Tips & Tricks

The 12-Step Mixing Process

Sometimes it is easy to get lost in a recording project. You work so hard to get the tracks recorded perfectly, but then can get lost about what comes next—that is, turning tracks the into a well-mixed song. In a well-mixed song, the tracks fit together nicely and don't overlap or overwhelm one another; the sum is better than the parts. Think of it as a battle plan or roadmap to get you mix-minded in the right direction. Here we go!

1. Mental Prep and Organization



Much like flying an airplane or planting a garden, the more prep work you do before starting to mix, the easier the task will be. Set up your workspace (desk, computer, software, sequencers) as efficiently as possible. Get to know your software’s keyboard shortcuts to save mousing around. Shortcuts are HUGE timesavers and will become second nature once you start using them.



2. Review the Tracks




1. Always review your tracks at a low volume to reduce ear fatigue. I like to wear headsets so I can really hear the small details, and it helps me maintain focus.


2. Make sure all the tracks are named for what they really are. It sounds obvious, but it’s not uncommon to see nine guitar tracks all labeled "Gtr." Use short and obvious names to identify each track.


3. Group the tracks logically (dragging and dropping) so that they are on consecutive channels. Drums together, vocals together. It is easier to work these clustered tracks.




3. Listen to the Tracks Closely




1. By soloing each track and listening to it a few times, you will discover clicks, glitches, bad notes, heavy breathing, etc., before you start mixing. Many of these can be easily fixed, but find and fix them now.


2. On MIDI tracks, listen for duplicated notes that “flam” or sound awkward, and delete any overlapping notes. Sometimes these can also be found by “reading” the MIDI track and looking for mistakes. Once you get used to “reading” a MIDI track, you will often spot mistake notes even before you hear them.


3. On audio tracks, listen for breathing or clicking sounds from the vocalist, string noise and scrapes from the guitars, hums from amplifiers. Use fades, tighten up events, or insert silence to get rid of these sounds. Even if they don’t seem too bad, get in the habit of fixing them early on. As the tracks multiply, these noises pile up.




4. Render Soft Synths to Audio Tracks



This is a good one to save your computer’s CPU power. If you are sequencing soft synths via MIDI, convert them to audio tracks. Not only do you save CPU power for other tasks, but the audio track is now able to be processed (sends, reverbs, etc.) like any other audio track. Plus you can close out your soft synth software simplifying your workspace.



5. Set Level Balance




1. Set your balances with “dry” tracks, i.e., no processing or effects. Get a good balance where the tracks interact well with each other.


2. Instead of bumping up the volume of a track, try reducing the volume of other tracks. Less is usually better than more. Plus,this helps avoid the fateful volume creep.


3. It’s good practice to set your levels in mono first. If the tracks sound good and distinct in mono, they'll sound even better in stereo.




6. Adjust EQ



Wow, this is always a hard one, but this is where you can make certain tracks really stand out and the mix comes together.



1. Start by EQ’ing the most important tracks first (vocals, bass, and drums) then work on the other stuff.


2. Think of the audio spectrum or your song as a keyboard laid out in front of you. There are only so many keys in this spectrum, and certain instruments frequencies overlap each other. Think bass guitar and kick drum for example. EQ is how you separate those instruments so they do not overlap, and you can hear each one distinctly. This is actually something that should have been thought about when tracking or developing parts, but now is the time to fix it up.


3. Some folks EQ the drums first because they cover so much of the frequency spectrum, low bass on the kick to high freqs on the cymbals. Once the drums are EQ’d, drop other instruments into holes by EQ’ing their highlights. For example, boosting the bass guitar around 800-1000Hz will bring out the pick attack and string brightness, and keep the bass distinct from the kick drum.




7. Add Essential Processing



Essential means processing that is integral to the song itself, i.e., distortion, echo, vocoders, etc.



8. Create the Stereo Field




1. Using pan controls, place each instrument within the stereo field, either by matching where they would appear on stage, or in a completely unique way.


2. Avoid extreme pans, they don’t sound natural. Nothing is ever completely stage left or right unless you are using that as an effect.


3. Kick bass and drum are usually pretty centered in the stereo field, as low frequencies are less directional than highs.


4. A cool technique is to copy a signal to another track, then EQ them differently. If you have stereo graphic EQs, cut even-numbered bands on one track, and odd-numbered bands on the other track.


5. When you double a track (vocals, guitar), experiment with placing the tracks close to center or spreading them out a bit.




9. Make Final Arrangement Changes



Now is the time to start hearing parts or entire tracks that don’t add anything to the song, or compete with other parts. Get rid of anything that does not add significantly to the piece.



10. Add Lushness



Add lushness with reverb and delays to give acoustic depth. Imagine where you would hear this song—small room, large hall, etc. Nowadays, songs are notoriously flat sounding! Feel free to give the song the space and lushness it deserves. Just don't overdo it. The old saying is, “if you can hear the reverb, it’s too much.”



11. Tweak Away



This is the fine-tuning part. Most engineers use automation now, so start programming the mixing moves (pans, EQ, volumes) until they are perfect.



12. Listen on Different Systems



You have been mixing on just the studio gear (probably pretty good stuff) and you need to see how the song sounds in your car, on a home stereo, on your iPod. You may be surprised at how boomy or trebly your mix sounds! Go back and tweak.

This 12-Step Mixing Program is adapted from the book Prostart: Cubase SX/SL Mixing & Mastering, written by veteran and complete professional Craig Anderson.