How to: Mix a song from beginning to end

[Kingofpain678]

This is an 8 part video series on how to mix a song from beginning to end using mixcraft 5. Now, obviously not everyone uses mixcraft but the theory and instructions will be the same... Only difference is, your DAW may look a little different. There are quite a few techniques and how-to's in these videos that will answer simple questions and maybe even some more advanced questions.
Depending on how useful people find these videos, maybe we could get a sticky for all the people who want to start mixing their own music and maybe even for some people who understand mixing but have a few questions.

Well, Here they are

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[Dr. Varney]

First video: Why is he using a gate to remove other sounds? Why not just solo the kick drum?

Dr. V

 

[WhiteStrat]

First video: Why is he using a gate to remove other sounds? Why not just solo the kick drum?

Dr. V

He was using the gate to remove other sounds from the drum track. He had it solo'd--you were hearing the snare that the kick mic had picked up.

 

[Dr. Varney]

I do beg your pardon, sir. So this is because he's working with live material. I suppose such ignorance could only come from someone like me, whose sole source has always been VST. Thank you!

Dr. V

 

[Gidge]

smacking his lips is irking my nerves...

 

[suprstar]

I do beg your pardon, sir. So this is because he's working with live material. I suppose such ignorance could only come from someone like me, whose sole source has always been VST. Thank you!

Dr. V

Ezdrummer vsti includes bleed from the other drums, I assumed they practically all did.. My v-drums audio out's don't, and it's really weird solo'ing a drum and hearing nothing but silence between hits....

 

[BigMuffinMan]

That snare in the second video sounds terrible.

 

[5xfaster]

As someone who hasn't even started dabbling in recording yet, these vids at least gave me an idea of how the whole mixing thing works and gave me an idea as to what kind of work I'll have in front of me. I'm pretty pumped to start.

 

[NYMorningstar]

Nice presentation KOP. Thank You!

 

[Dr. Varney]

Ezdrummer vsti includes bleed from the other drums, I assumed they practically all did.. My v-drums audio out's don't, and it's really weird solo'ing a drum and hearing nothing but silence between hits....

Well, no... not in my case, at least. I've heard of EZdrummer, just never used it. I assume it's trying to emulate a real world situation. In my experience, VST instruments do not bleed unless you route them to do so. If I solo a kick, all I hear is kick.

Dr. V

 

[WhiteStrat]

That snare in the second video sounds terrible.

I actually thought a lot of it sounded terrible--the stereo fx on the vox sounded wrong, the 'verb all sounded too wet. But then I skipped to the last vid and heard the finished product--quite a bit better in that last one. In all the tutorial vids, the audio's getting squashed horribly--and maybe even summed to mono.

But the last vid with the whole song has a better (and definitely stereo) audio track. So you may or may not do what he's doing, but at least listen to the last one before you write him off.

 

[grimtraveller]

A hail to the King !

Whatever the experienced may say about this kind of 'tutorial', I have to say that had this kind of thing existed in '92 when I first got into all this, I would've lapped it up. It may only have been a start point, but if you think about it, that's how the engineers of yesteryear began and got mighty - by watching someone else who took them through it step by step.

Bravo, oh King !

 

[suprstar]

In all the tutorial vids, the audio's getting squashed horribly--and maybe even summed to mono.

Yeah, that's a function of youtube I think... I'm sure it sounded a lot better at his desk.

What do you guys think about his eq'ing with the graphics? Particularly in the OH's? That was a lot of extreme cutting, I dont ever come close to that.

 

[mattr]

Meh. GEQs.

 

[Kingofpain678]

Whatever the experienced may say about this kind of 'tutorial', I have to say that had this kind of thing existed in '92 when I first got into all this, I would've lapped it up. It may only have been a start point, but if you think about it, that's how the engineers of yesteryear began and got mighty - by watching someone else who took them through it step by step.

Bravo, oh King !

Exactly. It's not supposed to be super pro or anything. But it gives a great idea of how mixing works. It leads you down a path in which you can choose different techniques and theories and even make some of your own.

None of this is set it stone... It's just a guide.

 

[silentsky]

Don't most guys favor parametric over graphic EQ's when mixing? Also, it seems a bit over-the-top to first tweak the EQ knobs in the console and then to add an EQ plugin on top of that and cut/boost the same frequencies(?).

 

[Dr. Varney]

What is the difference between parametric and graphic?

----------

As it happens, I have actually tried adding a 7-band plugin to each strip after adjusting the native channel EQ and it doesn't seem over the top at all. It works very well for this particular spoken word piece because of the difference in detail. I can make very fine adjustments to the EQ plug' and then make larger changes with the 3-band on each mixer strip, which preserves the finer adjustments in the 7-band, staying relative to each other. In addition, I have tried a 32 band EQ on the master to tone and shape the whole composition without losing any sublty.

Dr. V

 

[pandamonk]

I think this thread would be better suited to the newbies section. Although I don't like much of what he did in the mix, it could help newbies.

 

[pandamonk]

What is the difference between parametric and graphic?

----------

As it happens, I have actually tried adding a 7-band plugin to each strip after adjusting the native channel EQ and it doesn't seem over the top at all. It works very well for this particular spoken word piece because of the difference in detail. I can make very fine adjustments to the EQ plug' and then make larger changes with the 3-band on each mixer strip, which preserves the finer adjustments in the 7-band, staying relative to each other. In addition, I have tried a 32 band EQ on the master to tone and shape the whole composition without losing any sublty.

Dr. V

Parametric is flexible, graphic is fixed.

Parametric:

Graphic:

 

[Chibi Nappa]

Don't most guys favor parametric over graphic EQ's when mixing?

Probably. But that doesn't discount graphic in any way. Mix with what works for you (and the song).

Also, it seems a bit over-the-top to first tweak the EQ knobs in the console and then to add an EQ plugin on top of that and cut/boost the same frequencies(?).

I haven't seen the video so I can't comment on if he pushed too far, but there is nothing wrong with doing that. If something needs ungodly amounts of EQ, don't hold back because it seems "wrong" to hit it twice.

...But a person might want to question what went wrong in recording that caused the need for that much mix EQ.

...Or recording might have gone fine and crazy EQ might be exactly the right way to get a sound.