In
my last post I talked about the workflow I use in Pro Tools. I talked about the
way I setup my session and how I route my audio tracks. In the post today, I will
be talking about mixing in Pro Tools and different techniques I personally use
when mixing. (For my ‘Workflow in Pro Tools’ post, click here). Before I get into my post I just want
to reiterate that there is no one right way of mixing music, so bear in mind, I
am just sharing with you my personal techniques I use when mixing.
Once
you have all your tracks recorded and organized you can, if you choose begin
mixing, but I would suggest basic editing of the whole song first. This
includes making sure breaths are taken out, the best vocal take is chosen,
using playlist mode, and making sure the audio is quantized, in other words on
beat with each other. A few ways this can be done is through elastic
audio or VocAlign.
Having used both of these, I strongly advise investing in VocAlign,
because it does automatically, what you have to do manually with elastic audio.
Now
that editing is finished, you can officially start mixing. Again, there is no
concrete way of mixing, but I usually start mixing on the chorus. My reason for
doing this is because the chorus or ‘hook’ of the song is usually what the
listener will remember and is generally the highpoint of the song. The effects
I usually use on all audio tracks are DeEsser – Equalizer (EQ) – Compressor
(COMP). I usually use the default plug-ins that come with Pro Tools, but also
have the Waves Gold Bundle, which if you have the money, I recommend you invest
in. The main thing to remember with mixing is experiment. Experiment with
different effects until you find a workflow that you can call your own. A
DeEsser is basically an EQ and Limiter combined, where it targets specific
sibilant frequencies (high frequencies usually heard in S’s) and can lower them
or raise them. Some sibilant frequencies for male voices are between 7.9kHz to
9kHz. Again you will have to use the listen feature on most DeEssers to be
sure, as no two people talk or sing the same.
Every
voice is different so the EQ settings will have to be customized when working
with different artists. A general rule of thumb is, put a high pass filter on
and eliminate everything below 150Hz, as those frequencies are not needed in a
vocal, unless you are going for a specific effect. I usually lower around 300Hz
to 500Hz as well, as those frequencies usually give the vocal a box like sound.
A great tip to remember with EQ is subtractive is usually always better than additive;
this means you should try and take away the bad frequencies first, before you
try and add the good ones.
Time
based effects such as Reverb and Delay; I usually put on Aux tracks, which I
talked about in my previous post. Using an aux
send fader I then send various tracks to the reverb and delay
tracks, thus placing the effect on the track. Choosing the preset for the
reverb or delay track depends on the song and the feel you are going for. The
good thing about the default delay in Pro Tools is that it automatically calculates
the delay based on the tempo of the session. For those of you unaware of how to
do this, in my first post, I mentioned a few ways this can be done, through tap
tempo and identify beat.
The
only thing remaining is pans and volumes, which is completely subjective. My
only advice with this is to listen to similar songs to the song you are mixing
and then listen to how vocals are mixed and try to replicate that in your mix.
After enough mixing you will develop your own sense of style and at that point you
will have your own specific workflow.
P.S:
I am a professional mixing engineer/producer, so for those who are seeking tips
or music production services, you can connect with me:
Email:
m.kavanagh92@gmail.com
Facebook: Facebook/jkavmusic
Twitter:
@jkavmusic
Instagram:
@jkavmusic
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