If it’s one thing that I have learned in my years of mixing live sound it is that a mix can go muddy very quickly. We’ve all been in the situation where panic sets in as we desperately try to reveal an instrument that seems to have disappeared into the depths of the mix, and all we can think “what did I do wrong?”. In this moment it is good to stop and take a moment, pause and relax. Keep what you are doing in perspective. EQing a mix is hard work and very technical as well as demanding. It employs every aspect of critical thinking as well as tough decision making that can quickly end in disaster.
Ok, now that we’ve gotten past that, here are a few tips that I have learned while recording/live mixing.
1. LISTEN TO THE MIX WITHOUT EACH INSTRUMENT
This one may seem strange, but it is the first step in improvement. Go through each channel and mute each instrument. Is it missed? When you unmute it does it jump waaay out and overtake everything? Sometimes the answer is the simplest. Your instrument may be mixed well, but you are riding the volume a little too much. Anything (yes even the bass) can become overmodulated when ridden too hard.
2. CUT, CUT, CUT
When I first started mixing, I wanted to gain everything. I figured those negative gain numbers were for something else…or perhaps emergencies. You know, I really don’t know what I was thinking. The basic fact is this, it is a good idea to cut the nasty stuff out of your mix before you start gaining. You may find you don’t need to gain too much at all.
Think of mixing like cooking a steak. I personally hate all the excess fat and if it is not removed I will not eat it (I know sound guys are picky). Mixing is the same. Before you can start grilling the steak you have to trim the fat. Every and I mean EVERY instrument has something that can be cut.
3. GATING AND HI-PASS
Your gate and your Hi-Pass Filter (Links to an external site.) can be of great service or disservice to you depending on how you use it. Most instruments have sound information they are giving out at lower frequencies. Information that you do not need. Turn that Hi-Pass filter up and cut out more of the fat.
Gating (Links to an external site.) is also used to ‘clean things up’ but it works in a different way than a Hi-Pass filter. Normally, you will see a gate heavily used on the drums. Basically, it ‘mutes’ the mic until a certain frequency is played then it opens. For instance on a kick drum you may have your gate set at 90 Hz. Therefore the gate will not open until sound information hits the mic at 90Hz.
TIP: When vocals are close to the drums (yes even with a drum shield in place) you will want to gate your vocal mic.
4. SUBS
What do subs and cake have in common (Besides that fact that sound engineers enjoy both). I’ll answer in an analogy, Subs are to mix as icing is to the cake. If you removed the icing from the cake you would still have a slice of heaven (depending on if it was made right). If you slather your cake in icing however, you may just hate the results.
Your subs are like icing to your mix. They will not save it, rather, they will enhance it. While starting the mix turn your subs down to about half power. The mains should be your focus (notice they are called ‘mains’ for a reason). After you feel you have a strong mix, add in your subs and enhance away. You may find that they aren’t needed as strongly as you think. This is especially true for the Bass and Kick. We tend to rely too heavily on subs for the low end of the kick when we should be EQing the low end then adding in subs.
>>THE DOWNLOAD
Make sure you take a moment to relax and enjoy what you are doing. You are an artist after all and therefore need time to make your work shine. You will make mistakes and cause something to go awry. It is important to remember mistakes are not deadly but perfectionism is.
One of the most important things I’ve learned is play, play, play. If you aren’t experimenting you aren’t doing it right.
Links:
- http://therecordingrevolution.com/2010/07/26/the-fastest-way-to-clean-up-your-mix/ (Links to an external site.)
- http://www.independentrecording.net/irn/resources/freqchart/main_display.htm