Mixing Down Tracks Tutorial?

Hi guys, 

I am new to recording and now I am about to become new to mixing down recordings.

I record vocals and guitar and add midi instruments to them, and I want to mix down all the tracks but haven't the beginning idea how.

I'm watching some Cakewalk University videos on some of the tools I'd be using to mix and I have read some random advice on various pages on the interwebz, and I'm at that point where I might need a more structured, step by step approach.

Does anyone know of any video or online, structured courses on mixing tracks, preferably in SONAR X1, but not absolutely necessarily so?


If not, is there any short book that could speak on the principles generally?

For example, I came across this on the web:

Jeffrey P. Fisher

Vocals

Record flat with no effects and instead find the right microphone for the singer. In the mix, roll off everything below 100 Hz and above 15,000 Hz. Add 2-4dB at 160Hz for male vocals or 320Hz for female voice for warmth. Notch out the mid-range, 500-800Hz, by a few dB. Sometimes a little sparkle in the 7-8kHz area is good, if there's no sibilance there. Finally, a little compression after the EQ can smooth the vocals out nicely.

Automatic double-tracking. Set a delay line to a short delay, between 5 and 30 milliseconds and hard pan the dry and delayed part for maximum effect. Or, use a pitch shifter set between 2-4 cents and again dry sound goes hard left while the pitch shifted part goes hard right.

And I immediately thought "there is a guy who's sure of what he's saying!"  The only problem I had with what he said was that I didn't understand it.  Some of it evoked some ideas in my mind but other parts of it fell flat in my head and in my soul.  Life sat bleakly.

And I knew I'd have to post here and ask for a roadmap.  A start, as it were.

Help?

That's really interesting.  Is there a best way to go about finding a guy who can mix reasonably well and who isn't too expensive who will travel to my place and mix it with SONAR?  Most producers I've seen use ProTools or Cubase.  Is there a good way to go about finding a guy who works with SONAR in my city (Toronto)??

Also, what's a reasonable amount of money to pay for something like that?  For one track?

Thanks for the advice.

Oh no! Getting a hired hand for mixing surely isn't a good advice in this case, IMO, unless money is around plenty. Why on earth would a beginner pay several hundreds of dollars for getting his first attempt mixed??? Then again, if you can spend the money, then it's your choice, but wouldn't it then be better to take a weekend course in audio work in some institute? 

The problem is, it won't be done in one day. There's so much new info, so much for the ears to adapt to that after a few hours you've forgotten what you knew before the tutor arrived.

There are some good guides at tweakheadz.com and Roey Izhakis book "Mixing audio" is very recommendable. It includes a CD (DVD??) with audio examples.

Otherwise: Why not just start doing it and see what happens? It won't kill you, but you'll learn a lot every day. Don't let the jargon put you down. It's just a matter of combining your tracks to your own liking.
In specific cases you can google for something like "EQing guitars", "Parallel compression" "Compressing vocals" etc. etc. and you'll surely find info.

In case you don't even know what different FX do and how they're used, I'd start studying them first: EQ, Compressors, Delay, Reverb. And if that's the case, the payed tutor is out of question unless you can hire him for at least a week. 

IMO it's next to impossible to build a good video about mixing down a project, because every project is so different.

+ 1 for Izhaki-definately not a "short read" but 
 

It includes a CD (DVD??) with audio examples.

i got mine off amazon 3 weeks ago-no disc-did you both get yours in Europe and is it worth chasing up?
thanks
Mudrubble-as Kalle advised-
: Why not just start doing it and see what happens? It won't kill you, but you'll learn a lot every day. Don't let the jargon put you down"
-it will all make sense in time but you will need to be determined-i still send out the best takes to a professional as it really is an art form.
cheers    

webbs hill studio


+ 1 for Izhaki-definately not a "short read" but 

It includes a CD (DVD??) with audio examples.

i got mine off amazon 3 weeks ago-no disc-did you both get yours in Europe and is it worth chasing up?
thanks

cheers    

Yes - I got mine from amazon UK and it came with the DVD.

So I'd definitely chase Amazon on this one.

You might want to hold off until mid November when the newest edition of the Izhaki book comes out. I am sure it will be more up to date and correct any errors from the first edition. No indication that a DVD comes with either the first or second edition here in the US. This info was gotten from Amazon.com

webbs hill studio


+ 1 for Izhaki-definately not a "short read" but 

It includes a CD (DVD??) with audio examples.

i got mine off amazon 3 weeks ago-no disc-did you both get yours in Europe and is it worth chasing up?
thanks
Mudrubble-as Kalle advised-
: Why not just start doing it and see what happens? It won't kill you, but you'll learn a lot every day. Don't let the jargon put you down"
-it will all make sense in time but you will need to be determined-i still send out the best takes to a professional as it really is an art form.
cheers    

Tony, my book has got the "DVD Included" logo on the front cover.

Check yours before you give Amazon an earful!!

You're going to have to make the "leap" to mixing down your tracks at some point. May as well get started. The concept of having a fresh set of ears do your mixdown and master is a good one. In a non-perfect recording-playing environment, especially when you're doing the playing, you tend to unconciously tune out "noise" while you strive to concentrate on your peice. The more you learn, the more you will hear when you're sitting in the engineers chair. The perspective is quite different from the playing position. In both positions there is a different mental setup, what to watch, what to have in your head, what to do about the things you're not happy with in the recording.

Groove3 and The recording revolution have nice DVD's on mixing

SWANG


@kalle, having someone else mix my stuff while i watched and asked questions was exactly how i learned to do it. reading books and other resources later reenforced what i had seen/heard, but i figured since it worked for me that it was worth a shot. didn't cost much at all actually.

I did not say you can't learn it that way, I was wondering about the financial side. Having a pro hired for 2-5 days can't be cheap. If a friend does it as a favour for a minor compensation, it's another thing.

Billy Buck

Does anyone know of any video or online, structured courses on mixing tracks, preferably in SONAR X1, but not absolutely necessarily so?

 
Hey, you may want to check out a free video series on tracking & mixing by Fab (Grammy award winner (3x) writer, producer, mixer) He has a lot of free (and more in-depth paid tutorials) which are quite good. I like his teaching style and sense of humor. He just released this great free (10) part video series (a couple of hours worth) where he tracks a song using a live band on stage (in front of hundreds of people) and then does a mix session using the same song. He descibes in detail the how, what & why as he goes through the entire process (setting up mics, preamps, etc). The video's are very well done and I learned a lot, although be aware that the sponsors of the event (AVID, Royer, Dangerous Music, Universal Audio, Great River, Mohave, Focal) are all used & promoted during the event. So I guess somebody had to pay for it.
 
Anyway, it is not only educational, but actually quite entertainng as well.
A very nice bonus is that you can download the individual session wave files and have a crack at doing the mix yourself.


The Tracking Session (6 parts):

[link=http://puremix.net/video/othering/ev...bass-drum.html]http://puremix.net/video/...ng/ev...bass-drum.html[/link]

The Mix session(4 parts):

[link=http://puremix.net/video/othering/ev...etting-up.html]http://puremix.net/video/...ng/ev...etting-up.html[/link]

Cheers,

Billy Buck

This is what I call a high quality response.  They were all very, very useful, but I mean..... I didn't expect something this immediate and helpful..... and to Hans, I'll check out the DVDs you suggest too, especially if they're immediately available as torrents.  I'll send them a cheque in the mail, but I need to start sooner than later.

If anyone knows of any sites that give quick general metrics such as:

• Typically, start with the kick drum and set the volume to 0db, keep it panned evenly on left and right, use such and such compression, no delay or reverb, etc 
•  Next, do the rest of the drums, pan hats and cymbals hard right or hard left, but separate them, snare stays in the middle, toms soft left or right, etc.... compress to such and such a level, such and such amount of reverb, volume set to ___ db, etc... 
• Next, do the bass.  Set it to between ___ and ___ db, pan it to ___.... use (or don't use) reverb to such and such quantity, delay to such and such quantity, compression, etc....
• Next, do.....

If any "CHECKLIST" like this is written out anywhere on the web and anyone has seen it, do let me know.  Interwebz are good when they're not confusing me.

Thanks again.  Couldn't have asked for more.  Yes, I know I'm asking for more, but I meant it figuratively.....

Grrr - Firefox formatting..... forgot about that issue.

Start by setting up a proper bussing structure:

All drums to a drum buss, ditto for Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards etc (Horns, Strings, Woodwinds etc if you're that way inclined)

Route all busses to a Master Buss - route Master Buss to your Main Outs

Make sure NO track (or buss) goes direct to your Main Outs

Start with Kick & Bass.

Carve out EQ curves so they fit nicely together

Get them peaking at about -12db on your tracks

Then add snare, EQ to taste(!) then add the rest of the drums

Put a HPF on virtually everything.

Keep everything in mono at this stage - DON'T pan until you've got the guts of the mix working in Mono.

You might want to compress kick & snare. Bass almost certainly.

Tryand keep your Master bus peaking at no higher than about -9db. If it goes over, reduce ALL contributing tracks appropriately.

Add backing instruments - guitars/keys etc. EQ/Compress as necessary

Add vocals last. These will need HOURS of tweaking

Pan:
Drums between -50%  +50%
Backing instruments slightly outside this
Kick Centre, Bass centre, Lead Vocal centre
Backing vox -40 +40

From here you can start playing around with automation, Fx (Reverb/Delay/Chorus etc)

This should keep you going for a year or 2
 
 
This is so cut-down I've left out TONS of stuff!!!!
 
And I've not even mentioned Mastering/Loudening/Exporting

I was able to rent the "Mix It Like A Record by Charles Dye" DVD online a few years ago and thought this was a great place to start in the Mixing game - although not as detailed as reading the Mixing Audio book, it sure gives insight into what mixing is...and it only took 3 hours to watch it through once.

There's a whole list of "secrets" that pertain to mixing and mastering. But the odd truth is, they're only secrets if you're not educated-trained-technically adept at deciphering sound in terms of what will not work together when the 1's and 0's start stacking up on the final tracks. It's a different world than analog recording was. Each "secret" is literally invented per work, per track, per master track. They are never the same. Making the final shine as it should is a task filled with an unknown number of adjustments that you've never had to make yet.