Mixing is part art and science (part 1 mixing prep) - Posted on 2012-02-18 by Chris Bell

The purpose of this is to illustrate that mixing is not just eq, compression and reverbs. It's to show that it is in my opinion, the most important part of the recording process. First things first all recording and editing should be done by now. No engineer wants to be mixing and have the client say... Umm I'd like to record a guitar there. Also no engineer wants to make edits, cuts, fades, drum replacement...etc whilein mix mode. It's the equivalent of a musician in mid rehearsal being asked togo to. The store for milk. That being said, lets look at the starting approach. Wether you mix in the box or use a console, the approach is the same. Start with a feader mix just to balance levels. Then just take a listen to make sure the panning is right. Listen in mono too. Consoles and daw's should offer mono summing options, either with a switch or plug-in. Make sure you have two sets of monitors one being flat and the other more musical to check your mix against perioically. Ok so now you're ready to mix. Star with eq. Think of what is practical first, overheads, hi hats, shakers...etc, have no low end fundamentals. I like to start by cutting at 500Hz and below. This will open up space for kick and bass and also make it so you arent doing any extraneous boosts in that range. I like to get drum, bass, vocal situated first and then bring up everything else one at a time. Trust your ears, once you understand where everything should sit, mixing becomes even more of a creative aspect, and more fun too. The next steps would involve compression then effects. Use compression smartly , by that I mean understand how it works. Bands that have wide volume swings will need more compression. Start with a 3:1 ratio, the threshold at 0dB and the attack and release at halfway. This is a good place to start. Listen for pumping, unless its a gag you are going for it will just Sound like you don't know how to use your gear. Onward and upward, effects. Especially time based such As reverb and delay will make a great track even better if used properly. I like to either buss a signal to a r reverb the send the triggered verb to an empty channel. That way you have a dry track you can have "up front" and a reverb track to add space. Pull up the reverb fader just to the point you think its too much, then back it off. Just dumping reverb on a track more often than not will just bury it, you still want focus. In a daw you can do the same thing i described above by opening an aux track and assigning a reverb to it. Make the output of the track to be effected a bus , say bus 1. Make your aux input also bus 1 and the output your master L/R bus. You will get the same result. A master dry track and an aux track with the effect you can blend to achieve a upfront signal with space. Continue on and adjust as needed, but these simple starting approaches should yield very positive results. Also the most valuble piece of gear you will ever use. is your ears. Take care of them, utilize breaks from mixing so you aren't getting fatigued.