Whats The Point Of Mixing Anyway!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Raydio
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Nobody answered this part of Raydios' question....

Raydio said:
....... What exactly should we be looking for when mixing? Is the point of mixing basically to get everything pretty even and not being more noticable in a mix than everything else; or should my kicks be louder than the rest of the track? I know there is isnt a set rule, and this question seems pretty dumb, but Im sure Im not the only one who wants to know what to look for when mixing...........
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(Basically, I'll try to paraphrase what I extrapolated from the above quoted statement)....

Are there some quasi-defined parameters for the setting of instrument levels when mixing Hip-Hop/RnB down to 2-track?

spin
 
Re: Re: Whats The Point Of Mixing Anyway!!

SPINSTERWUN said:
Nobody answered this part of Raydios' question....



(Basically, I'll try to paraphrase what I extrapolated from the above quoted statement)....

Are there some quasi-defined parameters for the setting of instrument levels when mixing Hip-Hop/RnB down to 2-track?

spin
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raydio - just listen. if you like it, try to copy it. if you don't know how, that's another question. if you don't like it, do something you do like.

isn't it that simple?
 
Mmmm. An unnamed song on an unnamed CD (track 4 in fact) has a bit of a bridge/crescendo in it. At that point, the vocal is a touch louder than normal (and the plate reverb is right up, too). However, taking a good listen to the track, at that same point the guitars are way down. Yet this is the most powerfulpoint in the song. Why is that I wonder?
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
I think the point of mixing is to take multiple tracks of material and condense into a more listenable format (ie, 2-channels of stereo or on channel of mono).

If you didn't do this, then people would have to mix multiple tracks of a song, everytime they want to hear it!

Coming from that point is the idea of creating some sort of sound stage representation within the context of a pair of speakers.

Anything beyond thaose 2 objectives is pretty much creativity and open to interpretation (however - there are more common patterns of mixing that tend to occur, depending on the genre)....
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Damn, that was a logic based good answer. Covered entry to graduate in the bull`s eye with just a few words.
 
Raydio said:
One thing people fail to include most of the time is what you hope to achieve when mixing a track.
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Mixing(for me?) is to construct an enviorment, a production if you like, that suits the song. Do I want to give the impression of the artists standing in a barn? allright. Or maybe a concert hall, or a small club? Thus I also try to position the musicians in the stereo image the way I imagine that they'd be playing. It all depends on the music you're mixing. You also want to emphezise those elements that makes the music what it is. The instruments that gives the song its sense of progression, etc.

My two cents.
 
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Raydio said:
Im sure Im not the only one who wants to know what to look for when mixing. I think if people knew what they were trying to achieve, they would stop asking so many questions about how to use EQs and compressors....
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Before you start your mix, listen to an hour or so of a professional CD in your mixing room playing through your mixing board and monitor speakers. Make sure the music is the same genre and recorded approximatly the same way (if possible). Make sure it doesn't suck too! :) Listen to it. Really listen to it. Make mental notes of how the bass drum hits you, where the vocals sit, what instrument burries what other instrument and what stands out. Deside what you like and don't like about it, and go into your own mix with that mindset. No, you don't have to copy the pro CD, but now you at least know where the standards are and can move from there.
 
To me mixing is simply blending the tracks together and using the tools in your arsonal...EQ. reverb, compression, ect... to properly place each track in its place in the overall song. It sounds easy and sometimes it is. Sometimes it is very hard.

Most of the time when its hard its because the sound of the voice or instrument wasn't right going in.

alot of times I have thought to myself "man, that drum sound, guitar sound, vocal, ect... is KILLER!"
Then when I try to mix it I realize that It won't work without alot of eq'ing.

So, with that said I will have to say that the hardest part of mixing for me is getting the basic track properly recorded so that it sounds good to start with.

If I take my time and tweak while im recording and get it right going in....the mix is alot easier.
 
The point of mixing?

I think like this...

If a mix is done right, then you don't even think about it when listening to the music. The mixing becomes transparent and 'natural'.

Like if a painting is good, then you don't think about the brush strokes or choice of colours, the fact that its on a canvass,
...only the image displayed and the emotional effect it has on you.

On the other hand if a mix is bad, you may try to listen to the piece, but the effect the artist was hoping for is lost and the listener starts to notice how horrible the guitar sounds, or how quiet the bass is, or how 'in your face' the vocal is, and so on and so forth. Or for those unable to articulate what's wrong just 'Your music sucks' but I can't explain why!'

So the point of mixing is to realise the artist's original intention.
Simple really! (Runs for cover...)
 
Wow there is a lot of people with a lot of opinions.

The answer to the question though is impossible to answer in a forum like this.
Mixing in my opinion is a completely personal thing, but to achieve a comertial mix requires a lot of experimentaion and research.

I would recomend getting a cpy of "The art of mixing" by David Gibson. It is full of great info and will help you to know what you are looking for. If you are broke you may be able to find it through a file share program like emule or somthing similar (if you like it buy it though ;) )

Good luck
 
tjohnston said:
I wish that music came unmixed on multiple tracks so everyone could mix it themselves at home. Some people would really buy that. I know I would.
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That would be akin to Stephen King releasing all the pages for you to put into any order you want to make up the chapters leaving the last chapter for you to write.

Or Cecil B. DeMille giving you all the footage for you to edit any way you want and make the outcome however you want it.

In other words, these artists have a vision when they begin working on a project or album. They have a direction they want to go. It's not up to US to try to capture their vision. It is up to the producer, the engineer, the mixer and the mastering service to build what the artist or band wants.

Now, that being said, I've OFTEN wished that I had the original tracks of a specific song or album (Dark Side Of The Moon!) just to hear what they sounded like right after laying them down. Then I could try to figure out how the went from new tracks to a complete song. I'd even try to duplicate the process just for the learning experience.
 
7string said:
Now, that being said, I've OFTEN wished that I had the original tracks of a specific song or album (Dark Side Of The Moon!) just to hear what they sounded like right after laying them down. Then I could try to figure out how the went from new tracks to a complete song. I'd even try to duplicate the process just for the learning experience.
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It would be much easier to learn guitar and keyboard part too!
 
masteringhouse said:
It would be much easier to learn guitar and keyboard part too!
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Wow... wouldn't it be great to get a colab going with this? Everybody contribute parts to the whole Dark Side album and then somebody mix it to get as close to the original as possible. That would be a blast! Not to mention impossible... ;)
 
chessrock said:
I take it you guys didn't watch the DVD. :D
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If you're talking about the Dark Side DVD that shows how they made it, well, I've heard of it but have not seen it... YET. I'll probably be making that purchase next go round. But I'd still like to have the basic tracks to play with.
 
chessrock said:
I take it you guys didn't watch the DVD. :D
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Saw it, I loved the tape loop around the mic stand idea. Kinda like a crude echoplex.
 
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