The "Radio Mix": What is it?

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Jack Russell

Jack Russell

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Is there such as thing as a "Radio mix?" And if so, what is it?

I mean, do you mix/master differently if you intend the song to be sent to a radio station?
 
"Radio mix" simply means a separate mix designed for radio play. How it is designed for radio play can vary greatly, there is not necessarily a common theme...

Sometimes "radio mix" means one which has been shortened in length due to the reticence by many pop stations to play anything longer than three and a half minutes or so.

Sometimes it means a mix in which offensive lyrics have been bleeped or ducked out.

Sometimes it means a mix designed to pull the vocals further forward and to de-emphasize instrumental accompaniment (though I'm not sure how much that is done any more or not).

Sometimes it means a mix that's been over-compressed in the belief that the boosted RMS levels are needed to "compete" - completly ignoring the fact that the radio stations will add their own compression on top of that even, and that, unless it's an automated station or some low-watage station with inexperienced DJs, that the DJ will adjust the levels in the cuemix.

Sometimes it means any combination of the above plus whatever else the producer wants to have different on their radio play than they do on their CD play.

G.
 
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Personally I do not mix any differently for radio (or mp3 or whatever). Some people try to compensate for the broadcast compressors smashing the snot our of their track but I'm not sure there's much that can be done to help that.
 
Yeah, I've always felt that one should not mix differently for radio (in terms of final compression at least). Radio stations do their own thing anyway.
 
I heard that, in the 70's, some bands mixed their songs more "for radio". I've heard that explained as more mids, less bass, etc....

But that doesn't make sense to me. Just because a song might be played on a system that has more mid-range, why does that mean you add even more? Wouldn't it be the opposite??? Wouldn't you ADD bass and cut mids to compensate??? I'm not saying you even should compensate.....I'm just saying.....
 
RAMI said:
But that doesn't make sense to me. Just because a song might be played on a system that has more mid-range, why does that mean you add even more? Wouldn't it be the opposite??? Wouldn't you ADD bass and cut mids to compensate??? I'm not saying you even should compensate.....I'm just saying.....
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It's not quite that they boosted the midrange that was already there (though there may have been some of that too, depending upon the song) as it is that they tried to keep the main hooks between the ditches so the song didn't depend upon what happened at the edges.

For example, if there is a heavy bass hook (think The Who's "My Generation", just as a hypothetical example), they might make sure that remained an audible enough hook even on the limited-bandwidth playback of 60s AM radio.

If we went back in time and brought some modern samples with us, some of it might never get the airplay we'd want. As a different hypothetical example, if we brought with us a song that depended on an 808 kick as it's main hook, there's a fair chance that a producer of the time might actually replace that 808 with something we would consider wimpier because the best part of the 808 would be difficult to hear on your average transistor radio.

I'm not advocating the practice. Just explaining it as I understand it :o .

G.
 
Bob Katz talks in his book about a mastering house that had an actual fm broadcast setup in one room complete with the compression processor so bands could listen in the other room and see just how smashed thier music would get if it hit the air waves.

Wish I had access to that:) It would be cool to check out.

F.S.
 
Freudian Slip said:
Bob Katz talks in his book about a mastering house that had an actual fm broadcast setup in one room complete with the compression processor so bands could listen in the other room and see just how smashed thier music would get if it hit the air waves.

Wish I had access to that:) It would be cool to check out.

F.S.
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Hey, new idea for a plugin. :D :cool:
 
I work at a radio station and generally when I request radio mixes I am looking for a shorter version of the song (under 4 minutes) and preferably compressed to crap so that its easier to keep the levels under control without havin to ride the fader
 
Usually I find a radio mix on a maxi along with a club mix and some other versions and/or "b-sides". Usually the club mix begins and ends with a ramp, ie. a non-melodic part for easier mixing, while the radio mix usually jumps right into the song. On some longer titles, the radio mix can also be shortened compared to the album version.

As for over compressed versions, I noticed interrestingly that some radio stations prefer playing the album versions over the singles. Usually a good choise.
In many cases, there is no difference between the audio quality of the single and the album though. They might be both good or both ruined.
 
dont you think that everythings compressed to crap any way?

I heard of an engineer that used to do a radio mix without the compression that was used on the Cd mix, as he knew it was gonna be compressed any way and figured why compress it twice! the radio compression is gonna be harsh any way.
 
fishkarma said:
dont you think that everythings compressed to crap any way?

I heard of an engineer that used to do a radio mix without the compression that was used on the Cd mix, as he knew it was gonna be compressed any way and figured why compress it twice! the radio compression is gonna be harsh any way.
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That's what I've read. The way I understand it is that it's at the mastering stage. They won't smash the hell out of it like the cd version so that it will better handle the radio stations compression (still compress cust not as much). I have always considered the clean version with F bombs removed the radio edit.

F.S.
 
With all those iPODs now being used, rather than radios, I wonder if this is a moot issue?

Radio is sort of going to hell anyway. Talk radio is bigger, but music isn't doing so well. I mean, why listen to someone else's dictated format when you can download any song on the planet and set up your own playlist? :eek:
 
......er, maybe we should be talking about how to make iPOD mixes? :confused:
 
We sound be talking about mixes that sound their best regardless of the playback format.

G.
 
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