{"id":24572,"date":"2013-09-12T18:00:48","date_gmt":"2013-09-12T23:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/whisnews21.com\/?p=24572"},"modified":"2013-09-12T18:00:48","modified_gmt":"2013-09-12T23:00:48","slug":"cliff-goldmacher-the-value-of-a-good-mix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/2013\/09\/12\/cliff-goldmacher-the-value-of-a-good-mix\/","title":{"rendered":"Cliff Goldmacher: The Value of A Good Mix"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\"CliffGoldmachermaritz02\"<\/b><\/i><\/h2>\n

The Value of A Good Mix<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Written by: Cliff Goldmacher (www.EducatedSongwriter.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"freedownlaods\"<\/a>Once you\u2019ve decided to up the ante and put your music online for the world to hear, it\u2019s in your best interest to pay close attention to every step in the recording process.\u00a0 One of the most vital of these steps is the mix of your song.\u00a0 It\u2019s not enough to have a great song.\u00a0 You need a great recording and a strong mix is an essential part of any great recording.\u00a0 The art of mixing (and make no mistake, it is an art) is not a skill everyone possesses.\u00a0 It\u2019s well worth your while, even if you\u2019ve recorded your tracks yourself in your home studio, to seek out an experienced mixing engineer.\u00a0 While there is no substitute for a dynamic, exciting musical performance, a good mix can enhance every aspect of that performance so that the final sonic result truly makes your song stand out. On the other hand, a poor mix can severely compromise even the best song and performance.\u00a0 Only you can write and sing your songs.\u00a0 That makes you an expert in those areas.\u00a0 However, unless you\u2019re also an expert mix engineer, I\u2019d highly recommend going to someone who is.
\nBudget<\/strong>
\n\"dollars\"I get it. Everyone wants to save money.\u00a0 I do, too, but there are places to save and places to invest.\u00a0 In an effort to keep recording costs down, many musicians have purchased their own recording equipment.\u00a0 This is terrific and there\u2019s never been a better time to buy affordable, high-quality gear. As long as you\u2019re as passionate about learning the engineering process as you are about your music, you\u2019ll do great.\u00a0 Owning your own recording equipment also takes a lot of the pressure off when it comes to experimenting in the studio.\u00a0 Finally, it allows you to record as many takes as necessary to get the performances you want without worrying about the clock.\u00a0 However, one way to make the absolute most of your recorded performance is to let an expert mix them.\u00a0 It\u2019s amazing what a talented, experienced mix engineer can bring out of a mix that might otherwise get lost or obscured at the hands of a less able mixer.
\nBefore You Mix<\/strong>
\n\"musicwallpaper01\"Before I cover in greater depth what makes up a good mix, let\u2019s go back to performance for a moment.\u00a0 No matter how great the mix engineer may be there are some things you simply cannot fix in the mix.\u00a0 To be more specific, there is no way to \u201cmix in\u201d a great vocal or instrumental performance.\u00a0 What makes a performance great might surprise you. For example, sometimes it\u2019s what you don\u2019t play that counts the most.\u00a0 In my experience, the best studio musicians are the best listeners.\u00a0 What I mean by this is that great players base their instrumental performance on whatever else is going to be played in the song so that all the instruments work together as a whole to serve the song and NOT their individual egos.\u00a0 Playing too much is the hallmark of an amateur studio musician.\u00a0 Secondly, the timely use of dynamics (where to play louder\/softer or with greater\/less intensity) is essential to a mix that breathes and has shape to it.\u00a0 Simply moving up and down a volume fader won\u2019t do the same thing.\u00a0 When it comes to singing, all the Auto-Tune and reverb in the world won\u2019t give a vocal performance real sincerity and emotion.\u00a0 All this to say, make absolutely certain that the performances are exactly how you want them before you start the mix process.
\nThe Instruments
\nGetting great instrument sounds in a mix is a combination of many factors.\u00a0 Finding space in the mix for each individual instrument is essential.\u00a0 This is often achieved through judicious use of EQ, compression, volume and panning.\u00a0 For example, the skill it takes to get great drum sounds, marry the kick drum to the bass while also giving the electric guitars rooms to breathe and sparkle is developed over time and repetition\u2026a lot of repetition.\u00a0 When this is done properly, the instruments are exciting to listen to.\u00a0 Each has its place and role to play and when they come together, the song takes on a life of its own.
\nVocals
\n\"WomanA great mix engineer always makes the treatment and placement of the vocal a priority. Once the instrumental mix is generally where it needs to be, it\u2019s time to make certain that the vocalist is running the show.\u00a0 A combination of EQ, compression, tuning (if necessary), effects and volume fader automation should all serve the ultimate goal of making it sound like the singer is in charge.\u00a0 There are several risks associated with improper vocal placement.\u00a0 If the final mix has too much vocal, then the instruments end up sounding small and weak.\u00a0 However, if the vocal is too soft in the mix, it loses its ability to communicate the emotion of the song.\u00a0 Every genre has its preferred vocal level.\u00a0 In general, pop music has the vocal more integrated into the instruments whereas country music (with its emphasis on the lyric) generally puts the vocal higher in the mix.\u00a0 There are, of course, exceptions to every rule but a good mix engineer will know the genre he or she is mixing in and do the right thing for the song.
\nOn a related note, one of the best reasons to bring in an experienced mix engineer even if you\u2019ve recorded the song yourself is a fresh, objective set of ears.\u00a0 It\u2019s been my experience that if the singer mixes their own project, they tend to keep the vocals too low for a couple of reasons.\u00a0 One is that most singers tend to get uncomfortable with their vocals up in a mix.\u00a0 There are precious few singers I\u2019ve ever worked with who genuinely love the sound of their own voices. By keeping the vocal low in the mix, the vocalist\/engineer won\u2019t have to their comfort zone but the mix suffers.\u00a0 The second reason has to do with the fact that the singer already knows the words and assumes that they\u2019re hearing the words when, in fact, they may be too low for someone who doesn\u2019t know the song to understand.
\nMastering a Good Mix<\/strong>
\nMastering a mixed recording is a separate skill altogether. While this isn\u2019t an article about mastering, I\u2019d recommend using a dedicated mastering engineer (not your mix engineer) when it comes time for this step.\u00a0 More to the point, the value of a good mix is that the mastering engineer will spend much less time (their hourly rates are generally higher than mix engineer rates) getting the finished master together.\u00a0 In other words, money you spend on a good mix will end up saving you money on a final mastered recording.
\nDoing It Yourself
\nIf you\u2019re still intent on doing your own mixing, consider hiring an expert to mix a song or two for you and then ask them for the session files back.\u00a0 Assuming you\u2019re using the same recording software (i.e. ProTools, Nuendo, Logic), you\u2019ll be able to examine every detail of how the mix was done and use the finished mix files as a kind of tutorial so you can ultimately learn to do them yourself.
\nGood luck!
\nBio
\n\"gallery2\"Cliff Goldmacher is a songwriter, producer, session musician, engineer, author and owner of recording studios in Nashville, TN and Sonoma, CA. Cliff\u2019s site, http:\/\/www.EducatedSongwriter.com<\/a>, is full of resources for the aspiring songwriter including monthly online webinars. Go to http:\/\/www.educatedsongwriter.com\/webinar\/<\/a> for the latest schedule.
\nCliff\u2019s company, http:\/\/www.NashvilleStudioLive.com<\/a>, provides songwriters outside of Nashville with virtual access to Nashville\u2019s best session musicians and singers for their songwriting demos.
\nYou can download a FREE sample of Cliff\u2019s eBook \u201cThe Songwriter\u2019s Guide To Recording Professional Demos\u201d by going to http:\/\/www.EducatedSongwriter.com\/ebook<\/a>.
\nFacebook: www.facebook.com\/EducatedSongwriter<\/a>
\nTwitter: edusongwriter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 The Value of A Good Mix Written by: Cliff Goldmacher (www.EducatedSongwriter.com) Once you\u2019ve decided to up the ante and put your music online for the world to hear, it\u2019s in your best interest to pay close attention to every step in the recording process.\u00a0 One of the most vital of these steps is the mix of your song.\u00a0 It\u2019s not enough to have a great song.\u00a0 You need a great recording and a strong mix is an essential part of any great recording.\u00a0 The art of mixing (and make<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24572"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}