Is there a visual aid to mixing?

  • Thread starter Thread starter klytus
  • Start date Start date
Visual mixing is an interesting concept.

IF you could design a visualizer that accurately represented level, timbre and panning it MIGHT be possible after years of training your brain to interpret the visual data along with the accompaning audio. Then you might possibly have a chance at visual mixing.

Maybe deaf people could become killer mixers ;)
 
jake-owa said:
A spectrum analyzer will tell you how high the levels are in any given frequency but won't seperate bass and other instrument data. It is the engineers job to figure that out. It would be cool if that kind of thing were a reality.

So put a spectrum analyzer on each channel...
 
I wouldn't want to drive deaf, either. Suppose a car was honking at you like crazy because you couldn't see him from your blind spot.

Don't be foolish enough to think your ears don't have blind spots.

Learn how to use your eyes AND your ears when you mix, and both senses will improve more rapidly.
 
The trick is to learn what your monitors do to the sound, and you must do this even with high end monitors. What you should do is listen to your mixes on many systems (your car stereo, your home stereo, your friend’s car and home stereos, etc.). Listen on as many systems as you can, and get an idea for how your mixes translate. This will give you an idea of what areas you need to focus on, and what you need to be concerned about. In time, with practice, you will be able to make good mixes on your speakers, and you will know what to expect when you listen on other systems.

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR YOU EARS.

RTAs are great for some things, but they will never tell you what things SOUND like. Only your ears and your experience can do that.

Engineering is just like playing an instrument in this respect. There is only one way to get better. Practice, practice, practice.

Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
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