Basic Effect Questions for the Newbie

Snowman999

Snowman999

Active member
I'm not a newbie newbie. But, I still do things with trial and error. If you have a clue, you hear a problem and know how to fix it. So, I have just a few questions that will go a long way to bettering a person who is just starting out mixing.

The majority of musicians use Drums/Bass/Guitar/Keyboards/Vocals on their songs. So, lets stick with them. Let's assume that the recording quality is fine, and we're not looking for drastic changes in the sounds (like adding wah wah to a guitar that's been recorded. Or making a vocal sound like it's coming through a loudspeaker) EQ and reverb I'd say are the major effects used for most of these.

1) Are there any other effects that are used? Are there any effects used specifically for any of the instruments?

2) There are many responses that DB and HZ are off. If you have a great ear, you can hear it. Is there a way to visually see the DB or HZ? If so, how?

Thanks. Looking forward to better mixing with confidence and knowledge.
 
THANKS. I'm going to check out Voxango SPAN and re-post in the mixing technique section.

Sincerely: Nicest people I've met on the net. Very friendly and helpful board.
 
NP. Hopefully some Pros chime in to help. Just write a mod and ask them to move the thread so you don't double post.
 
DYNAMICS!!!

Compression, Levelers, Limiters, Expanders. There would be no rock or pop music without these devices. Arguably as important as EQ, way more imporant than reverb.
 
As far as dB and Hz are concerned, I would say yeah... there are apps and tools you can use for measuring those things... but before you mess with any of that, just stick with what you know works already: your ears.
Mix at a volume where you can comfortably listen. An ideal sweet spot, where it's loud enough to feel punchy, but not so loud you can't hear yourself talk over the top of your monitors.
Peel away low end on things you don't need low end on before addressing HF. Once you have good levels there, then you can beef up different parts, like vocals, keys and guitars (i.e. instruments with a more nuanced response).
As far as effects go, the world is your oyster. Anything you can patch in to your signal is fair game, as long as you're happy with the results. Just be sure to hang on to dry tracks in the case things get out of hand. You always want to get back to a fresh start.
I believe being more intuitive about your mix gets better results.
 
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