4 most most important things to do in the mixing process

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Elmo89m

Elmo89m

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this isnt me teaching this is me asking if im right...but hopefully people will get something from the people that know what there doing answering this

so would this be right:

1.panning
2.EQ
3.Reverb
4. compression
 
Elmo89m said:
this isnt me teaching this is me asking if im right...but hopefully people will get something from the people that know what there doing answering this

so would this be right:

1.panning
2.EQ
3.Reverb
4. compression
Click to expand...

Those are 4 things you could do. Nothing says you have to do any of those. Oh, and what about adjusting volume levels. That should be number 1 shouldn't it?
 
Well, you kinda' forgot the most obvious one, which is balance.

The other ones are all fine, and mostly situational. Reverb only becomes important in situations that call for it; if you don't already have natural ambience, or if you don't have any room mic tracks to play with, etc. Or if it's something that a particular track (or several tracks) needs.

EQ can range anywhere from somewhat to very important, depending on how well everything was tracked.

Bla bla bla bla bla. It's all important, really. Whatever effect or process you happen to be employing ... is important. And yet, at the same time, none of it is really important. What matters is that, in the end, you have a finished product that sounds great.

Whatever methods you use to arrive at that result are the correct and important ones.
 
If you tracked it right, you shouldn't need any eq!
 
i give...i forgot volume....but once volume is in their wouldnt balance be just using all of that stuff together
 
1. Honor the song. You're not there to make any one person in the group happy; you're there to make the song sound great.

2. Listen to the mix in several different ways, on several different systems. It doesn't mean shit if the mix sounds great at your studio - it has to sound great everywhere.

3. Can some things be eliminated? Just because you tracked a part doesn't mean that it is necessary to the song. Some parts actually muddy a mix.

4. Leave the mix up for a few days and see if you still like it later. It's easy to get lost in a mix that you've slaved over for hours, and realize two days later that you've left the click in accidently. Live with the mix for a while to see if it still holds up.
 
i guess i was talking more about physical changes your doing to the music with effects
 
Elmo89m said:
i guess i was talking more about physical changes your doing to the music with effects
Click to expand...
Sometimes, you don't need to do very much. Recognizing when those times occur is part of the process.

Maybe it should be just one rule and the same as the Doctor's Oath:

"First, do no harm."
 
I would throw reverb and compression into a category called "Effects (if necessary)"
 
Try not to think in an overly technical pre-planned way of mixing. If you get a good acoustical guitar track and a single vocal track for a nice balad, and you start panning, EQing and compressing the shit out of it, you will have done a good job "by your book" but it will sound like shit. All you had to do, might have been just a touch of verb, and setting the levels so they sound right together. A 2 minute job, but much more effective than trying everything you know.
 
"If you tracked it right, you shouldn't need any eq!"

damn..well that pretty much means the engineers on just about every album released don't know what they are doing.

How do you get a great mix w/out EQIng? I think Eq is a very important part to a mix. Not overdone, but even just a few cuts and boosts will make a song sound a lot better.

How do you track something knowing how it will sound in the mix? It's pretty much impossible unless you just record the ame exact plaerys, music and instruemnts every time.
 
stash98 said:
"If you tracked it right, you shouldn't need any eq!"

damn..well that pretty much means the engineers on just about every album released don't know what they are doing.

How do you get a great mix w/out EQIng? I think Eq is a very important part to a mix. Not overdone, but even just a few cuts and boosts will make a song sound a lot better.

How do you track something knowing how it will sound in the mix? It's pretty much impossible unless you just record the ame exact plaerys, music and instruemnts every time.
Click to expand...
Actually, that's where experience comes in to the picture. Massive EQ to most engineers is kinda like putting a ton of band-aids on a trainwreck survivor. We'd prefer to help somebody out at the start by suggesting they don't park their car on the tracks in the first place.
 
stash98 said:
How do you track something knowing how it will sound in the mix? It's pretty much impossible unless you just record the ame exact plaerys, music and instruemnts every time.
Click to expand...

You are looking at this as if tracking and mixing are two distinct stages applied separately, but in fact they are not. Many rough mixes are made during the entire process to see how things are progressing. This saves time, reveals potential problems, and allows for creativity to solve those problems down the road.
 
Also, a good engineer can "visualize" a production for the given song, have a vision and idea for it in their head, and then track in ways that will bring that vision about. So a lot of times you do know what something is going to sound like, because you had a plan, and tracked it to sound that way.
 
Yeah, you really do need to know how a sound is going to work in the mix as you record it. A mix should be able to sound great without any EQ, but even better with a tiny amount of the right EQ. After you do enough tracking you'll learn how to make EQ changes to a sound with mic selection, mic placement, instrument selection, amp selection, changes to the room, etc. After all of that EQ when mixing should be minimal.

As far as what's important when doing a mix, right after balance I'd say listening. I probably spend just as much time sitting and listening to what's there as I do actually tweaking knobs and sliders and such.
 
i never said to use a lot of EQ and polish a turd. I'm just saying that there is never a record made that is mass distributed w/out EQ on it. Just notching vocals, or kicks or bass is EQing. High Passing guitars is Eqing..it is commonly done.

EQing to get a sound is a bad thing of course. I too believe in properly getting the sounds recorded right. But if you want a mix that has great clarity, you will need to EQ some parts. I don't use much Eq at all on my recordings, but I will cut out a few dbs from certain parts and certainly run a high pass through my guitars to get rid of any unneeded rumble. But I would be lying if I said I never Eqd at all.

A rule of thumb I learned and use is to try and never boost over 6 db (and try to avoid boosting as much as possible). Sometimes I boost my vocal Eq a bit after all my levels are sitting where they should be. I just like to bring out the air and breaths of the singer. I also use a Desser as my first plug in the chain, and this brings back some of the highs (now smoothed out) that the desser took down. That is an example of why EQing is needed. also, I like to compress to taste on all my tracks ...i don't use much, but this changes the tones from the tracking stage and is another reason i will use EQ.
 
Correct Reverb/delay On Leading Vocalists Is Very Important To Me. I Have Yet Heard Albums On Most Genres With No Reverb That Sound Great. Any Added Reverb On Lead Vocal Must Be Flawless Or Else The Entire Mix Can Sound Bad.
 
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