MIX TECHNIQUES – PART 3

Effective Effects

By Brian Stephens

Over the past two articles, we have talked about various tools that are used to help pull a mix together. The key to getting the best mix possible starts with tracking and capturing the right sounds on tape or disk. Afterward, the correct use of EQ, compression, and time-based effects like reverb and delay are the final link to crafting the best mix for your CD. Upon listening to the dry tracks in their entirety, you should be able to get your mixes 80% complete using simple volume and panning adjustments. But, make no mistake, the last 20% of this mixing process can certainly make or break the quality of your final product. In the right hands, this last 20% can make your mixes sonically competitive with any commercial CD on the market. In the wrong hands (or ears, as the case may be), your CD may end up destined for the bargain bin.

Reverb is an excellent tool for establishing placement within a mix. Many amateur recording enthusiasts simply find a shimmering reverb preset and place it on every instrument in their mix equally. They do so without thinking about how that reverb texture fits inside their mix or how the reverbs decay time may affect the overall clarity of the mix. Digital reverb, especially the plug-in variety, seeks to emulate acoustic spaces or artificial forms of reverb-like chambers, plates, and springs. Each type has its own sonic coloration and usage. Acoustic simulation is good for natural-styled ambience. Many mixes utilizing this type of reverb do so in a subtle, almost imperceptible fashion. By using short pre-delays (between 10 and 30 ms) and shorter decay times (0.5 – 1.25 seconds), you can add depth to instruments in your mix without changing the clarity of it. These types of reverbs can also be used to make up for the lack of adequate acoustic variety in your recording environment.

When trying to establish front-to-back orientation of an instrument in your mix, adjusting the relationship between effected and dry signals can change the apparent location of your source. For example, a rhythm guitar whose volume fader level is -1.5 dB and reverb send level is placed at -8.5dB can seem very close to the listener when placed alongside an accessory guitar track whose volume fader is at -4.6dB and reverb send level is set to -3dB. (see pic. 1) With a simple panning move, like 80% to the right, the secondary guitar track can be moved even farther away from the listener.

Artificial reverbs - like springs, plates, and chambers - have a much more metallic quality to them. These devices were originally developed to simulate acoustic spaces but, because of their nature, fell short of truly emulating them. The degree to which they fell short has now become their own characteristic sound. Spring reverbs sound great on certain electric guitar tracks and on some types of vocals. Plate reverbs are a common staple for bringing drum machine sounds to life in hip-hop mixes. Their distinct metallic decay is great for sequenced hi-hats and snares. Chamber reverbs are great for trying to bring a Beatles/Sgt. Pepper’s vibe to your mixes. By paging through each of these reverb types in your preliminary mixing, you can find which texture might be best for each individual track.

It is common to use three or four different reverbs in a mix. I usually break instruments into ‘verb groups’ and decide which groups will be effected similarly. If I have 50 or more tracks, including lots of orchestral or synth parts, I may even pull in a couple of other reverbs specifically for key instruments in my mix. My typical reverb breakdown may look like this:

• Drum / Percussion Verb: Spin Audio’s RoomVerb

• Rhythm Guitar/Electric Instruments Verb (electric guitars, synths, Rhodes): Waves’ TrueVerb

• Acoustic Instruments Verb (acoustic guitar, organ, piano, strings): Steinberg’s Natural Verb

• Vocal Verb: “Kind Of Loud” Verb on Mackie’s UAD effects card

By using shorter decay times and reasonable wet/dry mixes, you can use multiple instances of reverb without diminishing the clarity of your mixes. One trick that can help retain clarity in the face of so many reverbs is to decrease the reverb returns 10-15% after you achieve your final mix. Your ears may have to go through a short period of adjustment to this change, but I find it to be a handy way of keeping my reverb usage in check. You may find that you do not miss the extra reverb after your ears get a day’s rest from these mixes.

When selecting reverbs, one last trick is to never use two instances of the same brand hardware or plug-in. Even though the algorithms within any one reverb’s setting are supposed to be different, they will all have a similar sheen and timbre to them. In the end, this can make your mix sound very flat or two-dimensional. Each brand of reverb will have a slightly different tonal color or texture that will help groups of instruments sit apart from one another in your mix. The end result is that you have an easier time achieving depth and clarity in your mixes, as these variations in texture tend to create definition between instruments.

Many professional mix engineers prefer to not have the band present during mixing so as to avoid the “More Me Syndrome”. This is the trend that sees each band member asking for his or her individual instrument to be turned up in the mix. This sort of problem can quickly take your mix to the proverbial dumpster. For one moment, think of your mix as sonic real estate. All of the instruments and voices in that mix can only occupy a certain portion of your mix’s sound stage. The best mixes present the listener with a good balance of all the recorded tracks. That does not mean that everything recorded is heard with equal loudness all of the time. In fact, some elements of your production may be intentionally more felt that heard. The result you are looking for is a mixture of sounds and textures that blend together into a pleasurable listening experience.

One last piece of advice is to have a definite mental picture of what you want your mixes to sound like. Listen very closely to the mixes of other artists that you admire and try to dissect how they use various mix tools to create a sound stage for their tracks. Use various speaker sets, including headphones, to get mix ideas from great CDs. Use these as your reference for great mixes. Hopefully, you have consulted engineers in your area whose mixes have the clarity and punch that you desire. Enlist their help and experience for your mixes. Ask them to help you dissect mixes from your reference CDs. Good engineers can help you sidestep many of the pitfalls that can stand between you and great sounding mixes.

Lastly, remember that aside from certain principles that we feel are the foundations for good engineering, there are no rules to getting the perfect mix. Recording formats, microphones, preamps, hardware, and plug-ins are all just tools that we use to achieve a final outcome. The right tools combined with the right hands and great ears are what yield the most favorable results.