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186 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
How do you learn mixing?
BY DOING. THE MORE YOU DO IT, THE BETTER YOU BECOME.
What are three mix elements to avoid?
1. No contrast
2. No focal point
3. Noisy
What is just as important as the monitors themselves?
The correct positioning for the monitors
Which way should the speakers fire?
the long way down the room
What is the frequency response of the room?
the way it responds to the high, low, and mid frequencies
What is the ideal frequency response of the room?
Ideally, you want an equal balance of the high, mid, and low frequencies with none of them accentuated of attenuated
What does every room suffer from?
Reflections that reinforce @ the 50% point of the room. They then diminish @ the 25% and 75% point.
What happens if your listening positioning is exactly halfway in the room?
On frequency may be extremely loud but it could be non-existent @ the 25% and 75% points of the room
In a typical room of 12ft in length, what is the standing wave?
47Hz
How is the standing wave determined?
Formula:
1130 ft/sec (Speed of Sound) DIVIDED BY room length x2
What is the significance of the standing wave?
it evenly bounces back and forth in the room
What happens if you place either you speakers or listening position halfway in the room?
the standing wave will reinforce and sound TOO LOUD
What happens if you place either you speakers or listening position at the 25% or 75% point of the room?
the standing wave will cancel out and sound TOO QUIET`
Where should you place you speakers and listening position?
Somewhere in between 25% and 75% points of the room in a point at an odd, non-divisible number like 27%, 38%, or 45%.
Where do acoustic designers think the ideal point in the room for a mix is?
38%
What should you do if 38% isn't the best for your room?
experiment a few inches forward/backward
How long could it take for speaker/positioning placement?
an entire week, sometimes longer
Why should you avoid placing your speakers up against the wall?
this usually results in strong peaks in frequency response
Why is is good to move your monitors further away from the wall?
the less the wall will influence the frequency response in your monitors and the smother the response will be
What should be the absolute minimum distance of the wall to the monitors?
12 inches but more is better
Why should you avoid putting your monitors in the corners of the room?
the corner is even more severe than the wall since it will reinforce the low end even more than when placed against a wall
Why should you avoid being closer to one wall than another?
you'll get a different frequency response from the two monitors because of phase and reflection issues
Why is symmetry essential?
it keeps a balanced stereo image with a stable frequency response in the room

The sweet spot will be in the exact center of the room
Why should you avoid different wall absorptions?
you'll have an unbalanced stereo image and one side will be brighter sounding than the other
What should you try to do when it comes to wall material?
try to make sure that the material on each side of the monitors are the same material
Why should you place your speakers on stands?
speakers mounted directly on a desk or console can even defeat the cause of well designed acoustic treatment
How should you keep track of monitor position?
mark them with tape in 6 inch increments

that way, you don't have to remeasure when you move things
Why should you always use a tape measure when measuring speaker distance from the wall?
even an inch can make a big difference in the sound
What happens if the monitors are too close together?
the stereo field will lack definition
What happens if the monitors are too far apart?
the focal point/sweet spot will be too far behind your head and you'll hear the left and right side individually, but not together as one
What is the rule of thumb for speaker positioning?
speakers should be as far apart as their distance from the listening position

The goal is to form an equilateral triangle between you and the speakers
What is the ideal distance between tweeter to tweeter?
67.5 inches
Where should the ideal focal point/sweet spot of monitors be?
3 to 6 inches behind your head?
What happens when you position your monitors at the wrong angle?
smearing of the stereo field, which a major cause of lack of instrument definition in a mix
What is the correct monitor angle?
it's somewhat determined by taste

Some mixers prefer their monitors pointing directly at their mixing position while others prefer the focal point 3-24 inches behind them to widen the stereo field
What is the focal point?
where the sound from the tweeters converge
What angle works the best in most cases?
an angle of 30 degrees which converges at 18 inches behind the mixer's head
What is a great trick for finding the correct angle?
mount a mirror over each tweeter and adjust your speakers so that your face is clearly seen in both mirrors @ the same time while in mixing position
What are monitors that are mounted directly on consoles/desk without isolation subject to?
low frequency cancellations
Why does low frequency cancellations happen to unisolated monitors?
sound travels faster through the desk/console and reaches your ears before the direct sound of the monitors through the air
this causes frequency cancellation and a smearing affect on the audio
If you must place your monitors on the desk/console, what should you do?
place them on a 1/2 or 3/4 inch piece of "opencell neaprine?"
What happens if you lay monitors on their side?
the frequency response suffers
most were designed to sit upright
How should you position monitors that are designed to lay on their sides?
place the tweeter outside toward the walls so the stereo field could widen

sometimes tweeters to the inside work but it could result in smearing

experiment and see which one works better for you
What height should upright speakers be?
the tweeter should be head hight
What happens if monitors are too high?
the high frequency response at the mixer's position will suffer since they're too high and firing over your head
What should be the first thing to do when preparing for a mix session?
Duplicate the file and add the mix #

if you're doing this right, you'll have a lot of mixes

It not unheard of to have 100 mixes
What should you do after naming your mix?
delete any files without any audio in them

empty tracks take up system resources
What should you do after deleting unneeded tracks?
Group everything that could be grouped together

they're easier to manipulate together

efficiency
What should you do after grouping tracks?
give every track a descriptive name
What should be one of the finishing steps in preparing your mix?
color code the tracks
Why are groups and subgroups extremely useful during mixing?
they allow you to group similar elements of a mix so you can make adjustments by instrument sections rather than individually
How is a subgroup different from a group? (4)
it adds an extra fader

it gives you a bit more flexibility. you can balance sub-groups instead of individual tracks

the levels of the tracks don't change as they do in groups

you can add effects to subgroups
When should effects be set during a mix and why? (2)
setting up effects before the mix helps the session go faster

also you concentration won't be broken
What two effects are typically set up?
reverb and delay
How many delays and reverbs? Stereo or mono?
2 stereo reverbs
2 mono delays
Short and Long
The groove will never sound as good as it can without ________.
emphasizing the groove
What is the groove?
the pulse of the song
What is universal about groove?
every kind of music has a groove
How is a "deeper" groove formed?
by having better performance
A groove doesn't have to have______.
perfect time
Why doesn't a groove need perfect time?
a groove is created through the dialectic of tension vs. even time
How does music lose its groove? (2)
If it's too perfect or it if it's simply poorly performed
What two questions should you asking your self when locating the groove?
1. What instrument(s) provide the pulse of the song?

2. What makes the groove stand out?
What is most important element of a mix?
the element that captures the listener's attention
What is usually the catchiest element?
many times it's the vocal but it could be other elements as well
What happens if the most important element of a mix is removed?
the song wouldn't be the same without it
Why is finding the golden element vital in a good mix?
it provides the excitement and the reason for you to listen
Why is the bass so important in a mix?
it's the bottom/foundation
M_ _ _ _n is crucial in a good mix.
MOTION
What's a good way of finding the golden element in a mix?
mute tracks one by one and determine which one is missed the most
Features of an amateur mix (7)
1. no contrast
2. no focal point
3. noisy
4. no clarity and punch
5. sounds distant
6. element levels are inconsistent
7. sounds are dull and uninteresting
What does a mix that lacks contrast sound like?
same ambient texture i.e. (reverb) is used on every instrument at the same level during the entire song
What does a mix that lacks a focal point sound like?
there are holes where nothing is brought forward to grasp the listener's attention
What does a mix that's noisy sound like?
clips, hums, extraneous noises, count offs, lip smacks, breaths
What does a mix that lacks clarity and punch sound like?
there instruments are not distinct

low end is too weak or too big
What does a mix that sounds distant contain?
too much reverb or other effects have been used
What does a mix with inconsistent levels sound like?
instrument levels vary from balanced, too soft, too loud

certain lyrics can't be distinguished
What does a mix with dull and uninteresting sounds sound like?
generic, dated, or often heard sounds are used
What is the essence of mixing?
the balance between instruments or mix elements
If you don't get the balance right_______________.
you don't have a good mix

it doesn't matter how good your are at other aspects of the mix
Principles of Building a Mix (5)
1. There are a number of places to start your mix from

2. There is no right or wrong way to build a mix.

3. The mix bus level will get louder with every instrument entrance

4. Begin your mix with the mix bus/master meter reading @ about -10 dB no matter what instrument you start off with

5. The sound of every drum will change when a new drum or cymbal is added to a mix
How much will the master meter rise with an entering instrument equal to the current mix level?
for each instrument that enters at the level of the current mix, the master meter will rise by about 3db
Why does the sound of every drum change when a new drum or cymbal is added to the mix?
because of the leakage of the other drums into the mic
Whenever there are two or more instruments in a group, what should you do?
Assign them to a subgroup to make adjustments easier
Where do mixers like to begin their drum mix from the kick?
because it's part of the foundation of the song
What happens when you bring the tom into the mix?
the whole drum kit changes
Where do mixers like to begin their drum mix from the snare?
it's the pulse of the song
What usually happens when you begin the drum mix with the snare?
it becomes more prominent in the mix
Why do some mixers begin the drum mix with the tom?
they fill that the tom fills get lost in the mix when beginning with the kick or snare
When does beginning the mix with the overhead work well?
the bigger the room, the better it works

in a small room, the reflections from the ceiling will make it sound bad
What is one the most important, yet overlooked part of the drum mix?
checking the phase of the drum
Why is checking the phase of the drums important? (2)
1. an out of phase channel will suck the low end out a mix

2. it will become more difficult to fix as the mix progresses
Why can channels be out of phase? (2)
1. miswired cable
2. two mics that are very close to the the same sound source. when that happens you have a potential phase problem
Why is bass record both direct and from an amp?
so the bass can have the combination of bottom end + clarity
What was the foundational instrument in hit songs of the 50s, 60s, and 70s?
the bass not the drums
Where do a lot of old school like to start their mix?
the bass
What is the principle behind beginning the mix with the vocal?
the vocal is the most important element
Why is the balance between the bass and drum so critical?
it provides the power of the mix
What is the key to balancing the bass and drum?
make the bass, kick, and snare work together but still hear each one distinctly
What processors help when balancing the drums and bass?
eq and compression
When do you add the rest of the instruments?
after the rhythm sections is balanced
What determines the order in which you bring instruments into the mix?
the song and arrangement
What level should you bring these instruments at?
just to the level that you could hear them so it doesn't overpower the rhythm section
What is the advantage of mixing with all the instruments already turned up?
by hearing all the instruments and the vocals, you're able to make an aural space for everything
What is a precaution when adding instruments sequentially?
if you run out of aural space, you have to go back to the beginning and rearrange to make more aural space
What is the downside of starting the mix with all the instruments and vocals added?
it might not have the power of the 'sequential mixes'
Since you can't rely on the -10db mark, what do you rely on the balance while using the 'all in' method?
INTUITION

This is not the best method for newbies
What is a common problem when mixing with the 'all in' method?
peaking/very high levels most of the time
How do you fix the peaking problem?
bring down the master fader
Why is the balance CRUCIAL for harmony vocals?
in order to get the most blend and impact
How should you bring in harmony vocals?
lowest to highest just like drums
What's the most important part in a three part harmony vocal?
middle
What is one of the most taken for granted elements of mixing?
the placement of a sound element in the stereo field/panning
How can panning make a mix exciting?
1. by adding movement in the stereo field

2. by adding clarity to an instrument by moving it out of the way of other sounds
What does stereo provide?
a sense of spaciousness
What do we get from panning? (2)
space + clarity
What are the three main fields of panning?
hard left, hard right, and center
What happens when you pan something dead center?
the sound is coming out of both speakers at the same time in an equal amount
What kind of feel does center panning give to the track?
it gives a SOLID feel
What do we usually try to put in the middle/center of the stereo field?
anything with a lot of low end
What happens when you pan two basses hard left and hard right?
you gain space but you LOSE POWER
Where does panning come in handy?
on instruments other than kick and bass when trying to make space for instruments/vocals
What happens when you pan harmony vocals hard left an right?
there is a sense of spaciousness but the harmony section sounds detached. we want to harmony section to sound close
How 'should' you pan background vocals?
pan slightly to make space for the main vocal. this way there's space but it doesn't sound detached
Why should you avoid panning hard left and right?
even though you'll get a very wide stereo field, it will feel unnatural and detached
What you aim for when panning?
natural spaciousness
be modest
What elements are usually panned center?
the most prominent musical elements

usually the bass, kick, and even the snare because it makes the mix feel strong and anchored
What are the two ways to pan drums?
1. from the audience perspective

2. from the drummer's perspective
90% of mixers pan from the ________ perspective
AUDIENCE
When panning drums, what are you trying to do most of the time?
make it sound as real as possible
Usually the more space you have the less _________ you have?
POWER

less space = more power
more space = less power
What is the downside to pseudo stereo?
it can make your mix sound less distinct
What undesirable effect happens when you have multiple instruments panned hard left and right?
BIG MONO
You don't really wind up having anything that resembles a stereo field. Everything sounds the same and steps on one another.
What is the beauty of stereo?
We could put each instrument in its own little spot in the sound scape.
What is an interesting observation about pseudo mono instruments?
some of them actually sound better in mono
What is a compressor?
an automated level controller that uses the input signal to determine the output level
What does the ratio parameter determine?
how much of the output level the compressor will increase compared to the level that's being feed through the input
How is the ratio parameter calibrated?
from 1:1 to 100:1
What do the ratio numbers mean?
4:1
for every 4db that's coming into the compressor, only one db is going out through the output
What does the threshold parameter determine?
the signal level where the compression actually begins

below the threshold point: no compression occurs

above the threshold point: all compression occurs
What are many compressors calibrated in?
dB
What do the attack and release parameters on a compressor determine?
how fast/slow the compressor reacts to the beginning or the end of the signal envelope
What is the key to proper compressor set up?
the attack and release controls
Even though you could get fair results w/o touching the attack/release knobs, what's the advantage to understanding them?
consistent and professional results
When a compressor compresses, what happens to the signal?
the signal is attenuated
How is an attenuated signal boosted back up to where it was before compression?
GAIN CONTROL
it adds additional gain
What does the gain reduction meter tell?
determines how much compression is happening to a signal at any given moment
What does -12db on a gain reduction meter mean?
there's 12db of gain reduction occuring
What is the sidechain for?
connecting other signal processors to the compressor
When does the connected signal processor receive a signal?
when the compressor exceeds the threshold and begins to compress
What are sidechains often connected to? why?
EQs

to make a de-esser which will soften the sound of the 'S' coming from a vocal when they exceed the compressors threshold
What else can you connect to the sidechain?
delay, reverb, or anything else for unusual program level dependent effects

you can also feed the signal from another channel into the sidchain and will cause the sound from the original channel to trigger
What does the bypass parameter on a compressor determine?
hear the signal without any gain reduction taking place
When would you use the bypass parameter on a compressor? (2)
to hear how the compressor is changing or controlling the sound

makes it easy to set the output control so the compressed signal is about the same level as the uncompressed signal
Why is the timing of the attack/release on the compressor important?
so the compressor works correctly and make the sound punchy/fatter or makes the note have a longer decay
What is the easiest way to set up the attack/release parameters on a compressor?
use the snare drum as your template and use the same approximate attack/release settings with the other instruments
What is the idea when setting the attack/release parameters of the compressor?
to make the compressor breath in time with the track
Why put the compressor before the EQ?
the sound is different when you put the compressor after the EQ

the frequencies empashized by the EQ will be emphasized by the compressor when the compressor is placed after the EQ

it sounds better putting the compressor prior
What will we use compressors on?
any instrument with a variation of dynamics
What are we trying to do when we use compressors?
control the dynamics

you can't make the dynamics go away, and you don't want them to, but you don't want the variation to be too radical
How much variation is 'too much'?
3db
GR (Gain Reduction) =
the amount of compression
What does compression do for the vocals?
it feels like the vocalist is in the room with you

you can hear every single word

Comes closer to you in the mix
What happens if the vocal goes uncompressed?
some of the words in the vocal will drop out and you won't hear them
Why would you lower the level on the vocal in the mix?
it emphasises the power of the band
Where is the vocal in a pop record?
on top of the band
How can you lower the vocal but still keeping its presence in the mix?
compression
What happens when the ratio on the compressor goes beyond 10:1?
the compressor turns into a limiter
What do we do with compressors?
we control the dynamics

low sounds are accented and loud peaks are attenuated
What do we do with limiting?
keep the next stage in the signal path from distorting
What does 11:1 mean on a limiter?
it will take 11db before 1 db comes out
What do high ratios like 11:1 or 20:1 do to instruments/vocals?
changes the sound

you start to hear the color of the compressor
What happens when extreme limiting is done to a vocal?
the peaks are brought down too low and it sounds unnatural
When is limiting desirable?
on the bass

we want to keep the bass on a solid level and not vary too much

because as it varies it makes the song not as powerful
Too fast of a attack on a compressor?
dulls the sound
Too short a release on a compressor?
cause sound to pump
Main difference between compressor and limiter?
limits the peaks instead of controlling dynamics?
What is necessary for the rhythm and drum section to sound powerful?
the drums and bass have to have an even level

if the dynamics are erratic, the pulse will be erratic as well
What is the trick for setting the attack time on compressors?
set it right where you here the transient dull
What is the trick for setting the release time on compressors?
set it where you can here that the sound is elongated until the next time the sound hits
The more erratic the dynamics are, __________________.
the high the ration should be
What does the room mic do for the drums?
makes the drums more cohesive

it's the glue that gels all the drums together
What must the bass do for the mix to sound powerful?
the bass has to stay at a steady level
What should take note of about bass dynamics?
some notes on the bass are inherently louder than other depending on the position of the fret board
What is the 'NY Compression Trick'?
punching up the drum sound without adding more compression to the individual tracks
What is the academic name for 'NY Compression'
parallel compression