Mixing Desk Basics
Now we have an environment that isn’t coloring what we hear we can start to look at how we can improve the mix itself.
Subgrouping
When you have finished recording all your parts and are ready to start mixing, it is a good idea to subgroup sections of your mix, such as the drum kits or horn parts so that you are able to control all of these parts from a single or stereo pair of faders. On a hardware mixer this will be possible by exploiting the busses-groups, but on the computer set-up you will have an array of different options dependent on what it is that you wish to accomplish.
If you are using a software mixer on your computer you will be able to use busses in the same way as you can on a hardware console and route multiple tracks to a particular FX plug-in, be it compression, EQ or reverbs, etc. Routing selected grouped tracks in this way will not only make the mixing process less complicated but it will also help save on precious processing power.
If you are on Cubase, you will create a Group Track and then assign whichever tracks you choose to this group. In Logic you will use your ‘send’ option to route to a separate auxiliary track on which you will place the desired effect. Leave the Group or Bus fader at 0db and then begin balancing the individual tracks.
Another way that you can use the computer to group selected tracks in Cubase is to select the mixer interface and desired track and by holding shift you will be able to select others. Having done this, use control click and select Link channels and this will have the same effect as grouping tracks, so if you move one, the others that have been linked will follow suit. Logic offers the same facility but is achieved by accessing the group selector. You have a total of 32 groups to use and you will be able to link tracks together in much the same way in other software. Doing this does not only allow you to control the faders, but also other options such as mute and edit etc. However, should you decide to use this method then you will not be able to apply any FX plug-ins across the group, so that is one disadvantage of using this process.
On the other hand, if you use the other method and route to an aux track, you need to be aware that if you turn down the faders the tracks signal will still be being sent to the FX unit and you will still be able to hear the track playing. Just so you know! You can fix this problem, however, by assigning the effects themselves, to the same group. The only downside here is that when you mute the track the FX will cut dead too, which is not always what you want, particularly with a reverb or delay effect.
Although there is no hard and fast rule, many engineers like to start with the rhythm section and build the bass and guitars or keys on from there. In some instances however, if working on a particularly vocal driven track it can be a good idea to start with the lead vocal and bring in the other important elements around that. As I said, there is no hard and fast rule. For dance music and other beat-driven forms, it is probably sensible to start with the kick and bass relationship and then work the other components in from there.
Should you be working on a track that you have not heard before then it would be advisable to familiarise yourself with the individual parts before attempting the mix. This should help you get a feel for the type of sound for the genre you are working with and which elements are going to take precedence. Having done this, it is important to listen to the track as a whole, since the musical choices that you make now, whilst subjective, should help you mould the mix into a cohesive whole greater than the sum of its parts. Once you are comfortable with the direction that you want to take, now would be a good idea to listen to other recordings of a similar type to use as reference for your final mix.
Referencing
When starting the mixing process it can be very easy to lose sight of what you are trying to achieve. You may be drawn into creating a balance of a few instruments only to find that this balance is destroyed when you begin to add more and more other components. Of course you have to start somewhere, but remember that the piece has to work as a whole and this might mean that automation will probably have to be employed at some point. Try to consider the entire timbre also, and how it stands up to other commercial pieces of the same genre.
(to check reference tracks)
As discussed, one way to do this is to place a reference track within the arrange page and refer back to that periodically. By playing good quality productions on your monitoring system, you will be able to tell pretty quickly what your strengths and weaknesses are and tweak accordingly. Good critical reference listening will also help you outside of the mixing sphere and give you some good creative musical and production ideas. I have listed a few guidelines below to help get you started.
Reference material is great for figuring out the sound of your studio. It is also helpful when you are starting to learn how to mix. It gives you a base sound from which you can make decisions. However, be careful that you don’t rely too heavily on using reference material when you are mixing. Think about the following:
Using a reference cut when you’re mixing is a common thing to do, but do this in moderation. If you get into the habit of constantly comparing your mix to a reference CD whilst you are mixing, it becomes a kind of crutch that you cannot live without. In the long run, this can prevent you from learning how to make decisions with confidence, based solely on what you hear in your own work. So try to avoid doing this too much.
If you keep going back and forth between something you are mixing and a reference cut, you may wind up trying to duplicate that reference mix in your own work. This is a mistake since there are far too many variables between your project and the reference cut. In the end you will drive yourself crazy trying to recreate someone else’s mix, and you will miss all of the creative possibilities in the project you are working on. These are reference mixes, not mixes to be copied.
A further problem that is easy to encounter is that of an ever-increasing monitor level. I have often been tempted to keep pushing the levels louder and louder because of the way that the frequencies begin to interact on your body – you begin to listen with your muscles as well as your mind; increased volume can often seem to add to the excitement. But unfortunately, when mixing, the louder your monitoring becomes, the less accurate your balance will become, simply because it becomes easier to hear the quieter elements that are usually lost at the normal levels when the volume is pumped. Turn the monitoring down to a level that is generally going to be used (maybe a little louder) and you will be able to achieve far more transferable results without suffering from ear-fatigue or jarring the neighbours.
Monitoring Tips
- · Your ears may lie to you if you have been listening to the same mix over and over again, especially at loud volumes. You can begin to suffer from ear fatigue and you will lose your ability to make valued judgements. Make sure that you reference against another commercial track of the same genre, but do not rely too heavily upon it. It is what it says – a reference and not a duplicate.
- · Test your mix periodically from outside of the studio or bedroom. For some reason this can draw attention to discrepancies in the mix that sitting in front of your system is not always able to highlight.
- · Checking your mix on headphones is advisable from time to time because they are able to reveal distortion or clicks more readily then a monitoring system. But again, do not rely too heavily on them since they represent the stereo field in a different way to your speakers and can be notoriously bad at representing low frequencies accurately.
- · When mixing try to do so without looking at the visual arrangement on the arrange page. Looking at the audio or midi parts as they move along the mix will interfere with your ability to make reliable judgements on the sonic quality of your productions, so if applicable turn the screen off or close your eyes.
Listen to the mix again with fresh ears the next day as you will probably encounter some issues that your ear did not pick up on after a long session the night before. And, of course, avoid mixing while intoxicated as this will severely hamper your ability to mix properly!
