How do you Mix ?

I don't have much experience in mixing so I would like to know what is your technique. What kind of plugins, effect chain, and processes do you use ? What is your aim in mixing? To sound clean, loud, crispy etc.? Thanks !

Recordingrevolu...-staging-part-1-of-3

It depends on the material. It's almost always different, in that different effects, eq's, reverbs, delays, compressors, etc, and all their different settings will be used according to the material at hand.
 
As for the basic mixing method I use, it almost always starts after all tracks are recorded, and any editing, comping or last takes are done. Then I switch to console view, and pull all the faders to nil. Starting with the kick drum, I'll eq it to taste and volume, leaving a good -12 db for headroom that I may need later. Bass guitar is next, followed by vocals. Those 3 elements are critical in that they must all work together nicely, or I'll end up "chasing" the mix and just end up back where I started anyways.
Once that's done, rhythm guitars, keys, etc are brought up and panned to a sensible soundstage. Same with backing vocals. Once everything is balanced and playing nicely together, it's really about critical listening to find if an element needs something like delay, reverb, eq adjustment, etc. Most of time, less is more, especially when it comes to reverb. A lot of beginners get waaayy too carried away with reverb, especially on vocals. If you can obviously hear reverb, it's probably over done.
 
I'm not sure if this helps you, or you were just looking for a conversation on other users methods. There are guys here that are much better at this stuff than I am, but this is what works for me. In case you haven't heard this or learned it yet, here is the best advice I ever got when it comes to recording. Glitter won't make a turd beautiful, it just makes a shiny turd. In other words, you won't get a good sounding mix if the recorded tracks suck. If all the tracks are well performed and recorded at proper levels, the mixing is the easy part.
 
Randy

Chris,
 
Read books on the topic to learn and understand the principles behind what you are doing, and why you do it. Watch videos, for the same reasons.  Hit the web sites and learn, study, understand.
 
If your goal is to mix well, not only do you need the knowledge, but you need some halfway decent gear. You don't necessarily need the best gear, just as long as it's not the bottom on the pile.
 
BUT.... the most important thing is to actually mix music. Any music, all music, constantly. Use the songs forum here as your sounding board. Mix a tune and post it. There are some really good folks here with good ears and a wealth of knowledge. They will comment in detail and let you know what they hear. Trust them. I dare say, the folks here have been instrumental in helping me get to where I am today with mixing.
 
My approach to mixing is simple. I start my mixing for the final mix when I start to record the very first track.... in other words, start with the end in mind. Record solid tracks. I use very few plugs in the tracks. Of course, this will vary depending on the song itself. Generally, I have one or two plugs in the master bin, mostly compression, EQ and some reverb. Those 3 are my mainstays. I work with the "less is more" mantra in my mind. Don't add something just because you can, add something only if it's needed AND it improves the song or the track in a substantial way.
 
You only get better when you mix lots of songs. Look around, because there are websites that have songs in raw track form. You can download the waves and mix them as you feel..... this is great practice if you are not writing and composing lots of things in your studio.
 
So, mix and post, listen to the comments, adjust course, ....... repeat.
 
Drop in on some of the websites of the folks here and listen to their work. We have some extremely talented musicians and recording engineers on this site.
 
 

Start by going here:
 
http://www.cambridge-mt.com/ms-mtk.htm
 
This is a huge resource of free multitrack sessions. Download some and start practicing.
There are preview mp3 files you can click on first to audition the music before downloading the actual multitrack sessions. There are a range of styles too.
 
One of the first basic rules of mixing is start with the best sounding tracks you can. It makes it all so much easier.  Some of these multi sessions will contain great sounding raw tracks.  Get a feel for those as well and you will get some idea as to what to aim for in your own future tracking.

I had an epiphany recently when I tried LCR mixing, restricting myself to 3 pan positions: hard left, center and hard right. It's done wonders for me in terms of clarity and width, especially in keeping the center uncluttered for maximum impact and separation in the kick, bass and vocal. I'm also experimenting with using WAY less reverb, and more mono reverbs (again panned LCR) instead of big washy stereo reverbs which take up space. I'm doing things like panning a part hard left and sending a little to a mono reverb panned hard right. Or a little delay on the opposite side.

Previous to this I had looked upon the stereo field as a full panorama and was spreading everything out to fill in all the "gaps." But of course soft panning is somewhat of an illusion and doesn't sound anywhere near as focused as things panned hard left, right or center.