EQ Magazine - January 2009 - (Page 44)

MIX BUS Staggering parts is a great way to open up a mix and create texture changes. Here, note how the acoustic guitars in the verse give way to the electric guitars in the chorus, which deliver the added density and punch needed to drive the chorus home. 4 WAYS TO IMPROVE MIX MUSICALITY by Michael Papatonis We’ve all experienced a mix that just won’t come together. You tweak and tweak—more EQ, less EQ, more compression, change panning, use more pitch correction, and so on—but nothing seems to make the mix sound the way you think it should. Sometimes, the problem is your mixing chops, and you need to gain more knowledge and experience in order to overcome these obstacles. Sometimes, however, the challenge is focused around musical issues, and the mix simply needs to be worked from a different angle than twisting knobs and negotiating mouse clicks. SCRUB UP THAT ARRANGEMENT! A work’s arrangement is quite possibly the first thing in the mix process that starts you either on the road to Happy Mixville or Tedium Township. Arrangement typically refers to the order of the parts, and how they are voiced and put together. One of the main issues with poor arrangements is “frequency fighting.” When two or more instruments are playing in the same frequency range, they can mess with overall mix clarity and impact. Panning similar parts away from each other is beneficial, but when there are three or more parts doing somewhat the same job in the same frequency range, it’s time to look at the arrangement. There are a few simple fixes for this. The first option is to drop some of the parts that are redundant. It’s surprising how often artists try to cram more and more tracks into a recording in the belief that a massive sonic collage will sound bigger, or more professional, or simply more badass. The reality is that a “less is more” approach often helps a mix jump right out of the speakers. This doesn’t mean that you should never add extra instrumentation or ear candy to a mix. It just means that you should always ask yourself if the extra parts really serve a clear and explicit purpose. A second option is to stagger the parts. For instance, if the acoustic guitar is filling space in the verse, it can drop out and leave room for a piano in the chorus. Staggering instruments between sections is not only a great way to clean up a mix, it also creates texture changes within the song that add interest. A third approach is to change the octave or voicing. If the piano and organ seem like they are cluttering things, drop or raise one of the parts by an octave, or use different inversions on one of the instruments. This simple maneuver will create more detail without having to use EQ. In essence, you are “EQing” by changing the notes that are being played. EMBRACE THE POSSIBLE Have you ever mixed and mixed and mixed, only to take a step back and ask yourself, “Why does this suck?” Sometimes, it’s because the performance sucks. Even with all of our digital mixing tools, you really can’t fix it in the mix. In many ways, the situation is also like this old joke: A man goes to the doctor and says, “Doctor, it hurts when I do this with my arm.” The doctor replies, “Don’t do that with your arm.” So what’s the lesson we need to learn? Well, if the singer can’t hit the high notes, then don’t write songs with those high notes. If the guitar player can’t play blistering runs during the solo, don’t ask for them. Instead, consider some melodic riffs or lines that work well with the song. 44 EQ JANUARY 2009 www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - January 2009

EQ Magazine - January 2009 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Punch In Bob Dylan The Killers Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Microsoft Windows Vista Apple Mac OS X "Lite" Software Roundup "Lite" Software Gadgets & Goodies Sounds Room With a Vu

EQ Magazine - January 2009

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