Mixing
My mixing process varies depending on the track but there is a definite process and a use of common plug-ins. I have chosen one of the bigger tracks on my album as a sample for the mixing process. (Appendix 10)
My aim for the over all mix of my song was to not have a overly processed track this meant having fewer plug-ins and a more real sound.
Below will highlight some of my main mixing processes.
Drums
Before mixing my drums together as one, I put EQ on all the track the aim was to cut out any frequencies I wouldn’t be needing and boost the ones I would. An example of this would be my bass drum. I cut out any sound above 250Hz as I wouldn’t be using this. I then boosted at around 100Hz because this is where I wanted the kick drum …show more content…
As my acoustic guitar is a featured instrument within the tracks, Stereo Spread gave the guitar a lot more space.
Double bass
EQ: - As I was capturing the sound of a double bass as a whole I pushed my bass signals at around 300hz; to capture the to neck sound I pushed the EQ at 2000Hz.
Multipressor: - This helped me capture and boost just my bass frequencies without boosting any rattles from the neck or bridge.
Electric guitar
Depending whether I used an amp or if the electric guitar was recorded via DI I changed the plug-ins that were used. Once either amplifier effects or internal plug-ins established the guitar sound I would use: -
EQ: - Electric guitars would be boosted in the 100Hz area near the acoustic.
Multipressor: - This was used to cut out some of the low end from the recording, leaving more room for the double bass and kick drum.
Delay: - On occasion to make the electric guitar have lots of space, the electric guitar would be panned far left then sent to a Bus, that would delay the signal to the right creating a very wide sounding guitar. This worked well for slide parts.
Vocals
The mix of vocals would differ depending on if they were lead or backing but some ideas crossed …show more content…
I was against using this plug–in because the vocals were already fairly tight and sounded more human. But for a marketable album I feel it was necessary.
Eq notes were produced while recording these can be found in my notebook (figure 6)
Mastering
An industry producer is likely to send his mixed track to a professional mastering engineer. From looking into mastering there does not seem to be an industry standard way of mastering a track. The final out come seems to be a matter of opinion. However the over all expectation is to maximize the quality of the final recording.
I mastered my tracks in two parts. Once my mix was complete the audio was bounced to a one solid track in this case “aif” format. This was important as the track should be bounced to its highest quality. I then loaded the track in lodgic and used six main plug-ins to maximize my track.
Multimeter: - The multimeter provided me with a visual gauge of how my track was sounding. This helped me get an over all look on how my track was
My mixing process varies depending on the track but there is a definite process and a use of common plug-ins. I have chosen one of the bigger tracks on my album as a sample for the mixing process. (Appendix 10)
My aim for the over all mix of my song was to not have a overly processed track this meant having fewer plug-ins and a more real sound.
Below will highlight some of my main mixing processes.
Drums
Before mixing my drums together as one, I put EQ on all the track the aim was to cut out any frequencies I wouldn’t be needing and boost the ones I would. An example of this would be my bass drum. I cut out any sound above 250Hz as I wouldn’t be using this. I then boosted at around 100Hz because this is where I wanted the kick drum …show more content…
As my acoustic guitar is a featured instrument within the tracks, Stereo Spread gave the guitar a lot more space.
Double bass
EQ: - As I was capturing the sound of a double bass as a whole I pushed my bass signals at around 300hz; to capture the to neck sound I pushed the EQ at 2000Hz.
Multipressor: - This helped me capture and boost just my bass frequencies without boosting any rattles from the neck or bridge.
Electric guitar
Depending whether I used an amp or if the electric guitar was recorded via DI I changed the plug-ins that were used. Once either amplifier effects or internal plug-ins established the guitar sound I would use: -
EQ: - Electric guitars would be boosted in the 100Hz area near the acoustic.
Multipressor: - This was used to cut out some of the low end from the recording, leaving more room for the double bass and kick drum.
Delay: - On occasion to make the electric guitar have lots of space, the electric guitar would be panned far left then sent to a Bus, that would delay the signal to the right creating a very wide sounding guitar. This worked well for slide parts.
Vocals
The mix of vocals would differ depending on if they were lead or backing but some ideas crossed …show more content…
I was against using this plug–in because the vocals were already fairly tight and sounded more human. But for a marketable album I feel it was necessary.
Eq notes were produced while recording these can be found in my notebook (figure 6)
Mastering
An industry producer is likely to send his mixed track to a professional mastering engineer. From looking into mastering there does not seem to be an industry standard way of mastering a track. The final out come seems to be a matter of opinion. However the over all expectation is to maximize the quality of the final recording.
I mastered my tracks in two parts. Once my mix was complete the audio was bounced to a one solid track in this case “aif” format. This was important as the track should be bounced to its highest quality. I then loaded the track in lodgic and used six main plug-ins to maximize my track.
Multimeter: - The multimeter provided me with a visual gauge of how my track was sounding. This helped me get an over all look on how my track was