Basic Mixing
KICKS
Start with the kick drum. Adjust your mix monitor level to where you normally like to listen. Bring the kick fader up to a point where it kicks the mix bus meters (the console's stereo output) up to -3db VU. Add a little 2.5 K for attack if you need to. Roll off a little 300Hz if the kick is a little tubby in the lower mids.
BASS
Bring up the bass guitar fader until the bass becomes a cohesive unit with the kick, and the two of them seem to hit you in the chest.
SNARES
Now add the snare to the mix. Bring it up to a level that rivals, but doesn't exceed the level of the kick and bass. Add a little plate or room reverb to the snare. Try a 1 second decay time for starters. Adjust to taste.
TOMS
Bring up the toms and overhead tracks. Keep them panned so that the cymbals on the left side of the kit are panned to the same side of the mix as the high tom.
The mid tom should appear in the middle, and the floor tom and cymbals from the right side of the kit all appear on the right. If your toms sound like cardboard boxes, try adding a little bottom, rolling off some 300-500Hz in the lower mids,
and adding a little top end to give them some crack.
HI HATS
I don't bother with a hi-hat most of the time.
Someone once told me that it usually takes care of itself, and remarkably, it does!
GUITARS
Let's add the guitars next. First, the electric. Pan it almost full left. Take a short delay from the guitar and pan it almost full right, but a slightly lower volume. Your brain will tell you that you hear a big, wide guitar that appears mostly on the left side. Pan the acoustic guitar to the right. Add a little harmonizer to it. Detune it one cent. Pan it to the left. Result? A big, wide acoustic guitar that cuts through the mix, but doesn't require more volume to do it. That's the secret. By careful thought and panning, you can have a full mix that doesn't compete within itself.
SAMPLES
Now add the sample to the mix. Add desired FX. Bring it up to a level that rivals, but doesn't exceed the level of the kick and bass. Everything at this point should sound like it blends together well. Adjust to taste.
PIANO
Let's add the piano now. I usually pan it as if I were sitting at it, but if the guitar on the left is playing in a lower register, then I don't pan the low end of the piano there as well. They'd compete for space with each other. In this case,let's assume it's okay to pan the piano to nine o'clock for the low end and three o'clock for the high end. By using a stereo compressor set to a fast attack and slow release, you'll make the piano "tinkle" a little more on the top end, and "growl" a little more on the low end. Hence, you'll be adding another instrument, but once again, it won't fight for space.
