3 Building Blocks of a Good Mix

General

– 3 Building Blocks of a Good Mix (Thanks to Daniel Dettwiler):

1) Spectral Balance = Clean Up the Spectral Balance with Equalizers

2) Dimension = Create Size in the Mix with Reverb / Delay, Room Behind the Speakers, Depth of Field / Staging

3) Physical Integrity = Compression and Saturation

Details

1) Analyze a Mix in 3 Categories = Spectral Balance / Dimension / Physical Integrity

– if Any of those 3 Things are Not Correct, the Mix Sounds Small

2) Correct Resonant Frequencies that Make Something Sound Harsh or Boxy etc.

– i.e. the Smaller the Room = the More Resonances are Found between 200Hz and 700Hz (Especially 200Hz to 500Hz) which Gives this Small / Boxy Sound 

– e.g. Dip Narrow (Natural Phase) to Fix the Resonances and Boost a Little to Compensate the Lost dB

– Never Notch Out the Wrong Frequencies, i.e. Listen 10-20 Seconds and Be Sure the Signal is Better when EQ is Active vs Bypass

3) A Reason Today we Hear More Disturbing Frequencies in the Mids is that we have Less Access Recording in Big Rooms

– i.e. Really Big Rooms May have Resonances at 20Hz or Even Down at 10Hz which Give a Deep Fundament to the Entire Record

– also Medium Rooms May Resonate at 50Hz to 60Hz which also Give Balls to a Recording

– but the Smaller the Rooms and Isolation Booths are the More Resonances are Found between 200Hz and 700Hz (or 300Hz to 600Hz) , and as we Know Many Instruments are Already Strong in that Range and thus the Room Resonances Combined with the Instrument Makes those Disturbing Frequencies in the Mids

4) You Need to Create Depth as Happened when a Big Band (or Anything) is Recorded in a Large Room

– i.e. we Know the Timpani at the Very Back, or the Drummer in the Back, those Where Recorded to a Main Mic

– Problems in Depth are also Related to Today’s Recording in Small Rooms Where Mics are Often Placed Close as the Rooms are Small

– so Today we Make the Staging in Post

– Always Use Additional Room Microphones Along Close Mics for Best Depth

5) Make a Small Recording Room Sound Big is to Use Reverb

– e.g. Send Overheads / Snare etc. via AUX to a Stone Room

6) Make the Room Behind the Speakers Bigger (Create Staging)

– i.e. You May Pan Things Along the Phantom Line but as Soon as You Want to to Make Something Bigger it will Fight with Something Else

– so you have to Make the Room Behind the Speakers Bigger

– e.g. Pan the Solo -10 and the Bass +10

7) Mix Must be Robust so it Translates Well on Any Speaker System

– i.e. Even if the Song is Heard on a iPhone the Bass Should be there as Well as the Staging Effect 

8) Avoid Using Gobos as They Make the Recorded Sound Experience Smaller

– Gobos are “Walls” that Should Get Rid of Wall Reflections and / or Separate Instruments when Playing in the Same Room

– Problem Using Gobos for Vocals is They May Get Rid of High Frequencies Build Ups but Not the Mids Build Ups

– the Closer the Gobos the More Mid Resonances You Create

– for Bass Gobos are OK as Bass Waves Simply Travel Around the Gobos 

– Here are Some Good Spots to Place the Gobos if You Intend to Use Them for a Singer

– if You Need to Place Them Close (for More Absorption) Place Them so the Mids are Not Reflected by the Mic

9) Regarding Physical Integrity and Small Sounding Mixes, the Later the Reflections from the Walls are Coming Back to the Mic (Source / Instrument) the Bigger the Room Impression

– Quasi a Slap Back from the Walls which you can Mimic with Reverb to Create Room Behind the Speakers

– Use a Lot of Pre Delay and Shape to the Reverb to Mimic a Large Room (More Important than Reverb Size and Time)

– Shape and Spread Creates an Envelope, i.e. Without Shape and Spread the Reverb is There and Goes Back Immediately but with a Custom Envelope the Reverb Fades In Slower and Fades Out Slower

– e.g. for a Drum Kit Try 75ms to 120ms = Pre Delay / Spread = 100 / Shape = 100

– another Fact Why Music May Sound Small is that We Record to Computers with the Full Dynamic Spectrum and Lots of Headroom Whereas in the Old Days it was Recorder to Tape which Compresses the Dynamic Range (e.g. Tape Could Capture 70dB Headroom in the Best Case but Not +100dB)

– i.e. When You Lower a Song with Lots of Headroom in Volume the Related Upper Harmonics also Get Quieter and this Makes for a Thin Signal, the Solution for this is to Use Compression

– Kick Does Not Need Compression, Snare e.g. 3dB GR and Slightly Faster Release than Other Stuff

10) Emphasizes that Music Heard in a Real Room is Not the Same as Music Heard from a Speaker

– Pic Shows 3 Instruments, Solid Color Shows the Direct Sound Coming to the Ears (In Fact Direct) while the Reflections are Coming from All Kinds of Places to the Ears (Even from Behind the Ears which is Why We Like Live Concerts), but on Speakers (Membrane) the Direct Sound is Coming Directly to the Ears as Well as the Reflections

– so in a Bad Mix You Start to Localize the Speakers as there is No Depth and Size which is Exactly What a Listener Does Not Want