The Art Of Mixing (A Arte da Mixagem) - David Gibson

The first video, introduction to visual

representations of imaging, what makes a

great mix, introduces you to our

framework for displaying sounds

visually. We'll map out how each piece

of equipment in the control room affects

imaging, the apparent placement of

sounds between the speakers.

We begin by mapping out the space

between the speakers. Then we'll explain

the mapping of sound to visuals.

Once we have built a visual framework,

we can then use it to explore all of the

different types of mixes in the world.

then you'll have a good perspective on

which to base your own values.

The second video, visual representations

of studio equipment, is an overview of

the basic functions of each piece of

equipment in the studio. Using the

visuals, we will explore some of the

most basic functions of reverb, delays,

flanging, choruses, compression, and

noise gates. Doing this serves a couple

of purposes. First, you learn the basic

functions of the equipment. Second, you

get to know the details of mapping of

audio functions to visuals so that when

we show mixes in real time, you can see

them in more detail. Also, this will

make it easier to explain subtle details

in mixes.

Now that we have visually mapped out all

the equipment in the studio, in the

third video, musical dynamics created in

the control room, we can now show how

all of the equipment can be used

together to create different styles of

mixes. We can show the common structures

of mixes used for different styles of

music and different types of songs. Once

you see all that can be done in the

studio to create different types of

mixes, it gives you a perspective on all

the possibilities available.

[Music]

Hi, my name is David Gibson. I know

everything about recording. I've been

doing it since the beginning of time.

Of course, this isn't true. No one knows

everything about recording because every

session, every project is a completely

new experience. It's kind of like life.

You never know what you're going to get.

We can only do the best with each

situation. And who knows what the best

is? There's no god of recording out

there grading us. Therefore, I'm not

here to tell you how to record a certain

way. Each mix should be based on the

song you're mixing. I'm not here to tell

you how to mix like me. I'm here to help

you to prepare yourself to handle the

most unlikely type of situation

possible. I'm not going to tell you the

one way to mix. I want to show you

different ways that people mix so you

will have a choice.

I'm here to help you do the most

difficult job of all, to make art out of

technology.

My main goal is to give you a

perspective on how it all works

together, how you use technical

equipment to create art.

Then we will explore the different

values that different people have for

recording and mixing different styles of

music and songs.

[Music]

What's the music of the

[Music]

music of love? What's the music of love?

Heat.

[Music]

Heat.

This video is designed time to teach you

how to mix each and every style of

music. Now, this is a grand task. We're

not here to teach you our own values for

what makes a great mix. We only want to

give you a perspective on what is

possible so you can be creative on your

own. Each and every song is mixed

differently based on the song and style

of music. Therefore, we won't simply mix

a song and say, "This is the way it's

done."

Instead, what we'll do is point out the

common values that different people hold

for mixing different styles of music.

Each style of music has developed its

own traditions for the way it has been

mixed throughout the history of

recording. For example, big band music,

heavy metal, acoustic jazz, even rap,

and hip-hop have developed certain

traditions in the way they've been

mixed.

This video has been designed to answer

that elusive question, what makes a

great mix?

And how do you go about creating a great

mix? You see, the big question is once

you know what all the equipment in the

studio does, how do you use it to create

a good mix? After you know what the

knobs do, which way do you turn them?

We'll show you a framework for

explaining what a good mix is.

Then we will use this framework to see

what professional engineers are doing in

the songs we like and you like. With

such a framework, we can develop our own

values for what makes a great mix.

This video is not meant to tell you how

to mix a song a particular way because a

mix is dependent on so many variables.

The song and all of its details, the

style of music, and the people involved.

Instead, this video is designed to give

you a structural framework which you can

use to categorize all of the different

structures of mixes.

The structure of a mix. Hm. What a

concept. Finally, someone's mapped out

the underlying structure of what you can

do in a mix.

Wow. Did you hear what he said?

Yeah. You know, I know what I like, but

I never know how to get it when I'm in

the studio.

I had a good mix once, but I can never

remember how I did it.

Check it out, man. I think he's on to

something. The plans know what's up,

man. We know what's tough. Why can't we

ever get it right in the studio then?

Perspective.

Wonderful. Finally, a perspective on

everything that goes into recording and

mixing.

Once you have this visual framework

down, you can then begin to build your

own perspective on how different songs

are mixed and once you start checking

out the details of exactly what other

engineers are doing, then you develop

your own values as to what you like for

each style of music.

All values are valid. The only possible

evil is having no values at all.

We're not here to tell you you should

mix things a certain way. We're here to

help you develop and remember your own

values. And we're here to do it visually

because visuals can help us to remember.

What did he say?

Oh, I forget.

[Music]

She blinded me with science.

Yeah, bring on the visuals. I like it

when I can see what's happening. Many

people are visually oriented.

[Music]

Wow,

the colors are great. This is the way

learning should be.

I can smell the chemicals.

[Music]

The picture is worth a thousand science.

[Music]

science.

[Music]

In order to be able to explain and show

different styles of mixes, let's map out

how each piece of equipment affects

imaging, the apparent placement of

sounds between the speakers.

Just about everyone has experienced the

perception of sounds in a stereo mix as

coming out of one speaker or the other

or somewhere in between the speakers.

Now, if we pan a sound all the way over

to the right,

it's never going to come further right

than the right speaker. Right?

But sometimes, you know, you hear it

coming from other places in the room if

you've got a really weird room or if the

walls are strange. But in a studio, you

would never hear it further right of the

right speaker. Now, if we pan it to the

left,

no matter how far you pan it to the

left, it will never sound further left

to the left speaker. Some people think

it's only going to sound this far left.

Some people see it couple of inches or

even a foot further left of the left

speaker. So therefore, we can draw

boundaries just to the left of the left

speaker and just to the right of the

right speaker.

So panning is mapped out as left to

right. When I turn the pan pot here, you

can hear the sound pan from left to

right and from right to left like that.

Now, we're not talking about reality

here.

[Music]

Now, we're not talking about reality

here because you see, there's actually

no sound between the speakers. The

reality is the sound comes out of the

speakers in waves, travels through the

molecules into the room, hits the walls

in the room, and it also hits your ears

and your body. This is one way we

perceive sound. Another way we perceive

sound is we imagine it to be between the

speakers. This is called imaging. It's a

figment of our imagination.

You see, when we hear a sound between

the speakers, there's no sound really

there. The truth is, the same sound's

just coming out of both speakers. And we

imagine the sound to be between the

speakers. It's just a figment of your

imagination,

like an audio optical illusion.

[Music]

[Applause]

Also, you know when you hear a sound in

the middle of your head when listening

to headphones? Well, there's no sound

there. Your brain's there.

Cool.

Even if you are asleep, sounds still hit

your body and it affects you. On the

other hand, if you aren't paying

attention to a mix or if you're off to

the side of the speakers, you don't hear

imaging. When you're asleep, imaging

does not exist.

In fact, they've done studies of people

who don't hear imaging because of the

shape of their ears or because of the

shape of their minds.

Imaging is a figment of our imagination.

In fact, there is no imaging in the

forest.

Different people relate to sound in

these two ways. Many people just feel

the sound and perceive the music that

way. Other people actually see the

imaging between the speakers. Recording

engineers are often obsessed by these

dynamics that go on in this imaginary

world of imaging.

[Music]

Good heaven.

Beautiful.

[Music]

I don't believe it. There she go again.

She's tied it up. I can't find anything.

[Music]

Now, let's continue with our mapping of

mixing functions into the visual world.

What about faders or volume controls? As

you have probably noticed, in some

mixes, some sounds are right out front.

normally vocals and lead instruments,

while other instruments like strings and

background vocals are often in the

background.

We'll map out volume as a function of

front to back. This makes sense because

louder sounds are normally closer to us

and softer sounds are commonly further

away.

Also, if we want to sound like a vocal

to be out front in a mix, what do you

do?

Turn it up.

Right? If you want something out front,

turn it up.

If you want something in the background,

turn it down.

I guess that's why they call them

background vocals.

[Music]

Although volume is the number one

function of frontto back placement,

there are other pieces of equipment or

factors that make the sound seem more

upfront, such as compressor limiter,

boosting EQ in the mid-range or high

frequency range,

short delays of less than 30

milliseconds, that's fattening,

and any effect that makes a sound sound

unusual so that it sticks out on On the

other hand, reverb and long delay times

tend to make sounds more distant.

Well, distant thunder could be miles

behind the speakers, right?

However, this illusion is created from

our past experience of thunder.

Normally, we don't seem to hear sounds

more than a short distance behind the

speakers. Normally, background vocals

and strings are only a few inches behind

the speakers, right? Well, check it out

around your own speakers. Different

people do disagree as to how far behind

the speakers they hear the sounds. Who

am I to say your imagination sucks?

[Music]

Now, no matter how loud you make a sound

in a mix, sounds will never seem to come

from more than a short distance from in

front of the speakers. No matter how

loud you turn up the sounds, the sounds

will never come from here. And sounds

will never come from behind you.

Unless you have a 3D sound processor.

Yeah, but that's a whole another world

and video.

[Music]

This distance we imagine a sound to be

in front of or behind the speakers is

based on a couple of factors. First, the

larger the speaker, the further in front

the sound appears to be. Small studio

speakers about 6 in, a huge PA that's

about 10 ft, or a boom box is just 2 or

3 in. The second factor that determines

the difference in the way people

perceive the limits of imaging from

front to back has to do with the fact

that some people have a more active

imagination than others and then others

and then others than others.

[Music]

Now, one day I noticed that high

frequencies appear higher between the

speakers and low frequencies appear

lower. Bells, symbols, and strings seem

to be right about here.

Whereas bass guitars and kick drums seem

to be right about here.

Check it out on your own system. Play a

song and listen to where high frequency

sounds sounds seem to be and where low

frequency sounds seem to be between the

speakers. Most people agree highs are

higher and lows are lower. That's

probably why they call highs high and

lows low.

There are a number of reasons why this

illusion exists. First of all, tweeters

are often higher than woofers, but also

low frequencies come through the floor

to your feet. High frequencies never

come through the floor. Um, some studios

are even calibrated as to exactly how

many low frequencies come through to

your feet. Another reason though is that

we've got a low frequency resonator

here.

Boosting the low frequencies and we've

got a high frequency resonator here.

Boosting the high frequencies.

Singers when they learn how to sing are

often taught if they want to bring out

the lows, you know, sing from down here.

Okay? So, we have lows here, highs here.

On a more esoteric level, there are

energy centers that have been mapped out

by people in the Far East. These energy

centers are called chakras, and they

correspond to different frequencies in

our body. At the base of our spine, they

say it's 40 hertz. Around here is maybe

around 800 hertz, 1,000 hertz, 5,000 Hz.

Well, who am I to say whether this is

real or not? But at any rate, it's a

it's it helps explain why we might very

likely have called low frequencies low.

Regardless of why it happens, the truth

of the matter is that high frequencies

do seem to appear higher between the

speakers than low frequencies.

Therefore, we'll put the high

frequencies up high and we'll put the

low frequencies down low in all of our

visuals.

[Music]

Now, no matter how high the frequencies

in a sound, they'll never come from

higher than the speakers themselves. I

mean, they never come from the ceiling.

Right? You see, imaging is limited to

the top of the speakers

now. Since bass frequencies come through

the floor, the mower limit is down here.

the floor where the floor is. So check

it out. No matter how far we pan the

sound to the left, it's only going to go

about this far. It's going to be a

little bit in front of the speakers, a

little bit behind the speakers and to

the top of the speakers. Then all the

way across to the top, a little bit

front, a little bit behind, down to the

floor, all the way to the right speaker

about right here. Okay? So you can

imagine this threedimensional space

right there.

Now

this is a limited space between the

speakers where a mix occurs. It only

happens in this space right here.

Therefore, if you have a whole lot of

instruments, it's going to be crowded.

Say you got a 100 piece piece orchestra.

You put a hundred instruments between

these speakers and there's hardly any

room. So, it's hard to to differentiate

between every single sound. Whereas, you

put three violins between the speakers

and you can hear everyone completely

separate from each other because there's

only so much space between the speakers

here where you can create a mix.

Therefore, the whole issue becomes that

of crowd control.

[Music]

The ranges of control that an engineer

has are the same as those of the

sculptor. Both are working in three

dimensions.

We have now mapped out the space between

the speakers where imaging occurs. This

is a stage or pallet where we can create

different structures of mixes.

Now let's discuss the elements that we

can place between the speakers. Years

ago, I started out with a dot on my

Macintosh in the program Mac Paint. I

figured if I move the dot left and

right, it was like panning. However,

after a while, I realized that you can

commonly have two sounds in the same

spot between the speakers and still hear

both of the sounds. Therefore, I got a

3D program so that I could make the

images be see-through or transparent.

Now, using the equipment in the studio,

we can place any sound anywhere in the

3D stereo field with volume faders, pan

pots, and EQ. With panning, we can move

a sphere left and right. With volume, we

can move the sphere front to back. With

equalization, we can move the sound up

and down, at least a little bit. Of

course, no matter how much bass we add

to a piccolo, we'll never be able to get

it to rumble the floor, and we won't be

able to put a bass guitar in the sky.

But if we are mapping out pitch as a

function of up and down with EQ, we can

raise a sound up or down at least a

little bit. So as you see, we can place

the sound anywhere between the speakers

in 3D with volume, panning,

and EQ.

Now the whole goal here is to show how

much space each sound takes up between

the speakers so we can deal with the big

problem of masking. Just how big is each

sound in this world of imaging? This is

important because sometimes one sound

will hide another sound when they are in

the same place.

[Music]

Therefore, if this is a limited space

between the speakers, we need to know

how big each member of the crowd is,

right?

First, bass instruments seem to take up

more space between the speakers, so we

make them big. Think about it. Put three

bass guitars in a mix and what do you

have?

Hip-hop.

Yeah, but in any other style of music,

you end up with Mud City. I mean, you

put three bass guitars in a mix and it

fills up the space between the speakers

completely.

On the other hand, put 10 bells in a mix

and even if they're all playing at the

same time, you can hear every single one

individually.

Because bass instruments are bigger in

the world of image and they mask other

sounds more,

they hide other sounds in a mix,

especially when turned up loud.

Also, louder sounds will appear larger

because of perspective.

This also rings true because louder

sounds do mask other sounds more.

A guitar that is extremely loud in a mix

will tend to mask the other sounds more

than if it were soft in the mix.

[Music]

Besides round spheres, we also have

oblong spheres.

This is an unusual effect that happens

when we put a delay on a sound less than

30 milliseconds.

1 1,000

millisecond

equals 1 one second.

When you have a delay longer than 30

milliseconds, you hear an echo like

this.

However, when you have a delay less than

30 milliseconds, our ear is not quick

enough to hear the difference between

the two sounds. So, we only hear one

sound, one fat sound. When you place the

original signal in the left speaker,

then put the delayed signal in the right

speaker. It's as if it stretches the

sound between the speakers.

It doesn't put the sound in a room like

reverb.

It just makes it omniresent between the

speakers.

Just as volume, panning, and EQ can be

used to place and move spheres, we also

have control over the placement of this

line of sound created by fattening. We

can place the line anywhere from left to

right using pan pots, up front or in the

back using volume, or even move it up or

down a little bit with EQ.

When we place reverb in a mix, we are

placing the sound of a room in the space

between the speakers.

A room being three-dimensional is shown

as a three-dimensional see-through cube

between the speakers. Again, with

reverb, we can place it anywhere in the

3D stereo field using panning,

volume,

and EQ.

[Music]

We now have defined and visualized the

basic tools that an engineer uses to

sculpt this three-dimensional space

between the speakers, spheres, lines,

and rooms.

With them, the engineer can design a

wide range of structures ranging from

sparse mixes

to full mixes

to asymmetrical mixes

to symmetrical mixes

to a mix with a lot of movement.

As previously mentioned, the art of

mixing is the creative placement and

movement of these sound images. Just as

a musician needs to explore and become

thoroughly familiar with all of the

possibilities of his or her instrument,

so must an engineer be aware of all

possible musical dynamics that the

equipment can create. And he or she must

be adept at coming up with any structure

of mix that can be conceived.

Mixes can be transparent or invisible.

Some styles of music have traditionally

been made to be invisible, so you don't

hear the mix, like acoustic jazz,

bluegrass, or folk music. On the other

hand, the mix could be quite visible. In

some styles of music, engineers often

use the equipment in the studio to

create musical dynamics.

The mix is utilized almost like another

instrument in the song.

Regardless of the style of music, the

one thing we can all agree on is that

the mix should be appropriate for the

song.

The mix should fit the song like

clothing suits your personality.

The mix can be used as a tool to enhance

the song and highlight certain aspects

or it can be used to create tension or

chaos when appropriate.

Regardless of how it fits, the mix

should fit the style of music and song

in some way. The creative engineer

pushes the limits of what has already

been done.

Now that we have defined the space

between the speakers where imaging

occurs and that now that we have

outlined some of the basic parameters of

sound visually, the big question is what

makes a great mix and how do you obtain

it? It taint it. Well, in order to

answer this question, we need to figure

out what can be done in a mix in the

first place. The first question is what

tools do we have to make different types

of mixes?

What are the tools we have to create the

dynamics an engineer creates?

Well, as previously shown, we have

volume, panning, EQ, and effects.

These are the tools you use to create a

mix.

Now, there are many other things that

contribute to a great recording that can

be refined during the recording session.

These dynamics of the song include

concept,

melody, harmony, rhythm, the lyrics, the

song structure,

the arrangement and instrumentation,

the band's performance, and the quality

of the recording and the equipment. The

mix is only one aspect of a recorded

piece of music. All of these other

aspects must be at least okay at a basic

level of good quality. The mix can be

used to hide some of the weaker aspects,

but there's only so much you can do.

Tools are their best when they're

invisible. Focus on the hammer. Hit your

finger. Look at the steering wheel.

Crash the car. Stare at the knobs. Screw

up the mix. get lost in the equipment.

So much for the art. You know what I

mean? You can't see the forest through

the trees. It is the music that counts,

not the equipment.

Learn your tools well so you can get

past them into the beauty of the music

at hand.

So, what makes a great mix?

You know, the bad mix. It's just

happening. You feel it. It's there.

Yeah. Well, I like a mix where things

are overlapping and like once in a while

some things just seem to bubble up and

peek their heads through.

I like a full perspective.

I want to see small next to big, clarity

next to a fullness, emotion next to

thought form. I want to see a full

perspective.

So, uh, what makes a great mix? When you

play it anywhere, it sounds good.

So when it's booming, it's all good.

A great mix is full of cool effects.

Something happening every month.

It's true. One person's heavenly mix is

another one's help and vice versa.

[Music]

It takes all types for the world to go

around.

You know what I mean?

Yet throughout all mixes, there are

certain values that are commonly held.

We don't like muddiness, at least not

for too long. And we don't like too many

irritating frequencies. Even punk

rockers have their limits. And we like

our highs, high frequencies, that is.

There are similar values that have come

to be commonly accepted for each style

of music. For example, in big band

music,

[Music]

if you turn up the kick drum too loud,

they'll kill you.

Likewise, if you don't turn up the kick

drum really loud in heavy metal

and rap, they'll kill you, too.

[Music]

But still, within each style of music,

there are people that have differing

opinions as to how the mix should be.

Some people do it the opposite of what

is normal just to be different.

And about the only thing that anyone can

agree on in this business is that the

mix is appropriate for the style of

music and appropriate for the song and

all of its details.

Just as the song dictates the mix, it is

the personality of the entity that

dictates the way it is clothed.

It is the way that the equipment relates

to the song that makes a great mix.

The function of all this technical

equipment

is to enhance the music in some way.

Songs have many dynamics in them

spanning the entire range of perception

from

feelings and emotions

to thought forms,

physical reactions,

visual imagery,

[Music]

spiritual connotations

[Music]

and cultural connotations.

There's a wide range of possible

dynamics that music evokes in different

people.

The mixing board and all of the

equipment in the studio can also create

musical dynamics that also affect us in

similar musical ways.

The art of mixing is the way in which

the dynamics we create with the

equipment in the studio interface with

the dynamics apparent in songs.

Making the relationship of these

dynamics work is the art of the

recording engineer.

[Music]

So, it's all about relationships,

chips, ships, ships.

[Music]

The first video in the series was

designed as an introduction to our

visual framework for representing sounds

in a mix. In this video, we have covered

and you've learned that we perceive

sounds in a mix two ways. One, we feel

the sound waves hitting our ears and our

body. Second, we imagine the sounds

between the speakers. This is imaging,

the apparent placement of sounds between

the speakers.

We also learned about the limits of

imaging. First, you normally don't hear

sounds further left or right of the

speakers themselves. Second, you don't

hear sounds more than a couple of feet

in front of or behind the speakers. And

you don't hear sounds much higher than

the speakers themselves, but we do hear

sounds come through the floor.

We also learned that this is a limited

space between the speakers. When you

have a lot of sounds in the mix, they

fill up the space causing masking. With

only a few sounds in the mix, there's

plenty of room and they sound clearer.

Therefore, it all becomes a function of

crowd control.

We also learned that you can move sounds

around in this three-dimensional space

between the speakers with panning,

volume, and EQ.

Then we discussed demise and how you can

stretch the sound between the speakers,

making it fatter, although it does take

up more space in the mix.

We discussed reverb and how it takes up

a ton of space between the speakers and

how it can be moved around in the mix.

Then we gave you an introduction of what

is to come in future videos as we

briefly discussed different structures

of mixes.

We discussed how the mix should fit the

style of music and the details of the

song.

And we ended by showing how the dynamics

that we can create with the technical

equipment relate to the dynamics found

in the music itself.

[Music]

Hi there.

It's important to understand the basic

functions of each piece of equipment in

the studio. But the thing that is really

important is how all of the equipment

works together to create different

styles of mixes. That is how all the

equipment works together to create good

mixes. rather great mixes. We will then

have a framework for the discussion of

different values for different types of

mixes. Then we can have some really good

arguments. We'll actually have something

to argue about.

In this video, we will explain the basic

functions of all of the equipment in the

studio. Using visuals of sounds, we will

explain the most common parameters found

in each piece of equipment. This video

is an introduction to the basic

functions of equipment. The idea is to

explain each piece of equipment visually

so that in the next video we can use

these visuals to show different types of

mixes.

We will go into more detail on each

piece of equipment in future videos.

In order to make the huge variety of

studio equipment fathomable, let's

categorize all of the equipment based on

its function in the recording process.

Sound creators create sound. These

include acoustic to electric instruments

from vocals to synthesizer.

Sound routers route sound from one place

to another. Mixing boards route the

signal to four places. The multitrack,

the speakers, the headphones for the

band out in the studio, and the effects

so we can have a good time. Patch bays

are just the back of everything in the

studio next to each other. It's the back

of the mix panels, the back of the

multittrack ins and outs, back of the

console ins and outs, and back of the

effects ins and outs. It's the back of

everything next to each other, so we can

use short cables to connect everything

in the studio.

Sound stores sound. Tape players store

digital or analog sound. Sequencers

store MIDI information.

Sound transducers are equipment that

take one form of energy and change it

into another form of energy.

Microphones take mechanical energy or

sound waves and change them into

electrical energy. Speakers take

electrical energy and change them into

mechanical energy or sound waves.

But it is sound manipulators that we are

here for. This includes effects and

processing that are used to change or

add to a sound after it has been

created.

Now, there are only three components to

sound. Volume or amplitude, frequency,

and time. That's all she wrote. Every

single sound in the world can be

described fully and completely by these

three components. Therefore, every piece

of equipment in the studio controls one

or more of these three parameters.

Here's a chart showing all the sound

manipulators in the studio.

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

Volume of the faders is shown as a

function of front to back. Frequency is

shown as a function of up and down. Time

is shown in real time. That is when a

sound occurs, the visual representing

that sound will appear and flash.

[Music]

In the first video of the series, we

showed how we mapped out volume as a

function of front to back. As previously

mentioned, we can use volume faders to

place a sound out front, in the

background, or anywhere in between.

In the next video, we will cover how

volume relationships can be used to

create different musical dynamics. When

we set volume relationships in a mix, we

use apparent volumes to decide on the

relative balance, not just the voltage

of the signals going through the fader.

If we were just using where the faders

are set relative to each other, then we

could mix without even listening. We

could look at the faders and place them

based on their relative placement like

this.

When we raise the faders in the board,

we are changing the voltage of the

signal being sent to the amp, which

boosts the voltage, which then sends

more power to the speakers, which create

more sound pressure level in the air

that our ears hear.

However, there's more to it than that.

The other main thing that affects

apparent volume is the waveform of the

sound itself. For example, a chainsaw

will sound louder than a flute when

they're both exactly the same volume on

the beginning. A screaming electric

guitar sounds louder than a clean guitar

sound, even if they're both at exactly

the same volume.

So, when you see sounds represented by

spheres between the speakers, you're

seeing the apparent volume of a sound.

This is what we use to mix with. This is

what we use to set volume relationships.

You don't look at the faders. You listen

for the relative volumes.

[Music]

also as previously mentioned in the

first video, panning is naturally mapped

out as left to right.

If we think of the space between the

speakers as a pallet on which to place

instruments left to right, we are free

to pan as we please. However, particular

styles of music seem to have developed a

tradition for placement of particular

instruments left to right in the stereo

field. Obviously, movement of a pan pot

during a mix creates an especially

effective dynamic.

We will discuss the common ways that

panning is used to create musical

dynamics in the next video.

[Music]

[Music]

Compressor limiters are volume

functions. Their main purpose is to turn

the volume down. Compressor limiters

turn the volume down when the volume

goes above a certain threshold. When the

volume is below a certain threshold, the

compressor limiter does nothing and less

broken or cheap.

The two main functions of a compressor

limiter are one to get less noise on

tape, a better signal to noise ratio.

This is accomplished by compressing the

signal on the way to the multittrack and

two to stabilize the sound between the

speakers. The first function to get less

hiss from tape is the original reason

that compressor limiters were first

introduced into the studio.

Let me explain it this way. Say I'm

humming along at a low volume. Then all

of a sudden it gets really loud.

A well, the problem is unless we turn

down the fader, we're going to get

distortion. And you can't have

distortion, get distortion, go to jail.

So, you turn the volume down. But then

the low volume humming barely moves the

needles on the tape player. And as you

know, if the needles barely move, you

hear as much tape noise as you do

signal. It's called a bad signal to

noise ratio. And it kind of sounds like.

So you turn down the peaks and then

raise the overall volume above the noise

on the tape

getting less hiss.

The second function of a compressor

limiter is to stabilize the image of the

sound between the speakers. Check it

out.

When a bunch of sounds are bouncing up

and down like VU meters, it can get to

be extremely chaotic. But if we

stabilize one of the sounds, it's easier

to focus on it. Therefore, it seems more

present just because our mind can focus

on it. It's more stable. Now, if you

stabilize all of the sounds in the mix,

the whole mix will seem more present or

clear.

There are two main things that determine

how much you compress. The more

instruments and the more notes you have

in a mix, the more you compress because

the mix gets too chaotic or busy. The

second thing that determines the amount

of compression is the style of music.

Certain types of music, such as pop, are

commonly more compressed.

Now, after you stabilize the sound

between the speakers, if you then turn

up the overall volume, you can put the

whole sound right in your face. This is

commonly done in radio and TV

commercials, which makes it sound

louder, making it jump out and grab your

attention. This might be annoying in

radio and TV commercials,

but it's great for a lead guitar or

other lead instrument. If you want a

lead sound right in your face, compress

the hell out of it and turn it up.

It also works when putting sounds in the

background. The problem is that low

volume sounds can easily be lost in the

mix. They can be masked by other sounds

in the mix, especially if the volume of

the sound fluctuates.

Let me demonstrate.

If you have a sound in the background,

sometimes you can't quite hear it that

well, especially if it

[Music]

comes back in. Sometimes you hear the

sand and other times.

[Music]

But if you compress it, you can hear

every word they're saying. Even if

you're whispering, it never fades out.

If you don't compress it,

they don't know what they're talking

about. Other times, you really do know

what they're talking about.

So, you see, if you have a low volume

sound and you put it in the background,

if you compress the hell out of it, you

can set it down low and still never lose

it in the mix. It's always there because

it's stable.

There are two main knobs on compressor

limiters commonly called threshold and

ratio. Visuals are especially effective

in explaining what threshold and ratio

do. If volume is shown as a function of

front to back, the sphere is bouncing

back and forth like a VU meter. It will

then come out and smash into the

threshold and stop if it's a limiter.

The difference between a compressor and

a limiter is that a limiter stops the

volume from getting any louder than the

threshold itself.

A compressor, on the other hand, allows

the volume to get a bit louder based on

a ratio or percentage. Check it out. If

we set the ratio to 2:1, it will go this

far.

If we set the ratio to 10:1, it will

only go this far past the threshold.

A good starting point is to set the

ratio to 4:1. This is so that it turns

the volume down without squashing. A

squash sound sounds like this.

The truth of the matter is you can set

the ratio wherever you like. But also

true is the fact that most people who

are just starting out can't hear the

difference between ratio settings very

well. Until you can tell, 4:1 is a good

place to start. Now, this is how you set

the threshold. The thing is, you don't

look at the threshold knob. Well, you

have to look at it for a second in order

to get your hand on it. Then you look at

the gain reduction meters, which show

how much the compressor is turning the

volume down. You turn the threshold knob

until you get a maximum of 6dB of gain

reduction regardless of the ratio

setting. For some instruments like lead

guitar or screamer type vocals, you can

set the maximum level at 10 dB of gain

reduction. These are the levels you can

set it at so that you turn the volume

down some without squashing it. Once you

hear compression really well, set it the

way you want. Until then, try setting

the ratio at 4:1 and setting the

threshold for 6 dB of gain reduction.

[Music]

the ocean

[Music]

sweet.

She blinded me with silence.

Like compressor limiters, the function

of a noise gate is to turn the volume

down. Therefore, compressor limiters and

noise gates are often packaged together

in one box.

The difference is that noise gates turn

the volume down when the volume falls

below the threshold.

Noise gates have three main functions.

To get rid of noise, to get rid of

bleed, and to shorten the duration of a

sound.

One function of a noise gate is to put

it on a guitar amp to get rid of amp

noise when the guitar is not playing.

You know, if you set a guitar amp up

with major distortion and turn it up to

11, the amp makes a really loud when

it's not being played. If a song were to

end with a guitar solo, it might sound

like this.

[Music]

Now, if we set the threshold correctly,

it will sound like this.

[Music]

This is especially helpful in the middle

of the song so you don't hear the amp

noise. The threshold of the noise gate

is set so that as soon as the volume

fades enough to hear the amp noise, it

gets cut off. Be careful, of course, not

to cut off any of the guitar sound.

Another common use of a noise gate is to

get rid of bleed from other instruments

in the room. Gates can be especially

effective on drums to isolate each drum.

And it's especially important on a snare

when you got a lot of reverb on the

snare. Check it out.

[Music]

[Music]

When volume is shown as front to back

and the volume falls below the

threshold, the sound will disappear.

Noise gates can also be used to shorten

the duration of a sound. This can make a

sound shorter which can be used as a

quite bizarre effect.

The threshold on a noise gate should be

set so that it cuts the noise or bleed

but doesn't cut the main signal.

[Music]

[Music]

I don't believe it.

There she goes again.

I can't find anything

when she turn.

Before we continue, I should remind you

that we're just giving an overview of

the functions of each piece of equipment

in the studio at this point. The idea is

to explain each piece of equipment

visually so that in the next video we

can use these visuals to show different

types of mixes. We'll then go into more

detail on each piece of equipment in

future videos. As you can well guess, we

could do a whole video on EQ alone, and

we will.

We'll begin our discussion of EQ by

covering the differences between types

of equalizers.

Next, we'll explore all of the different

frequency ranges between 20 and 20,000

hertz.

What about the other ones, the higher

ones?

EQ is a change in the volume of specific

frequency ranges of a sound. It's the

same as the tone controls on a normal

stereo, bass, and treble. Now, there are

three main types of EQ found in the

studio. Graphics, parametrics, and

rolloffs. highpass and low pass filters.

You all know what a graphic EQ looks

like. It has a volume control for each

frequency. You can turn a frequency up

or down using the volume sliders.

Visually, we'll show frequency as a

function of up and down. So, we have low

to high frequencies here. We're showing

the volume of a particular frequency as

the brightness in that band. For

example, if you turned up the highs

around 5,000 hertz, you would see it get

brighter in that frequency range, like

this.

[Applause]

On a graphic EQ, you choose which

frequency you will turn up or down by

putting your finger on the correct

slider. On a parametric EQ, you turn the

frequency sweep knob in order to select

the frequency that you want to turn up

or down.

[Applause]

[Music]

Besides a sweep knob, a parametric also

has a bandwidth knob, which controls the

range of frequencies that are to be

turned up or down. On a graphic EQ, when

you choose a particular frequency to

turn up or down, you're actually turning

up or down a range of frequencies preset

by the manufacturer.

Engineers being the control freaks they

are want to be able to control the range

of frequencies they are turning up or

down. With a parametric, the bandwidth

knob gives you this control over how

wide the frequency range is.

The knob's usually called Q because they

couldn't get the word bandwidth on the

knob. A thin bandwidth is normally

labeled with a peak whereas a wide

bandwidth is often labeled with a hump.

Sometimes ranges of musical octaves are

also used. For example, 3/10 of an

octave to three octaves.

The obvious advantage of a parametric is

the control you have over the bandwidth.

If a parametric doesn't have a bandwidth

knob, it isn't a full parametric. Unless

you're a salesperson in a music store.

These days, many manufacturers are using

the term parametric to refer to a

paragraphic or semiparametric

which has no bandwidth control. Those

bandwidth controls are expensive.

Rolloffs roll off low or high

frequencies. They're commonly found on

major consoles as highpass and low pass

filters and on smaller consoles as

switches. A highp pass filter rolls off

the low frequencies and does nothing to

the highs. It passes them. It only rolls

off the lows. This is especially helpful

to get rid of low frequency sounds such

as trains, planes, trucks, air

conditioners, earthquakes, or bleed from

bass guitar or kick drum. and serious

foot stopping.

Low pass filters roll off high

frequencies like this. These are

especially helpful for getting rid of

hiss.

Rolloffs can often be found on

microphones and smaller mixing consoles

like Mackie and Soundcraft as switches

that simply roll off lows when the

switches engage.

[Music]

It is important to get to know all of

the frequencies of sound by name. You

see, the truth of the matter is that we

know all of the frequencies from 20 to

20,000 hertz by heart. Our entire

system, our entire psyche was designed

to perceive sound. Not only our ears,

but every cell in our body is designed

to perceive frequencies.

Here's a picture of a water molecule

inside a cell of our skin reacting to

certain frequencies.

[Music]

Actually

when we hear sound every single molecule

in our entire body is creating a pattern

based on the sound coming in. This means

that our entire body is perceiving sound

not just our ears.

You see we were born to hum to sound.

That is our entire body and being was

created to perceive sound. Therefore, we

all know every single frequency by

heart. We've been checking them all out

since the womb. We know all frequencies

and pitches intimately. The trick is to

learn their names.

We'll get into more detail on all of the

frequency ranges and how to remember

them in future videos. Then you'll be

able to remember what boosting or

cutting each frequency does to each

instrument in the world.

Specialists don't seem to agree on how

different frequencies affect us

emotionally. Quite understandable

because of the subjective nature of

frequency perception. Psychologists to

philosophers have written books about

how sounds affect us emotionally and how

people have organized their ways of

perceiving difference in frequency.

Different frequencies do affect us

differently both physiologically and

psychologically,

not to mention spiritually.

However, even more powerful than the way

specific frequencies make us feel is the

way that combinations of frequencies

make us feel.

Heat.

[Music]

[Music]

Heat.

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

The truth of the matter is that each and

every sound except except a pure tone is

made up of a combination of tones of

different frequencies and different

volumes. These harmonics or overtones

account for the differences in why one

sound sounds different from another, a

sound's tambber.

Different sounds have different

harmonics in them and more or less

harmonics as well. The interesting thing

about harmonics is that they are all

mathematical multiples of each other and

each individual harmonic is a pure tone.

Therefore, when we raise or lower the

volume of one frequency or another,

we're actually raising or lowering the

volume of one or more of the harmonics

in the sound. This accounts for why each

sound responds to EQ differently.

[Applause]

Once in the mix, sounds should be EQed

so that they work well with each other.

Sounds can be made to sound more similar

to each other or more dissimilar. A lead

instrument might be made to be more

cudden and embracy so it really grabs

attention. An instrument might be given

extra bass to make the song more

dancable or just to excite the rap

listener.

[Music]

There's an important technique that you

might find helpful for checking the

relative equalization of each sound in a

mix. First, scan the high frequencies

and check the relative brightness of all

of the sounds in the entire song. Make

sure that all of them are as bright as

you want them. Often they should have a

similar amount of brightness, but

sometimes you want some sounds to be

even brighter than others. Sometimes you

might want them to be duller than

others.

Second, scan the mid-range frequencies

and check for the relative volume of

mid-range frequencies across all of the

instruments.

Mid-range frequencies kind of stick out

when boosted a lot.

Make sure that all of the instruments

have the amount of mid-range frequencies

in them that you want. Just like hives,

often they should have a similar amount

of mid-range frequencies. However,

sometimes you want some sounds to stick

out more and grab your attention. Third,

scan the bass frequencies and check for

the relative volume of bass in each

sound that hangs out in the bass range.

For example, check the relative amount

of bass frequencies present in the kick

drum compared to the amount of bass in

the bass guitar. Check it out and make

sure that it's the way you want it to

be. This frequency range is the one that

is most commonly missed when mixing an

album or project.

[Music]

This has been an introduction to EQs and

equalizations.

Check out future videos for more detail.

Heat up here.

A delay stores a sound on a chip and

then plays it back at whatever time you

like. The delayed signal can also be fed

back into the input to get the

well-known sound of feedback or

regeneration where the signal repeats.

Just as you need to learn the details of

the frequency spectrum, you must also

get to know how each delay time feels.

It's the type of feeling or emotion that

different delay time ranges evoke that

you use to remember differences in delay

times.

We can also use the relationship between

delay time and distance in the studio to

help us to get to know different delay

times. Sound travels close to 1 foot per

millisecond.

1,000

milliseconds

equals one one second.

That means for every 1 foot in the

studio, you're adding 1 millisecond of

delay time. Therefore, it's very easy to

hear a delay between two mics set at

different distances.

We can show how different delay times

look quite clearly.

Here is 500 milliseconds.

Here is 100 milliseconds of delay time.

Here's 40 milliseconds.

Now, when we have a delay time less than

30 milliseconds, an unusual thing

happens. Our ear and brain are not quick

enough to hear two sounds. Our ear

perceives this quick of a delay time as

one fat sound. This effect is one of the

most important and useful for recording

engineer. Any instrument can be made

into stereo with fattening. It can be

used to fill out a mix so as to make it

sound fuller. It can be used to make an

otherwise wimpy sound sound fatter,

fuller, and bigger. It can also make a

sound more present so that it can be

turned down in the mix but still be

discernable. Now if we pan the original

dry signal to one side and the delay to

the other side, the sound seems to be

stretched between the speakers like

this. Now if we add feedback to a sound,

the sound repeats itself like this. This

this this. What's happening is the

output of the delay, the echo, is being

fed back into the input of the delay to

be repeated again. This

adding a delay to a sound is the same as

adding another sound or instrument to

the mix.

Therefore, it will always tend to make

the mix seem fuller because there are

more sounds to occupy the limited space

between the speakers.

You normally add delays to a mix only if

you have room for them. Therefore, you

wouldn't add delays to a very busy mix

with a lot of instruments and a lot of

notes. The exception would be heavy

metal, alternative rock, and some new

age music. These styles of music are

commonly mixed to create a wall of

sound. Therefore, to add another sound

to fill this space can be just awesome.

Yeah, Phil Spectre.

Yeah, he created that Wallace sound type

mix.

When the delay time is long enough to

hear two sounds, then the delayed signal

can be treated just like another track,

another sound. Therefore, the volume and

panning can be set any way that you see

fit. as sweet as anyone.

But you know

meology.

If you set the delay time for less than

30 milliseconds and crank up the

feedback, you get an effect called

tubing.

If you then change the delay time, you

get an effect that sounds like this. If

we set a clock to change the delay time

on its own, we get the effect commonly

called flanging. Notice that as the

delay time gets shorter, the pitch seems

to rise. As the delay time gets longer,

the pitch seems to fall. Now if we set

the width or depth so that the sweep of

the delay time is not so wide like this

then we have the effect commonly called

chorusing.

It's poetry in motion.

She turns to me

as deep as any ocean

as sweet as any harmony.

But you blinded me with science

and failed me in biology.

Yeah.

If we set the delay time so that we are

only sweeping between zero and 1

milliseconds,

we have the effect commonly called

phasing.

It's poetry in motion.

She turned her tender eyes to me,

as deep as any ocean,

as sweet as any harmony.

But you blinded me with science

and failed me in biology.

Yeah.

All of these effects, flanging,

chorusing, and phasing, are just

changing short delay times with lots of

feedback or regeneration.

In 1957, Tony Fischer was doing an album

when someone accidentally leaned on the

reels of the tape player like this. The

tape slow down and then when they got

back up, it sped back up to normal speed

like this. The band went, "Cool. Let's

put it on the record."

The song The Big Hurt went to number

three on the charts in 1957.

Now, you can also change the speed or

rate of the flange like so.

[Music]

You could set the rate of the sweep to

the tempo of the song.

[Music]

Or you could set it so that it is rising

on one chord and going down on another

chord.

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

Or you could even set it so that it

rises on the first half of the verse and

falls on the second half of the verse.

Flanging is commonly used to create a

more spacey type of mood in the mix.

Sometimes used to create an otherworldly

effect. It's great for the underwater

type of effect.

Chorusing is commonly used to simulate

the effect that you get when you have a

chorus of people or a chorus of

instruments.

Phasing is a very subtle effect. so

subtle that is the kind of effect that

when used at Grateful Dead concerts, the

crowd often wonders if the effect is

actually coming from inside their head.

I thought it was inside my head.

Each of these effects can be panned in

various ways like this.

[Music]

Each can also be brought out front with

volume.

[Music]

and raised or lowered a little bit with

EQ.

[Music]

We'll explore more details about these

effects in future videos, including how

they are commonly used in mixes for

different styles of music.

[Applause]

Beautiful.

[Music]

[Music]

I don't believe it. There she goes

again. Tiding up. I can't find another

[Music]

[Music]

reverb is made up of thousands and

thousands of delay times. When you first

hear a sound in a room, the sound

continues traveling out at around 700

miles per hour and hits the walls,

bounces back from the walls, all at

different distances, and comes back to

us as hundreds of delay times. All of

these delay times wash together to make

the sound we know as reverb.

When we place reverb in a mix, it's just

like we are placing the sound of a room

between the speakers.

Therefore, we'll show reverb visually as

a room or cube between the speakers.

There are certain parameters of control

that are commonly found in reverb units.

First, you can change the type of room.

You can think of it as different types

of rooms between the speakers like this.

Halls

rooms

chambers

and plate reverbs.

You can also change reverb time, the

duration of how long the reverb lasts.

Long reverb time would look like this.

[Music]

A short reverb time would look like

this.

When a sound occurs, it takes a while

for the sound to travel out and hit

walls before you hear the reverb come

back. This time of silence before the

reverb begins is called pre-delay time.

A really long pre-delay time would look

like this.

It's poetry in motion.

She turned her tender eyes to me

as deep as any ocean.

as sweet as any harmony.

But you blinded me with science

and failed me in biology. Yeah,

it's poetry in motion.

She turn to me.

As deep as any ocean,

as sweet as any harmony,

but you binding me with science.

[Music]

Yeah.

But a natural room like an auditorium

has a short pre-delay time that would

look like this.

It's poetry motion.

She turn to me

as deep as any ocean

as sweet as any harmony.

But you find me with science

and fa biology.

Yeah.

Another setting of reverb is the

envelope. That is how the reverb changes

its volume over time. Normal reverb has

an envelope that looks like this.

Engineers being the bored people they

are thought to put a noise gate on this

natural reverb which then chops it off.

Therefore, the volume stays even then

stops abruptly like this.

It's poetry in motion.

She turns to me

as deep as any ocean,

as sweet as any harmony.

But you blinded me with science

and failed me in biology.

Yeah,

it's poetry in motion.

She turn to me.

As deep as any ocean,

as sweet as any harmony,

but you find me with science.

[Music]

Now, if we were to take the envelope of

normal reverb and turn it around

backwards, the volume of the reverb

would rise, then stop abruptly like

this.

It's poetry in motion.

She turned her tender eyes to me

as deep as any ocean,

as sweet as any harmony.

But you blinded me with science

and failed me in biology.

Yeah,

it's poetry in motion.

She turned her tender eyes to me.

As deep as any ocean,

as sweet as any harmony,

but you finding me with science.

Yeah.

Now, if we were to take the tape and

play it backwards, it would sound like

this.

[Music]

Now, if we put reverb on the vocal and

record it on some open tracks,

then turn the tape around to run

forward, we'll get an effect like this.

[Applause]

and find no peace.

When

will the dream ever end?

And this foolish

heart

you

[Music]

Oh,

cool.

This effect is called preverb. It's the

most evil effect that could be created

in the studio because only the devil

could put an effect on something before

it even happens. Therefore, it has been

used in every scary movie made,

including The Exorcist and Poltergeist.

And of course, it's Aussie Osborne's

favorite effect. It can also be fun as

hell, too.

[Music]

One of reverb's main functions is to

connect sounds in a mix and fill in the

space between the speakers like this.

When she turned

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

like any sound, reverb can be panned in

various ways like this.

Reverb can also be brought out front

with volume

or placed in the background by turning

down the volume.

And it can be raised or lowered a little

bit with EQ.

[Music]

I can smell my chemicals.

[Music]

motion.

[Music]

We have covered volume changes,

panning,

EQ,

compressor limiters,

noise gates,

delays, delays, delays, delays,

flanging,

phasing deep,

coursing,

poetry, in motion

and reverb.

[Music]

[Music]

Now that we have covered each piece of

equipment in the studio, we can now use

these visuals to show different classic

styles of mixes in the next video.

Hi. In this videotape, we're going to

get down to business. We'll use the

visual framework that we've outlined in

the first two videos to explain how to

create different styles of mixes. This

is mixing theory.

Plato and all those Greek dudes wrote

myriads of books on a wide range of art

forms, including music theory. Mixing,

on the other hand, is a new art form.

You could say it's still in its

adolescent form. You see, we've only had

stereo for about 30 years.

We have a lot of books that explain what

all the equipment in the studio does,

but there are virtually no books that

try to explain the aesthetic side of

what makes a great mix.

Hardly anybody has tried to even

approach the whole world of artistic

values, perhaps because it's so fraught

with different people's values.

The normal process for learning to make

a great mix is through experience with

recording each style of music. First,

you learn the tools and how they're used

in each style of music.

But you might have gotten to the point

where you begin to wonder why your mixes

don't sound like CDs.

And you know, professional engineers are

getting great mixes every time.

Certain professional engineers command

extremely large fees because they are

capable of coming up with something that

most people perceive as great every

time.

So what is it they're doing? It isn't

magic. They're doing some very specific

things.

Now that we have a framework for

explaining what is done in a mix, we can

now explore these things that engineers

are doing to make such great mixes. This

video is designed to help you discover

these high-level values that major

engineers have. Because you see, once

you understand what these other guys are

doing, you get a good perspective on

what can be done. then you can do

whatever the hell you want based on your

own values. In order to determine what

makes a great mix, we must first

determine what you can do in a mix as

opposed to what you can do during the

recording session.

There are a wide range of aspects that

contribute to a good recording besides

the mix.

The mix is only one of a number of

aspects.

If any one of these components isn't

happening, then it will stick out like a

sore thumb and say, "Mix sucks."

The professional engineer will often

help the band refine all of these

aspects during the session. We'll cover

how to refine each of these components

later on in aspects of a recorded piece

of music. The mix is only one of all of

these components.

There are four types of tools that you

can use in a mix to create all the

different styles of mixes in the world.

The tools are volume faders, pan pots,

equalization, and effects.

The question is, what can we do with

these tools?

As mentioned in the previous video, the

equipment in the studio, the art of

mixing is the way in which the dynamics

we create with the equipment in the

studio interface with the dynamics

apparent in music and songs. So what are

the dynamics in the music?

[Music]

When we speak about dynamics, we're not

talking about common terminology used

for volume dynamics. We're not talking

about changes in loudness. We are

talking about changes in intensity,

musical dynamics, any type of change in

the music that causes a change in a

person.

Well, the dynamics in the music are as

different as people are.

That which comes from music is as very

life itself.

[Music]

Some people feel very strong emotions

when they hear some types of music.

Probably the most common dynamic that

people see in music is simply up or

down. Whatever the content of the up or

down is, this is a common perception

around music.

Some people see structure in music and

sometimes they relate these structures

to common structures found in the world

such as buildings, bridges and pyramids.

Some people actually see the workings of

the brain in a song. They see the way in

which our minds work as being the same

as the flow of the song.

Some people even think of songs as

thought forms. In fact, some bands write

their music in this way to represent the

way our brains work. This explains the

common theory that music is just an

extension of our personalities.

You've got it backwards, Grasshopper.

The music came first. You are an

extension of the music.

[Music]

Some people relate to music through

music theory. They see notes on a scale.

They see intervals. They see chords.

They see the structure of the song in

musical terminology.

Some people have physical reactions like

dancing.

[Music]

Not only does music move us physically,

but there's also a whole world of music

therapy based on the healing vibrations

of sound.

Some people see visual imagery. Walt

Disney saw all kinds of things,

including flying elephants. Just check

out MTV to see a whole another world of

visual imagery. You might say, "I see

bubbles.

Some people see spiritual connotations.

The whole world of religious music is a

good example.

Some people see some music as a direct

connection to God.

There's a wide range of possible

dynamics that music evokes in different

people. Different people get different

things out of music. It's true. All of

the things that people get out of music

are as varied as people and life itself.

The trick is for the recording engineer

to create musical dynamics with the

equipment that match dynamics that

people see in music, whatever those

dynamics might be. Everything that you

could possibly think of as to how music

affects you or anyone else is valid.

Anything anybody gets out of music is

real. The art of the engineer is to

enhance or bring out those musical

dynamics even more with the equipment in

the studio.

Now, what are the dynamics that we can

create with the equipment in the studio?

With volume faders, pan pots,

equalization, and effects.

Let's start with volume faders.

For those of you who are of a mind that

would like to follow the overall

structure of the presentation, let us

show you a graphic of how it is all

organized. We will be going through each

of the tools in the studio. Volume, EQ,

panning, and effects.

As we go through each one, we will

explain the dynamics that can be created

with each one based on first the

difference between individual levels or

settings for that piece of equipment.

Second, the overall patterns that can be

created between the relationships of all

the sounds in the mix. And third, what

happens when you move the knobs during

the mix? An especially effective

dynamic.

As I was saying, let's start with

volume.

The question is, what kind of dynamics

can we create with the relative volumes

set by the faders on the console? Most

people first think of the dynamics that

you can create by moving the faders

during the mix. In fact, this is an

extremely powerful dynamic. When you

change the volume of a sound during a

mix, you can create a dynamic that is so

powerful that it can overwhelm the song.

The movement of the fader can be such a

strong dynamic that it becomes the

primary focus of the entire mix at that

moment. But even more importantly, there

are somewhat more subtle dynamics that

are created just by simply placing the

volume of the faders at specific levels

and leaving them there.

Most people think of balancing the

volume of sounds to mean to make them

all even.

The process is actually much more

complex.

Often we don't want all the instruments

to be the same volume. We normally want

one instrument to be a bit louder than

another. In fact, the exact volume

relationships between each sound in a

mix are very specifically set by a

recording engineer. For example, a lead

vocal will come across completely

different if it is extremely loud in the

mix. That is, if it is way out in front

of the rest of the mix. emotion.

[Music]

Now she's making love to me.

The space are in commotion.

The elements in harmony

[Music]

surrounding me

[Music]

with

both the singing and the message being

transmitted by the lyrics will be

perceived completely differently

depending on how loud the vocal is in

the mix. And you see this is a dynamic

that the engineer controls by where he

places the fader in the mix.

Actually, the musical dynamics that can

be created with volume relationships are

much more complex than you might have

ever imagined. In fact, traditions have

evolved for specific volumes of

particular instruments for different

types of music and songs. Let's explore

them this way.

Now remember we're discussing relative

apparent volumes. You see the

you see the apparent volume of a sound

is also dependent upon the waveform of a

sound. For example, a chainsaw sounds

louder to our ear than a flute even if

they are both exact same volume. So the

apparent volume is a level that sounds

seem to be to our ear.

If we think of volume in decibb based on

sound pressure level, then there are

around 140 different levels of volume.

But in order to make this wide range of

levels more accessible, let's divide

them into six different levels like

this.

[Music]

If we take a look at a mix and divide it

into six ranges of volume, these are the

instruments that we commonly find at

each level.

[Music]

Level one. Sounds at this volume in

mixes are unusually loud. In fact, it's

quite rare that sounds are ever at this

level. The alarm clocks in time from

Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd's a

good example. Explosions and primal

screams can also be this loud. Normally

though, if an inexperienced engineer

places a sound at this volume, it's

thought of as an error. Level two.

Sounds at this volume are normally lead

instruments and vocals. However, certain

songs and types of music will put their

vocals here. For example, big band music

and middle of the road Barry Manalo type

of music. Also, if the vocals or lyric

or lyrics are the main focus of

attention like in Bob Dylan, they might

put the vocals this loud. Likewise, if a

song has a great singer, his or her

vocals are often placed at this level in

the mix. Other instruments found at this

volume might include the boom in rap

music or the kick drums or toms in heavy

metal. Horn blast in big band music and

symphony blasts in classical music often

reach level two.

Level three sounds at this volume

normally consist of primary rhythm parts

such as guitar or some type of keyboard.

Lead vocals in a lot of rock and roll

are also set at this level. Other

examples include kick drums in most

heavy metal, snare drums in most dance

music, most toms in most styles of

music, and symbols with high hat only

occasionally at this level. Although

jazz and dance music often place it

here. Phil Collins is probably about the

first person to place reverb on the

drums at this level, level three.

Level four. Sounds at this level include

rhythm beds and cordal pads such as

background piano, keys or guitar. Drums

in a lot of jazz, middle of the road and

easy rock are also at this level. When

reverb is noticeable as a sound on its

own, it's normally here. Background

vocals and strings are also often at

this level, but of course they can vary.

Level five. Sounds at this level include

things like the kick drum in jazz and

big band music. Lots of effects and

reverb often get placed here so that you

can only hear them if you listen

closely. Background vocals sometimes

also get relegated to this level. Some

producers also use this level to make

their mark. Level six sounds at this

level are so soft that they are hard to

detect. Pink Floyd is famous for adding

little whispers or almost subliminal

sounds to draw you into the mix. Sounds

at this level can be very effective, but

it's important they serve to add to the

overall mix in some way. If these sounds

do not fit just right, they can sound

just like noise. This chart of the six

different levels has only been presented

to give us a framework so we can now

explore all the different levels for

each instrument in different styles of

music.

As you will see, different instruments

are commonly placed at different levels.

Let's take a look.

[Music]

Now, as previously mentioned, different

styles of music have developed their own

traditions as to the volume that

particular instruments are placed within

a mix. Let's look at each type of sound

individually. What about vocals?

Let's take a look at various examples of

vocals being placed at different levels

in the mix. Think about it. Vocals are

commonly mixed at different levels for

different types of music and for

different types of songs. For example,

probably the loudest we hear vocals is a

capella. Just kidding. Vocals are

commonly quite loud in middle of the

road music.

I got it back.

I got it back.

good.

Of course, in opera, the vocals are also

quite loud. The vocals are commonly

mixed loudly in folk music as well. I'm

a guitar man.

Whoa.

I'm a guitar man.

I'm a guitar man.

and in big band music.

So when you hear it thunder, don't you

run under a tree. There'll be pennies

from heaven for you and me. Don't you

know there's bound to be pennies from

heaven for you and me

and in country music.

So baby, just leave me and say goodbye.

Come on now, let me go baby. Come on

baby, now let me go.

Besides the style of music dictating the

level of vocals, the song can also make

a big difference. Songs where the lyrics

are the focus of the entire song often

have the vocals mixed right out front.

Bob Dylan's a perfect example. On the

other hand, think of examples where the

vocals are mixed quite low, as low as

level four. Even an example of vocals

being solo are those in songs by Enya.

Commonly, vocals are mixed quite low in

a lot of types of rock and roll. Perfect

example is Pink Floyd or any alternative

rock. Besides the style of music, there

are a number of reasons that you might

turn the vocals up or down in a mix. If

they suck, you normally shouldn't put

them out front. Whereas, if they're

great, show them off.

Now, what about snare? Same as with

vocals, the volume that a snare is

placed in a mix is dependent on the

style of music and the song. Big band

music and jazz often have the snare

mixed quite low, as low as level four.

Now I'm deep into

[Music]

narcotics

[Music]

as a

It is also interesting to note that a

lot of easy rock and ballads commonly

mix the snare quite low.

And I know you don't care.

[Music]

However, some ballads do have a massive

snare sound turned up quite loud.

You knew I was waiting.

should have been easy.

Rock and roll is probably most

responsible for the snare's progression

up the volume scale. But in the 60s,

dance music and then disco helped to

raise the level of the snare even

another level.

[Music]

level.

[Music]

These days, some types of rock and roll

have the snare as loud as level two.

[Music]

Now check out kick drums.

Again, the style of music makes the

biggest difference. Big band music and

jazz commonly have the level of the kick

drum down around level four or even

level five.

[Music]

It's also interesting that even a lot of

Jimmyi Hendricks's music was mixed with

the kick drum down around level four so

that you could hardly hear it.

Another interesting thing is that over

the last 20 or so years, the kick drum

has made its way up the scale, becoming

louder and louder in mixes. Heavy metal

was probably responsible for raising the

kick drum up a whole level. Heavy metal

commonly places the kick drum up around

level two.

[Music]

Rap and now hip-hop have almost taken it

off the top of the scale.

Now, let's take a look at volume levels

of bass guitar. Bass guitar started out

barely in mixes at all.

There lies a body

just in life.

There's someone sneaking

around that corner.

Could that

be Mac the knife

[Music]

in big band? It was down around level

three or four. In a lot of jazz, it's

actually now quite high, close to level

two.

[Music]

Even in a lot of rock and roll, the bass

guitar is not as loud as many people

often think, although it does vary a

lot.

Then rap began a revolution

with a speedy DJ creating the beat with

a funky baseline

along with my rhymes are flowing the

beats are growing. They said it couldn't

happen but now I'm showing showing what

it takes to make it in this world of

music. So now I got to use it. Now back

to the jumping. Got to stop slumping cuz

you know we got to do something.

Check it out.

Even Peter Gabriel has a rap boom on his

last album.

Not only did rap help to raise the level

of bass guitars in mixes, it has also

even changed the hardware. When you go

to a stereo store, you see things like

meabase and of course boom boxes. And

stereos are now capable of handling a

lot more bass than in the old days. It's

also interesting that reggae and the

blues often have the level of the bass

quite a bit louder than in other styles

of music. Sometimes as high as level

two.

[Music]

I know the reason for

[Music]

ain't got no

[Music]

[Applause]

commonly the fewer instruments in a mix

the louder the bass. This is probably

because you need something to fill out

the space between the speakers.

If you have a lot of instruments in a

mix, there just isn't enough room for

the bass guitar. Also, a bass will mask

the other sounds if too loud. So, it is

often mixed at a low volume to leave

more space for the other sounds in the

mix.

What about toms?

Tomms are commonly mixed lower than most

people think in most types of music.

Toms are probably mixed low because

often the bleed of the symbols in the

tom mics are annoying.

[Music]

Effects also vary a lot in different

mixes. Reverb has progressed up the

scale over the years. In fact, it was

probably Phil Collins and Genesis who

were responsible for raising the level

of reverb an entire level. Pink Floyd

has just about taken over the title for

having the effects the loudest in their

mixes.

Other sounds like high hats, symbols,

rhythm guitars, horn sections, and

background vocals are also mixed at

various levels depending on the song and

the style of music. In fact, you might

start checking out the relative level of

every sound in every song the rest of

your life.

As you can see, you can create an

incredible variety of musical dynamics

based on the level that you set each

sound in the mix. And each style of

music has developed its own traditions

for the specific level that each

instrument should be set. Of course, for

some styles of music, the traditions are

stricter than others. Big band music and

jazz are pretty strict, whereas the

rules for rap and hip-hop are extremely

loose.

Also, of course, the song and all of its

details can make a big difference as to

the levels at which each sound is

placed. And finally, the people you are

working with can make a big difference.

You can only argue so long with someone

who's telling you to turn up their

instrument or else. But do argue. Give

them help. Besides all of the individual

volume levels of each instrument, there

are dynamics that can be created with

the overall relationships of all of the

volume levels in a mix. We call these

volume patterns.

For those of you following along, we are

now here on the graphic.

In some styles of music, the range of

volumes might vary only from here to

here.

New age music, alternative rock, middle

of the road music, country music, and

easy rock are often mixed this way, such

that there is very little difference

between the softest and loudest sound in

the mix. Music might be said to be the

extreme example. All sounds are pretty

even in volume such that none ever jumps

out and shocks us. This might be totally

appropriate for a love song. On the

other hand, some styles of music are

mixed with extreme variations between

the softest and loudest sounds like

this.

Commonly, lots of rock and roll is mixed

this way. Also, big band music is a

perfect example of this type of mix. You

might have extremely soft sounds

followed by huge horn blast. Pink

Floyd's well known for trying to shock

the hell out of you with alarm clocks

and explosions. It can be quite fun and

exhilarating.

Besides the style of music, the type of

song can also make a big difference as

to the overall range of volume levels.

For example, a love song might be mixed

quite evenly. A song about explosive

behavior might be quite uneven.

Here we are again.

Volumes can not only range in dynamics

from the softest to the loudest sound in

the mix, but an individual sound can be

raised and lowered within the song.

Anytime faders are moved while a sound

is playing, the dynamic created tends to

be very intense. If the level of a sound

is changed at a good transition point,

such as the beginning of a chorus or a

lead break, a dynamic's created, but

it's not nearly as intense as when

changing a sound while it's playing.

Let me show you a magic trick. If you

bring a sound out front by turning the

volume up at the beginning of a song,

you can then turn that sound down. And

since we heard it so well, it will be

clear in our brain what that sound is

doing, even if it is then set back low

in the mix. Then bring up another sound

in the mix so we can check it out and

then bring it down in the mix. And once

we hear a sound loud and clear, it

doesn't have to continue to be loud in

order to recognize it. If you keep doing

this, you can create the illusion that

all the sounds in the mix are loud and

clear. Sometimes of course the volume of

the entire mix can be raised or lowered.

The overall volume can be cut or boosted

or gradually faded. Such dynamics can be

very effective if appropriate for the

song.

Besides moving a fader to create volume

dynamics, commonly you need to adjust

levels just to keep the volumes more

even. An engineer often must constantly

adjust levels up and down just to keep

things even.

Compressor limiters can only do so much

before they make a sound sound

unnatural.

Therefore, another dynamic that can be

created with the faders is to actually

even out the volumes more by moving the

faders throughout the mix.

Oh, we're right about here now.

Now, how can you create musical dynamics

with equalization?

Well, just as with volume faders,

there's a large and complex world of EQ

relationships between instruments in the

mix. There are two main types of

considerations that professional

recording engineers use when equalizing

sounds for a mix. The first is based on

how the sound sounds by itself in solo.

The primary consideration when first

EQing the sound at the beginning of the

recording session. This consideration is

usually based on whether you are going

for a sound that is natural or

interesting.

The second consideration is how the

sound sounds in the mix relative to the

other instruments and is of the utmost

importance of the two.

It used to be that engineers would go

out into the room where the instrument

is and listen. Then they would go back

into the control room and compare the

sound in the speakers to what they heard

out in the room. However, these days,

natural is defined by what is currently

on CDs and the radio. You see, natural

ain't natural no more.

We have become addicted to crisper,

brighter, cleaner, as well as fatter,

fuller, and bigger. Therefore, to make

sounds sound natural can be boring and

unnaturally dull by today's standards.

What we hear on the radio and on CDs

these days are much brighter and crisper

than the real thing. Now, what we

consider to be natural is an average of

what we hear on the market daily. If it

isn't bright enough, it won't be

considered to be right.

[Music]

On the other hand, these days often the

goal is to come up with a sound that

sounds unique or interesting, not

necessarily one that sounds natural. I

mean, who knows what a natural piece of

sheet metal sounds like? Anyway, the

question is, what makes a sound sound

interesting or unique?

One thing that makes a sound interesting

is the complexity of the sound. The more

complex the sound, the more it can stand

repeated listening. The more you listen

to it, the more you hear.

Oh, we're moving right along. We're

right about here now.

Structuring the relationship between the

tonalities present in each of the

instruments is an important aspect that

a recording engineer deals with in

mixing. As with balancing volume

relationships, it's commonly thought

that it is most desirable to have the EQ

of all of the instruments as even as

possible so that they blend well. Well,

sometimes this is the case. However, it

is often desirable for certain

instruments in a mix to be unusually

bright, dark, or mid-ranging.

Commonly, sounds are mixed so they do

work well with each other. Sounds can be

made to sound more similar to each other

or more dissimilar.

A lead instrument might be made to be

more cutting and abrasive so as to

really grab attention. An instrument

might be given extra bass to make the

song more dable or just to excite the

rap listener.

As previously covered in the second

video on equipment, in order to simplify

things, we can compare the relative EQ

of each sound at each frequency range.

We can create various EQ relationships

at each frequency range, highs,

mid-range, and lows.

[Music]

Although there are a wide range of

possibilities for creating EQ dynamics,

there's only so much you can do to be

creative with EQ. Commonly, the goal,

especially for the beginning engineer,

is not to be creative with EQ, but to

get things just to sound normal, to

sound right. Most people are glad if

they can just get a mix to sound right.

In fact, the boundaries of how creative

you can be with EQ before it sounds

weird is quite limited.

If you go beyond these limits, you're

normally no longer being creative. You

just have a bad mix. The trick is to

learn the limits so that you can be

creative within the limits of sanity.

The goal is to get to the point where

you know the limits of creativity so

well that you can EQ something a little

off center. You can make something sound

a little strange as an effect. This is

when you're truly being creative with

EQ.

It's funny. The problem comes when you

create EQ that is a bit off center from

being exactly natural as an effect and

someone in the band complains that the

instrument doesn't sound right. Not only

should any unusual EQ be appropriate for

the style of music in the song, but you

can only do it if the band will let you

or if you can convince them how it works

and how cool it is.

We're right about here now

because we are so limited as to how

creative we can be with EQ. to make EQ

changes in a sound while it is playing

creates a dynamic that is extremely

noticeable. If not appropriate for the

song, this could be quite distracting. A

good example of where this has been done

well is in Aqualone by Jethro where the

voice goes to a telephone like voice.

Pink Floyd also did it in Wish You Were

Here, where the acoustic guitar goes

into a little box type of sound.

Currently, it is considered to be very

unusual to actually change EQ settings

during a mix. However, it just might be

the next creative frontier, especially

for those mixing hip-hop and the like.

As we continue our overview of the way

that you can use studio equipment to

create different musical dynamics, we

have evolved to here.

As previously discussed, panning is

mapped out visually as a function of

left to right.

[Music]

The big question is what kind of musical

dynamics can you create with the

placement of pan pots on the mixer? If

we think of the space between the

speakers as a pallet and the sounds are

the colors that we place on the pallet,

then panning can be based on crowd

control.

You might want some sounds to be panned

as far from each other as possible in

order to create clarity. Such a dynamic

might be appropriate for certain types

of music like acoustic jazz, folk music,

and bluegrass. On the other hand, sounds

may be panned such that they overlap in

order to create a wall of sound, making

the mix seem more cohesive. This is

commonly done in heavy metal,

alternative rock, and new age music.

However, panning is often done based on

certain traditions that have developed

over the years, defining the norm for

panning particular instruments. Also,

particular styles of music have

developed their own traditions for the

placement of particular instruments left

to right in the stereo field.

In fact, it is almost like if you follow

these traditions, you create a dynamic

that is transparent and lets the music

through more. Whereas, if you don't

follow these traditions, you create a

dynamic that might call attention to

itself. This is not to say that it's

wrong to pan things differently than

normal, but you should just be aware of

the fact that you're doing it. It could

actually be totally cool and appropriate

and could change the world.

As with fader volumes, some styles of

music have stricter rules than others.

For example, you can practically do

whatever you want in hip-hop, whereas in

big band music, it's important to set up

your panning the way a big band would

normally set up on stage.

Acoustic jazz is also sometimes panned

just the way the band would be on stage.

An engineer will sometimes even place

the musicians in the studio as if they

were on stage. I've mixed some folk

bands just exactly the way that they

were standing out in the studio.

Doing this helps you to create the

illusion that you're there with the

band, which can be a nice illusion.

In order to obtain the most natural

panning of a drum set, try this. First,

pan the overhead mics on the drums

completely left and right like this.

Then listen for the left right placement

of each drum in this stereo overhead

mix.

Pan the mic of each individual drum to

exactly where you hear it in the

overhead mix. For example, listen to

where the high hat seems to be in the

overhead mix and place the high hat mic

right there. Same with the toms. Listen

to where each one seems to be in the

overhead mix and place each tom

accordingly.

This will give you the clearest imaging

you can obtain. You see, if the toms are

here in the overhead mix and then you

place the tom mic themselves over here,

it's like you have panned the toms in

stereo. If you place the tom mic right

where they are in the overhead mix,

voila, precise imaging of the toms in

one place. However, these days it's

quite a bit more common to not pan the

instruments as they are on stage. More

and more people will pan them to

wherever they sound the coolest.

It's interesting to note the way that

drums have been panned throughout the

history of recording. The Beatles placed

the vocals in one speaker and the rest

of the band in another.

Although this was a mistake, they meant

for two tracks to be mixed down to mono

when the record was made, but the

mastering engineer decided to be

creative.

Many jazz groups have placed the entire

drum set in one speaker. The advantage