed and also when I did some work at PJ Morton’s studio, and now I’m lucky enough to have one of my own.

What are some recordings of yours where we can hear the Bluey in action? 

I’ve used the Bluey on a ton of projects, but one of the more recent ones where it really shined was Kressley Collura’s track, “Long Game.” One technique I really like is using the Bluey in conjunction with a Gates Sta-Level compressor. The Bluey grabs the attack and controls the front end of the vocal, while the Sta-Level smooths out the back end. It’s a really effective way to keep the vocal present and dynamic without over-compressing.

It’s also become a go-to for adding weight and presence. You can also hear it on Johnny Vidacovich’s Out Da Box record, where I used it on Johnny’s snare—just enough to take a little bit of that transient off the top and add some mojo.   Links below….

Hear Bluey on “Long Game”

Hear Bluey on “Out da Box”

Can you describe a project where the Bluey played a pivotal role in achieving your desired sound?

There was a mix I recently did for the band Silk and Mortar called “Summiting Mountains” where the vocal just wasn’t sitting right in the mix. Simone’s got a truly unique and dynamic voice, and I needed it to sit in a certain place in the mix that I couldn’t achieve without the Bluey. The Bluey came in and immediately gave it the energy and the push it needed without making it sound squashed. It kept the vocal up front, controlled, and exciting, which was exactly what the mix needed.  Link below…

Hear Bluey on “Summiting Mountains”

Bluey is known for a particular character that typically flatters vocals – have you found the Bluey to be useful on sources other than the lead vocal? If so, what? Where else do you feel it excels?

Yeah, it really shines on vocals, but I’ve also had great results with it on guitar and piano. It has that really great midrange quality that keeps things exciting in the mix without sounding overly compressed. It’s also a very punchy compressor, so it works really well on things like snare drum and even upright bass. I’ve also found that it can add a nice bit of grit and attitude to certain sources—if you push it just right, it can bring out some really cool harmonics and character without things getting too messy.

What are your “starting point” settings when using Bluey on a lead vocal?

I start with a medium to slow attack and a fairly quick release to keep vocals energetic without squashing transients too much. I also don’t want it to be too grabby, where the vocal starts to sound flattened. For vocals, I’d probably start at a 4:1 ratio as a baseline. I usually aim for around 5 dB of gain reduction, sometimes pushing a little harder for rock or pop vocals—maybe 6-8 dB on peaks—or keeping it lighter, around 3-5 dB, for more dynamic performances where I want to retain more of the natural feel. Depending on the singer, I might go heavier on the input and pull back the output to really push the compressor harder, but that’s a stylistic choice depending on the genre. For a rock mix, I might lean into it more, but the name of the game is balance—you want to enhance the vocal, not overcook it. It’s about finding that sweet spot where the compression is working for you, not against you.

The wet/dry mix knob allows for parallel compression. Do you parallel compress with this feature or are you more likely to mix the compressed and original signal in the box? 

It depends on the application, but I tend to use parallel compression on the Bluey a lot, especially for things like a mono ribbon mic on a drum kit—say an RCA 44 in front of the drums. If I want to bring the drums to life a bit, I’ll set the mix knob around 50% and hit the compressor pretty hard so the clean and compressed signals blend together, creating a nice vibe.

For bass, I’ll sometimes parallel compress to get the midrange notes to poke through more without making it feel too squashed. That way, if I need to compress it again in the box, I’ve still got some room to work with and can keep things natural.

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