1: Use Mono Sound Sources
That's right! Some of you might be shocked to learn this - I know I was when first told. I mean, mono is crap right? We're into (what is it now?), 9-Channel surround-sound or sommat daft now aren't we! And what about your synth? I bet it sounds amazing in full-width panoramic swirling stereo doesn't it? It just wouldn't sound the same in mono, right?
I feel ya, trust. But listen-up...
First-off, ask yourself what sound source, in nature, is truly emitted in stereo? Aye, that's got you thinking hasn't it!
But if you're sat there shouting, "All natural sound sources are in stereo... they're all around us!". Well, that's how we hear them, true. But that's more likely a result of the things happening to those sound waves whilst travelling to our ears.
Sound waves get reflected, blown-about, dampened etc... don't forget. We perceive distance, direction, space etc... through clues such as volume, and the difference-in-time it takes a sound to enter both ears (If it hits the left ear louder and quicker than the right...).
2: Rest Them Ears
If you're concentrating on a song-part for too long, your ears become quickly tired - You will sit there and think, 'nah...', and convince yourself everything is fine, but what you've probably done in fact, is over-compensate without realising.
This is one of my weaknesses I have to say; simply because I become so engrossed I just can't let go until I'm happy... even if that takes 14 hours (cough - or more!).
It can be more troublesome when you're trying to create a complex sound on a synth or something that covers several frequency spectrums - You can be spending hours refining the sound and during that process, you'll be overly concentrating on the lower, mid or higher freq's of that sound, almost to the exclusion of the others... basically, you lose the wider perspective.
It's usually the higher-frequencies that suffer, meaning you'll more than likely make them more prominent... of course, you won't realise until you listen-back a couple of days later.
3: Bass Attack
By setting the panning of the bass and kick-drum to the centre, you utilise the power of both right and left speakers equally, giving you more punch for your buck.
Of course, as with everything suggested in the world of mixing, creativity plays a part - This "rule" has seemingly become touted as golden (in the music-making press). I would argue certain differences (which may be visited upon another day), but if its face-thumping modern dance-type music you're creating, stick with it... it makes life much easier anyway (you don't really want to be fighting the bass for instrument space in the right channel for example).
4: EQ - Cut Not Boost
Another easy trap to fall into when feeling tired and lazy is the tendency to boost an instrument in the mix via the EQ, when in fact - unless for creative reasons (like deliberately altering the sound to achieve an effect or whatever) - cutting should be your preferred option. Here's a few reasons why...
Remember, EQ is basically a filter, and as such, applying it introduces resonance and phase-shifting at the cut-off point.
(Hmmm... phase-shifting; how to explain that! OK, try this: Put your hands together - as though you're clapping - so that your fingers are "perfectly" aligned. Each finger represents a frequency <- poor example but humour me here FFS! Now slightly twist (or turn) your left hand so you can see 10 fingers. Phase shifting! ... Yeah, well you do better then!)
So anyway, this is basically comb-filtering which manifests itself as tiny amounts of distortion which is another reason why you should be concious of the quality of mixing equipment you use.
At this point we could go in various directions but this whole series is supposed to be digestible nuggets so I'll cut to the basic chase.
With the above in-mind, it should be easier to understand why cutting EQ is preferable to boosting, on account that boosting will make the phase distortion more noticeable.
5 : Frequency Masking
Frequency masking is where the frequencies of two (or more) instruments are battling it out for space - ie... they share the same frequencies - and is probably one of the most common problems encountered when mixing.
Basically, a sound may have (in addition to its root sound) other harmonic sounds that contribute to its overall timbre. If two sounds (timbres) share similar frequencies you could easily find yourself in the position where some of these harmonics are being masked in the mix; meaning that the instruments sound different than they do in isolation.
Testing for Frequency Masking :
Apart from relying upon your own ears, here's a couple of tips if you're unsure as to whether you have any frequency masking going on:
- As touched upon in mixing tip 1 try listening to your mix in mono
- Level all your tracks to unity gain (0 dB) and then pan each track to the left, then right. You're listening to see if each sound sweeps audibly from the left, through the centre, and off to the right - If you can hear it crossing over, then you're more than likely in the clear, bo!
6 : EQ and Volume
OK... first of all, before applying and/or messing about with any EQ or effects etc... you should be just setting the relative volumes of each instrument, in order of the importance they have in your song, simple enough?
Right, if you now need to mess about with EQ and effects etc... remember that the adjustments will have an impact on the volume, so always keep an eye on the situ. If you increase it, decrease the main volume level for that instrument by a similar amount.
Consider lowering frequencies that sit either side of the ones most responsible for the instrument's "signature" sound. This can effectively boost the signal as the relative volumes between them has changed.
If you're boosting by anything more than 5 dB for volume, scrub it and re-record... Either that, or select another sound for the part instead.
Don't use effects to boost volumes. Particularly with compression (The input signal should be the same as your compressor's output (Remember, compression is for controlling the dynamics).
All this is essentially why you should look to cut, rather than boost where possible because, if you've gone through the initial procedure of setting-up each instrument's relative volume as described in the first paragraph, you really have no further upward movement, in theory. You can pull a few tricks but that's another subject.
7 : Effects in the Mix
Effects, hmmm... effects. Such a big subject, but fortunately easily dealt with for the purposes of our sound mixing tips.
Why? Simple really: Effects are fun to play with but they can quickly mess-up your mix - Reverbs and delays for instance can result in instruments "over-staying" their welcome, and thus "crowd" the mix, particularly if there's plenty going on anyway - It's very easy to lose definition and clarity if we're not careful.
Remember, contrast is a very effective tool - Don't feel you have to fill-in every space or gap in your mix with effects.
If you're using effects to make an instrument-part sound better; dump it and re-program the timbre, or alternatively, choose another.
Subtle Effects are Best :
- Effects should generally only be noticed when they are taken away - Mute, then unmute to test.
- Avoid applying effects to every instrument - Oftentimes, only 1 or 2 are needed.
- "Dramatic" effects are for dramatic events, ie... use sparingly and in short measure for maximum effect.
8 : Gating Compression Reverb
(Noise) Gating is useful for cutting unwanted low-volume noise between the gaps of sounds (amongst other tricks we can cover another day). But gating can also be un-useful if employed without thought.
First of all, let's keep the following in-mind - Some low-level noise is not necessarily unwanted noise: Think atmospherics; finger-slides on a guitar neck; vocal breaths; natural sounds that tail-off, blah blah blah... So think carefully before deciding to gate to absolute silence.
So a few things to bear in mind:
Avoid Gating when Recording
Gate before Compression
Gate before Reverb
9 : Even More Volume!
There are some frequencies in the mix that are basically redundant and do nothing more than steal speaker-power - If we can reclaim this resource-hog, the speaker can concentrate all of its energies onto the important frequencies, and thereby give us more headroom, ie... more volume!
Here's the basic premise: Most loudspeakers can't reproduce certain frequencies. Nevertheless, if the frequencies are present, the speaker is still obligated to try, resulting in wasted bandwidth and (ultimately), a lower overall mix-volume.
Kill Bass Rumble
Apply a high-pass shelf filter to remove frequencies below 40 Hz - Oppinions seem to vary on numbers of between 30 - 50 Hz; 30 Hz is rather low but PA systems can generally still kick out "meaningful" energy at this level, so if you're specifically mixing for a club environment, then you might consider it.
Mid and High-Frequency Range
This is really just added as an addendum for your considered judgement...
Some instruments may emit frequencies which are not essential to the mix. For instance, you might have an instrument(s) occupying the mid-range which has a low-end that is not heard in the mix, but nevertheless - as above - is still using-up energy which cuts into your "bass-space". Similarly with the higher-frequency elements of your track too.
Try to be objective. Stand-back from your music and take a break for a few days, then re-listen to it with fresh ears. I know, as a musician, we get to love hearing an instrument's full dynamic sound-palette when we're at the composing stage - We get used to hearing it played alone. Naturally, we want to reproduce that sound but in the context of the mix, some of those frequencies will necessarily be "blurred" by other instruments and not needed. It can be tough "letting-go" but the process is much easier if you put some distance between the composing, and final mixing stage.
In these instances, consider applying a shelving filter to remove frequencies that just don't contribute anything to the mix.
10 - Mixing with Headphones
Mixing with headphones? Noooo... Do never test!
Headphones (these days) can come in various guises: Open; Closed; Semi Open; "Studio" - Each have their uses but not for mixing.
One of the major problems you'll encounter is panning: Let's say you want to pan the hi-hat over to the left. Having done so, you lower its fader so it sits further back in the mix. A couple of hours later, you listen back through your monitors and... you can't hear it!
With headphones, you see, the sound is pumped directly into your cranium, via small speakers. Everything is louder, but more importantly, the frequency-range won't be faithful - This will be particularly applicable with bass frequencies.
Additionally, phase cancellation will be hard to spot.
Headphones can be very useful for really "zooming-in" to problems of a compositional nature - such as locating out-of-tune (or out-of-time) notes - Just remember to immediately remove them and not get tempted to fiddle with levels and stuff... Hey, it's easy to forget you have them on sometimes, I know, I've been guilty of it myself!
ronald wilson
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