Mastering the Mixdown
REMEMBER: MIXDOWN IS CRUCIAL in more ways
than one. A good mastering session can go
very well, or very poorly depending on what
happens during mixdown. Much of this is
common sense, yet much of it isn't common
sense until you've experienced the fallout
a few times...
DO take advantage of mute
groups or noise gates at the beginning of a
song. Effects processors, even good ones,
can add noise that you might not want at
the head of your song. Effects and other
tracks not in use on the very first note of
a song should not be in the mix. If your
drummer starts the song out with a hi-hat
or stick clicks, your don't want the reverb
of those clicks to mask the first note
either. Unless you want those clicks as
part of the finished product, mute the
effects. However, don't waste time trying
to cue the DAT or CD recorder to start
after the clicks - We'll just edit the
clicks out later.
DON’T fade out songs during mixdown. Two reasons - Once the fade is done, you can't do it again. And, more importantly, board noise, effects returns, etc. may not be fading along with the program material. This noise will have to be digitally faded during the mastering session anyway. So, just leave the fades for the mastering session. If you are not attending the session, feel free to include a time frame on the fade - When you want it to start, when you want it to end, etc.
*** DON’T have the mixing engineer “get it close” by over-compressing your mix or running it through a processor like an Aural Exciter or Finalizer. IF YOU PAY ATTENTION TO NOTHING ELSE ON THIS PAGE, PAY ATTENTION TO THIS! While these amazing processors definitely have their place, once it goes through, that's it. Your stuck with it. And, if those compressor settings don't work with the mastering engineer's settings, well, that's all she wrote. Many engineers will apply a small amount of compression during mixdown to help "bring the mix together" a bit, and that's fine. A dB or two of buss compression can really help a mix. In hard rock & heavy metal, you almost can’t mix without it. Just keep on the safe side with compression during mixdown. If you just can't help it and you absolutely have to hear your mix through all the bells and whistles, either do a separate mix, or run a DAT mix through to another DAT or CD-R. If I had a nickel for every time I said “you mixed through a Finalizer, didn’t you...” and they said “Wow! How’d you know that?!?” I’d have bags full of nickels. The key is not to do anything to the mix for the sake of volume alone. If you need it to be louder during mixdown, turn the monitors up.
DON’T waste hours of time in the studio trying to get a mix to sound “huge”. Here's a little secret... A good percentage of recordings, especially those made on a limited budget, get that "huge" sound during the mastering session. I'm not saying to settle for less... Don't walk away with a mix that you're not happy with. Instead, concentrate on making your mix sound well balanced. I can’t tell you how many times I went back into the studio with novice bands to remix. In the studio, they tried to make their mixes sound big time without actually sounding big time themselves. When they'd ask me to go back with them, we concentrated on trying to make everything sound (for lack of a better term) non-irritating. Just good. Playing it safe. Then, during the mastering session, we'd kick it in the pants a bit... You'd be surprised what you can do with a “good” but perhaps “boring” sounding mix during a mastering session (Check the Audio Samples page for examples of this). Every mix has a certain “potential” inside it. Once you stray too far from that potential to make it sound different than it actually is, you’re inviting trouble... If you wanted a different sound, you should START with that sound. The best mixing engineers out there let the mix dictate their actions - They don't argue with it - They listen to it.
DO make back-ups of your mixes. If you're mixing to digital, there's no excuse not to have at least one or two backups - Usually of both the session files *and* the mixes. DON'T worry so much about levels... Of course, you want reasonable levels. But reasonable isn’t “as hot as possible.” Digital clipping can be very nasty, and it's impossible to fix properly. If your songs are peaking at -8 or -6dBFS on the meters, that's just fine. There’s a time and a place to worry about finished volume levels.
Concentrate on a “solid” mix and the rest will fall into place.
John Scrip - MASSIVE Mastering - http://www.massivemastering.com
DON’T fade out songs during mixdown. Two reasons - Once the fade is done, you can't do it again. And, more importantly, board noise, effects returns, etc. may not be fading along with the program material. This noise will have to be digitally faded during the mastering session anyway. So, just leave the fades for the mastering session. If you are not attending the session, feel free to include a time frame on the fade - When you want it to start, when you want it to end, etc.
*** DON’T have the mixing engineer “get it close” by over-compressing your mix or running it through a processor like an Aural Exciter or Finalizer. IF YOU PAY ATTENTION TO NOTHING ELSE ON THIS PAGE, PAY ATTENTION TO THIS! While these amazing processors definitely have their place, once it goes through, that's it. Your stuck with it. And, if those compressor settings don't work with the mastering engineer's settings, well, that's all she wrote. Many engineers will apply a small amount of compression during mixdown to help "bring the mix together" a bit, and that's fine. A dB or two of buss compression can really help a mix. In hard rock & heavy metal, you almost can’t mix without it. Just keep on the safe side with compression during mixdown. If you just can't help it and you absolutely have to hear your mix through all the bells and whistles, either do a separate mix, or run a DAT mix through to another DAT or CD-R. If I had a nickel for every time I said “you mixed through a Finalizer, didn’t you...” and they said “Wow! How’d you know that?!?” I’d have bags full of nickels. The key is not to do anything to the mix for the sake of volume alone. If you need it to be louder during mixdown, turn the monitors up.
DON’T waste hours of time in the studio trying to get a mix to sound “huge”. Here's a little secret... A good percentage of recordings, especially those made on a limited budget, get that "huge" sound during the mastering session. I'm not saying to settle for less... Don't walk away with a mix that you're not happy with. Instead, concentrate on making your mix sound well balanced. I can’t tell you how many times I went back into the studio with novice bands to remix. In the studio, they tried to make their mixes sound big time without actually sounding big time themselves. When they'd ask me to go back with them, we concentrated on trying to make everything sound (for lack of a better term) non-irritating. Just good. Playing it safe. Then, during the mastering session, we'd kick it in the pants a bit... You'd be surprised what you can do with a “good” but perhaps “boring” sounding mix during a mastering session (Check the Audio Samples page for examples of this). Every mix has a certain “potential” inside it. Once you stray too far from that potential to make it sound different than it actually is, you’re inviting trouble... If you wanted a different sound, you should START with that sound. The best mixing engineers out there let the mix dictate their actions - They don't argue with it - They listen to it.
DO make back-ups of your mixes. If you're mixing to digital, there's no excuse not to have at least one or two backups - Usually of both the session files *and* the mixes. DON'T worry so much about levels... Of course, you want reasonable levels. But reasonable isn’t “as hot as possible.” Digital clipping can be very nasty, and it's impossible to fix properly. If your songs are peaking at -8 or -6dBFS on the meters, that's just fine. There’s a time and a place to worry about finished volume levels.
Concentrate on a “solid” mix and the rest will fall into place.
John Scrip - MASSIVE Mastering - http://www.massivemastering.com