Mixing Discussion

[-mjk-]

What Is A Good Mix?​

At some point I'm going to have to do a diagram of a mix. I mean a visualization of the sound stage. Perhaps I should do it live with my e-ink tablet and my projector so I can discuss it while the diagram is taking shape.

Given some of the recent things going on in the forum with song mixes, I thought I would talk a bit about what I listen for in a mix and what I consider to be a good mix. Keep in mind that what happens in Mastering, matters a great deal. Mastering can pull a mix together. So, let's get into it.

1. Relationship Between the Kick and Bass
When I'm listening to a mix of a song, I listen to what is going on in the bottom end of the mix first. The Kick should be tight and the bass should also be tight and as defined as possible (dependent on how it was played). But the relationship between the 2 is very important. I will typically unmask the kick so that when they are playing notes at the same time in space (i.e. they are both on the downbeat) I will use the kick track to sidechain the unmasking process. So whatever parts of the spectrum that are in common between the two, that spectrum will be reduced in the bass track for the duration of the event. The unmasking is very dynamic and that type of unmasking cannot be achieved to this degree by adding compression and EQ alone. It has to be linked between the tracks and that requires sidechaining. An amateur mixer might think that taking part of the spectrum out of the bass might make it sound thin, or that the bass is dropping out. Remember that the only part of the spectrum being reduced is the common part so it's still there but the bass is reduced a bit just to allow the kick to come out. When I Master a tune, I normally use a multiband compressor to control the low end and make it tight with compression, but I sometimes sidechain the lower midrange to the low end compressor and I expand the low mids with every hit of the kick and bass. More on that later.

2. Where Is The Snare And What Is It Doing?
Is the snare loud enough to give it drive, but not so loud that it's a solo instrument? Also, where is it in the soundstage? Is it right up front or is it drowned in reverb and sounds far in the background? I could do a whole article on snare drum by itself. The ring of the snare is important and that has to be taken into consideration too. The snare can also benefit from unmasking techniques and good use of compression.

3. Where Are The Vocals and What Are They Doing?
Is the vocal compressed and tight, without sounding artificial? I normally use RX10's Leveler Module to level out vocal and instrumental performances because it does such an incredible job of making things consistent without making them sound compressed. Do the vocals have sibilance issues? What about consonants and plosivers? Have these all been properly addressed? Some songs require the vocal to sound like the mic is right down the singer's throat and some engineers use a 2-stage compression chain, like an 1176 (very fast and dynamic) followed by an LA-2A (very gentle slow leveler with warmth). Is anything masking the vocals (see #4)? Are the background vocals 3 dimensional?

4.Where Are the Instruments and What Are They Doing?
In the soundstage, the guitars, keyboards and whatever else, should all have a place in 3D space where they live. That space should be out of the way of the center-channel information. Far too many mixes are pretty much mono with tons of center-channel buildup and nothing moves out of anyone else's way. I use unmasking to make sure the guitars are loud in the mix but do not cover the vocals. The unmasking is sidechained to the vocal track. This can be either ducking which is using the compressor to pull the guitars down when the vocal track is active, or it can be spectral like in #1 where the common spectrum is reduced. It can also be a combination of both techniques.

Of course there are other things but these are the main 4 areas that I listen for. If you can start out with these and train your ears on what to listen for, you will be able to recognize what is going on in your mixes and develop a technique to resolve issues. I am also an advocate of using a spectral monitor to see what the spectrum of your mix looks like visually. One should never mix according to that meter but the meter will verify if you have areas of the spectrum that are too high or too low. This is especially useful if you do not have room treatment or your monitors are lacking. A surprising number of musicians do mixes with regular home type speakers and wonder why they don't sound so good. Try using a spectral meter like iZotope's Audio Lens or Tonal Balance Control.