"Old Pro" Mix Tips

[mazz]

Great thread Ern!!Here's a few more:The later it gets, the more important it is to place a piece of foam over the faders to protect your face when you fall asleep and do a face plant on the mixer!! Moral: Don't mix for more than a few hours at a time, unless you want a crappy mix you'll have to re-do the next day anyway. (And a big dent in your forehead that you'll have to explain ) Or mix while wearing a motorcycle helmet. Get a pair of frequency-response-challenged monitors like these: http://www.avantelectronics.com/AVANTONE_mixcubes.htm to check your midrange on, particularly if you're mixing for TV. This way you can see if your midrange will interfere with the all-important dialog. They also help to check the overall vocal balance if you're mixing songs.After you make an edit in your DAW, close your eyes on playback. Your mind will convince your ears that the edit is good if you spend half your focus watching it go by. Closing your eyes makes you focus on the way the edit sounds, not the way it looks!Mixing/playing back softly also helps discern over-compression. The ears naturally compress at loud volumes anyway and as a result, may cause you to miss the over-compression.A great arrangement mixes itself.Mazz

[suzdoyle]

Wonderful advice, Mazz. Thanks! Suz

[nickfever]

Aug 14, 2008, 9:45pm, mazz wrote:Great thread Ern!!Here's a few more:The later it gets, the more important it is to place a piece of foam over the faders to protect your face when you fall asleep and do a face plant on the mixer!! Moral: Don't mix for more than a few hours at a time, unless you want a crappy mix you'll have to re-do the next day anyway. (And a big dent in your forehead that you'll have to explain ) Or mix while wearing a motorcycle helmet. MazzI strap a bungee cord to my head and the wall behind me, so even if I fall asleep it looks like I am bobbing my head to music Nick

[ernstinen]

Also:Don't be afraid to at least TRY some radical EQing, such as adding some REAL hi highs (14-22kHz) to things like vocals and acoustic guitar. --- OR --- Rolling off the mud in the lower midrange (200-800Hz). Just don't overdo it! And if you're still using an analog board, BUY some electrical contact cleaner. Worth every penny to keep those pots free of dust and pizza sauce! Ern

[anne]

Some of us use compression to shape the sound first and then eq to fine tune. Other times, we do it the old standard way of eq then compression. Don't be afraid to try "different" signal paths like this for different results.I tend to mix as Suz stated - as if I'm watching a band perform live. Try different perspectives, like from the singers point of view.Don't be afraid to cut frequencies on the eq when you have competing instruments.Have more than one set of monitors to listen through and see if your mix exports to different settings well. When all else fails, I bypass all settings and listen to the raw track to get a good base mix (on the volume). Then I use processing to place tracks in 3d space. Practice practice practiceAnd, as Dave reminded me the other day, match the sound of the mix to the mood of the song. Thanks for that chart, Suz & Steve!

[ernstinen]

Aug 16, 2008, 1:46pm, anne wrote:Some of us use compression to shape the sound first and then eq to fine tune. Other times, we do it the old standard way of eq then compression. Don't be afraid to try "different" signal paths like this for different results.Good points, Anne! Compression and eq go hand in hand, because some compressors tend to "darken" the sound a bit.And speaking of signal path, the shorter the better. As a matter of fact, I've NEVER owned a patch bay! I just use good, short cables to connect outboard gear. It may be a hassle to do it this way, but I believe you get a better, hotter sound the less connections and cables you use.Ern

[ibanez468]

Exactly Ernst! I try and do the same. The less cables involved, the better. The shorter they are (especially MIDI cables) the better. My motto is: KISS. Y'all know what that is, right? I-468

[ernstinen]

Aug 16, 2008, 7:18pm, ibanez468 wrote: My motto is: KISS. Y'all know what that is, right? Stacks of Marshalls, makeup, and a lack of talent!?No, I gotcha, Ibanez! Simplicity! Ern

[gongchime]

Here's a question for you guys. Which kind of homespun isolation chamber would you prefer; a tile bathroom the size of a small closet with a high ceiling? Or a tile bathroom half the size of the average bedroom and a low ceiling? And how would you deal with the sound bouncing around in there? Put blankets on every inch of wall, ceiling and floor then create a room sound with reverb? Put blankets on just the centers of the walls? I realize this isn't Old Pro Tips. This is Old Amateur Tips.Marshalls and a lack of talent? You mean Tony Iomi? Oh makeup.

[ernstinen]

Aug 17, 2008, 3:28am, gongchime wrote:Here's a question for you guys. Which kind of homespun isolation chamber would you prefer; a tile bathroom the size of a small closet with a high ceiling? Or a tile bathroom half the size of the average bedroom and a low ceiling? And how would you deal with the sound bouncing around in there? Put blankets on every inch of wall, ceiling and floor then create a room sound with reverb? Put blankets on just the centers of the walls? I realize this isn't Old Pro Tips. This is Old Amateur Tips.Marshalls and a lack of talent? You mean Tony Iomi? Oh makeup.It depends on what kind of sound you're going for and what you're recording. Vocals? Guitar Amps?My iso booth is almost totally "dead." It does have a solid-core door and double glass about 3x3 feet to give it a little reflective sound. Sometimes I'll close-mic a guitar amp, and aim a second mic at the door to add a little ambience.Blankets on the wall of either bathroom might work, but with even the best duct tape, you might have a problem getting them to "hang in there!" I use real lightweight acoustic foam, in about 2-foot squares. You don't have to buy the expensive stuff. Actually, cheap foam mattress pads would probably work very well, and would be much lighter to hang. --- Just don't start a fire in there! HTH,Ern