Mixing process

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vigormusic

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Does anyone have a set way that they start the mixing process or know of a good guide? I usually start with pans and eq's before adding any effects and am pretty sure that's a good way of doing it.

I am curious to see how other people go about the mixing process. I am also trying to set up some guidelines that I can reference when I'm mixing so that I don't miss anything.

I am still new to mixing digitally. I used to mix analog so I'm still getting used to everything being digital now.

Thanks in advance.
 
i start with pans, and volumes.

its whatever from there.

typically, light compression on bass and guitar.
i like to keep it simple though. a little reverb here and there.

im not very confident when it comes to mixing though, and i dont think there is a stone set guide... do what you feel it needs, go by your ears.
 
thanks for your input, I'm not really looking for a set in stone guide, I'm more just trying to have a better understanding of how everyone else goes about it.
 
You shouldn't really have to change whatever style you used with analog. It's just with digital mixing, your faders/panpots/EQ knobs/outboard processing/meters/etc. are all "virtual" onscreen. Most mixing software can route things around very similar to an analog chain. Once you figure out where everything is located with your software of choice, you should be able to do whatever you need.
 
I'm using DP 4 and I seem to have a good grasp on it but my mixes don't seem to be coming out as well as they did a few years ago when I was working with analog equipment. Maybe I'm just rusty.
 
i start with the usual levels and panning...i like to close my eyes while doing so, and forget about what the knob/meter/whatever reads, so that what i'm doing sounds good to my ear, instead of using some rule like "pan the OH's blah blah % L/R, pan the guitars blah blah"

then i listen and ask myself what sounds wrong - what's too tubby/muddy, not present enough, being buried in the mix, etc. - at this point i start doing whatever's necessary to get things to sound how i want

then, when i think everything's all good, i listen all the way through to double-check and make sure that none of the individual tracks or master buss are clipping(unless i want something to clip for effect). then i pull down and re-adjust some levels if need be, and click "export to wav file"
 
Personally I listen to all tracks fader-up first, just riding the faders as needed to focus on dofferent parts of the arrangement. The idea is to first listen and identify all the major and minor hooks in the song.

I then start designing the mix in my head while doing that, mentally building it around the main hook or two; hooks first, rhythm section next, harmony and rhythm instruments next and finally the leads. Where are they going to fit in pan, depth and frequency?

One I have an idea of that 3D layout, then I'll start laying and texturing the tracks, panning first and applying EQ and verb as necessary, rhythm section (percussion and bass) first, harmony and rhythm instruments second. As I'm working on those tracks I make notes and markers for the minor hooks and accent runs in each track so I can refer to those timestamps when it comes time to automate.

The I bring in the leads, do some rough automation and see how the rough fit of all the tracks works. Then I go back and make refinements as needed to the indiviaual tracks;, lather rinse and repeat as necessary.

G.
 
I don't know if this is a good method, but just to challenge myself, I start at zero.
I keep the mix in mono and bypass all the eq-s and add no effects. So I just play with levels first.
Once I get the levels. I start eq'ing still in mono.
Then I pan to taste.
From there, I add compression to the instruments that need it.
Lastly, I add effects.
Having said that, I usually re-mix my songs an average of 5-8 times before I'm happy with them. By that time, I'm so sick of them, I can't even listen to them for a few weeks. Good thing about that is when I do go back to listen to them a few weeks later, I hear all kinds of stuff I was missing when I had my face pressed up to the canvas for too long.
 
yea...i've noticed that anytime you spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to nail a mix just right, it never sounds how you want when you revisit it :(
 
I tend to organize and approach my mixes from the same way almost everytime.

I like to work from left to right, so I'll organize my tracks out for that purpose. Here's my setup and approach from a rockish style standpoint-

-Track order-

Kick in
Kick out
Snare top
Snare bottom
Hats
Tom 1
Tom 2
Tom 3 (and so on for toms)
other drum mics, such as extra cymbal mics or a crotch mic
OH L
OH R
Room L
Room R
Bass guitar
Guitar tracks
Keyboards and such
Main vox
Background or vocal doubles


Once I get everything laid out right, I'll throw up all the faders to unity and listen to the song. If I didn't track the session and had a rough mic included, I'll listen to the rough mix a few times as well.

Then, I'll throw down all of the faders and start with the drums. I'll get levels for the kick down to the OH's, then go back and set EQ and dynamic effects. I usually pan my drums almost the same way everytime, so that I'm not afraid to do right away. I beleive that the drums arn't there unless I can feel them in my chest, no matter what the style.

Next, I go onto the bass guiat and try and get that pumping with the drums. Again, first with levels, then EQ as needed.

Guitars come next, and I make decisions which guitar tracks to use if there is a lot of doubles or mics used. This is when I'll start adding in some time based effects.

After guitars, I go to vocals. Then I'll backtrack and add in any "ear candy" parts such as non lead keyboards and pad sounds. I generally follow the levels first, then effects, then panning formula.

After I have the mix sitting where I want it, I'll tweek around with stuff for a few hours and add in my stereo buss effects such as compression and EQ.
 
I've had good results by starting with the Drums in stereo,
add the bass in mono and mix for a solid groove
at this point I may bring in lead vox for reference, to be tweaked later
rhythm guitar, el or ac
pad sounds in stereo if tracked that way or BGvox
lead or melody instrument
My workstation has automation which allows me to record fader moves
from this point everything can be tweaked as necessary, but generally speaking I will be pretty close at this point.
Shifting the focus back and forth between instrument parts as the song plays can be tricky, but automation makes possible some complex fader manipulation that couldn't be done any other way.
This works best when tracking has been referenced at -18 or so.
When I track too hot, the mix gets real crowded and the sense of dimension is lost
 
Similar to some above but:

I started with the faders on the board at Unity and the gain knobs all the way down. Then I listen a few times to the entire thing, figuring out pans. Then I'll go back and start listening to individual tracks. If I think I need EQ or compression on something I'll tweak it during play back with the entire thing, then by itsself, etc and so on until I'm out of tracks to ponder over. All the meantime trying to make slight adjustments in volume either via fader, gain or in the PC (depending) I close my eyes too (I'm sure most do) I like to turn off the lights and sit back and chill out (lava lamp on of course).
 
vigormusic said:
Does anyone have a set way that they start the mixing process or know of a good guide? I usually start with pans and eq's before adding any effects and am pretty sure that's a good way of doing it.

I am curious to see how other people go about the mixing process. I am also trying to set up some guidelines that I can reference when I'm mixing so that I don't miss anything.

I am still new to mixing digitally. I used to mix analog so I'm still getting used to everything being digital now.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...


It just depends man, really. It's all about habit, situation and how you feel you're going to accomplish the task at hand.

For example, I'm working with a 3 time grammy winning engineer here in Orlando that sets up a mix in ways I've seen done before. Pretty much the method where you bring up all your faders and listen to the song with an isoteric head. But also, in some ways that blows my mind.


Basically the general idea he gives is a good one: "If you can get all the elements of the rhythm section sounding amazing, then the rest will fall into place very easily."

Most of his EQ adjustments are done with the entire group playing. So for example, if you have to EQ your snare and kick tracks, then you may choose to have all drum tracks playing on a loop while you EQ them against all relative tracks. Rather than one by one. It's pretty tough and unpleasing to spend 10 minutes on a kick track only to find out it dosn't sound good with the rest of the kit.

Then you can start bringing in your bass track and EQ relative to the drum tracks. Then so on and so forth.

So your bass, trumpet, guitar (whatever) may end up sounding like shit by itself, but put it in the mix and it sits perfectly.

So just as long as you don't have clipping issues, phasing issues, or otherwise any issues that you feel your general public will perceive as "uncomfortable" or unrelated to the point of the song, then it's all fair game.


Nifty tip: Whenever you hear the term "clipping", don't nessesarily assume it means red lights. Clipping is a term that the individual company sets. Every piece of gear clips at different levels. So in other words, if your ears (well trained) tell you something isn't clipping, then it's not clipping. Don't be afraid to push some things a bit. It may not seem important at face value, but it can mean the difference between "in your face with a little grunge" or "reserved with a smoother and clean feel".


The disclaimer: you don't always find yourself having to push to the brink of clipping. It's just another bag of tricks. I think that's where so many people start getting anxious. They start asking, "well is it one or the other, bro?!" And the answer is, "none of them". I could come in here next week and tell you something completely different.

That's how un-needing habits in mixing can be.


The whole point being, if you develope a technique where enough people in high places go "dude, that sounds really good", then you're on to something. Dosn't matter if it looks right or wrong behind the scenes.
 
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