Mixing/mastering song processing/engineering

My music mixing process

Per mix takes 5-6 hours

* Listen to the clients reference/rough mix.
* Set up audio tracks in DAW.
-Arrange them in groups, label and colour code.
* Listen to all individual tracks.
* Adjust track levels for a rough balance.
* Setup fx returns.
* Address individual tracks.
- With 'in the box' and 'analog out board' processing.
* This can be:
- Eq-ing(filtering),
- Compression,
- Standard compression,
- Parallel compression,
- Slide-chain compression,
- Multiband compression,
- Adding ambience (reverb/delay),
- Panning,
- De-essing,
- Gating,
- Special fx,
- Vocal tuning,
- DAW automation,
* Setup sub-groups/busses, (Ie, all vocals may be sub-grouped).
* Buss and master buss processing.

My mastering process

Per master takes 1 hour

* Listen to the clients mix.
* Set up audio track in DAW.
* Address mix.
- With 'in the box' and 'analog out board' processing.
* This can be:
- Eq-ing(filtering),
- Eq-ing ,
- Eq-ing M/S (mid/side) ,
- Compression,
- Standard compression,
- Parallel compression,
- Multiband compression,
- Adjusting the stereo image,
- Special fx,
- DAW automation,
- Final limiting.

Common mixing problems I have to fix !

1. Vocals - One of the most important areas of a mix is the lead vocal. In today's music the lead vocal
is nearly always upfront in the mix and very present. Tips to achieve this: I will cut all the low freq.
Anything below 120 hz. Sometimes even upto 150 hz. I always compress vocals to a degree. Don't have
the attack on the compressor too fast. But a have a fast release. Ratio try 4:1. Reverb try a nice plate. Keep
the reverb quite low as alot of reverb will push the vocal back in the mix. Listen to the vocal on its own,
sweep through the frequencies with a parametric eq. Reduce any nasty sounding frequencies if you can
hear any. When boosting frequencies for presence start by boosting around 10khz.

Automation in your DAW. Help your compressor out by automating the volume. So if a word dips or is
too loud in volume, ride the volume up and down and automate.

When you start adding reverb, compression and eq boosts. The S's in the vocal become more prominent.
This has to be tamed. For this you'll need a de-esser plugin. Lastly think about the space where your
vocal sits. The lead vocal should be in the center of the mix. So try to pan instruments away from the
center, leaving space for the lead vocal. Hope these tips help now try them out !!!

2. Bass and kick - This is usually where I start when working on a new track to mix. The way I see it these parts are the groove and root of many tracks. For me the kick and bass are the base of the house. Get the foundations right and the rest of the mix will come along very nicely.

The kick and bass often share the similar frequencies in the spectrum ! Often causing a muddy low end with no definition or punch !

To help this problem, separating them using careful eq. For instance if the bass is more sub try dipping the eq at around 80hz - 120hz. Then try boosting the kick around 80hz - 120hz.

Side chain compression can help alot too. The kick and bass also take up alot of head room. Especially when the kick and bass hit at the same point in the track. Side chain compression helps this by reducing the volume the bass when the kick hits at the same time. You will find the kick will punch through now !!

Sometimes its very hard to hear the low low frequencies, stuff below 60 hz. Basically because your monitors wont go that low. Often a highpass filter cutting everything below 40 - 60hz will tighten up the bottom end. Here's a tip get some high-end headphones, I use the audio technica ATH-M50's. These tell me straight away if the bottom end is way to boomy !!

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