Mixing process step by step. Where to start?

T

Totmacher

New member
Mixing process -which comes first??-

I'm going to make this 'question' as specific and painless as possible for both Me and the potential reply-ee's :)

Tools being used:

Fruity loops Producer 5XXL

Behringer active (12's) monitors.
SB audigy 2nx external 24 bit sound card.

Ok, that being said. I have the very basics. Which is good. what better place to start eh?

What I understand (singularly):
Compression
Equalization
Limiting
Panning
Stereo
Volume
Headroom
Nyquist theory

Now...

Lets say
I only have ONE track. Just one...
umm, for the purposes of example, It's a string quartet playing a slow simple progression.


Whats the first step? Eq? Level? compression? Panning? ( if there was another track) Limiting?

Whats next? whats the second step?

OK, does my question make sense? I don't need a Guide to mixing, beause thats something I will just need to play with. But it would be a HUGE help if someone could give me a set process of what actions to take in WHAT order for even a single track mix. Please...?

Anyone? I'd kill for it... I've played around with the proccess on my own, in about 30 different orders. But alas, that has only made it worse, because now I'm second guessing my own judgements every 3 seconds.

I can't ask a nearby person to take a listen to it for oppinion because I'm surrounded by people who couldn't hear the difference between a Bass drum and a Timpani if they were both lodged in their Arse.

So, just a process guide please. Which comes first, second, third, fourth, etc. etc.. JUST for a single track. Pre-mastering. Just mixing. Please.

Thanks for your time - Tot
 
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Firstly, is it a mono or stereo recording?

I'd say the important aspect here would be getting it to sound "right" or as faithful to the performance. Were you there during the recording? Are you aware what a string section *should* sound like? Does the recording sound right and similar spectrally to the original performance?

These are just some of the aspects you should look at when considering tampering with the sound. Eq's, compressors, reverb, are all tools but you must have a reason for using them.

Eq's are for adjusting spectral content of a track - Either to correct spectral imbalances from the recording (the area of getting it to sound right should really be addressed during the recording stage), or to carve out space so that it sits better amongst other tracks in the "mix".

Compressors are called for controlling peaks/transients and in effect modifying the dynamic range of a signal. When working with classical material (which generally is very dynamic), little or no compression should be required to maintain the ratio of dynamics between quiet and louder passages. Unless the orchestra is generally poor at dynamic control or the gap between soft and loud sections is too great, I don't see any reason to use it.

I asked in the beginning about whether or not the track was mono or stereo as another important part of representing a recorded orchestra is in instrument placement and imaging between the two speakers. The aim in mixing orchestral material is in recreating the soundstage of the hall that it was played in. Instruments should sit where they would appear to sit if the listener was actually there at the performance in person. It is important to know the way in which this performance was miked (using one of various stereo miking techniques). From there, and based on aural feedback, you would make panning spread decisions (usually between two tracks representing the two mike's that were used).

If it is mono, you might want to look at spatial enhancers or using stereo widening techniques to make a pseudo stereo effect.

Generally, when I'm working on a mixdown (with more than one track), I start with balancing the tracks with each other. Then I solo instruments and eq them according to how they should sound, removing ringing frequencies in the process, and then rebalancing the levels of the tracks again. Then I work on carving out space using eq for the tracks to sit better with each other.

Following that, I start adding effects where appropriate, constantly adjusting eq (for carving space) and levels as need be.

Wow, I haven't posted on these forums for ages, so this will probably be the longest reply I'll make in a while.

Give us more details. Good luck.
 
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Ok, Heres the Proccess I've been taking... Can anyone please point out, if any ( i'm sure there are some ) downfalls of this process?


1:Soft limit
=Apply a very soft-knee limiter to Track at -12 dB threshold, O dB Gain, 22 ms attack, 49 ms release.

this keeps it in a nice 4 db range
(-14dB - -10dB) which makes its more workable for me. allowing me to level off all my tracks a decent low area while refraining from brickwalling anything earlier on in the game.


2:General Eq/Filter
=Cutting out all the super lows and Super highs, obviously variable from track to track, but general clean up.
anything under 15Hz is pretty much chopped and everything over 22kHz is chopped.


3:Applying Light stereo
=Because I'm working with soundfonts, not live recordings, Most of these have both L and R channels, but no real stereo effect pre-rendered, which is good for me in my oppinion, I like freedom to work. So...
I add a light stereo effect to most of the more potent tracks using a very basic MDA stereo enhancer. settings as follows generally:
Width: 54 Comb
Delay 9.2 Ms
Balance: 0 ( for now )
Modulation: 0
Rate of Modulation: 0ms

I leave the width and Delay relativly small because I don't want to make the sound to 'thinned-out' before I even get to the chorus and reverb sends.


4: 'Verbage'
=Send (50%) track to Reverb Send
Reberb Settings Vary greatly depending on what the instrument/s is.

I have 2 Reverb Send tracks for quick general reverb application. 50% being the hihest amount of send for any track. A smaller percentage for those tracks who need less.

If a track needs a much more defined custom 'verb I will attach it directly to it's effects set as opposed thru a send.

5:Chorus
=at this point if a track still doesnt seem to have what it takes to be wide,phat,and spatially diverse, I send about 25% or less of it thru a very light chorus send ( very very small 2 voice, tiny bit of x-fade 6ms delay. Like I said. very light, very simple )


Now... this is what i do to Start my mixing process. After that process is applied to almost every track, obviously with slight variations in the settings of each effect/proccess I consider it time to start playing with my pan and Levels ( cut down only, no raising ).


Now... lets say I get my song panned out and leveled like I want now... what next? final Eq tweaks? Compression for each track? do I limit the sends to make sure they arent adding to much to my head room? Should I compress first then Final Eq tweaks? or Vice Versa? or Did the whole step proccess listed above have so many holes in it it doesnt matter?

Any pointers? look-outs? "hey try doing this insteads" .... :) All input, once again, would be greatful. Thanks for yer time!
 
the one problem anyone trying to comment on any of this, or similar threads is that unfortunately everything with audio (and many things in life) are applicable only to the specifics at that time.
as such without hearing all you are doing and the individual tracks themselves theres no way to know if its best or appropriate in the least beyond anything more than the most basic of mistakes.

it may be a good start to read something like david gibsons "the art of mixing" to try to grab a better handle on things.
beyond that you just need to get your sleeves rolled up and experiment to see what works. its a long process of learning and understanding. everything you do gets stored in memory and fine tuned until you have a bank of knowledge as to what to apply where and when or to use as a starting point to go forward from.
hopefully as you grow tracks that sound amazing now will sound plagued with issues in 6 months time.
beyond that try to get into sessions with local studios, bands etc and listen to whats going on i guess while using places like here for perhaps more specific questions.
 
perhaps the most important thing is to train your ears to hear the subtle differences in some of the minor changes that take place when you apply effects or eq or a small amount of compression to a sound.

you are talking about the ability to make informed decisions on how to approach what is generally a very individual selection of separate instrument tracks, each of which react differently to and interact with each other...if that makes sense...

there can be no real blueprint for how one should approach the whole process in general. the engineer working on a mixdown or master (if he or she is of any worth) will be able to listen to a song and / or its individual elements, and be able to make decisions based around what he or she hears rather than adhering to a "book of do's and don'ts".
 
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makes sense. Well, one last question regarding this then...

I do like applying the soft-knee limit to every track. Especially in fruity loops. It Makes all the levels maintained and does so without spending any of my track-slider space (SO when i soft limit every track at -12dB [+/- 2] It makes it very managable. As in, I know... exactly where every track is at and the Higest volume track/s can only be -12. All the others can only go down ( by using the tracks vol. slider now)




It just makes it much more 'controlled' and less intimidating to start like that.


Is there any downfalls to this limit use?
 
You've got 96dB of headroom to play with (at 16bit), so why cram everything dynamically?

Neilwight and Thathidge are exactly right. Just as there is no exact, one-and-only, blueprint to the mixing process, I can say with all confidence that one setting cannot fit all.

I strongly suggest you take their advice and get those ears of yours trained and embark on countless sessions of critical listening.

It definately helps to have at least a half decent monitoring system so that you can actually hear the finer details, both of pre-recorded material that you may want to reference with, as well as on minute changes you make to sounds. If you're hoping to pick up on the effects of different types and strengths of compression on a pair of mid-range headphones or a home stereo, you will be hurting, if not drastically curbing the potential learning curve.

So, 2 things I would say that need to be done:-

1) Getting a solid grasp of the fundamental properties of sound and it's manipulation

2) Try and get yourself a semi-decent monitoring system (mid-range-priced near-field monitors)

If 2) is something you would consider, give us a budget and I'm sure that we on the board can suggest good options for the price-range.
 
First of all dont change anything if it sounds fine, dats the main thing people dont realize, you dont always have to mix. Now the order never really matters, as long as the final result is what u want to hear!!
 
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