Mixing (cont’d)
- Not everything can be up front in the mix. Something sounding dull or insipid on its own doesn’t necessarily matter: it’s not going to be heard on its own.
- Don’t rely on pan controls to keep things separate. Get the mix working in mono first, then pan. (Also ensures a mono-compatible mix).
- Reverb: don’t overdo it - the first sign of an amateur recording is excessive reverb, particularly on vocals. Use it to add space: reverb on an instrument or voice pushes it back in the mix, dry brings it forward, e.g try little or no reverb on a middle eight to suddenly make the vocal very intimate for the listener.
- Chorus effects steal space - go easy.
- Vocals: put somewhere near the front. Rhythm section: right behind the vocals. Rhythm guitars and keyboards: a supporting role.
- Panning: bass guitar, kick and snare drum should be panned to the centre. There were some mixes done in the 60s (even one or two Beatles tracks) with drums or bass panned hard right or left - they sound wrong and unsettling now, detracting from the song.
- Listen from another room with the door open - tried and tested way of hearing your mix ‘as if you were someone else’.
- Spaces are as important as notes!
- Remember: the mix is king. Be prepared to sacrifice, maybe even a track, for its benefit.
Left versus Right Brain: A word of warning. We all know that the left side of our brain is concerned with things logical, objective, analytical, etc. and the right side with things intuitive, subjective, holistic, etc. In other words, geek (L) artist (R). We get pleasure from satisfying our left brain when we buy more software, fret over gear setups, solve ‘audio crackle’ problems and so on. We also get pleasure of course from using our right brain by writing and performing music and dealing with that most elusive of sprites, inspiration. Ok, I often wander off on left brain tasks when I really should be getting on with the right brain ones, do you? That’s because the buzz from completing the former is often more certain than the latter. So be aware of the left brain trap and discipline yourself to get back on track!
Vocals - recording tips:
- How close to the mic should I sing? About one foot away. An experienced vocalist will back away a few inches when they get loud and come in a few inches for quiet intimate parts. If they don’t then compression can help - see top of next page. Don’t sing directly into the mic, or bassy wind noise will get in the way. Just a few degrees to the side is better. A pop shield should always be used. This is not only a good device for getting rid of plosives and spitty sounds, but keeps the vocalist from getting too close where a proximity effect might result:
- Proximity effect: The closer you sing to a cardioid-pattern mic the more lower frequencies are accentuated. You hear comedians and radio announcers using this to good effect but you (probably) don’t want it on music lead vocal tracks. Use EQ to roll off any excess bass caused by proximity effect.
- Pitch problems: If the vocalist tends to sing flat than place the microphone a couple of inches higher on the mic stand so they lift their face a little; the opposite if they tend to sing sharp. This trick usually helps. Continued...
