Learn how to utilize this method for musical sounding mixes, efficient results and less CPU load. You have no way of knowing exactly how the EQ moves you make at a track level will interact with the compressor on your stereo bus unless you experiment; you may find yourself pleasantly surprised.
Traditionally, mastering is the process of creating the master copy of a song, from which all other copies are made. Many mixers today enjoy using stereo-bus processing even if they know the mastering engineer will add their own flavor. The general workflow I like to use when performing top-down mixing involves applying processing to my stereo bus, setting rough track levels, applying processing to my sub buses, setting rough track levels again, and then processing individual tracks.
You can expect a few hiccups as you dive into this alternative mixing method and a seemingly unusual workflow. Relying solely on visual cues for feedback when mixing can be detrimental to a mix. In regards to top-down mixing, relying solely on visual cues can be even more of a risk than when mixing bottom-up. The gain-reduction meter of the compressor on your vocal track may be reading out dB of reduction, but this signal may be getting compressed even more as it passes through your vocal bus and stereo bus.
You need to develop a different mind-set to mix top-down effectively. Listen closely to how your tools are affecting your sound. Top-down mixing introduces too many levels of processing to rely on visual cues. If it helps, close your eyes when you adjust plugin parameters. Mixing with your ears will allow you to focus on how your processing tools are truly shaping the tone of your mixes, without the destructive influence of visual feedback.
Start with the basics. However, there are often times where volume automation is more applicable. I could use compression, but it would compress the second phrase while not compressing the first.
This will make the dynamics between the two phrases different, which will likely sound bad. Instead, what I should do is automate the volume of the second phrase to be lower. Now, the average level of the first phrase matches that of the second.
A great third-party solution for vocals would be the Waves Vocal Rider. There are many instances where you can use volume automation in your mixdown. For example, you might want a loop to be louder in the verse then in the chorus. The original purpose of sidechain compression was to duck one signal to make room for another. The most common application, which you likely already use, is to duck the bass to make room for the kick. You can use subtle sidechain compression throughout your project to create space and movement.
It may sound too small of a change to notice on one sound, but on many, it can really tighten up a mix. Spectrum analyzers are an invaluable tool to analyze the frequency balance of a mix. However, what matters most it how it sounds. Check out SPAN. In fact, less-than-ideal tools can make you a better producer because you get the most out of everything.
The most important thing is that you know your gear inside and out. For example, a beanie might cover your ears, so either take it off or move it out of the way. Wearing something over your ears blocks out a lot of high-frequencies and can impact the mixing and mastering stages. In my perspective, there are two main types of mixing — technical and creative. The technical side is making the song sound cohesive: making everything fits together and making sure it translates across multiple speakers.
Unfortunately, many people stop here. This is where you make elements sound unique and interesting. Play around with different types of post-processing to add texture and creative. More than anything, be creative. In electronic music, many sounds have very controlled dynamics, and often already have some sort of compression applied. Use it if you need to or want to change the character of a sound. Many people prescribe compression to treat mix problems when in reality it makes the problem worse.
Contrast this to a recording of a vocal or guitar — they will need compression because of the natural variations in volume. Unnecessary EQ is one of the most common mistakes producers make. It makes sense — EQ allows you to control the frequencies of a sound at an individual level. Was it to add more punch? Was it to clean up the mix? Whatever it is, work out why they did it, and then adapt it to your own productions. Or listen to the actual effect it has. The mastering engineers would then transfer that mixed down audio to records or cassette tapes.
The phrase "mix down" is actually kind of phasing out since most people do so much stuff on computer now. I've mentioned a few times that people now often use the term "render" to mean the same thing as "mix down. I believe this is at least partially because we use the term rendering when doing the same basic process in video production.
And since there is now a lot of cross-over between video and audio in the software of both worlds, terminology is becoming more standard. Just know that if you see the term "render," it means the same thing described in this article as "mixing down.
You can learn how to mix down your own audio, as well as tons of other awesome audio tips and tricks, in Reaper software in the Newbies Guide To Audio Recording Awesomeness 2: Pro Recording With Reaper tutorial course. Now go forth and mix down or render your masterpiece. Homebrew Audio. Your email address will not be published.
Compression, reverb, delay, and other processors can be added to each track to get the desired tones for the instruments as well. Manipulating fades and effects throughout the songs with automation can help the engineer control the emotion of the song sonically. A lot of engineers will switch between headphones and the studio reference monitors to get a consistent sound for their mix on various sources. Then, the finishing touches are added to the song by making slight adjustments primarily to the EQ, compression, limiting, and stereo enhancement.
All of the songs mastered on an album are brought to similar levels so the album flows and is cohesive throughout.
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