Better Mixes - Production Techniques

When editing a mix levels can differ throughout and

Automation is often required in order for the
different tracks keep their clarity in the mix and to
prevent losing them when more or louder
instruments are introduced.

Digital Distortion also known as clipping is when a signals

wave form is cut of the top which then becomes distorted
after its altered state. This is unwanted in tracks as when
tracks are raised noise and other outside signals become
more apparent.

A Static Mix is when no automation is required and

the mix is stable with no faders being moved whilst
the piece is playing.
Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) is the balance between
the main source you are recording (Signal) and
background noise/room ambience (Noise).
The noise can differ depending on the overall
recording scenario, as sometimes the noise is
introduced purposely to help create space with
natural reverb.

Analogue Distortion is commonly used to manipulate the

signal as an effect for Guitars and is found in pedals.

Microphone positioning is crucial in order to keep

control of the SNR in the recording.
Microphones will often pick up other instruments
when recording a live session. A drummer will often
bleed through the microphones which creates
problems when treating instruments separately.
dBFS
Decibels relative to full scale, At 0 dBfs the signal is
at its highest possible point beyond this the signal is
cut and clipping of tracks becomes an issue. In
order to keep the levels from clipping Head Room
should be made. This works almost like a safety
zone ensuring that signals are not to high.

The Dynamic Range is the difference between the lowest

and highest frequencies in a signal.
Compression allows you to reduce loud signals without
effecting quite signals. A Threshold is used to control what
is being reduced, a metering system usually will show a
reading once compression is taking place. Then to
compensate the volume of the track you can then bring
up an Output level which brings the signal back up as
make up gain from what has been compressed. You can
also control the Ratio of how much it will be compressed.
The Attack control adjusts when the compression starts
allowing you to keep a strong impact on the first hit or
create a faster more sudden compression if needed. The
Release control will control when the compression stops
working.
EQ
The Equalizer is used to control different frequencies
inside the digital audio.
By applying an EQ to each individual track boosting and
cutting can be made around certain frequencies.
Different unwanted frequencies can be cut out on the EQ
in order for other tracks (instruments) to work together
and bring back clarity to the mix. EQ can also be used as
an effect too, taking different frequencies from a track can
help replicate different sound qualities. For an example by
taking bottom frequencies out of a vocal recording will
make the track sound almost like an old microphone
recording.

Recording a live performance in a Studio live room, It is crucial to make a note of how many musicians will be
recorded. Different musicians will require a range recording techniques.
These recording techniques include,
The use of Dynamic microphones are ideal for recording instruments will a High SPL (sound pressure level) such
as drums, guitars/bass amps and also vocals.
The Instruments recorded with Dynamic Microphones during the recording session included the Kick Drum, Snare
Drum Top however no bottom snare was recorded due to lack of wall sockets, Rack Toms and the Floor Toms
were not recorded individually. Guitars and a Bass Amp were also recorded along with vocals.
With a live recording a Condenser microphone is ideal for recording room ambience and creating a stereo pair
with two condenser microphones for a drum kit. The spaced pair technique was used when recording the drums
another common technique is the Glynn John method. You could also mic up the room for a quality recording of
the rooms natural resonating patterns. Be careful not to strip out the natural elements of the instrument you are
recording. Positioning is crucial and polar patterns differ in different microphones. When positioning the dynamic
microphone to a guitar amp you should find your sweet spot on the cone. Be careful not to take two much of the
low frequencies as well as the high ones, different guitar tones will effect your positioning. You can also add
another microphone and double track the audio files when mixing to create a stronger more full sounding track. A
problem faced when recording an acoustic guitar during the live performance was that as the drums in the room
resonated the guitars hollow body captured these drums and projected back through the hole into the microphone
originally recording the guitar. The acoustic guitar recording then become a room mic for the drum kit and the
guitars sound was masked. DI Boxes are used for Electro acoustic guitars and other line input instruments such
as a synthesiser or keyboards. The instrument is plugged directly into the the box which then converts the signal
into an XLR cable to allow access to the female wall socket.
Vocal recordings can be recorded during the live performance, but can also be recorded after and overdubbed.
Vocals that are recorded after could be recorded on a condenser microphone with an isolation shield (pop shield)
for a better quality vocal recordings. This will ensure that no background noises are present in the track from other
instruments, this is a problem found when treating audio files individually limitations will appear. For an example
adding Compression to a vocal with drums bleeding in the background will raise the background level too. Effects
such as reverb will also apply to instruments that were not intended.

Fireflies Without Words Recording

Track 1 was a Live Performance played by a group of college music performance students, the piece of music was written to
fit to a clip from a film. The instruments included in this track are shown on the right.
To record the drums we only miced up the kick drum and top snare. Two pencil condensers were also used to capture and
create the stereo space in the drums. As a spaced pair the mics helped for the cymbals, hi hats, toms and overall the drum
kit working as a pair. A problem that occurred when recording the drums was that there was bleeding noise from other
instruments making it difficult to treat the drums accurately. However the overall the Signal to Noise ratio for the drum
recordings were natural for the live recordings. If this piece was recorded as a multitrack and recorded separately the drums
could have been miced up fully capturing the bottom snare, toms and possibly the Hi Hat.
Using Logic Pro X each channel was then treated individually first before setting the finished levels.
The Kick Drum was treated with an EQ using a high pass filter also known as a low cut I cut out frequencies below around
60Hz as the drum is not present below this. By cutting out the sub frequencies in this track allows room for other
instruments that use these frequencies such as the Bass Guitar. A compressor was also added to this track to give the kick
drum more energy, after taking the threshold down I then added 3dB to compensate on the compressors output gain. The
Attack was set at 15.0ms so that the first slap of the drum was not compressed to make the impact more natural sounding
and the release was at 61.0ms. The ratio of the compressor was set at 2.6:1 making the compressor slightly more subtle.
The panning was kept central to suit the drums overall layout.
The Snare Drum was treated with an EQ using a high pass filter cutting from below 200Hz this ensured that the drum kept
its crisp higher frequencies. A Compressor was also added with a ratio of 3.2:1 and the attack at 8.0ms keeping the first hit
of the drum but making the drums energy brighter helping it stand out in the mix. To compensate the compression on the
snare drum, 4.0dB was boosted on the gain.
The Overheads ( Left and Right ) The Left overhead captured the left side of the kit from the drummers point of view and
the Right Overhead captured the right side of the Kit. Usually when recording a drum kit the overheads are panned to suit
the audiences point of view but by panning the them different brings a different feel to the overall kit. The left overhead was
treated with a high pass filter cutting gradually from 130Hz. Due to the live recording other instruments such as guitars and
bass were captured in these recording which created limits to the frequencies that could be cut. When adding a
compressor to the Left overhead to ensure the background noise wouldn't bleed through the threshold was only slightly
brought down, and compensated by 2.5dB. The Right Overhead was treated with an EQ but had a low cut from 92Hz it
was important to keep some low frequencies in this track due to the toms captured especially the floor tom. Frequencies
above 12k where cut too, if frequencies were cut below this cymbals would loose their natural ringing. After a compressor
was added to the track around the same as the left overhead this was due to the signal to noise ratio of background
instruments.
Once the drums levels were set each drum was then sent to separate output using as bus. This allowed me to bring the
drums as one up in the mix without effecting their overall levels.
The Bass Guitar was treated by cutting frequencies below 40Hz and above 11kHz this helped keep the bass from being
lost in the mix. A compressor was originally added but due to the different frequencies resonating more than others and an
Adaptive limiter was added to keep the level from clipping and distorting. The bass was then panned Left by -20.
The first guitar track which consisted of the more clean guitar tone, was treated with an EQ cutting frequencies below 72Hz
and boosting by 6db above 5kHz allowed more air/room to help bring a brighter sound to the guitar. usually boosting on
the EQ would not be advised as the overall signal may become distorted but due to the guitars frequencies range this did
not effect it and wasn't a problem. A Compressor was then added with a ratio of 1.5:1 this ratio was chosen as it worked
slightly more subtle however it helped bring more energy to the guitars signal. The threshold was compensated by 3.5dB
on the output gain, this then brought up the level of the guitar making it stand out more in the mix. This guitar was then
panned to the left by -30.
The second guitar was treated with gradual low and high cut from 136Hz for the low cut and 31kHz for the high cut. A
compressor was added to this track with the same ratio as guitar one, however the threshold was higher making
compression light and only then compensated by 1.5dB. This guitar was then panned to the right by +25.
Vocal 1 and 2 ( Female and Male) were both overdubbed, this helped with treating the vocals making the signal strong for
the SNR. The female vocal was treated with a low cut shelving EQ at 144Hz, a boost of 2.5db above 18kHz was applied in
order to create some Air/ space on the overall clarity of the vocal track. A compressor was then added with a ratio of 12:1
and raised by 2.5dB for compensation gain. The Male vocal was treated with a low cut EQ at 69Hz this helped take away
guttural notes without loosing the low notes that the singer delivered. A high cut at 6kHz was also applied this helped make
an allowance for the higher female vocal track. A compressor was then added with a ratio of 2:1 and raided by 4.0dB to
compensate. Both vocal tracks were then panned 10 opposite to each other, making the female vocal -10 to left and the
male +10 to the right. After a suitable level was made between the two tracks, a bus was created for reverb and both
tracks were sent to the bus and treated. Another bus was then made as an output for the vocal levels two work through,
this allowed both tracks two be raised or lowered as one track.
. The electro acoustic guitar was recored using a DI box, this worked well two record the acoustic guitar as if a microphone
was used noise would have been captured from the room. This made the guitar more treatable, a low cut at 99Hz was made
using the EQ to take away the lower resonating notes. A compressor was then added with a ratio of 1.5:1 and 3.5dB was
raised to compensate to the compression.
Summary
Overall track 1 was a static mix and no digital distortion/clipping occurs throughout. If I was too record a live performance
again, I would make sure that all musicians are ready to perform as although 3 Takes were recorded the guitar tracks were
different in each. Hearing the performance after a week or two showed a huge improvement, and if recorded again the
overall playing would have been better.