Forum Home » Sound Reinforcement » LAB Lounge » Introduction to Mixing-Through Part 8-Next Update Aug '08 ( ) 4 Vote(s)
| Introduction to Mixing-Through Part 8-Next Update Aug '08 [message #272351] |
Fri, 14 December 2007 17:01  |
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Hello all,
I make no claims to be anything but a competent live mixer, and an out of practice one at the moment! That said, I have always tried to approach mixing as systematically, and scientifically, as possible, and I hope that some of the rigor I needed to learn how to hear can translate into useful information for those learning the craft.
I will resist nearly every attempt to present advice that is extremely specific to an instrument or genre, as neither is terribly useful. This is also NOT postings on how to use the routing or features of a mixing board. I will not be discussing how to keep channels from clipping, or such things. A basic competence from reading the manual of a relevant mixer should be considered a pre-requisite for this thread.
I post this in the lounge primarily because I believe that folks here are the ones most likely to benefit from a tutorial, as well as needing to shorten their learning curve as much as possible.
I feel this first post, in what will likely be a several part series, is a discussion of the process (really mistakes) I have wrestled with since I first stepped behind a mixing board, and the evolution to a degree of competence, and (more importantly) confidence.
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My History
The first mixing board I ever remember sitting behind was a Yamaha 1604. On my first ever gig i remember seeing a button labeled "pad" and having no idea what it did, and out of panic, pressing it in on every channel! I also remember not understanding how the channels had to go through the subgroups first. Needless to say there was very little sound at the beginning of that gig, and what did come out was pretty quiet (due to the pads!). Thankfully that was an amateur theater show in a small auditorium when I was early in high school!
My two points of that anecdote are:
1. everyone starts awkwardly
2. basic knowledge of how your gear functions is essential.
Next came the "get the volumes right" stage. I merely threw up microphones and played with the faders until the placing of things felt about right. The boards I was exposed to had little flexibility in equalization, and I was totally unsure what to do with that equalization!
These events had what I would now call "instrument balance" in that I learned to try to get the vocals on top, and make the bass sit in a pocket, etc. What these events lacked were "spectral balance." In other words, if an instrument was boomy or nasal, my solution was to turn it down, rather than try to balance it out with eq.
My next evolution was the "play with eq" phase. At first I was scared of the eq! I would only turn the knobs 3-5dB and then not be able to tell any changes! I was scared of the perception that I was somehow damaging the "purity" of the sounds. Needless to say I had not spent any time in a recording studio at this point 
After learning to turn the eq knobs a little more, I then realized "I have no idea what frequency to put my equalization at!" I was stuck here the longest. It takes time and practice to learn where to start with eq.
Not knowing what ranges to equalize resulted in a very haphazard mixing process. The order of cleaning up the channels, making mix adjustments, scanning the board during the show, etc. had no structure.
Another problem in this stage was the classic mistake of trying to make everything smooth and covering a lot of frequencies when in my headphones, and then wondering why my mix is a complete and total wall of mess as soon as paid attention to the house mix again.
Working in challenging circumstances forced me to learn how to mix faster. That meant forcing myself to mix with some hierarchy, otherwise I would screw around with one channel for three songs and miss the big picture entirely!
I realized that without some semblance of speed that I would never be able to get a good name on gigs. So I forced myself to prioritize mixing activities, and became willing to radically alter, or remove, inputs that did not fit the mix picture.
Finally, I got a point where I felt comfortable enough with how to start my mix to focus on the other problems of the stage or songs. Backline bleed, bad instrument tone, bad arrangements, weak singers, the list is practically endless.
My desire from these posts is to help people speed through their version of my early steps and dive in deeply to the last stage of the mixing journey at a level of depth that will allow them to have real success with their gigs/bands/clients/company.
Lets begin!
[Updated on: Sat, 10 May 2008 13:17]
Phill Graham
Doctoral Candidate
Georgia Tech
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