EQ Magazine - November 2008 - (Page 46) MIX BUS Nic Hard putting the final touches on a mix. NIC HARD’S 7 STEPS TO A GREAT MIX by Greg Reynolds Mixing a song—let alone an entire album—can become a tedious, earnumbing process if you allow it. That is why it’s important to understand what needs to be achieved, and how to achieve it. Nic Hard [The Bravery, The Church, Aberdeen City] maintains that the three most important aspects of a mix are clarity, atmosphere, and dynamics, and that all of these elements need to be in place before the tune loses that “fresh” feeling. So Hard has developed a get in/get out approach to producing great-sounding mixes in just a few simple steps. THE FIRST IMPRESSION Give the song a quick listen and determine what the band is trying to do stylistically. Listen for any problems with the tracking, think about what effects you may want to try out, and recognize where dynamic changes need to take place. “Don’t be afraid to f**k things up a little bit,” says Hard. “Push things to distortion, or use heavy compression as an effect. Sometimes, especially when people work on their own music, the mix engineer tends to be afraid to do things like that, and they pull back, but there’s really very little you can do that’s ‘wrong.’” DRUMS Get the drum sound together by pulling everything else way down (or muting the rest of the tracks), and adjusting the individual drum track levels until you have a full-sounding kit. Hard likes to use an API 550A to equalize drum tracks, and he begins by cutting out all the unnecessary low and low-mid frequencies. He may also duck a few dB between 350Hz and 550Hz to make the drums sound clearer, as well as to leave some room for other instruments in that range. A Vintech 609CA stereo compressor set to a 3:1 ratio, with a medium attack and a fast release, ensures all levels are relatively constant. “I tend to like hearing compression and so I’ll push things until they start pumping a little bit,” says Hard. BASS AND GUITARS Bring everything else in as quickly as possible, EQing and compressing as you go. Begin with a high-pass filter on the bass, and take off everything under 40Hz. Cut a dB or so between 46 EQ NOVEMBER 2008 www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - November 2008 EQ Magazine - November 2008 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Punch In Brian Wilson Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Sony Acid 6 Abelton Live 7 Controller World New Controllers Analysis Room with a Vu EQ Magazine - November 2008 EQ Magazine - November 2008 - EQ Magazine - November 2008 (Page Cover1) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - EQ Magazine - November 2008 (Page Cover2) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - EQ Magazine - November 2008 (Page 1) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Contents (Page 2) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Contents (Page 3) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Talk Box (Page 4) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Talk Box (Page Blowin1) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Talk Box (Page Blowin2) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Talk Box (Page 5) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Sounding Board (Page 6) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Sounding Board (Page 7) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Punch In (Page 8) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Punch In (Page 9) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Punch In (Page 10) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Punch In (Page 11) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Punch In (Page 12) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Punch In (Page 13) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Punch In (Page 14) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Punch In (Page 15) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 16) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 17) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 18) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 19) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 20) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 21) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 22) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 23) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 24) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 25) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 26) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Brian Wilson (Page 27) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Guitar Trax (Page 28) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Guitar Trax (Page 29) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Bass Management (Page 30) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Bass Management (Page 31) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Bass Management (Page 32) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Bass Management (Page 33) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Key Issues (Page 34) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Key Issues (Page 35) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Key Issues (Page 36) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Key Issues (Page 37) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Drum Heads (Page 38) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Drum Heads (Page 39) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Drum Heads (Page 40) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Drum Heads (Page 41) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Vocal Cords (Page 42) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Vocal Cords (Page 43) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Vocal Cords (Page 44) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Vocal Cords (Page 45) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Mix Bus (Page 46) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Mix Bus (Page 47) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Mix Bus (Page 48) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Mix Bus (Page 49) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Mix Bus (Page 50) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Mix Bus (Page 51) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Cheat Sheet (Page 52) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Cheat Sheet (Page 53) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Sony Acid 6 (Page 54) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Sony Acid 6 (Page 55) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Abelton Live 7 (Page 56) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Abelton Live 7 (Page 57) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 58) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 59) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 60) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 61) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 62) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 63) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 64) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 65) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 66) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 67) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 68) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 69) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 70) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - New Controllers (Page 71) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Analysis (Page 72) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Analysis (Page 73) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Analysis (Page 74) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Analysis (Page 75) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Analysis (Page 76) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Analysis (Page 77) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Analysis (Page 78) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Analysis (Page 79) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Room with a Vu (Page 80) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Room with a Vu (Page Cover3) EQ Magazine - November 2008 - Room with a Vu (Page Cover4)
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