Request For Mixing Advice/Clarification

Hello and good afternoon!


I was wondering if anyone could provide some clarification and/or advice concerning mixing.
Basically, I feel as though I'm on the verge of a sort of breakthrough, I just need a little push in the right direction!

Currently, what makes sense to me is a series of articles I read on the Cakewalk blog, basically detailing subtractive EQ, where you emphasize frequencies by taking away others, not by boosting anything whatsoever. What I don't quite understand is how to use this to make an entire mix.
Up to this point, how I have been mixing is making tracks stand out with selective EQ boosts, and then seeing what does and does not mask other parts, cutting out frequencies in problem areas as needed, as well as boosting others if it seems necessary.

I suppose what I would like to know is the following: is my current method, in some aspects, a correct way to go about mixing? Or should I approach things from a perspective of "cut first, boost later, if at all?"
In other words, should I use my current method and work towards more subtractive EQ methods, or work from a subtractive EQ mindset and work towards getting everything to mesh?

I hope this makes sense, this is one of those topics I've struggled with since I started trying to mix audio in a "proper" way.

In the end, what really matters to me is not the method I use, it's the end result! So if you have any other mindsets and perspectives to approach mixing, I'm more than welcome to hear you out!

I feel that I should mention that, primarily, I'm interested in knowing more about the EQ side to mixing, as it seems like one of the most important things (aside from knowing what you're doing, that seems like the most important thing!)
That being said, though, if you have general mixing advice on something other than EQ, I would love to read it!

In the end, if you can offer advice or can clarify things a bit, I would appreciate it, or if you know of really good websites, books, or videos on mixing that you would recommend, I'm all eyes!


Thanks for your time, and take care!
-Hypocrita

Whoa...
A technique question driven down here by the force of the gale raging upstairs.
And a serious reply from Bapu.
Times change.

Hello everyone!

Thanks for your responses, I appreciate it!
So what I'm taking away from this is that the methods for mixing are basically as varied as the mixes themselves? Essentially, it boils down to knowing which technique fits best with the mix at hand, and not so much a hard "do this, then this" kind of thing?
If so, then that does make a lot of sense!

Thanks again, and take care!
-Hypocrita

In terms of seeing how different tracks are masking each other, Melda's excellent MMultiAnalyzer is an excellent tool.

http://www.meldaproductio....php?id=MMultiAnalyzer

Hello everyone!


I'll do my best to address everyone.

Sharke, I can definitely see that being the case, and that certainly can keep mixing from getting boring! 
Also, that multi-analyzer looks amazing, but $73 is a little steep for one plugin, at least for my current budget, unfortunately. Right now, I've been using Voxengo's SPAN plugin for multi-track analysis, and have had moderate success. The routing is a bit tricky, though, however I suppose that's to be expected, with it being free.

Rimshot, thanks so much for the links! I suppose until now I just never thought of looking for more personal help, for some reason. In any case, could you provide some clarification, please, concerning listening to other's work? What would I be listening for? Is it for comparison to my own work, as you mention later in your post, or something more nuanced? 

Batsbrew, up until recently I was using the analyst tool that came with X2 Essentials, but, as mentioned earlier, started working with Voxengo's SPAN at least enough to see that those type of plugins can be extremely handy! So if I understand you correctly, as far as masking is concerned it's primarily about deciding which frequency in which interacting parts should have the focus in that area? Also I must admit, I've never heard the term "complementary EQ," and would love to hear your personal take on it. I'll definitely be doing research on it, though!

Thank you all so much for your time! I really appreciate it.
-Hypocrita

Hey Bapu!


Sorry, I didn't see your post in time to include it!
So I'm assuming that you've used or are using Melda's analyst tool? Is it something you also would recommend, and do you feel it has a long-term use? My main hesitation when it comes to buying it is that I want to use something that pricey for years, not just, say, a month or two.


Take care!
-Hypocrita

Hypocrita
Hey Bapu!


Sorry, I didn't see your post in time to include it!
So I'm assuming that you've used or are using Melda's analyst tool? Is it something you also would recommend, and do you feel it has a long-term use? My main hesitation when it comes to buying it is that I want to use something that pricey for years, not just, say, a month or two.


Take care!
-Hypocrita

How long you will use it (or any tool) is hard to define. Actually impossible. 
 
If you're a hobbyist you could (conceivably) use it for years on months. That would depend largely on how much of your free time is dedicated to learning the art of mixing.

sharke

Hypocrita

Sharke, I can definitely see that being the case, and that certainly can keep mixing from getting boring! 
Also, that multi-analyzer looks amazing, but $73 is a little steep for one plugin, at least for my current budget, unfortunately. 

 
Keep an eye out for Melda sales. I'm pretty sure I paid about half price for mine. 

Yup, I know I did pay 50% off.
 
Melda is doing a 5 plugs a week @ 50% off sale. Probably just need to sign up for mailings.

Good morning everyone!


I must say, you've all given me a good impression about this forum. I honestly didn't expect so many people willing to help. I suppose I just haven't gone to the right places for advice!

This time, I'll make sure I address everyone!

Rimshot, that makes a lot of sense. I've heard about that technique before, but never fully understood it enough to implement it. As far as taking one's time, that's the good thing about where I am currently: I have no real urge to make new music, so I'm just remixing older ones in order to learn a few new tricks.
The bottom end is a problem for you and I both. I might be a little strange, I love low end in heavy metal music (think like a dubstep sort of low end,) for instance, so I find myself constantly giving a heavy metal song too much or too little low end.
Thanks for your insight, it definitely does help!

Bapu, you make a good point, I suppose it was improper of me to expect an answer concerning its usefulness. If it's one thing I do know, it's that since day one, I've used analyst tools to make my mixes sound and feel more defined. I've actually been trying to properly mix audio for about five years now, believe it or not! Granted, with varying degrees of success. Nevertheless, now that I think of it, I can see a use for that plugin for many years to come. Currently, I've bought myself some studio monitors (I've been mixing for those five years on the same set of regular desktop speakers) and as such, don't really have any funds in the foreseeable future to buy this plugin. That is the problem with my current financial situation: it's rare I have money, and when I do, I have to be very careful with it. In fact, to be fully honest, I was gifted most of the money for the monitors, and that's the only way I was able to get them.
In either case, as far as time is concerned, I have a few months of nothing but free time, and I definitely plan on using it for learning mixing, as well as a few other assorted projects.

Sharke and Bapu, I noticed they have a sale going on right now when I checked out their multi-analyst tool. $36 is much better for a plugin, so if it does come up, I may have to scrounge up some extra money! Credit companies probably love me by now. So you just need to sign up to a newsletter type of thing to be notified of the new line of discounted plugins?


Thank you all for your time, once again, and for your willingness to assist!
-Hypocrita

The way that I look at it, mixing is using the recorded elements to create the product and mastering is adding that final sheen to make the finished product shiny. A well-mastered song that was mixed badly still sounds like a bad mix. Likewise, a poorly played song with great mixing and mastering is still a poorly played song. To get a great sounding song, you want it all. You need a well written piece, played with excellence and passion, recorded cleanly, mixed so all the elements fit together, and mastered so it's got that professional gleam. There's only so much an engineer can do with a bad song. In the same way, there's only so much a mastering engineer can do with a bad mix. I like to think of the mix as balancing all of the elements of the song and the mastering as polishing and tweaking. 
 
That probably doesn't help. 

I'm probably being too 'old school' here, but I've never quite got the term 'mastering' when applied to an individual song, to me it just needs the very best mix you can give it.
 
'Mastering' to me, is polishing, sequencing and adjusting relative volumes of a number of tracks/songs so that they sound cohesive when listened to together -  you know, like an 'album' used to be

A good EQ strategy is to start with shelves, just using them as simple tone controls. Listen to the sound you're EQ-ing in the context of the mix and ask yourself "does the treble/bass poke out too much?" If so, apply a low or high shelf as required. Sometimes I find that masking problems can be fixed with simple shelves rather than fooling around with complex "complementary" EQ curves. But not always.

Mesh

bapu

Hypocrita
In the end, what really matters to me is not the method I use, it's the end result! 

Yup. That in the end is all that matters.
 
Techniques are what you make them.

Yup, I quaysinart all my songs. Purr-ayed they are. Smoothies.