The Ultimate Mixing Thread!!!!!

R

Raydio

New member
Hey guys, I was just reading that one Sonusman thread and it covered a lot of issues. I've also noticed that most of the questions that exist in this forum come from engineers who want to know all the "tricks" to fixing problems in the mix.

Im a novice engineer, but I have a nice understanding of most of the effects processors out here. Most engineers say things like "Adding a delay on vocals can make em thicker", or "Reverb on strings sets them back in the mix". These are the type of tips that people like to recieve because it tells them specifics of how to fix that common issue.

What Im asking from everyone who reads in this forum, is to list common issues that you noticed "wannabe" engineers encounter a lot and the solutions you use.
These can range from making vocals stand out, making vocals sit better, getting rid of mud, getting that "Cher" sound, making your guitar sound something like an old Beatles record, neat tricks with a phaser, neat tricks with reverb, neat tricks with delay, making that "telephone-like" voice using EQ, maybe a link to a great site; OR OTHER NEAT STUDIO TIPS YOU WISH TO SHARE TO HELP THE FORUM OUT!!!!

You guys can slam this thread, but I feel that if everyone were to list common screw ups they seen and ways they know to make it better, it can stop all the repeatative threads this board has. We see articles on the net all the time explaining things, but sometimes the message board can put things in simpler terms ya know! God bless you all, and thanks!
 
I guess I'll contribute some stuff I learned from this forum over the past few months, LOL.

Well I noticed that a lot of up and coming engineers, especially those dealing with rap tend to EQ vocals too much. A vocal is what it is... a vocal. Its a unique instrument and I notice that a lot of cats on this board tend to try to make their vocals cleaner by EQing when they can just do another take and bypass the trouble. One thing I learned is to start around the 200-600 range and get a lot of the mud out of the way. With software EQ's especially, its not good to cut or boost a lot because most of the time when you're using Fruity Loops EQ and Sound Foundry type stuff, you can end up with crappy results. I try my best to not cut or boost past -6db when using Fruity Loops or other cheap EQ's. I use Waves plug ins for my vocals because I just cant sacrifice a good song for cheap plug ins. Try to do a little as you can to vocals, as it can ruin the dynamics and the power you're aiming for. Well, Im no sonus; but thats just my opinion guys. Contribute if you can, peace!
 
Take a quick last look at your rack and scan the console before rolling the tape.

Can be a great time saver.
 
"Take a quick last look at your rack and scan the console before rolling the tape.

Can be a great time saver.

"

hear hear!!!!
especially the M/S switch on a Precision 8 mic pre's first two channels :)
errr happened to a friend once, yeah a friend thats it
 
If you have a very loud blower on say.. your heater... shut it off before tracking. Can pay off big in the noise reduction phase :)
 
pipelineaudio said:
"Take a quick last look at your rack and scan the console before rolling the tape.

Can be a great time saver.

hear hear!!!!
especially the M/S switch on a Precision 8 mic pre's first two channels :)
errr happened to a friend once, yeah a friend thats it
Click to expand...

Pipe, what happened to your "friend's" recording because of the oversight, and what does that switch control on that device?

My goof was forgetting to take the compressors out of standby. And once, I forgot to flip from tape in to mic in while recording a really good part.

I'm a fairly structured type of person. I almost need a checklist in here sometimes.
 
the decoder in the pre 8 worked so well that I was able to uncode it pretty easy back into a left right signal, had to try first Hyperprism MS matrix, but that didnt work, tried it the traditional way by using the 3 fader phase trick on a console but that wasnt exact enough, finally put it in vegas and did the 3 fader phase trick there...errr
wait no thats what my * friend * did :)
 
How about a few of you guys explain your techniques for getting vocals thicker, warmer, and with better presence? I see this topic coming up a lot in this forum. Just a topic, if you have anything else to add then do so.
 
Don't tape anything on toms or a snare because there is ' bad frequency'. Instead find someone who can adjust the drumset properly.
 
use a limiter instead of a pop filter on your vocals. if you're concerned about spit getting in the mic get a wind screen. and try singing off axis of the diaphram, this can take out some of the higher frequincies and give you a "warmer" tone depending on the mic, if it's polar pattern is cardiod.
adam
 
As far as vocals go, finding the right mic placement for the singer is first priority (not counting choosing the right mic!--assuming you maybe only have one, or something). A difference in distance will change the overall sound, due to proximity effect. The closer you get, the more low end you're gonna have. Again, this is a GENERAL rule--some mics have more proximity effect than others. Make a few test takes--one up close, one six inches back, one a foot back, then see which one has what you are looking for. Another thing is to experiment with the height of the mic in relation to the singers mouth. Sometimes, you can get a better sound placing the mic a couple inches above the mouth, where there is more nasal resonance.

Another factor is the mic technique of the singer. A good studio vocalist knows how to move in and out if its a tune that has soft and loud sections--almost like a built in limiter. If you have a vocalist that is not aware of any of this, then its often a good idea to set up a peak limiter that just brickwalls the really loud stuff but doesn't affect the rest of the performance.

The Beatles used a technique called ADT, or automatic double tracking. What their engineeer would do is copy a vocal take, recorded on another piece of tape and offset it slightly behind the original vocal. You can do this with a DAW pretty easily. Just copy the original voice to another track and move it later in time very slightly. Then turn it down until it just starts to fatten up the whole vocal. I've used this on some sessions with great results. The trick is not to use too much of the double--trust your ears.

Another trick I've used and like is to use a tap delay with several different repeats going, barely audible--and run that into a reverb. If you are real subtle with it, you can get some great vocal sounds. It fattens things up and helps create a space.

Anyway, some stuff to try.
 
Great Info

Great Info Crawdad! Thats the kind of stuff I feel will benefit a lot of us in this forum. 3 quick questions for the wise...

1) You explained proximity effect and how when you get close to a mic you get more low end; Im have the Antares Mic Modeler and it has an option for proximity effect. Does anyone know what will happen when I increase this controll? Will the vocal sound closer or further back?

2) Im using Waves Native Bundle and I see a few great options. I have the compressors but I have no brickwall limiter. I was told that you can make one using a compressor. What settings will cause my compressor to limit instead of compress? I have few peaks in my vocals, especially during punch-ins so I feel that I need to use limiting.

3) Last question (finally huh, lol). You explained that you use tap delay running into a reverb. Im using Cool Edit Pro 2 and Nuendo. What exactly is a tap delay and how are you running it into a reverb?? Is your reverb on a channel or do you have a regular plug-in that does this. Someone explain this, and Im cool! Thank you for the post!

ANY MORE TIPS YOU GUYS WISH TO SHARE????
 
Someone posted on another site, that the L2 on vocal was very much like the SSL comp, but I haven't tried it yet. Not that I would know even if it does since the only SSL I've ever seen is the one Sting was dancing on in the vidio.:D

Tuck a simple, maybe slightly high-filtered, mono delay behind the vocal track. (R&B, rock...)

Be sure to listen to the mix at low vloume, and also from 'the other room'.
Wayne
 
My best tip:

don't spend so much time with technical adjustments that the creative energy of the session drains away. I'd rather have a couple of mics an inch away from "perfect" positions than to try and get good performances out of bored and energy-less musicians who have already done twenty "practice takes" of a song while you were running around adjusting everything.
 
Good info! Anyone else have anything vital to add??? How about something dealing with getting Rap and Dance music's drums to thump but not have noticeable clipping. This seems to be an issue I see happening a lot, people not being able to mix their drums correct in these genres. Drums are the heart of hip hop and dance music, so what do you do to achieve the "banging" drums that you hear on commercial records???? If you have anything else to add off of this topic then feel free to post.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top