Drop your Tech Niq! (MIXING)

[LDB]

I hope I started this is in the right place!

I'm trying to get deeper into mixing and mastering because I'm thinking about trying the studio gig again in spring of next year 08. My goal is for this not to become a battle ground for people to disprove what others do as far as mixing. Just drop "ONE" technique at a time that can possibly bring new life to the way someone still in the learning process, might be able to use to improve the sound of there production.

PLEASE KEEP THIS POSITIVE AND HOPEFULLY IT'LL GROW INTO A GIANT BRAIN FOR THE "WANNA BE" MASTER MIXER IN US ALL!

p.s. drop the name of the hardware or software plugin that you think makes your technique better as well

p.s p.s KEEP COMMENTS TO A MINIMUM AND PREFERABLY PM THE PERSON THAT YOU MAY HAVE QUESTIONS FOR SO THE THREAD DOESN'T GET BOGGED DOWN WITH UNNECESSARY CLUTTER! AND THERE'S NO NEED TO QUOTE ANYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GIVE YOUR PROPS BY WAY OF PM TO THAT INDIVIDUAL!

Appreciate ya!

 

[LDB]

Applying Reverb to enhance body!

Some people just apply reverb to diff't channels and let it ride like that.

Recently I've discovered through studying mixing techniques that you need to take that a step further by panning the channel that you're applying the reverb 180 degrees left or right and then use a reverb plugin that has the ability to adjust pan 180 degrees in the opposite direction. I think this is a great technique that will ensure that certain instruments don't occupy the area that the vocalist or Emcee should have. Allows for a less cluttered mix!

 

[StressWon]

Mixin Vocals:

I like to record dry. I add my fx later. Usually start with a good gate. Sony Soundforge has a great one. Then the waves Desser. Then I go into Compression. I use the new izotope Tube compressor in the new Audition 3.0. It's really fresh. I use a ratio of about 2:1 but I go up to about 6/7) Attack at .9 And release 100ms. (Got that info from here) After the Compression, I eq and add a reverb.

Once I got my vocals done, I like play the instrumental track and each vocal track at each time during mixin. I feel the ad libs and backups distract from the mixin process.


Thats my vocal mixin in a nutshell, but I woul like to see more mixin tips from the beat makers. I improve my shit cause of yall. GO!

 

[ronp]

my one piece of mixing advice, and you've probably all heard this one already...eq subtractively. I use and recommend parametric eqs to really get in there.

Easiest way to set up a parametric is to turn the eq's gain all the way up and sweep the frequecy 'til you find the crap frequencies and then just pull them down.

 

[NobleWordz]

Tip of the day:

Proper recording, tracking, levels and use of panning will get you further than any effect or program.

NW

 

[dacalion]

Everyone has giving some great advice so far, Im really gonna aim for the beginners who truely need to know where to start. It's been said before, its very simple but its the greatest beginner advise yet. Find your favorite song and break it down to each instrument, really listen close to how its manipulated and what effects are used on it.

i.e. drums, when you start your drum pattern and get the basic beat that you want down, go back and expirement with different volume levels on each hit, the closer the distance between hits, the bigger the change in volume. Don't make drastic changes, just subtle ones. A "live" drummer won't hit the drum head at the same velocity each time, some will be harder than others. This will give you a "real" drum feel in your music. If every hit sounds the same, it won't feel "live".

Same thing applys to other instuments like a bass guitar, every strum of a string is different and reproducing this adds major character to a song.

So it's very important that you really listen to how each instrument is freaked in a song, then try to emulate what you heard on one of your beats. You will definately feel, hear and see the difference.


One other important beginner tip is to learn how to layer, the only rule in layering is to use common sense, mainly the sense of hearing. Copy and Clone / Duplicate one of your melodies and transpose it up or down, mostly down, a couple of notes, be sure to do the whole melody, play them both back at the same time and notice how the body of the melody gets fuller. If you master this concept, you have really done something special. You will love the results once you experiment a little.

I'll get deeper and deeper as this thread progresses but these are some great fundamentals in music production. Its not rocket science, it just works with a little trial and error.

Good Luck

MOF

 

[LDB]

Excellent Advice So Far! I Look Forward To The Intermediate Techniques To Come.

 

[Ash Holmz]

subtley is a sign of wisdom ... less means more almost always...


balance is more important than punch or aggressiveness... im no engineer, but the first step with ur tracks should be to acheive balance... u want evrything to blend properly and go togther... evrything doesnt nessecarily have to be loud and in your face. newbies tend to over do it with all the effects and plugs and stuff... i believe in making the mix sound as good as it can get without any effects at all.. then from that point it because easier to find out where u need to apply effects.

mix in context to the entire song.. some shit sounds whack solo but sounds good in the mix... if somethings sounds great in the mix .. just leave it .. u dont need evry solo instument to sound good soloe'd...

 

[N.Y.S.O.M.]

subtley is a sign of wisdom ... less means more almost always...


balance is more important than punch or aggressiveness... im no engineer, but the first step with ur tracks should be to acheive balance... u want evrything to blend properly and go togther... evrything doesnt nessecarily have to be loud and in your face. newbies tend to over do it with all the effects and plugs and stuff... i believe in making the mix sound as good as it can get without any effects at all.. then from that point it because easier to find out where u need to apply effects.

mix in context to the entire song.. some shit sounds whack solo but sounds good in the mix... if somethings sounds great in the mix .. just leave it .. u dont need evry solo instument to sound good soloe'd...

good tip super smash bro

 

[dacalion]

Ok, I couldn't wait...here are some intermediate/pro tips concerning Compression. This is pretty much straight out the book for general compression... I highlighted this because its not set in gold, it's a great starting point for general compression. Every sound engineer and novice home studio recording guru will have his own personal settings.

One of the main concerns you will have in the final product is your levels. When you play your music right next to another CD that is out, you want yours just as loud and with the same power and/or punch. A key to achieving this is using compression in both mixing and mastering.

The idea is to make your key elements stand out. If you want a part to be "present" or "predominant" in the mix you often could use compression on that instrument during the mix. This could be any instrument that is critical to the tune.

Now for your overall mix compression. Similar settings can be used for the overall mix to get its apparent (to the ear) level up. Use smaller ratios (up to 2:1) and longer release times. Compressors with an "overeasy" feature or "soft knee" work the best.

Finally, Controlling your peaks. In digital recording there are extreme peaks that can cause the overall average level to be low.You can control these peaks with the Limiting section of most compressors. This is accomplished by setting the ratio very high (10:1 or more). Sound engineers often seek to use very fast attack and release times with a high ratio and a hard knee. This will very quickly reduce the gain on the audio peaks, which are often not noticeable to the ear. This is quite common in mastering, since it allows mixes to be recorded much louder on digital media, such as CD’s without going into digital clipping. In other words, -6dB of peak gain reduction will allow a song to be recorded twice as loud to your ears on a CD."

In Summary...
Ratio - Mild ratio btween 2:1 and 5:1.

Attack - Fast but may be slowed to keep the transient quality of drums and cymbals.

Release - Medium 100-150ms for most instruments.

Threshold - Adjust for 6dB of gain reduction on loud parts or passages of the song.

More to come, I hope this helps some and remember it's not set in gold, other folks have their own personal taste. This is just a general starting point straight outta the book.

MOF

 

[ronp]

watch out if trying to make your music hit like alot of the stuff that's out there now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war

there's 16 bits of dynamic range for a reason, music isn't supposed to be limited to the top level bits.

I'm not trying to start an argument or swing this thing off topic...but it is important to consider.

 

[Kontents]

Reference List

Hey Fam,

I do not have a specific tip, but did locate numerous threads throughout "Ill" with a bunch of info.

Mixing Tips Primer Submitted By: ronp

Recommended Reading: The EQ Guide to Getting it - 100 tips Submitted By: WingsOfAnAngel

Quick Tips Submitted By: Kontents

21st Century Mastering {By Matt Bell} Submitted By: WingsOfAnAngel

The Mixing Checklist Submitted By: WingsOfAnAngel

Best Compressor Article I have ever read Submitted By: thedreampolice

Mixing And Mastering Tips Submitted By: Q Star

Compression "The Breakdown to Sound" Submitted By: Kontents

 

[skidflow]

Well fam what I 'm trying to do in Reason is use the equalizer to place sounds to the left, right, center, etc. as oppose to just panning...I feel you gotta find the balance between the two. For example, you could place a bassline in certain area of the mix and possibly affect the whole dynamics of a kick drum.( but everyone knows basslines are PANNED dead center by fault) Once you got everything where it sounds balanced to the ear, you then could add some other effects to give certain instruments a spacial sound such delay effects and reverb. This is just the base rule of thumb for my mixing technique. I might go back after I've done this to add some stereo effects and whatnot.

subtley is a sign of wisdom ... less means more almost always...


balance is more important than punch or aggressiveness... im no engineer, but the first step with ur tracks should be to acheive balance... u want evrything to blend properly and go togther... evrything doesnt nessecarily have to be loud and in your face. newbies tend to over do it with all the effects and plugs and stuff... i believe in making the mix sound as good as it can get without any effects at all.. then from that point it because easier to find out where u need to apply effects.

mix in context to the entire song.. some shit sounds whack solo but sounds good in the mix... if somethings sounds great in the mix .. just leave it .. u dont need evry solo instument to sound good soloe'd...

this is most definite.

 

[Kontents]

For example, you could place a bassline in certain area of the mix and possibly affect the whole dynamics of a kick drum.

I dont necessarily agree with that info. This is why,

A mix should be layered not completely spread out. Think of a mix like a stacked cake.
you got your

High's
Mid'S
LOWS


So technically the Bass and Kick should blend in with each other. You can use the Ducking method to make them stand out from each other. This can be accomplished wit a sidechain compression.

 

[skidflow]

I dont necessarily agree with that info. This is why,

A mix should be layered not completely spread out. Think of a mix like a stacked cake.
you got your

High's
Mid'S
LOWS


So technically the Bass and Kick should blend in with each other. You can use the Ducking method to make them stand out from each other. This can be accomplished wit a sidechain compression.

I was just using those instruments as an example...did'nt mean to mislead...but you are right the bass and kick should be layered and mix and mesh, but some instruments need to be spread out and or push to the back such as strings for instance...I would'nt necessarily layer brass, strings, and whatnot over my kick and bass drum. But my bad I should have used different instruments as examples. I'm trying to find my way in this mix and master type shit myself.

 

[Kontents]

I was just using those instruments as an example...did'nt mean to mislead...but you are right the bass and kick should be layered and mix and mesh, but some instruments need to be spread out and or push to the back such as strings for instance...I would'nt necessarily layer brass, strings, and whatnot over my kick and bass drum. But my bad I should have used different instruments as examples.

Its all good man, Your definitly right about instruments needing to be spread out. Its best not to think of music as Left and Right, but as a 3-D sound. everything needs its place in the mix.

 

[Icemanbeats]

Mixing hook vocals: Get a lot of takes when recording... 6-12+ takes and also extra backing/harmony.

Place each layer symmetrically with panning (one 100% left, one 100% right, one 75% left, one 75% right etc) also seperate with volume, and reverb. Put some vocals at the back of the mix (by adding more reverb) some right at the front (with no reverb) . The thing to make sure is that they're seperated and don't clash with each other. Group all the vocals into one bus and add compression to that group. Get a graphic equalizer on the group, see which frequencies are most prominent in the vocals and then cut some of those frequencies out of the rest of the instruments/instrumental.

Software reverb- WIZZOOVERB . and WAVES EQ & Compression.

Also for a diff compression style - try a very short release and long attack.. 2ms release.. 16-20 attack... this isn't common but I think it sounds great on certain vocals/instruments - often gives em more presence. Try it out

pz

 

[LDB]

Please give your props to someone by way of PM's and not quotes...read the first post (RULES)


Skid- Chill with the quotes. Drop your technique and keep it moving. Handle disagreements and give props by way of PM. I'm trying to keep the clutter down so peeps can get to the information!

Kontents- disagree with someone by way of PM's! 2 or 3 posts referencing one post just pushes the info. further and further down the line. If someone gives fraudulent info. the potential user will find out in due time.

I c why "we" jack threads up! WE DON'T READ THE RULES WE JUST JUMP IN AND START POSTING AWAY.

Appreciate all the usable post so far. This can be very informative if we stick to the topic rules.

 

[LDB]

Get those drums sounding big and authentic!

When combining the bass and drums, remember that the kick drum and bass guitar rarely have reverb, though the
snare and toms often do. Also the hi-hat, shaker, overheads or tambourine hardly ever need reverb, while drum machine cymbals and some percussion instruments, like congas and some very sparse percussion parts, can benefit from the appropriate reverb sound. Start your mix with drums and bass. Get that rhythm section sounding tight and it's all down hill from there. Make reverb your best friend, just don't over do it. I hear and read questions all the time about how to make a track sound bigger. Look no further than some tasteful reverb and panning. Get this technique down and "hear" the difference. As someone has already stated, think 3 dimensional.

 

[Ash Holmz]

keep it simple ... i for one dont feel u need a bizallion takes of the verse.. I do one take of the the verse with an underlying "emphasis" track where u might double up ur words at the end of a line.... thats it for me.. personally i cant stand overly stacked rap vocals.... imo they are overused and it only benfits people with weaker voices. IMO it only works with those dumbed down young joc nursery style of rapping that unfortunately is so popular now. The new little brother album is a great example of how u can get a great sound with minimal takes... in fact most of the best rappers in history dont have crazy takes like that.... nas,jay,biggie,rakim,wu, etc .. are all one take/layer rappers, even kanye dont stack .. the only guys who stack verses well imo are 2pac and eminem. I think TI overstacks and so does Jeezy/joc/dro all them dudes. Stacking is for pop vocals and r&b.... this is hip hop .. spit it or go home. and if u overstack, when that big hook does come in, it ends up sounding just like verses. and u end up sounding like ass at ur live show when the audience realizes that u sound nothing like your chorused super layered studio voice lol