How do you Mix?

J

Jcpalmacarrillo

New member
Hey guys!
Let's share mixing techniques! How do you mix? Do you start with the vocals? Do you start with the drums? What techniques do you use? Share your tips! You can always learn something new :)
 
I listen to the whole track through, take notes as I'm going (and do some subtle panning if prudent). Then it's case by case depending on how much processing has already been done on the tracks or if it still needs a lot of reverb and other effects added. There's no golden rule for a good mix, just being meticulous and learning to solo/mute things when needed. I approach every mix with a fresh mind and allow the song to sound the way it wants/needs to.
 
First I go through and adjust clip gains to get everything in the right range. Next I put all the tracks up and try to get a good mix with just volume and panning. That will lead to eq, then editing and more detailed clip gain adjustments, then I compress as needed, then I get into effects.
 
depends on the format, but usually the first 3 things I hear is usually the first knobs I tweak. But before that, I listen to the track raw: -12db across to see what the song wants to be then layout on paper how I want to make it happen, then I mix the music.

maybe it because of the old throwback days of interning and the automation was 3 people in front of the board with the producer dictating changes kinda like a square dance caller.
 
I usually mix instrument by instrument . . . progressively adding more to the mix.

Before that, though, during tracking, I am recording and playing back a rough, so I (and other listeners) have an idea of how it will scrub up.

The particular sequence of instruments is:

1 Get percussion sounding right.
2 Add bass, and get bass and percussion sounding right
3 Add vocals and do the same.

With luck, the song will stand up all by iteslef quite nicely qwith just these three elements.

4 Add other stuff to taste.
 
I usually start with a drum sound / mix, note that this is usually not how it finally ends up, I do the drums first not because it is the most important, but because it is the instrument that usually has the most tracks. So drums first to get a balanced drum sound.

Next I get a bass sound, again not usually the final sound, and mix the bass and drums in together.

Next the rest of the rhythm section in what ever order I feel at the time, no solo instruments yet.

Now I have a working OK sounding mix of the rhythm section I get the vocals into the mix, the most important thing in the mix.

When all of that is working, add the solo / extra instruments.

Now you go back and fine tune all of it to create space for the vocals, and get the final happy mix.

Alan.
 
Starting with some panning and setting levels so i can get an overview of the whole record. then i listen to it two or three times to get an idea where i want to go (maybe listen to some tracks with are in the same style for some inspiration)

then i start with the overheads + kickdrum to set up the drumset. then i add the other drums or the bass. (depends on my mood ; D )
then the rythm guitars and other instruments.
last two steps are lead guitars and of course the vocals.

between all these steps im doing fine tuning on the instruments i set up before to get everything stick together.
 
I go for drums and bass first and dial in my low end. I do vocals on top and then other mid and high range instruments. I feel like the vocal should sit on top of the low end but be surrounded by panning in the mid and upper ranges.

If I'm mixing and I'm raising the level of my vocal buss then I know that 1) my balance is off or 2) I need to do some automation later on.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
First I go through and adjust clip gains to get everything in the right range. Next I put all the tracks up and try to get a good mix with just volume and panning. That will lead to eq, then editing and more detailed clip gain adjustments, then I compress as needed, then I get into effects.
Click to expand...

This is pretty close to how I work, as well - I'll usually start by just setting levels and panning, and once everything's balanced fairly well, then usually do a quick pass on ambient effects (I write insturmental rock, and it's a VERY rare mix I don't have a light stereo ping pong delay on the lead guitars, and I'll usually throw at least some 'verb on the drums early on just to get used to the color) then usually start with the bass guitar and trying to get the kick/bass interaction working pretty well, and work "up" in the mix from there.
 
Since I rarely sit down to just "mix" a bunch of tracks that someone has given me, mixing for me has evolved and blended into the whole tracking, editing, comping process...and I'm usually pre-mixing with the first few tracks, so by the time I'm actually mixing, there isn't a specific process and/or "starting position"...fader levels and pan knobs and even EQ/Processing has already been in play for awhile, so the actual last step "mixing" is really more about fine tunning what I already have going on.

If/when I do just get some tracks to mix...then yeah, it's mostly push up the faders and start panning things, and then try to get a good balance with that....then tweak it from there with EQ/Processing and fine adjustments of levels etc.

Usually I put the drums up where they are solid level wise, them bring up the guitars bass, then keys, then vocals and finally leads/accent stuff and blend them in with the drums as desired and required. Then I go back and fine tune it all with a few passes. I try to leave the drums alone level-wise, otherwise you end up with level-creep....like if the drums are starting to fade back too much in the mix, I don't raise them, I lower the other tracks to get my balance back in check. It's just a matter of having something as a reference. You could use the lead vocal, but I don't find vocals don't always make a good gauge for the rest of the mix, and I prefer to use the drums as my mix reference point....plus, lead vocals are often mixed with 2-3 versions -- up/down/even relative to the mix.
 
I'm sort of along the same lines as miroslav.

I assume, as well, that you're talking about mixing "your own stuff"? Because if you mix someone else's stuff, often it's a totally different approach particularly from a session/project admin POV. If you receive a project to mix and it has 100+ tracks, often you'll be forced to go through and check each track or groups of tracks until you get a holistic "view" of the song. Sometimes it also involves muting a lot of tracks and getting the project down to manageable groups of tracks. Thereafter it becomes more clear on which direction to take.

In terms of mixing my own recordings or recordings for my clients, I like to begin planning the mix from the onset. This means that I try to get a relative balance on input so that when all faders are at unity there is a general balance. I do this because if I have to make a batch export of the tracks to be mixed somewhere else, the mix engineer will have a good balance to start with instead of having to mess with levels too much just to hear the song. I also do this because I find the mix and internal levels easier to manage. So basically by the time we get to tracking bass or guitars the drum sound is 99 percent there. I generally edit and process drums right after tracking so in a general sense mixing starts there. The same goes for all the other instruments.

My goal when it comes to mixing is simply to mix. Editing, autotuning, etc, is not mixing. By the time I sit down to mix I want to focus on the last fine balance adjustments, volume automation and effects. In other words, when I open up the project to mix it, most of the balancing has been done and all there is left to do is polish it up a bit.

Cheers :)
 
Mo Facta said:
I generally edit and process drums right after tracking so in a general sense mixing starts there. The same goes for all the other instruments.

My goal when it comes to mixing is simply to mix. Editing, autotuning, etc, is not mixing.
Click to expand...
Is it or isn't it ? :D

Although my mind is often mixing as I track, overdub and edit, I never know what a mix will sound like until it's done and I'm happy with the result. I approach each mix as a fresh day and so it's the different elements within each particular song that determine where I'll start or what the emphasis will be in parts. In terms of effects, perhaps I'm overcompensating for my early mixes which were drowned in and saturated with effects, because now I'm very sparing with them and I tend to use them while tracking or editing so they are part of the intrinsic sound. In that sense, I commit to certain elements very early on and I stick with them. So I'm already balancing and mixing as I go. I might not get around to mixing a song until years after I've finished recording it.
I also mix in sections now, meaning, I take a section of the song at a time and work on that, getting it absolutely as I want it before moving to the next section. Then I join all the segments together for a seamless mix.
When I first began looking into digital recording, I thought that mixing in sections was what automation was. So what I do, I call poor man's automation. My way of mixing was pretty common practice in the 60s and 70s. It works for me because quite a number of my songs are quite lengthy and multi~part with different instruments committing various nefarious crimes in different parts of those pieces. I could do them as one performance, up until recently, I used to but I prefer the path of least resistance and it's nice not having so much to have to remember in a 20 minute song. I can finish off a bit here and take my time and sleep on it if the spirit moves that way.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
When I'm tracking I do start mixing, but sometimes even then it's useful to zero out the settings and start from scratch.
Click to expand...
Agreed. Whatever one's start point, that's all it is.....a start. I think of mixes as a journey to particular point but I'm not always sure where.....
 
grimtraveller said:
Is it or isn't it ? :D
Click to expand...

Ha ha, nice try in catching me out but you missed my point. Maybe it was my phrasing. To clarify, I was saying (or was trying to say) that in a holistic (general) sense, mixing starts in tracking if you have a vision for the outcome. ;)

Another thing is that you can't really move on to mixing until the editing has been done. That is why once tracking has been completed, I'll immediately get on to editing so I can get as close to the final sound as possible. That's the goal, isn't it?

I guess my ultimate point was that if you get it right in the tracking phase, mixing is little but volume automation and creatively applying effects and processing.

So to me, again, in a strict sense, editing is not mixing. Mixing is a very creative discipline and editing is just not it. Editing is preparation. Mixing should be the point at which a 99% static balance has been achieved and you're now ready to bring some flavour and spice to the table, so to speak.

Cheers :)
 
I was kidding with you, I know what you meant and I agree. I like paradoxical statements because with them, you have to tune your mind to a very different frequency in order to grasp the nuances of the bigger picture.
 
I don't mix like a good a sound engineer would mix. Since I am really composing, and the mix is a part of the composing process. I am sure this is babel, but I have tried a few mix contests and frankly, from a mixing standpoint, I suck. But with my compositions, it is more intimate.

That could be why I would hesitate to mix for others or be reluctant to let other mix for me. It would be like, here is the sheet music, now let the conductor mix it the way he wants. The old masters had sheet music and symbols, we have DAWs, faders and MIDI.

So the process is record, bring up what I need, take it back down, bring it back up. Then as the song nears completion, so to does the mix. For me, the song is not completed until the mix as the two are as one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top