Learning to mix/master for a beginner

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Chrisdb

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Alright guys, I'm pretty new to recording. I'm only 19 and have been studying recording/mixing/mastering religiously now for about 3 months, I'm finding it so fascinating, and I have learnt so much in such a little time period. I feel that I can see music from a whole other perceptive!!

The main reason for all this, is that I'm a sing/song writer, and i have been writing a lot of songs this previous year as a lot has happened to me, and I'm desperate to finish writing all my songs and get an album recorded. Ambitions? yes, to do everything by myself. But I want to be able to create something and look back on it and be proud of myself, and know that I did the best I could do within my limitations.

My first experience came from reading "Home recording for Dummies" noob sounding yes, but it is a good beginners book none the less, but I feel I have gained all I can from that book. It still doesn't cover a lot of things, it's pretty basic when it comes to eqing and compressing. I wondered if you guys could recommend something for me to progress on, any good e-books or even just some good advice/information etc something more into depth about mixing/mastering. I still can't grasp/understand editing frequencies to fit everything in the mix sounding right. I want to be able to understand it more, it's still very alien to me. When I open up an eq in pro tools or a compressor I don't really know where to start.

Cheers
 
I recommend Dan Thompson's "Understanding Audio." I think the publisher is Berklee Press. Lots of fundamental stuff in there.
 
The Mixing Engineer's Handbook
The Mastering Engineer's Handbook
 
Regardless of the title, Homerecording for Musicians for Dummies is a pretty comprehensive book. The discussions on eq and dynamics are a little more than basic. There are starting points for eq and compression settings which are very helpful. However, they can only be starting points because every recording is going to call for something different and you won't have the same settings for all.

Before getting distracted by which setting is for what parameter, keep in mind that most instruments eq themselves naturally. It's only where some cross into other's 'territory' is where you have to apply eq to provide sonic space.

Start with a minimalist approach and don't do a lot of processing. The old adage is get the source right before trying to record it. So make sure you've got good sounds from your instruments and singers before trying to capture them to tape.

Having said all that, I say read more!!!! And you've got some good suggestions. Then keep at it. Practice and experiment. If you're like me, it will come to you slowly. If you're like everyone else, you'll catch on quicker... :rolleyes:
 
I second Dean's recommendation for "Understanding Audio" by Daniel Thompson as a great general textbook on audio engineering.

I'd also add "Mixing Audio" by Roey Izhaki for something that concentrates more on the actual process of mixing.

For some free treatises on more specific and quite important subtopics, may I humbly recommend heading to the website linked to in my signature line below, and check out the "online Resources" listed in the lower right-hand corner of the main page. Specifically, "Compression Uncompressed" which should give you just about everything you need to get started with taking your compression to a serviceable level, and "Metering and Gain Structure" which interactively goes into the super-important topic of understanding signal levels throughout your recording and mixing chain and manipulating them to the optimum effect.

There's also a ton of good info at The Recording Project website and in the Internet archives of Sound on Sound magazine, both easily Google-able.

G.
 
And I second Izhaki's "Mixing Audio." I don't own a copy but a large portion of it is available on google books.

Also, the more I think about it, once you have digested a bit of fundamentals, Bob's Katz' "Mastering Audio" is also a continual reference for me. It IS a book about mastering, however, the concepts and ideas he puts forth can be applicable to just about every stage of music/audio production.

http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Aud...08371/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b/191-9917209-0835661
 
Also, if you're asking about the physical act of recording a sound as well as what to do with it afterward, then Harvey Gerst's dissertation in this thread is, well, VERY thought provoking:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=27030

I still go back and re-read it every once in a while on slow days at work, hoping a little more of it will sink in. It's an absolutely phenomenal body of knowledge - in fact, finding that was what first made me sign up here, mostly so I could just post a "thank you." :lol:
 
Chili said:
If you're like me, it will come to you slowly. If you're like everyone else, you'll catch on quicker... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I agree. And, I am one that comes in the slow side. " Very Slow " but working and trying out everything I have read here on HR and various sites, Tape Op mag, and so much experimentation. But on the bright side, things are beginning to come together better with each and every recording attept I do.
 
"Recording The Beatles" and "Mixing With Your Mind" are useful books.

"No Rush" to the OP, you'll be learning the craft for the rest of your life.
 
There are a lot of resources online that you can use as reference, you shouldn't be limiting yourself to book. If you visit http://www.mixonline.com , they have sections there dedicated to the basic, tips, & techniques of mixing.
 
Cheers guys some awesome advice, I'll be sure to check some of it out. I've found that a good way to teach yourself is just to record an acoustic being strummed. Then play about with an eq, a good visual one like the one in pro tools and pay attention to what frequences your are changing and really listen to the sound differences as you play about with all the fitlers and frequency settings etc.
 
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